Love for Allah *

(Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which ye fear a decline: or the dwellings in which ye delight - are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger, or the striving in His cause;- then wait until Allah brings about His decision: and Allah guides not the rebellious.) (At-Tawbah 9:24)

The same point is reiterated in the Sunnah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) observed that one’s faith is not genuine unless one holds him (the Prophet) dearer than family, possessions, and all else (Muslim). In some variant reports of this hadith, mention is made of Allah and His Messenger as one’s most cherished ones.

It is reported on the authority of Anas that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

One can taste the sweetness of faith, if he is characterized with the following:

• if he holds Allah and His Messenger dearer than all else;
• when he loves a person he loves him only for the sake of Allah; and
• if he has as great an abhorrence of returning to unbelief after Allah has rescued him from it as he has of being cast into fire.(Muslim)

A Query and Its Clarification

Some people ask whether it is at all possible to love someone that one has never seen and whether that love can surpass one’s love for all else. The answer to this question is that it is more than possible, it is innate in man to love what is unseen. He does not love what he observes serving him day and night, such as his own body parts. He stands in need of their smooth functioning for his well-being. However, if asked to make a choice, he will forego all his physical faculties in preference to his mental faculty, though the latter is something invisible and imperceptible. What explains this is that although man has not seen his own mental faculty, he realizes that it represents that which accounts for his excellence and dignity. If he is deprived of other physical faculties, he will still enjoy that dignity. However, if he is stripped of his mental faculty, he will be reduced to an animal, commanding no respect or honor.

The above point holds true for all the objects in the universe. Man benefits from innumerable objects of nature, day and night. However, he knows that these do not serve him on their own. On the contrary, the Supreme Being has assigned them the duty to serve him. He knows well that he has not created and cannot create any of these objects. Furthermore, he is not entitled to their subservience. Since he recognizes that he owns everything as a result of the favor and grace shown by the Supreme Being and that He can withdraw these at any time, it fills man’s heart with overflowing gratitude to Allah. This prompts man to love Allah more than all else.

It is not, therefore, correct to hold that man cannot love Allah. Allah is no doubt invisible; yet His manifestations are too evident. Man observes these all around himself. Each object of nature—be it the clouds, winds, rivers and mountains—points to Allah’s existence. Birds sing in praise of Him and trees share this hymn. His signs are embedded in each and every particle of dust and in every leaf. Far from being hidden, Allah is manifest, evident everywhere. Man suffers from such misperception if he fails to recognize this evident truth. As a result, he does not develop any love for Allah. This, in turn, divests man of Allah’s love.

A Practical Way to Achieve Love for Allah

The Qur’an shows us the practical way that can be easily followed by everyone, namely the way of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). In him, Allah presented the one who loved Him perfectly. Following the Prophet as role model, we can observe how a lover of Allah led his life in the company of his family and friends. His life stands out as the most practicable way in that it presents a living example. Allah observes:

(Say: If you love Allah, follow me [so] that Allah love you and forgive your sins.) (Aal ‘Imran 3:31)

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stands as the best model for the love for Allah. No one can excel the Prophet in this regard. Given this, one should not do something that may mark a deviation from the practice of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), whose every action was characterized by the perfect measure of devotion and piety.

An Important Warning

It is worth clarifying that we have employed the expression “love” throughout this discourse. We have not used any other expression. For it is “love” that is used in this context in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Anything other than love betrays imbalance; hence it cannot be used in the context of Allah and His Messenger. Furthermore, it constitutes disrespect towards them. Man’s dealings with Allah and His Messenger are governed by Shari`ah norms. Any deviation, even if it is prompted by a pious intention, results only in innovation and error. Poets and Sufi masters have carelessly used other expressions in this context. Poets are given to exaggeration. Even when they do not offer prayers and fasting, they make tall claims about their love for Allah and His Messenger. Each one of them pretends to be a lover of the Messenger. Sufi masters, too, are guilty of imbalance. Dissatisfied with the use of love in this context, they adopted the expression “ishq” (infatuation or extreme love) as rather more than a mere synonym.

Love is not something that is beyond the governance of norms. Rather, it is to be pursued within certain parameters. The love of Allah serves as a touchstone for self-evaluation and for assessing others. The unmistakable test is that when the believer is faced with the option of a way that he likes, and that is preferred by his friends and relatives, but that is contrary to Allah’s command, he should renounce it. Likewise, he should disregard a way that runs counter to Shari`ah. If he accords greater importance to his own desires, it betrays his love for himself or for others, and the hollowness of his claim to faith. However, if he disregards all such options and unreservedly opts for the way prescribed by Allah, he is to be taken as a true and genuine lover of Allah, even if he never presumes to claim such a title for himself.

* Excerpted with slight modifications from Tazkiyah: The Islamic Path of Self-Development. Courtesy of The Islamic Foundation.

Amin Ahsan Islahi (1904-1997) was one of the leading scholars of the Indian subcontinent. He compiled a 9-volume commentary on the Qur’an and authored a number of books. His eloquent speeches and writings on da`wah (calling people to Islam), Islamic state, and many other topics have inspired generations of young Muslims.