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Love
for Allâh
Shaykh ’Abdur-Rahmân
ibn Hasan said: [1]
“Allâh
– the Most High - says:
“Say:
If you truly love Allâh, then follow me, and Allâh will love you.”
[2]
This
âyah is also known as Ayatul-Muhabbah
(the âyah about love).
Some of the Salaf have
said, “The people claimed that they loved Allâh, so Allâh the Most
High revealed the âyah about muhabbah
(love), “Say: If you truly
love Allâh, then follow me, and Allâh will love you.”
[3] So this âyah
indicates the proofs and evidences for muhabbah
and its fruits and benefits. So
from the proofs of muhabbah and
its clear signs is: to follow the Messenger sallallâhu
’alayhi wa sallam; and from its fruits and its benefits is: that Allâh will love you. So whosoever does not seek to follow the Prophet sallallâhu
’alayhi wa sallam, then such a person will not attain the love of
Allâh.
Characteristics
of True Love
Allâh
– the Most High – also says:
“O
you who believe! If any of you turns back from his religion (then
wait) Allâh will create a
people who will love Him and He will love them, who will be soft and
gentle with the Believers and harsh with the disbelievers, who will
fight in the path of Allâh, and will not be afraid of the blame from
the blamers.” [4]
Here,
Allâh has mentioned four characteristics of those who love Him:
Firstly
and Secondly: they are gentle and soft towards the Believers.
It is said that this means: to be merciful, compassionate and kind.
’Atâ‘ (d.114H) – rahimahullâh
– said, “A Believer’s gentleness for another Believer is like that
of a child towards his father, or a slave towards his beloved master; and
against the disbeliever, it is like that of a lion towards its prey: “Strong
against the disbelievers, and merciful towards each other.”
[5] ”
Thirdly,
Jihâd in the Path of Allâh
with the soul, the hand, the tongue, and with wealth and property.
This is the characteristic by which the true muhabbah
is ascertained.
Fourthly,
they are not afraid of the blame and reproach of the blamers. This being
the truest characteristic of muhabbah.
If
the one claiming muhabbah,
whilst loving his beloved, fears the blames and reproaches or others, then
this is in reality, not considered to be true muhabbah.
Allâh the Most High says:
“Those
whom they call upon, themselves desire the wasîlah (means of
approach) to their Lord to which
of them should be nearest. They hope for His mercy and fear His
punishment.” [6]
Here,
three levels which are linked to muhabbah
have been mentioned, [i] Love, which is desiring to seek nearness to Him;
[ii] at-Tawassul (seeking the
means of approach) to Him, through righteous and correct actions; [iii]
Hope and fear, a proof of desiring the means of approach to Him through
righteous and correct actions is that such actions are done hoping in His
mercy and also fearing His punishment.
And
it is known with necessity that seeking nearness (to Allâh) can only be
achieved when there is a desire and love for this, and the desire and love
for seeking nearness (to Him) stems from love of Him.
Indeed, true love for Him necessitates desiring to draw near to
Him. However, the Jahmiyyah
and the Mu’attilah, none of
this has any value. Since, in their
(false) view, Allâh does not draw near to anyone, nor does anyone draw
near to Him, nor does He love anyone. So
they deny life for the hearts, bliss for the souls, coolness for the eyes
and highlights the delights of this world and the Hereafter.
And due to this denial, their hearts became hardened, and between
them and Allâh there came barriers and obstacles from knowing Him and
loving Him. They do not know Him,
nor do they seek to love Him, nor do they mention Him, except by negating
and denying His Names and Attributes. They
criticize and condemn those who make mention of the perfect and majestic
Names and the Attributes of Allâh, accusing them of that which is more
befitting to be attributed to themselves! And
sufficient is it for one possessing knowledge and possessing a heart with
life, that they view the sayings of such people with harshness, contempt
and hatred; knowing that such people have disassociated themselves from
the love of Allâh the Most High and from knowing and understanding His
Uniqueness and Oneness (with respect to His Names, Attributes and
Actions).
A Comprehensive DefinitionIbn
Taymiyyah (d.728H) - rahimahullâh - says:
“There
cannot be clearer recognition of mahabbah than this, and this
recognition in itself increases love for Allâh. And people have discussed
(at lengths) about mahabbah - its causes, its signs, its fruits,
its supports and its rulings. The most comprehensive of what has been said
about this is what Abű Bakr al-Katânî relates from al-Junayd (d.297H):
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Abű Bakr al-Katânî said:
A discussion about mahabbah took place in Makkah, during pilgrimage
season. The Shaykhs who were present spoke about this topic, and al-Junayd
being the youngest of them. They said to him: What do you say, O ’Irâqî?
So al-Junayd lowered his head and tears were gushing from his eyes, then
he said:
“A servant should
overcome his soul,
And be continuous in the remembrance of his Lord,
Establishing the rights of his Lord,
Focusing upon Him with his heart,
The light of fear setting ablaze his heart,
Whilst drinking from the vessel of pure love,
And certain hidden realities being unveiled for him.
So when he talks, it is due to Allâh,
When he speaks, it is from Allâh,
When he moves, it is by the Command of Allâh,
And when he is serene, then it is from Allâh,
He belongs to Allâh, is for Allâh and is with Allâh.”
Upon
hearing, the Shaykhs all started weeping, and they said: There is nothing
left to add to that, may Allâh reward you O Crown of the Knowledgeable
Ones.”
Developing Love for Allâh
Ibn al-Qayyim
- rahimahullâh - says:
“The
reasons which cause mahabbah of Allâh to develop, are ten:
Firstly:
Reciting the Qur‘ân, reflecting and understanding its meaning and its
intent.
Secondly:
Drawing closer to Allâh - the Most High - through optional deeds, after
fulfilling the obligatory duties.
Thirdly:
Being continuous in the dhikr (remembrance) of Allâh, with the
tongue, the heart and the limbs - under all circumstances. The more
constant the dhikr, the more mahabbah develops and
intensifies.
Fourthly:
Giving precedence to what Allâh loves over personal loves, when being
overcome by desires.
Fifthly:
Contemplating and deliberating over the Names and Attributes of Allâh.
Sixthly:
Recognising and remembering the favours and bounties of Allâh - both the
manifest and hidden.
Seventhly:
To be humble and submissive before Allâh - and this is the greatest
matter.
Eightly:
To be in seclusion reciting the Qur‘ân, during that time in which Allâh descends to the lowest heaven (which is the last third of every
night), finishing this recitation with seeking Allâh’s forgiveness and
repenting to Him.
Ninthly:
To sit in the gatherings of true and sincere lovers of Allâh, reaping the
fruits of their speech, and not to speak except if there is benefit in it
and that you know that such talk will increase you in goodness and that it
will benefits others as well.
Tenthly:
To stay clear of all those causes which distances the heart from Allâh - the
Mighty and Majestic.
So these
are the ten reasons which cause the person to develop true love for Allâh
and to reach the rank of al-muhabbah, by which he reaches his
Beloved.” [7]
References
1. In Fathul-Majîd Sharh Kitâbit-Tawhîd (pp.470-473).
2. Sűrah Âli-’Imrân
3:31
3. This is the saying of al-Hasan al-Basrî, as is reported by Ibn Kathîr
in his Tafsîr (1/366).
4. Sűrah Mâ‘idah 5:54
5. Sűrah al-Fath 48:29
6. Sűrah Mâ‘idah
5:54
7. Madârijus-Sâlikîn (3/17-18).
| Abű
Hurayrah - radiallâhu ’anhu - relates that the Messenger
of Allâh sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam said:
“Allâh - the
Most High - has said: Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of
Mine, I shall be at war with him. My servant does not draw near to
Me with anything more beloved to Me than the obligatory duties. And
My servant continues to draw near to Me with the optional actions,
so that I shall love him. So when I love him I am his hearing with
which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which
he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask
something of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to ask
Me for shelter, I would surely grant him it.”
Related by al-Bukhârî
(11/340-341) |
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