If God Loves Us, Why So Many Rules in Islam?

QWhy does Islam have so many rules/instructions and no love and other religions have love and no (or few) rules?

Peace be upon you, Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for this interesting question.

Let’s think about it together.

Imagine there are two mothers.

The First Mother: All “Love”, No Rules


Your Life is the Product of Your Thoughts

The first mother loves her child and gives him no rules or instructions whatsoever.

She sees her child getting dirty, not taking care of his health, eating junk all the time and staying up late, and she gives him no instructions or rules.

She sees him hanging out with the wrong crowd that influence him badly, abuse harmful substances, bully others and fail his exams, and she still gives no instructions.

He becomes the worst version of himself, doesn’t reach his full potential, harms himself and others, and she gives no instructions… because she loves him!

So, the question here: is it really considered ‘love’ if a mother gives no instructions and lets her child harm himself and waste his precious life?

Just think about it: when you see your own child putting his head in the oven, or his finger in the electrical outlet, is your lack of instructions the ultimate manifestation of love, knowing how he/she might harm themselves?

Now, the second mother does things differently.

Second Mother: Showing Love Through Rules


She loves her child immensely, and her love is translated in her desire to help him be the best he can be, live the best life, and reach his full potential as a decent human being.

She puts rules and instructions in his life to help him eat healthy food, be clean, stay out of harm, and avoid bad company.

If and when he fails, she forgives him and helps him again and again and again and it doesn’t decrease her love for him.

Essentially, true love is about wanting to see your loved ones be the best they can be, especially if you know them very well and know their potential.

Allah Glorified and Exalted Loves Us

If Not For His Mercy...


So, back to your question, a lack of rules and instructions doesn’t necessarily mean love; it could be the absolute opposite.

Likewise, the presence of instructions doesn’t mean a lack of love; it could be the most sincere and effective form of love.

Allah is the Most Knowing of us and of this life that He created for us.

In all unaltered Divine revelations and with every Messenger He sent, He has given us knowledge about Him and instructions to help us live a decent, pure life.

Ultimately, He is The Best One to show us how we can succeed in this life and the next for eternity.

The summation and completion of His revelations is in the Qur’an that He revealed to His final messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him).

People Need Guidance. Guidance Comes With Instructions


Now, think about it: why do millions of people follow famous life coaches and motivational speakers? Isn’t it to get guidance and instructions on how to live the best life and be successful?

Well, Allah The Most Knowing has already given us that:

O mankind, there has come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers. Say, “In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy – in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate. (Qur’an 10:57-58)

So, let’s look at what Islam instructs us to do very briefly.

Basics of Islamic Rules


Raising Yourself From Humanity to Spirituality

It instructs us to connect with our Creator five times a day to speak to Him, confide to Him, receive His Mercy and Blessings, disconnect from the hustle and bustle of this world and connect with the Healer.

In this way, we thus remember our Source and Destination.

It instructs us to give charity regularly with a set percentage so we benefit those who need us and increase in humbleness and awareness of our responsibility towards others.

It instructs us to fast so we can increase in God-consciousness, discipline our physical being in order to empower the spiritual being that makes us dignified creatures.

It instructs us to go on pilgrimage to the same spot where we all dress the same and connect with fellow human beings from all backgrounds and ethnicities.

In this way, we are reminded that we are all equal before The One Creator of all mankind and that our colors and wealth don’t matter to Him.

What matters to Him is the sincerity of our hearts and our consciousness of Him in every aspect of our life.

It instructs us to stay away from the few things that are harmful (like alcohol) and directs us to enjoy the tens of other things that are pure and beneficial to our body and soul.

It instructs to prioritize Him, the Giver of Life, and be conscious of Him, ask Him, rely on Him and associate no one with Him because no one and nothing in this world that He created can measure up to Him.

Basically, it instructs us to translate belief into daily action, because that’s true love.

Now Let’s Talk About Love


Me-Time is Time For Allah

What does love really mean?

Does love mean the refusal to accept any rules from your beloved?

Imagine if you love someone, but you refuse to commit to him/her, or call, or take care of them, or do what they love and avoid what they don’t love.

Is this a sincere relationship? It’s hardly even a relationship. Every relationship has some rules and instructions.

It is very easy to talk the talk, but it takes true, sincere love to walk the walk.

That’s why Allah says:

“Say, [O Muhammad],”If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Quran 3: 31)

Anyone can claim to love God. Talk is easy and cheap, but what matters is who will follow Him and commit to Him and prioritize Him even over their own selves.

Islam is about sincere, not fake love. It is about actions and commitment, not void words.

Why are there instructions?


Every single instruction in Islam is there essentially to benefit us and allow us to enjoy the love of Allah and see His Wisdom.

If you call your friend asking for directions on how to get to her place, for example, imagine she tells you, “There are no directions to get to my place. As long as you love me and I love you, consider yourself here.”

Does this make sense?

Of course not! You still need directions to know how to get there, you need her to tell you which roads to take, which to avoid and how exactly to get there.

Consider this: if you want to lose weight for exampleand you go to the nutritionist, most probably he will give you instructions on what to eat, what not to eat, how to cut certain bad habits, and how to start doing certain activities.

Is he the one who needs that? No, you’re the one who will benefit. He gives you instructions to help you reach your goal and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Does it make sense for him not to give you instructions at all and instead say, “As long as you love losing weight in your heart, and you love being healthy, consider yourself fit, don’t do anything”?

Of course not; every great goal needs a proper sustainable plan.

And what greater goal than establishing a deep relationship with the Creator and earning the highest place in Paradise near Him?

So, to Allah belongs the Highest Example, when He instructs us, it is out of love because He wants us to live the best life and reach our full potential and enjoy the outcome of that when we enter Paradise.

Hard Work Makes Us Appreciate Reward


If there are no instructions and no work here, and then we enter Paradise in the hereafter without any struggle, then what’s the point?

If you simply get handed a Ph.D. degree, does it feel the same as working hard and going through a rigorous journey until you earn the degree?

No, we appreciate and enjoy the reward more when we work hard for it.

Last but not least, it is worth mentioning that Allah gives us much more than we work for and He grants us too many opportunities for forgiveness and getting everything right no matter how many times we fail.

The human being lives on average around 70- 80 years. If we worship God for 70-80 years, then fairly, we should get around 80 years’ worth of Paradise. But this isn’t the case.

Allah is actually offering eternal Paradise in which one will get absolutely anything he/she wants and will never be asked to do anything anymore.

This is a much more generous exchange for the few requirements we had in our short life on earth.

And actually, we do not even spend 70- 80 years in worship. We take the time to sleep, eat, commute, engage with our friends and families, have fun and practice our hobbies….etc.

If you actually count how much of the 24 hours we use to engage with Allah, it will be a rather insignificant time.

So, the reality is, Allah is requiring fairly little and giving much more in exchange.

Evidence from Quran and Sunnah


Here are a few examples of how much rewards one could get for small acts and how many opportunities Allah opens for us.

Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said,

Allah says, ‘If My slave intends to do a bad deed then (O Angels) do not write it unless he does it; if he does it, then write it as it is, but if he refrains from doing it for My Sake, then write it as a good deed (in his account). (On the other hand) if he intends to do a good deed, but does not do it, then write a good deed (in his account), and if he does it, then write it for him (in his account) as ten good deeds up to seven-hundred times.’ ” [Sahih Al Bukhari]

So One good deed= 10 to 700 times the reward.

Also, Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said:

The five (daily) Salat (prayers), and from one Jumu’ah prayer to the (next) Jumu’ah prayer, and from Ramadan to Ramadan are expiations for the (sins) committed in between (their intervals); provided the major sins are not committed.” [Muslim]

And He (peace and blessings upon him) was asked about fasting on the day of Arafah (the 9th of the month of Dhul Hijjah). He replied:

 Fasting on the day of Arafah is expiation for the preceding year and the following year.”  He was also asked about fasting on the day of Ashura (the 10th of the month of Muharram). He replied, “Fasting on the day of Ashura is expiation for the preceding year.”

Add to that the rewards of The Night of Decree/Power (Laylatul Qadr), Allah Almighty says:

The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.” (Qur’an 97: 3)

So, we get in one night the equivalent reward and blessings of worshiping for more than 83 years.

This generosity could also be beautifully observed in this Hadith Qudsi where Allah Almighty says:

 O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it. [AtTirmidh]

This is Allah and this is Islam; it is a way of life where Allah calls us to action to benefit us, purify us and reward us far greater than we deserve.

The point is to sincerely know, worship and commit to Him, not to live a life devoid of Him/in negligence of Him and then claim that this is love.