It is probably impossible to find a human being who does not love.
Most people love their families, spouses and friends.
Others love status and money. You can tell a person’s love for something or someone by what they do and how they act.
And we love all of these things despite their temporary nature, despite the fact that they disappoint us sometimes. It is almost an intrinsic part of a human being.
And we all love for similar reasons—we love people for the perceived good qualities that we see in a person or the way they treat us. We love things because of the way those things make us feel.
Why should we Love Allah?
How can we not? If we put together all the reasons why we love other people or things, and then apply it to Allah, we should see that truly it is Him that deserves our love. And because human beings are naturally inclined to love, it is only the love of Allah that can satisfy this need. Ibn Taymiyyah, may God be pleased with him, said:
“The heart will not find complete happiness except by loving Allah and by striving towards what is dear to Him.”
Amongst the things to aspire to when striving for tranquility of the heart, loving Allah above all else is the greatest. When we direct our love and our emotions towards Allah, everything else follows. Our actions follow because they reflect what is in our heart. It is liberating because our love is directed at the source of all our blessings, not merely the means. We see everything as coming from Allah, and because we love Him and think well of Him, we know that everything is for a purpose.
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The first thing the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said to the people of Madinah was:
O people! Love Allah with all of your hearts for what He has given you from blessings…
Allah says in the Quran:
And if you should count the favor of Allah, you could not enumerate them. (14:34)
Try to count everything good in your life, and everything that seemed bad but turned out to be good. All that is from Allah; the fact that you are Muslim, the fact that, as the Prophet Muhammad told us, everything that happens in the life of a Muslim is good, and this is only for the believers. If you are given blessings, then it is an opportunity to be thankful, and if you are tested, it is for you to be patient.
And what is amazing is that we have been guaranteed things for patience in the face of calamity, and we know that nothing will go to waste inshaAllah (God willing).
If we find that we don’t love Allah, it is because we don’t know Him. All the pleasures of the world are not an ounce of what the pleasure of what Allah has prepared in paradise and the greatest pleasure is to see Him and be with Him.
Are we True in our Love for Allah?
Many of us would say without hesitation that we love Allah. But there are different levels of love. Some of us may love parents more than siblings. We love all of them, but our love for our parents is over and above the love for our siblings. Yet the love that will give us true tranquility in our hearts is the love that prefers Allah over all else:
Say, [O Muhammad], “If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihad [struggle] in His cause, then wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people. (9:24)
Allah in this verse is not telling us we should not love. On the contrary, Allah tells us in another verse that He has made between spouses “love and mercy”. We are encouraged to love each other. The Prophet Muhammad told us:
When one of you has love for his brother, he should inform him that he loves him. (Al-Bukhari)
Read Also: What Is Your Love Language with Allah?
But we should not love them more than Allah, because love tends to mean preference. We do things for our loved ones because we know that they will like it or appreciate it. And when we prefer others over Allah, or make them equal to Allah, that is when we find difficulty because we are putting our hope in something finite and fallible:
And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah… (2:165)
This doesn’t mean we won’t make mistakes. We will, because the children of Adam constantly make mistakes. And sometimes we will choose things over Allah. The key is to seek forgiveness. The key is to realize and work on improving. It is that act that is so beloved to Allah.
There are some ways for us to know if we truly love Allah. We are told in the Quran:
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. (3:31)
We know that the Prophet Muhammad is the best example and he is the beloved of Allah. How far do we follow the Prophet? And we shouldn’t only think of the outward things, such as the way he dressed or growing a beard. Rather we should look at who the Prophet Muhammad was, what was the essence of his character and how he treated people. Once the love for Allah and His Messenger grows, we will want to follow everything.
Another way to test ourselves is to look at all of the different types of people that Allah loves in the Quran—for example, Allah says that He loves the patient. Then we should ask ourselves—do we strive to be that person to receive the love of Allah?
Sweetness of Faith
Moreover, if we find that Islam is difficult, know that loving Allah is the key to tasting the sweetness of faith. The Prophet told us:
“There are three things which if a person finds them, he has found the sweetness of faith: when Allah and His Messenger are dearer to him than all else; when he loves a person for no other reason than for the sake of Allah; and when he hates to return to kufr after Allah has saved him from it as he would hate to be thrown into fire,” (Al-Bukhari).
How can I Make my Heart Love Allah?
• Read the Quran with reflection.
• Perform more voluntary acts of worship:
Nothing endears My servant to Me than doing of what I have made obligatory upon him to do. And My servant continues to draw nearer to Me with the supererogatory so that I shall love him. (Al-Bukhari)
• Always remember Allah; the righteous used to say that if you awake and sleep remembering Allah, then you awake and sleep without a sin. Not that we will not make mistakes, but sins are erased by constant remembrance of Allah, and good deeds.
• Choose what Allah prefers over what you prefer.
The abundance of Allah’s rahma or mercy will not come without pure actions. Pure actions, however, when performed, will make you deserving of Allah’s mercy. This, in turn, will enable you to earn the delights of janna and His pleasure.
Seeking Allah’s Mercy
The Qur’an proclaims:
{Call on Him with fear and longing. Surely, Allah’s mercy is ever near to the doers of good.} (al-Araf 7: 56)
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also said:
”No one will be saved [from the Hell fire and admitted into Paradise] by his deeds alone.’ When asked, `Not even you, O Messenger of God!’, he said, ‘Yes, not even me, unless Allah covers me with His mercy. So, do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately in the morning, in the afternoon and during part of the night. Always remember moderation and always abide by moderation. Thus, you will reach your destination.“ (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Be reassured that Allah is not a vengeful God, ready to punish, but rather, one who is full of mercy and compassion. He, Himself has declared, {My mercy encompasses all things.} (Al-Araf 7: 156)
Satan Vows to Destroy You… And Allah Responds
Likewise, consider, the manner in which our actions are recorded in His scale of justice, as explained by the Prophet:
“Allah records the good deeds and the bad deeds thus: If anyone intends to do a good deed but does not actually do it, Allah writes it down with Him as a full good deed. If he intends it, and does it too, Allah writes it down with Him as ten to seven hundred times that good deed, or many times over.
If anyone intends to do a bad deed but does not actually do it, Allah writes it down with Him as a full good deed. When he intends a bad deed and does it as well, only then Allah writes it down as one bad deed.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Thus, as long as our actions are worthy and deserving of Allah’s mercy, His mercy will not be denied to us.The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has again explained:
“There are one hundred parts of mercy. Allah has given only one part which is distributed among the jinn, humankind, animals and insects.
It is because of this that they are kind to one another, show mercy to one another; it is because of it that a wild animal is kind to its young.
But, Allah has kept ninety-nine parts of mercy with Him, which He will show to His servants on the Day of Resurrection.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Seeking Allah’s Forgiveness
The decision to live our lives for the sake of Allah is no guarantee that we will not forget Allah and commit mistakes for ”All children of Adam are sinners, but best among sinners are those who constantly repent’.(At-Tirmidhi)
Imam Al-Bukhari recorded that even the Prophet, though he was sinless, `sought Allah’s forgiveness 70 times a day’. We should, therefore, constantly seek the forgiveness of Allah for every single sin, small or great. Allah says:
{Ask forgiveness from your Lord, then turn towards Him in repentance; He will loosen the sky over you in abundance, and He will add strength unto your strength.} (Hud 11: 52)
Seeking continuous forgiveness of Allah will assist in ensuring that our hearts and souls remain pure and wholesome. The Prophet said in this regard:
Ibn `Ataa’ on Repentance and Hope
“When a Believer sins, a black spot appears on his heart. But if he repents and seeks Allah’s forgiveness, his heart becomes cleansed and polished.
However, if he continues to commit more and more sins [without seeking forgiveness, the spot continues to spread and ultimately covers all of his heart. This is the rust which Allah mentions [in the Qur’an]: {What deeds they earn rust upon their hearts.} (Al-Mutaffifin 83: 14)”. (Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi)
Whatever the magnitude of our misdeeds, Allah is always ready to respond with an even greater amount of pardon. Therefore, never despair of the mercy of Allah, in seeking His forgiveness, even for those sins committed repeatedly:
{O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, despair not of Allah’s mercy; for Allah forgives all sins, surely He is the all-forgiving, the Mercy-giving.} (Az-Zumar 39: 53)
Thus, as long as there is hope there remains opportunity for redemption and salvation. Be aware, though, that the best form of repentance involves a firm resolve to reform and do better. The Messenger of Allah said:
“Remain conscious of Allah and fear Him wherever you are, and follow a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, and behave well towards people.” (At-Tirmidhi)
