Shaykh Ibn al-Qayyim (rah) says: “The reason which cause mahabbah (love) of Allaah to develop, are ten:
First: Reciting the Qur’aan, reflecting and understanding its meaning and its intent.
Second: Drawing closer to Allaah – the Most High – through optional deeds, after fulfilling the obligatory duties.
Third: Being continuous in the dhikr (remembrance) of Allaah, with the tongue, the heart and the limbs – under all circumstances. The more continuant the dhikr, the more muhabbah develops and intensifies.
Fourth: Giving precedence to what Allaah loves over personal loves, when being overcome by desires.
Fifth: Contemplating and deliberating over the Names and Attributes of Allaah.
Sixth: Recognizing and remembering the favors and bounties of Allaah – both manifest and hidden.
Seventh: To be humble and submissive before Allaah – and this is the greatest matter.
Eighth: To be in seclusion reciting the Qur’aan, during that time in which Allaah descends to the lowest heaven (which is the last third of every night), finishing this recitation with seeking Allaah’s forgiveness and repenting to Him.
Ninth: To sit in the gatherings of the true and sincere lovers of Allaah, 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 benefit others as well.
Tenth: To stay clear of all those causes which distances the heart from Allaah – the Mighty and Majestic.
وإذا لم يكن منَ الموتِ بُدُّ فمِنَ العَجزِ أنْ تَكُونَ جَبَانا
If death is something inescapable, then it is from weakness to be a coward-!
Lahoo main bhegay dareeda Anchal
Qasam hai tum ko bhula na daina...
To meet the demands of faith, it is not enough to worship and obey Allah.
Rather, worship and obedience should be tempered with genuine love for
Allah. For without love, worship and obedience may degenerate into
hypocrisy, which is not acceptable to Allah. He does not stand in need of
any of our deeds. On the contrary, He accepts only those deeds that are
done exclusively for Him and are characterized with a strong love for
Him. Love for Him should surpass one’s love for other worldly things. The
Qurâan sets the following standard:
(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 Qurâan 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 of love
throughout this discourse. We have not used any other _expression. For it
is “love†that is used in this context in the Quran 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. 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 sub-continent. He compiled a 9-volume commentary on the Qur’an and
authored a number of books. His eloquent speeches and writings on da‘wah
(Islamic calling), Islamic state and many other topics has inspired
generations of young Muslims.
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