Love is the essence of life, the relish of existence and the genuine pleasure of [this] world; it is the joy of the spirit and food for the soul. Indeed, love is the light that illuminates the eye as well as the heart. A life without it is pale and faint, and a loveless heart is more like a solid rock. Actually, life can be likened to a body, with love being its soul; were the soul to depart, the body would become totally worthless.

It is this sentiment that drives people to compete with each other in the race to win over their dear ones. Simply speaking, love is life; whoever loses it may be counted among the dead. Moreover, love is the light of this world and if it were to die out, one would be living in darkness.

Verily, love is a spark in the heart that destroys everything, save for what one’s beloved wants; and, accordingly, the individual only obeys him. [And if that beloved entity is Allah The Almighty], then, indeed, it translates to a constant desire to meet Him and a life spent in hopes of meeting Him and getting to see His Face [on the Day of Judgment]. Hence, whoever loves Allah The Almighty is genuine in his love and sincere in his intention, and singles Him out such that he seeks only His Contentment and spares no effort in attaining His Love and closeness to Him.

On hearing His Call – Hayya ‘ala Al-Falaah (part of the Athaan (call to prayer); it means: ‘come to true success’) – they would desert their comfortable beds, abandon sleep and, whether it is under the burning sun or in the freezing cold, they offer prayers to their Beloved, as gladly as if they were asked to walk on soft silk. Furthermore, when they hear the Divine injunction “Hayya ‘ala Al-Kifaah” (come for Jihaad (fighting)), they would happily sacrifice their precious souls and shed their pure blood for the Sake of Allah The Almighty.

Similarly, upon reading His Order, when He Says (what means): {Spend from that which We have provided for you} [Quran 2:254], they would outdo one another in donating their most prized possessions and those things that are dearest to their hearts, only for His Sake. They would spend in charity what they like most and be as generous as one who is never afraid of poverty. Equally, when they hear the verse that reads (what means): {And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House} [Quran 3:97], they come from every distant and deep path, covered in dust and with empty stomachs, tousled hair and thirsty hearts, chanting: “Labbayk Allahumma labbayk; labbayka la shareeka laka labbayk (O Allah The Almighty, I hasten to You; I come to You Who has no partners)”.

In fact, as the pilgrim repeats this Thikr (phrase of remembrance of Allah The Almighty), he is answering the Divine Call. Indeed, pious Muslims are always obedient to their Beloved Lord and, at all times, respond to Him saying: {we hear and obey}. [Quran 2:285]

That is why ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, approached the Black Stone [in the Ka’bah] and kissed it, saying: "Verily, I know that you are a mere stone and can neither benefit nor harm. Had I not seen the Prophet kissing you, I would not have done so [either]." [Al-Bukhari]

In his book, Qaa‘idaah fi Al-Mahabbah, Shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says, “Undeniably, the love of pious Muslims for their Lord is much greater than any other love and so is their Lord’s love for them. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet said: ‘Allah The Almighty Says:‘Whosoever shows enmity to one of My allies, I shall be at war with him. My slave does not draw near to Me with anything like he does when fulfilling the religious obligations that I have enjoined upon him; and, My servant continues to come closer to Me through the performance of voluntary acts of worship until [it happens that] I love him. Then, if I have loved him, I would be his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask Me something, I would surely confer it to him, and were he to seek My refuge, I would definitely grant it to him. I do not hesitate in anything as much as I do in taking the soul of My believing slave; he hates death and I dislike hurting him, [but] it is inevitable for him.’’[Al-Bukhari]”

Indeed, the believers love Allah The Almighty the most; He Says (what means): {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} [Quran 2:165], i.e., due to their sincere obedience and closeness to Him. He, then, loves them in return, as He Says (what means): {Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds – The Most Merciful will appoint for them affection.} [Quran 19:96]

Thus, Allah The Almighty called [one of His pious servants], Ibraaheem, may Allah exalt his mention, His close ally, Saying (what means): {And Allah took Ibraaheem (Abraham) as an intimate friend.} [Quran 4:125] Indeed, this intimate friendship is the highest level of love ever attained; and it means that Ibraaheem, may Allah exalt his mention, adored Allah The Almighty totally, with every atom of his being. He was fully and earnestly adherent and obedient to Him.

Oddly enough, Allah The Almighty endears Himself to His slaves by bestowing upon them countless blessings, and in return, they stay away from Him by indulging in sins.

Ibn Al-Qayyim said in his book Al-Fawaa’id, “It is the strangest thing to be aware of Allah The Exalted and not love Him deeply, hear His Call and yet delay your response, be familiar with the great rewards in store for you if you obey Him and still prefer resorting to others than Him; [and to] know how great His Wrath is and yet [act such that you] incur it, and taste the bitter alienation of defying Him and, in spite of that, not seek closeness to Him through obedience.”

He continues: “It is not odd for a slave to humble himself before his master, serve him duly without growing weary and always show his submission to, and need for, him. What is really bizarre and amazing is when the Master tries to win his slave’s love through conferring His innumerable bounties upon him, when, verily, He is in no need of this servant at all.”

Loving other than Allah The Almighty implies oblivion and estrangement [towards Him]. It was narrated in Saheeh At-Targheeb wa At-Tarheeb, that Jibreel, may Allah exalt his mention, came to the Prophet, , and said: “O Muhammad, live as long as you wish, for you will surely die; love whomever you want, for, of surety, you are to leave him [soon]; and do as you like, for [one day], you will definitely be held accountable for it. O Muhammad, you should know that the believer’s honor lies in performing prayers at night and his dignity is in being completely independent of others [in every sense].” [Al-Haakim]

Moreover, the Prophet, , said: "If Allah The Exalted loves a person, He calls out to Jibreel: 'Allah loves so-and-so; hence, love him.' Jibreel, thus, loves him and says to the inhabitants of Heaven, 'Verily, Allah loves so-and-so, and you should love him, accordingly.' Thus, the people of Heaven would love him, and then love and acceptance [for that individual] would be placed [among the people] on Earth." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Loving the Prophet, :

The Prophet, , said: “None of you will truly believe until I am dearer to him than his own children, his father and all people.” [Al-Bukhari]

Another portrait of the Companions’ love for him, , is mentioned by ‘Abdullaah ibn Hishaam, may Allah be pleased with him, who narrates: “We were with the Prophet who was holding the hand of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab; so, ‘Umar said to him, ‘O Messenger of Allah, you are dearer to me than everything except my own self.’ The Prophet said,‘No, by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, [you will not attain complete faith] until I am dearer to you than your own self.’ ‘Umar [paused and then] proclaimed, ‘Verily, then, now, by Allah, you are dearer to me than my own self.’ The Prophet subsequently said,‘Now, O ‘Umar; [now you are a true believer].’” [Al-Bukhari]

Additionally, take a look at how much Sawaad ibn Ghaziyyah, may Allah be pleased with him, loved the Prophet, . It is reported in As-Silsilah As-Saheehah that when the latter began organizing the Muslim forces in the Battle of Badr, one of the Companions, i.e., Sawaad, may Allah be pleased with him, was standing out of the line. The Prophet, , touched him with an arrow to nudge him back into position. Accidentally, though, the arrow struck his chest, whereupon he protested, saying: “O Messenger of Allah, you have been sent by Allah The Almighty with the truth and justice, but you have poked me with an arrow that hurt me. Therefore, I demand retribution.” The Companions were shocked, but the Prophet, , told him in a kind tone, “Well, Sawaad, you may poke me back with your arrow”, and bared his chest before him as he stepped forward. He embraced the Prophet, , and kissed his stomach. He, , asked, “O Sawaad, why did you do this?” He replied, “O Messenger of Allah, we are facing the enemy and I do not know whether I shall come back alive or not. Hence, I wished that in my last encounter with you, my skin would [happen to] touch yours.” The Prophet, , prayed for his welfare, and instructed him to take his position. [Saheeh –Al-Albaani]

Therefore, loving the Prophet, , is mandatory for all Muslims. In fact, every thing [in the world] loves him too. Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that he, , used to deliver his sermons while standing beside the trunk of a date palm tree, before he had a pulpit made for him, which he then used instead. The stump began to emit sobs, so the Prophet, , went to it and stroked it gently, to stop its cries. He then remarked: “If I did not rub my hands over it, it would have kept crying until the Day of Judgment.” [Ahmad, Saheeh –Ahmad Shaakir]

True love – II

True love - III