In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
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All perfect praise is due to Allah; I testify that there is none worthy
of worship except Allah and the Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is His Slave and
Messenger; may Allah send salutations upon him and exalt his mention, as well
as that of his family and all his companions.
Our today's talk is about a great deed of the heart which is the
foundation for all other deeds - it is concerning to the love of Allah. If the
relationship between love, fear and hope is to be likened
to a bird, then love is the head of the bird while fear and hope are its
two wings. A slave of Allah heads towards Him by means of his love, fear
and hope.
Love is a word which refers to a variety of different emotional states,
feelings or attitudes which range from those of simple personal pleasures or
desires to those characterizing interpersonal affection and many forms of
profound kindness, compassion, and benevolent concern for the good of others.
Love is the rank for which people compete; they long to learn about what it
entails and they yearn to attain it; it is the provision for the hearts; the food
of the souls; the joy of people's lives; the illumination
of their minds; the foremost objective in life and the essence of
existence.
Love of Allah is life itself, and to be deprived of it entails a terrible death; it is
the light without which one would sail in a sea of darkness; it is the cure
without which one's heart will be overwhelmed by a multitude of diseases; it is
the joy without which one will remain in permanent grief; it is the essence of
faith and deeds, without which they become like a soulless body.
It is the means without which people will never reach their destination
nor attain their place in Paradise; it is the means with which people
reach their beloved (i.e., Allah). I swear by Allah that if people can
achieve this honour in both this life and the Hereafter, then they have
attained the true joy and happiness.
We are talking about
the love of Allah for His slave, which is in itself a great bounty that only
those who know the names and attributes of Allah will realise the value of and appreciate
fully.
Signs indicating Allah's
love of His slave:
Ñ Caring for him since
childhood; instilling faith in his heart; enlightening his mind; choosing him
to be amongst those who are beloved to Him; busying him with worship by
occupying his tongue with His mention and his limbs in acts of obedience to
Him.
Therefore, Allah makes such a
person perform all that which pleases Him and shun all that which displeases
Him. Allah facilitates matters for him without him needing the assistance of
others in any way and so his only concern becomes how to attain the love of Allah.
Being able to breathe is just one example of His great favours, but man does
not give it its due importance; some people have calculated how many breaths
man makes in a single day and found that it is an average of twenty four thousand!
If this is only one favour, then what about all the other favours of Allah?
Allah says:
وإن تعدوا نعمة الله لا تحصوها
which means: “…And if you should count the favour [i.e., blessings]
of Allaah, you could not enumerate them…” [Ibraaheem: 34] This is
not to mention the harm that Allah protects man from, as He says:
له معقبات من بين يديه ومن خلفه يحفظونه من أمر الله
which means: “For him [i.e., each person] are successive [angels]
before and behind him who protect him by the decree of Allah…” [Ar-Ra’d:
11] Allah grants His favours despite the shortcomings of man. Allah
tolerates man's evil and provides for him regardless of that; indeed it
is enough that Allah provides for those who attribute a son to Him.
Ñ Kindness towards him
by enabling him to perform the best deeds and act in the finest manner.
Ñ Instilling acceptance in people’s hearts for him; people therefore
become inclined towards him and praise him, as in the narration of Abu
Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who reported that the Prophet sallallaahu
‘alayhi wa sallam said: “When Allah loves a slave, He calls out to
Jibreel and says: 'I love so-and-so, so love him'.
Then Jibreel loves him. After that, he (i.e., Jibreel) announces to the
inhabitants of heavens that: 'Allah loves so-and-so, so love him'; then the inhabitants of the heavens (i.e., the angels) also love him and they
then make the people on earth love him too.” [Al-Bukhaari & Muslim]
Ñ Afflicting him with trials, as in the narration of Anas, may Allah
be pleased with him, that the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:
“The more one is afflicted the more he is rewarded and when Allah
loves a people He afflicts them, so whoever is content will gain the
pleasure of Allah and whoever is discontent will get the wrath of Allah.”
Allah afflicts people with trials so that He may thereby eradicate their
sins and free their hearts from being concerned with this life, because Allah
wishes that His slaves busy themselves with nothing except Him; and thus when a
slave is afflicted, he finds no time to busy himself with the concerns of this
life. Allah afflicts His slaves in order to witness real sacrifice on their
part, as He says:
ولنبلونكم حتى نعلم المجاهدين منكم والصابرين ونبلوا أخباركم
which means: “And We will surely test you until We make evident
those who strive among you [for the cause of Allah] and the patient, and We
will test your affairs." [Muhammad: 31] This trial and
affliction will be in proportion to the strength of faith that the slave
has in his heart, as well as the amount of love that Allah has for His
slave. Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas, may Allah be pleased with him, once asked
the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam: “O Messenger of
Allaah! Which people face the sternest trials?” He sallallaahu ‘alayhi
wa sallam answered: “Those who face the sternest trials and hardships
are the Prophets, then those who are nearest to them (in terms of faith).
Moreover, people will be tested according to the strength of their faith.”
[At-Tirmithi]
Continue on next article: Allah loves you!
