Steadfast Love of Allaah - I

Love of Allaah The Almighty is a degree for which people competeand
which worshippers aspire to;forerunners hurried to realize it and
lovers devote themselves to it, and worshippers are pleasantly
relieved by its breeze. Love of Allaah nourishes hearts and souls, and
delights the eyes. It is life, a light, a cure, and a delight! If a
person is deprived of life, he will be counted as dead; ifa person is
deprived of light, he will move in severe darkness; if a person lacks
a cure, his heart will suffer all diseases; and if a persondoes not
attain delight, his life will be full of worries and pains. Moreover,
it is the people who have steadfast love of Allaah that attain honor
in this life and the Hereafter as they have the greatest share of the
company of those whom they love.
On the day when Allaah The Almighty decreed the fate of creation with
His will and sublime Wisdom, He decreed thata person will be with whom
he loves. How bountiful the blessing on those lovers is!
The Tree of Love is Extremely Sheltering
When the tree of love is planted in the heart and watered with the
sincerity and following of the beloved, it produces all kinds of
fruits regularly, by the permissionof Allaah The Almighty. Its roots
are firmly fixed into the innermost of the heart and its branches are
connected to the Sidrat Al-Muntaha (the furthest lote-tree). Indeed, a
person remains elevated to His Beloved without being hindered by any
barrier. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):
• {To Him ascends good speech, and righteous work raises it.} [Quran 35:10]
• {Say, [O Muhammad], "If your fathers, your sons, your brothers,your
wives, your relatives, wealthwhich you have obtained, commerce wherein
you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more
beloved to you than Allaah and His Messenger and Jihaad in His cause,
then wait until Allaah executes His Command. And Allaah does not guide
the defiantly disobedient people."} [Quran 9:24]
• {And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allaah as
equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allaah. But
those who believe are stronger in love for Allaah.} [Quran 2:165]
• {O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his
religion - Allaah will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will
love and who will love Him [who are] humble toward the believers,
powerful against the disbelievers; they strive in the cause of Allaah
and do not fear the blame of a critic. That is the favor of Allaah; He
bestows it upon whom He wills. And Allaah is all-Encompassing and
Knowing.} [Quran 5:54]
It was narrated on the authority of Anas that the Prophet said: "By
the One in whose Hand my soul is, a person will not be [atrue]
believer until I become more beloved to him than his father, son and
all [other] people." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
'Umar ibn Al-Khattaab said, "O Messenger of Allaah, you are more
beloved to me than everything except myself." The Prophet said: "No
'Umar, not until you love me more than yourself." In response 'Umar
said,"By Allaah! You are more beloved to me than myself." The Prophet
said: "Now, [you have attained it,] O 'Umar." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
It is well known that loving the Prophet follows loving Allaah The
Almighty. What does one then think of the influence of loving Allaah
The Almighty on his faith!
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {O you who have believed, when
the believing women come to you as emigrants, examine them. Allaah is
Most Knowing as to their faith. And if you know them to be believers,
then do not return them to the disbelievers.} [Quran 60:10] Ibn
'Abbaas commented on this verse saying, "Whenever a woman came to
theProphet to embrace Islam, hewould make her swear by Allaah that she
did not come because she detested her husband, but rather [only]
because she loved Allaah and His Messenger."
It was narrated on the authority of Anas that the Prophet said: "There
are three qualities that whoever has them, will tastethe sweetness of
faith: To love Allaah and His Messenger more than anything else; to
love a person only for [the sake of] Allaah, and to abhor returning to
disbelief after Allaah has saved him from it just as he would abhor
being thrown into Hell." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
It was narrated on the authority of Mu'aath in the Hadeeth that
mentions the dispute of the exalted assembly of angels, where the
Prophet said:
I saw my Lord The Exalted in the best form [in a vision]… Allaah The
Almighty Said, "Ask [Me]," and I [the Prophet ] said, "Allaahuma inni
asa'luka fi'l al-khayraat wa tark al-munkaraatwa hubb al-masaakeen wa
an taghfira li wa tarhamani wa itha aradta biqawmin fitnatan
fatawaffani ilayka ghayra maftoon, wa asaluka hubbak wahubba man
yuhibbuk wahubba kulli 'amalin yuqarribuni ila hubbik (O Allaah, I beg
of You [to enable me] to do good deeds, and abandon evil deeds, and to
love the poor, that You forgive me and have mercy upon me, and if You
intend to put people to trial, then let me die without being afflicted
by anytrial. I beg of You, Your love and the love of the one who loves
You, and the love of the deed which brings me near to Your love.)"
Then the Messenger of Allaah said: "It [this vision] is a truth, so
study it [i.e., memorize its words]and learn it [i.e., its meanings]."
[Ahmad and At-Tirmithi, At-Tirmithi - Hasan Saheeh]
Ways to Attain and Strengthen the Love of Allaah
1- Reciting the Quran with reflection. The Prophet said: "Whoever
desires to love Allaah and His Messenger, let him read the Mus'haf
(Qur'aan)."
2- Seeking closeness to Allaah TheAlmighty through voluntary acts of
worship having performed those that are obligatory. In a Qudsi
(Sacred) Hadeeth, Allaah The Almighty Says: "My slave keeps on drawing
closer to Me byperforming voluntary acts until I love him."
3- Mentioning and remembrance of Allaah The Almighty constantlywith
the tongue and the heart. Ibraaheem ibn Al-Junayd said, "It is said
that rememberingAllaah the Almighty constantly with the heart and the
tongue is a sign of loving Him. A person who is fond of remembering
Allaah The Almighty often obtainsthe love of Allaah The Almighty."
4- Giving precedence to what Allaah The Almighty loves over what the
self loves and desires.
5- Realizing and observing the Names and Attributes of Allaah The
Almighty and living their meanings in the heart. 'Aa'ishah said,
The Prophet sent a battalion under the command of a man who would lead
his companions in prayer. This man would finish his recitation with
Soorat Al-Ikhlaas( chapter 112). When they returned, they mentioned
this to the Prophet . He said [to them]: "Ask him why he does this."
They asked him and he said,"I do so because it contains the
Attribute(s) of The Most Gracious and I love to recite it [in my
prayer]." The Prophet said [to them]: "Tell him that Allaah loves
him."
6- Recognizing the Kindness, benevolence, and apparent and hidden
blessings of Allaah The Almighty. Allaah The Almighty Says (what
means): {And whatever you have of favor - it is from Allaah.} [Quran
16:53]
7- Being secluded with Allaah TheAlmighty, when He descends to the
lowest sky, to talk to Him, recite His Words, supplicate to Him and
seek His forgiveness.
8- Sitting with the righteous and sincere lovers of Allaah.
9- Avoiding any means that standas a barrier between the heart and
Allaah The Almighty.