Love in Islam

In Islam Love can be broadly categorized into: Love for God, love for Prophet Muhammad (saw) and his Ahlul-Bait, and love for the faithful.

According to Islamic teaching, the minimum expectation from believers is that God should have the first place in their heart, in the sense that no other love may override one's love for God; God should be the highest and foremost object of love. The Noble Qur'an says:

"Say: If your fathers and your sons and your brethren and your mates and your kinsfolk and property which you have acquired, and the slackness of trade which you fear and dwellings which you like, are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving in His way, then wait till Allah brings about His command: and Allah does not guide the transgressing people." (9:24)

The Noble Qur'an says: "The believers are stronger in their love for Allah." (2:165)

It is narrated in another Hadith Qudsi that when God loves someone, He becomes his ears, his eyes, his tongue, and his hands: "When I love him, then I shall be his ears with which he listens, his eyes with which he sees, his tongue with which he speaks, and his hands with which he holds; if he calls Me, I shall answer him, and if he asks Me, I shall give him."

"Aside from the fact that one who loves God is loved by Him" (5:54), a real love for God prompts one to perform the best of deeds. Reason and nature dictate that if someone really loves God, he would act in a manner that is pleasing to God. In this regard, the Noble Qur'an says:

Say: "If you love Allah, then follow me, and Allah will love you and forgive you your sins," and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (3:31)

These verses indicate the interrelation, between loves as an inner state, and emulating Prophet Muhammad (saw) which is an outward action. Moreover, it implies that no one may neglect his religious obligations under the pretext of love for God. Love for the Prophet Muhammad.

By: Perihatin