Monday, May 19, 2008

Love of Allah

In Al Qur'an:


  • "Say (O Muhammad Sallahu alaihi wasalam), "If you really love Allah then follow me (i.e., accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving, Most Merciful.'''
    (Surah Ali Imran - 3:31)
  • "No doubt verily the awliya' of Allah (the closer servants of Allah) no fear shall come upon them nor shall they grieve. Those who believed and used to fear Allah much, for them are the glad tidings in this life and the Hereafter.(Surah Yunus - 10:62-64)

  • "O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion (Islam) - Allah will bring a people whom He will love and who will love Him; humble towards the believers, powerful against the disbelievers, they strive in the cause of Allah and do not fear the blame of a critic. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows it upon whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower.'' (Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:54)

  • "...If you count the blessings of Allah, never will you be able to count them...." (Surah Ibraheem 14:34)

  • "O you who believe, fear Allah, and seek means of nearness to Him, and strive in His cause that you may be successful." (Al-Maidah 5:35)

  • "And your Lord says: Call on Me, I will answer your (prayer). But Those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in hell, in humiliation." (Al Mu'min 23:60)

  • "When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them). I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on Me' let them also, with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me, that they may walk in the right way." (Al-Baqarah 2:186)

  • "Call on your Lord with humility and in private: for Allah loves not those who trespass beyond bounds. Do no mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order, but call on Him with fear and longing (in your hearts): for the Mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good." (Surah Al-A’raf 7:55-56)



In Hadiths:

  • Allah loves to meet whoever loves to meet Him

    Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be satisfied with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah Upon Him) said, "Allah said, 'If My servant loves to meet Me, I love to meet him; and if he hates to meet Me, I hate to meet him."
    (Al-Bukhari)

  • The sign of Allah's love for His servant

    Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be satisfied with him, narrated, "The Messengerof Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah Upon Him) said, 'When Allah loves a servant, he calls upon Jibril (Gabriel) and says, 'I love so and so, so llove him.'
    Hence Jibril loves him. Then he announces (it) in the heavens, saying, 'Allah loves so and so, so love him.'
    Hence the inhabitants of the heavens loves him, then he is doomed to be (loved and thus) approved of the earth.

    And when He detests a servant, He calls upon Jibril and say, 'I detest so and so, so detest him.'
    Hence Jibril detests him. Then he announces (it) in the heavens, saying, 'Allah detests so and so, so detest him.'
    Hence the inhabitants of the heavens detest him, then he is doomed to be detested in the earth.'"
    (Muslim)

    Commentary:
    This Hadith mentions the reward of love for the sake of Allah. A person who loves for the sake of Allah is not only loved by Allah but also by the inhabitants of the earth as well as the heavens. On the other hand, those who are hated by Allah are also hated by the inhabitants of the earth and the heavens. It must be borne in mind that they alone remain popular in this world who are righteous by nature - who strictly maintain the distinction between the lawful and the unlawful (Ma`ruf and Munkar). But those whose nature is defected by constant sins, cease to distinguish between right and wrong and lose their credibility. They generally hate the pious persons for the reason that every category of people loves and likes people of its own kind.

  • The Muslims' love for and mercy toward one another

    Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be satisfied with him, narrated, "The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah Upon Him) said, 'Allah, the Exalted in Might and the Ever-Majestic, will say on the Day of Resurrection, 'O son of Adam, I was ill and you did not visit me.'

    He will say, 'O My Lord, how would I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds?'

    Allah will say, 'Did you not know that My servant so and so had fallen ill and you did not visit him? Did you not know that if you had visited him you would have found Me with him?

    O son of Adam, I asked you for food but you did not give Me any.'

    The man will say, 'O My Lord, How would I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds?'

    Allah will say, 'Did you not know that My servant so and so asked you for food but you did not feed him? Did you not know that if you had fed him you would have found (a reward for) that with Me?

    O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me (water) to drink but you did not give Me any.'

    The man will say, 'O My Lord, How would I give You (water) when You are the Lord of the worlds?'

    Allah will say, 'Did you not know that My servant so and so asked you to give him (water) to drink but you did not give him any. Did you not know that if you had given him (water) to drink you would have found (a reward for) that with Me?'"
    (Muslim)

  • The virtue of loving for the sake of Allah

    Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be satisfied with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah Upon Him) said, "Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection, 'Where are those who love one another for My Majesty? Today I shelter them in My Shade on the Day when there is no shade but Mine.'"
    (Muslim)

  • Performing the good deeds and following what Allah commands and the Sunnah will make us closer to Allah.

    Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu 'anhu, reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said:
    "Allah the Almighty has said: 'Whosoever acts with enmity towards a closer servant of Mine (wali), I will indeed declare war against him. Nothing endears My servant to Me than doing of what I have made obligatory upon him to do. And My servant continues to draw nearer to Me with supererogatory (nawafil) prayers so that I shall love him. When I love him, I shall be his hearing with which he shall hear, his sight with which he shall see, his hands with which he shall hold, and his feet with which he shall walk. And if he asks (something) of Me, I shall surely give it to him, and if he takes refuge in Me, I shall certainly grant him it.'"
    (Al-Bukhari)





Conclusion:

Love is one of the greatest blessings that Allah gives to people.
Allah has created people in such a way that they enjoy being loved and loving others.
The true source of love in the believers' hearts is their profound love of Allah. Believers love Allah greatly and, at every moment, strive to gain His love and good pleasure.

Some ways to get close to Allah are as following:

  • by worshipping and devoting to Allah, such as reading Qur'an and doing the Sunnah.
  • by taqwa and rightous deeds, such as remembering Allah under all circumtances, with with one's tongue, heart and actions.
  • by giving charity and kindness, such as helping poor people and the orphans.

May Allah bless us with Allah's love. Ameen.
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Activities and worksheets for kids:

  • Write the paragragh about How to get close to Allah.
  • Write in Arabic and memorize surah Al Maun (Al Qur'an chapter 107).
  • Write in Arabic and memorize the Kalimah Allah.

    The six kalimas are:

    • First Kalimah: The Word of Purity (Tayyabah)
      La ilaha ill Allah Muhammadur-Rasool Allah
      (There is no God but Allah Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah)


    • Second Kalimah: The word of Testimony (Shahaadat)
      Ash-hadu an-La illaha ill Allahu, Wahdahu La Sharika lah, wa ash-Hadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa Rasoolu
      (I bear witness that no-one is worthy of worship but Allah, the One alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger)

    • Third Kalimah: The word of Glorification (Tumjeed)
      Subhan Allahu, wal Hamdu lillahi, wa la illaha ilAllahu, wallahu Akbar. wa La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah-al 'alii-al 'adheem
      (Glory be to Allah and Praise to Allah, and there is no God But Allah, and Allah is the Greatest. And there is no Might or Power except with Allah.)

    • Fourth Kalimah: The word of Unity (Tauhid)
      La ilaha illAllahu Wahdahu La Shareeka lahu Lahul Mulku, Wala-hul Hamd, Yuhee Wa Yumeet, wa huwa Haiy-yul la Yamootu beyadihil khair, wa huwa 'ala kulli Shay'in Qadeer
      (There is) none worthy of worship except Allah. He is only One. (There is) no partners for Him. For Him (is) the Kingdom. And for Him (is) the Praise. He gives life and acuses death. And He (is) Alive. He will not die, never, ever. Possessor of Majesty and Reverence. In His hand (is) the goodness. And He (is) the goodness. And He (is) on everything powerful.)

    • Fifth Kalimah: The word of Penitence (Astaghfar)
      Astaghfirullaha Rabii min kulli dhanbin adhnabtahu amadan aw khataan, sirran aw alani-yatan wa atubu illaih minadh-dhanbilladhi, la a'lamu, innaka anta allamul ghayub, wa sattar ul'uyoubi, wa ghaffarudh-dhunubi, wa la hawla wa la quwwatta illa billahil alliyyil 'adheem
      (I seek forgiveness from Allah, my Lord, from every sin I committed knowingly or unknowingly, secretly or openly, and I turn towards Him from the sin that I know and from the sin that I do not know. Certainly You, You (are) the knower of the hidden things and the Concealer (of) the mistakes and the Forgiver (of) the sins. And (there is) no power and no strength except from Allah, the Most High, the Most Great)

    • Sixth Kalimah: The words of rejecting disbelief (Rud-A-Kuffer)
      Allahumma innii a'udhu bika min an ushrika bika shai-anw- wa ana a'lamu bihii. Tubtu anhu wa tabarra-tu min al-kufri wash-shirki wal-kizdhbi wal-ghiibati wal-bid’ati wan-namiimati wal fawaahishi wal-buhtani w-al-ma’aasii kulliha. Wa aslamtu wa aquulu La illaha illAllahu Muhammadur RasulAllah
      (O Allah! Certainly I seek protection with You from, that I associate partner with You anything and I know it. And I seek forgiveness from You for that I do not know it. I repended from it and I made myself free from disbelief and polytheism and the falsehood and the back-biting and the innovation and the tell-tales and the bad deeds and the blame and the disobedience, all of them. And I submit and I say (there is) none worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.)
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To watch the video:


Sources:

  • Khutbah at ISOC - Ramadan 8, 1422/ November 23, 2001
  • Forty Hadith
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