Love

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

I've written this post quite a long while ago...

I remember once I asked this very funny question to this friend.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
With a smile she said:“Yes, of course”
And with all the suspense, I asked for the name of that very lucky guy.
She gave me the coolest answer ever – ALLAH S.W.T.
HE is her boyfriend, subhanALLAH!
She gave me a very vivid picture of my Creator which has been so distance from me for all these years.

I don’t know how she felt the love of ALLAH but I’m definitely sure that ALLAH is the Most Merciful, the Most Loving and the Most Caring of all upon His servants, the followers of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). The love of a mother is said to be the greatest love of all, that she is willing to sacrifice herself for her children, but remember, the Ar-Rahim’s, ALLAH’s love to His servants is much, much more than the love of any human being can give.

These are just two Hadith Qudsi about how great ALLAH’s love would be to His servants:

ALLAH Almighty said: "MY servant draws near to ME with nothing more loved by ME than the acts of worship that I have enjoined upon him. MY servant continues to try to draw near to ME with more devotion, until I love him. When I love him, I will be his hearing with which he hears, his sight by which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, his feet on which he walks. When he asks ME for something, I will respond and when he takes refuge in ME, I will grant it to him. I do not hesitate in doing anything I intend to do as much as I hesitate in seizing the soul of MY faithful servant; he hates death and I hate hurting him. But death is a must for him".

~ narrated by Bukhari

Subhanallah! Do you like to be among one of the loved one?

Another Hadith Qudsi, hadith directly from ALLAH S.W.T.:

ALLAH Almighty said "I am as MY servant expects ME to be. I am with him if he remembers ME. If he remembers ME to himself, I would remember him to MYSELF. And if he remembers ME in a gathering, I would remember him in a gathering, which is even better. And if MY servant draws near to ME by a hand's span, I would draw near to him by an arm's length and if he draws near to ME by an arm's length, I would draw near to him by a fathom's length. And if MY servant comes to ME walking, I would go to him speeding."

~ narrated by Bukhari

MashaALLAH, HE is running toward you, if you just walk toward HIM, imagine how big HIS one step would be (you won't be able imagine it), and what if we run to HIM?

I don’t know anyone of you have a ‘boy/girlfriend’ or not, but surely you know how a couple works. If you have a boyfriend, or if you like it to be your husband, what would you do if he wants to meet you in any special occasion? Of course most of us will put on the best dress, best make-up, and best of presentation.

If it is a 'dating', will you be late? I doubt about that. Likewise when we want to meet ALLAH in every prayer, how would you dress if you are to meet HIM? What is your attitude towards each prayer? Or each dating with ALLAH? You are going to meet you Lover! The greatest Lover of all!

Have you ever seen a couple by the street? If they are dating and talking to each other, do you think they will ever notice any pedestrians walking by? As they are now in their own world.
Likewise when we are praying, this is the dating between you and ALLAH. If we love HIM so, will we ever be disturbed by anything when we are praying? Definitely no.

Have you ever received any love letter from anyone that you admire? Will, if you love ALLAH, you already have 30 Juz of Love Letters, the most beautifully written love letters by HIM. You will enjoy reading all those Love Letter, the Holy Love Letter and you surely will try your best to memorize them. Why? Because you would really like to understand what is HE trying to tell us and what HE likes or dislikes. You will always have the time to read it.

If you love someone, you will try to find out what are the things he likes and dislikes. And if you love ALLAH, you will surely just like to gain HIS pleasure by doing what has been commanded and avoid doing what has been told not to.

You will just remember HIM and miss HIM all day long that dhikr will always be part of your life. We are encouraged to remember ALLAH always as in the Holy Qur'an or the Love Letter says:

They are the whose hearts rejoice in remembering ALLAH. Absolutely, by remembering ALLAH, the hearts rejoice.

~ The Holy Qur'an, Surah Ra’ad (Chapter 13, The Thunder) verse 28

Now, just try to put your love to HIM and imagine what more you can do just for HIM? As I’ve pointed out, you will steadfast in your prayer, you will make better if not perfect prayers, you will recite the Holy Qur'an, you will try to memorise the Holy Qur'an, and who knows you might be a Hafiz, inshaALLAH. You will also try to learn and understand the Holy Qur'an as a very popular hadith saying that the best among you are the one that learn and teach Qur'an. You will be a very knowledgeable mukmin insyaALLAH because you know and you will practice the ‘amar makruf and nahi mungkar’. Plus you will always remember ALLAH in your life. That makes you a real muslim that truly doing what most of the people call – Islam is the way of life. See how just the love to the All-Mighty ALLAH can shape you into a better Muslim! I know there are more that you will do if you truly love HIM, I leave that for you to think of because it is your love to HIM that really motivate you to keep on improving yourself to become a better Muslim. I pray that we all may gain HIS Love, amin.

Now, how are we going to gain HIS love?

There are several verses in the Holy Qur'an telling us what kind of person does ALLAH loves.

ALLAH loves the one that love the Prophet Muhammad (saw):
[Surah Ali-Imran:31] Proclaim: "If you love ALLAH, you should follow me." ALLAH will then love you, and forgive your sins. ALLAH is Forgiver, Most Merciful. (the one that follow the Prophet Muhammad (saw))

ALLAH love the one righteous one:
[Surah Ali-Imran:76] Indeed, those who fulfill their obligations and lead a righteous life, ALLAH loves the righteous.
[Surah Maryam:96] Surely, those who believe and lead a righteous life, the Most Gracious will shower them with love.
[Surah Al-Maidah:93] Those who believe and lead a righteous life bear no guilt by eating any food, so long as they observe the commandments, believe and lead a righteous life, then maintain their piety and faith, and continue to observe piety and righteousness. ALLAH loves the righteous.
[Surah At-Taubah:4] If the idol worshipers sign a peace treaty with you, and do not violate it, nor band together with others against you, you shall fulfill your treaty with them until the expiration date. ALLAH loves the righteous.

ALLAH loves the charitable:
[Surah Al-Baqarah:195] You shall spend in the cause of ALLAH; do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction. You shall be charitable; ALLAH loves the charitable.
[Surah Ali-Imran:134] who give to charity during the good times, as well as the bad times. They are suppressors of anger, and pardoners of the people. ALLAH loves the charitable.

ALLAH loves who asks for forgiveness and purify himself:
[Surah al-Baqarah: 222] ALLAH loves the repenters, and HE loves those who are clean.

ALLAH love the steadfast:
[Surah Ali-Imran:146] Many a prophet had godly people fight along with him, without ever wavering under pressure in the cause of ALLAH, nor did they hesitate or become discouraged. ALLAH loves the steadfast.

ALLAH loves the good doer:
[Surah Ali-Imran:148] Consequently, ALLAH granted them the rewards of this world, and the better rewards of the Hereafter. ALLAH loves the good doers.
[Surah Al-A’raf: 31] O Children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer; eat and drink; but waste not by excess, for ALLAH love not the wasters.

ALLAH loves the one that trust only on HIM:
[Surah Ali-Imran:159] It was mercy from ALLAH that you became compassionate towards them. Had you been harsh and mean-hearted, they would have abandoned you. Therefore, you shall pardon them and ask forgiveness for them, and consult them. Once you make a decision, carry out your plan, and trust in ALLAH. ALLAH loves those who trust in HIM.

ALLAH loves the kind and helpful:
[Surah Al-Maidah:13] It was a consequence of their violating the covenant that we condemned them, and we caused their hearts to become hardened. Consequently, they took the words out of context, and disregarded some of the commandments given to them. You will continue to witness betrayal from them, excepting a few of them. You shall pardon them, and disregard them. ALLAH loves those who are benevolent.

ALLAH loves who acts justly:
[Surah Al-Maidah:42] They are upholders of lies, and eaters of illicit earnings. If they come to you to judge among them, you may judge among them, or you may disregard them. If you choose to disregard them, they cannot harm you in the least. But if you judge among them, you shall judge equitably. GOD loves those who are equitable.
[Surah Al-Hujurat:9] If two groups of believers fought with each other, you shall reconcile them. If one group aggresses against the other, you shall fight the aggressing group until they submit to ALLAH's command. Once they submit, you shall reconcile the two groups equitably. You shall maintain justice; ALLAH loves those who are just.

[Surah Al-Mumtahana:8] ALLAH does not enjoin you from befriending those who do not fight you because of religion, and do not evict you from your homes. You may befriend them and be equitable towards them. ALLAH loves the equitable.

ALLAH loves who strive for His cause:
[Surah As-Saff:4] ALLAH loves those who fight in His cause united in one column, like the bricks in one wall.

And do you know whose the one that ALLAH hates? They are the:

the aggressors:
[Surah Al-Baqarah:190] You may fight in the cause of ALLAH against those who attack you, but do not aggress. ALLAH does not love the aggressors.

the disbelievers:
[Surah Ali-Imran:32] Proclaim: "You shall obey ALLAH and the messenger." If they turn away,ALLAH does not love the disbelievers.

those who inflict injustice:
[Surah Ali-Imran:57] As for those who believe and lead a righteous life, He will fully recompense them. ALLAH does not love the unjust.

evil dores:
[Surah Al-Maidah:64] Whenever they ignite the flames of war, ALLAH puts them out. They roam the earth wickedly, and ALLAH dislikes the evildoers.

corruptor:
[Surah Al-Baqarah:205] As soon as he leaves, he roams the earth corruptingly, destroying properties and lives. ALLAH does not love corruption.

those who are arrogant:
[Surah An-Nisa’:36] You shall worship ALLAH alone - do not associate anything with Him. You shall regard the parents, the relatives, the orphans, the poor, the related neighbor, the unrelated neighbor, the close associate, the traveling alien, and your servants. ALLAH does not like the arrogant show-offs.

those who spend lavishly:
[Surah Al-An’am:141] He is the One who established gardens, trellised and untrellised, and palm trees, and crops with different tastes, and olives, and pomegranate - fruits that are similar, yet dissimilar. Eat from their fruits, and give the due alms on the day of harvest, and do not waste anything. He does not love the wasters.

those who does not act upon what he has said:
[Surah As-Saff: 2-3] Glorifying ALLAH is everything in the heavens and everything on earth. He is the Almighty, Most Wise; O you who believe, why do you say what you do not do?

So, what should be do to win ALLAH’s love? There is a hadith narrated by Ibn Majah:

"A man came to the Prophet (saw) and asked him "O ALLAH's Messenger, tell me of something I do to win ALLAH's love and people's love". The Prophet answered "Do not love this world, would love you and do not have a longing for whatever people have, people would love you".

Or, you can just simply held the love upon ALLAH like a hadith that has been narrated by Bukhari:

"God Almighty 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."

See, how simple we can do to gain His love?
Following are some more benefit of loving ALLAH:

A hadith qudsi narrated by Muslim:

"If ALLAH would love HIS servant HE would call Arch-angel Gabriel and tell him "I love this person, therefore love him." And Gabriel would love him and call out in the heavens "ALLAH loves this person, therefore love him." And the inhabitants of the heavens would love him. Then he would be embraced by the people of this world. But if ALLAH would abhor HIS servant, HE would call Gabriel and tell him "I abhor this person, therefore abhor him". And Gabriel would abhor him and call out in the heavens " ALLAH abhors this person, therefore abhor him." And the inhabitants of the heavens would abhor him. Then he would be abhorred by the people of this world."

You will be very famous among the angels!

Some more hadith:

"There are three characteristics whoever has them will taste the sweetness of faith: that ALLAH and HIS Messenger (saw) are more loved by him than everything else, that he loves or does not love a person only for ALLAH's sake and that he would hate to revert into disbelief just as he would hate to be thrown into fire."

~narrated by Bukhari

"When a man asked the Prophet (saw),"O Messenger of ALLAH, when will the Day of Judgement be?", the Prophet (saw) replied, "What have you prepared for it?" he said, "I have not prepared for it a great deal of prayer, fasting nor charity, but I love ALLAH and HIS Messenger intensely," the Prophet (saw) said, "You will be with those whom you love."

~ narrated by Bukhari

Take an excellent example of a great female sufi called Rabiatul Adhawiyah. Her love to ALLAH made her wake up every night just to pray (dating) and to tell how much she loved HIM. She said:

"O ALLAH! If I worship YOU for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell,
and if I worship YOU in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise.
But if I worship YOU for YOUR Own sake, grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty (face).”

ALLAHU’alam.

Wassalam.