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Dawood PBUH said: "O Lord, who among your servants is dearer to You so that I love him for your sake? The Lord said: The dearest to me is the one with the pious heart, clean hands (doesn't eat ill-gotten money), and the one who doesn’t wrong anyone, he loves Me and loves those who love Me, and endears Me to My creations.
He said: "O My Lord! You know that I love You, and I love whoever loves You, but how could I make Your servants love You?" He said: "Remind them of My Greatness, My Graces and My Attributes."
And I testify that Sayyidina Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is the Messenger and the slave of Allah.
He PBUH called to Allah in Ta'if but he was received with rejection and harming that was beyond any human being's tolerance unless he is a prophet.
Then he invoked Allah saying:
((If you are not angry at me, I do not care, and I seek to please you until you are satisfied, but your clemency would be more generous towards me))
O Messenger of Allah, there is no love after this love, and there is no fear of apathy after your fear of being abandoned by Allah.
O Allah, our Lord! Grant peace and blessings to Sayyidina Muhammad, upon his Family, upon his Companions, the trustees upon his message and leaders of his armies, and upon those who followed them with Ihsan till the Day of Judgment.
O servants of Allah, I advice you and myself of fearing Allah and I encourage you to obey Him and I will begin with what is good.
Divine love:
1- Faith makes man love The Creator:
Through meditation and authentic narration we find out that man is the first and foremost creature. According to the teachings of Islam, the whole universe has been created for man to get to know his Lord, the Most Merciful, and His Beautiful Names and Attributes. Therefore, if man firmly believes that he has a Great Creator, a Bountiful Lord, and a Wise Director, Who has created him in the very best appearance, honored him greatly, preferred him to most of His creatures and bestowed upon him His Divine Favors such as existence, sustenance, and guidance.
Such knowledge and belief lead man to love his Creator and Educator, because man believes by his mind, and loves by his heart. Is man anything except a mind to comprehend and a heart to love? It was narrated that
“The wisest among you are those who love Allah most.”
2- The heart is the engine of the body:
It was narrated that whosoever does not have love, does not have faith. This is because true faith and love are inseparable, just like the soul and body, for what is the value of the body without a soul? And what is the value of faith without love? If it is true that mind for man is like a steering wheel that leads a car towards its right way and right end; and it is also true that a heart for man is like an engine that makes a car move at all. What is the benefit of a driving wheel without an engine? It is inertness and death. Also what is the benefit of an engine without a driving wheel? It is doom and destruction.
3- Love is the nourishment for hearts and the food for souls:
Love is the nourishment for hearts, and the food for souls. It is also life if a person is deprived whereof, he will die. It is light that if a person loses, he will be in absolute darkness. It is a cure if a person is destitute whereof, diseases will befall him. It is an enjoyment whosoever does not attain; his life will be full of worries and pains. Therefore, it was narrated by Anas Ibn Malik that the Prophet (PBUH) said:
"Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness (delight) of faith, the one to whom Allah and His Apostle becomes dearer than anything else, who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake and who hates to revert to Atheism (disbelief) as he hates to be thrown into the fire."
If man knows his Lord, he will love Him, and if he loves Him, he will seek His cordiality by adhering to His Order and doing good deeds for His sake. By then he will find the sweetness of belief, after he had tasted the hell of disbelief. The chief concern of a man – who knows this knowledge and tastes of this sweetness – will be drawing near to the Beloved. In an authentic Hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) narrated that Allah said:
'I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (prayer or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him. When I love him I become his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks (something) from Me, I give him, and if he asks My Protection (refuge), I protect him".
4- Man should bring forth a proof of his love to Allah:
So many are those who claim that they love Allah and His messenger, but you will never find in their deeds anything that proves this claim. They claim that they have waded into seas of love, while they did not even get wet. If men were judged according to their claim, then a heart-free man would claim that he feels as yearning as a grieved man. Therefore, claimers are required to prove their claim, Allah says:
﴾ Say (O Muhammad to mankind): "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 of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." ﴿
You disobey Allah while you pretend loving Him,
this is, by my life, an ugly claim.
If your love were true, you would obey Him;
for a loving one obeys him whom he loves.
Allah refutes those who claim that they are Allah’s sons and lovers, He All Mighty says:
﴾ " Say: "Why then does He punish you for your sins?" Nay, you are but human beings, of those He has created ﴿
From the above verse, the Imam Ash-Shafi’i deduced that Allah does not punish His beloved ones.
5- Loving the prophet PBUH is a branch of loving Allah:
Love for Allah is a basis, and one of its branches is love for the Prophet (PBUH), for no one, other than Allah, has more favor upon us in our guidance and happiness except our Prophet (PBUH).
﴾ Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad ) from amongst yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad ) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allah, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter Paradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hell-fire), for the believers (he is) full of pity, kind, and merciful. ﴿
6- Loving the prophet is joined with the love of Allah:
Therefore, love for the Prophet is joined with the love of Allah, the All Mighty, in most of the verses of the Quran and the Tradition of the Prophet. Allah says:
﴾ Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight ... are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His Cause , then wait until Allah brings about His Decision (torment). And Allah guides not the people who are Al-Fasiqun (the rebellious, disobedient to Allah). ﴿
In an authentic Hadith reported by Imam Muslim:
It is reported on the authority of Anas b. Malik that the Messenger of Allah said: None of you is a believer till I am dearer to him than his child, his father and the whole of mankind.
However, pleasing Allah is pleasing His Messenger (PBUH), and pleasing the Messenger (PBUH) is pleasing Allah. Allah, the All Mighty says:
﴾ But it is more fitting that they should please Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad )﴿
Here Allah uses singular pronoun in the Arabic word "Yurdooh" (pleasing) although the nouns referred to are two and not one (Allah and His messenger), which indicates that pleasing Allah's Messenger is just like pleasing Allah, Allah says:
﴾ He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad ), has indeed obeyed Allah﴿
One of the fiercest enemies of the prophet PBUH said: “I have never seen anyone loves another as much as Muhammad’s Companions love him.”
Two examples of love:
The following are two examples of this love:
The first example:
The prophet did not answer him, but Allah the All Mighty answered him and reassured him saying,
﴾ And whoso obeys Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad ), then they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddiqun (those followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu Bakr As-Siddiq ), the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are! ﴿
The second example:
Another example is a woman of the Ansar, from Banu Dinar, who heard a rumor that Muhammad (PBUH) was killed in Auhud; so she felt pain and went to discover the reality. She went to the battlefield and saw her father, her son, her husband, and her brother, yet, she did not stop to see them, but she proceeded searching for the Prophet (PBUH) asking everyone she saw: “What has the Prophet done?” They answered her: “He is right ahead”, until she got to the Prophet and felt at ease for his being safe. Then she held a part of his cloth and said: “O Messenger of Allah! Every disaster other than you is trivial. Nothing matters as long as you are safe and well.”
What a great woman!
If women were as such, they would be preferred to men.
7- Loving the prophet's companions is branch of loving Allah:
Love for Allah is a basis, and one of its branches is love for the Messenger’s venerable Companions, who supported him and followed Divine Light which was revealed to him, who truly strived with him, who sacrificed everything for the sake of spreading the Truth, whom Allah was pleased with, and whom the Prophet (PBUH) described saying:
“They are scholars and wise men; out of their knowledge they are about to be Prophets …”
Out of respect to their high rank, the Prophet (PBUH) ordered us not to indulge in speaking bad things about his companions. He (PBUH) said:
“If my Companions are mentioned, then keep silent.”
Abu Sa’id (al-Khudri) reported the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) as saying: Do not revile my Companions; by him in whose hand my soul is, if one of you contributed the amount of gold equivalent to Uhud, it would not amount to as much as the mudd of one of them, or half of it.
Those companions – by their belief, their firmness, their braveries, and their loyalty to the Prophet (PBUH) – could in no time enlighten human conscience with the truth of Monotheism and eliminate forever the paganism of the past ages. What great sacrifices they made! What a grand hardship they endured! And what a magnificent victories they won!
8- Loving believers is branch of loving Allah:
Love for Allah is a basis, and one of its branches is love for believers - that love that integrates hearts, unifies lines, builds societies, and makes miracles. The Prophet (PBUH) described the Muslims society in the following Hadith:
Narrated An-Nu`man bin Bashir: Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said, "You see the believers as regards their being merciful among themselves and showing love among themselves and being kind, resembling one body, so that, if any part of the body is not well then the whole body shares the sleeplessness (insomnia) and fever with it."
They are warmhearted and advisers to each other, even if their houses are so far. While hypocrites cheat and envy one another, even if their houses are nearby.
Therefore, we should not be surprised if the Prophet (PBUH) considered love for believers a sufficient indication of the soundness and the truthfulness of belief. Moreover, he (PBUH) considered love for believers a condition for being a believer, he said:
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is! You will not enter Jannah until you believe, and you shall not believe until you love one another…"
Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih that Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (PBUH) said:
“O people! Hearken, comprehend, and know that Allah has servants who are neither Prophets nor martyrs, yet Prophets and martyrs envy them because of their ranks and nearness to Allah.”
Then an Arab said in surprise:
“O Messenger of Allah! You say some people are neither prophets nor martyrs, and prophets and martyrs envy them for their status and nearness to Allah! Describe them for us.”
The Prophet was delighted for this question, and said:
“They are of different peoples and conflicting tribes, there is no kinship among them. They love and are honest to one another for the sake of Allah. On the Day of Judgment, Allah will make for them platforms of Light on which they will sit. He will make their faces bright, their clothes bright. People will fear on the Day of Judgment, but they will not fear. They are Allah’s friends, on whom there is no fear, nor shall they grieve…”
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar that Abu Idris al-Khawlani said, "I entered the Damascus mosque and there was a young man with a beautiful mouth and white teeth sitting with some people. When they disagreed about something, they referred it to him and proceeded from his statement. I inquired about him, and it was said, 'This is Muadh ibn Jabal.' The next day I went to the noon-prayer, and I found that he had preceded me to the noon prayer and I found him praying."
Abu Idris continued, "I waited for him until he had finished the prayer. Then I came to him from in front of him and greeted him and said, 'By Allah! I love you for Allah!' He said, 'By Allah?' I said, 'By Allah.' He said, 'By Allah?' I said, 'By Allah.' He said, 'By Allah?' I said, 'By Allah.' "
He continued, "He took me by the upper part of my cloak and pulled me to him and said, 'Rejoice! I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, said,
'My love is obliged for those who love each other in Me, and those who sit with each other in Me, and those who visit each other in Me, and those who give to each other generously in Me.' " ' "
Mu'adh (bin Jabal) (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Allah, the Exalted, has said: 'For those who love one another for the sake of My Glory, there will be seats of light (on the Day of Resurrection), and they will be envied by the Prophets and martyrs".
Anas (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, a slave of Allah does not truly believe till he wishes for his neighbor what he wishes for himself.”
In another narration:
"…and to dislike for him what he dislikes for himself"
The phrase
“None of you”
indicates all Muslims at all times and all places, for there is another narration which says:
“No one”
or
“No servant”
The word
“brother”
means the brother in Islam in general, as it was mentioned in another narration:
“for his Muslim brother”
Muslims, irrespective of their nationalities, tribes, countries, languages or colors, are considered one family.
Allah says:
﴾ The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion). So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy. ﴿
The word
“Brother”
which means brotherhood of kinship, indicates that brotherhood of belief is the highest degree of brotherhood. Also the word
“are but”
indicates that true brotherhood is confined to believers, and every other relation that is not based on belief, then it is based on interest, and it lasts as long as this interest is existing, but whenever it vanishes, this relation will come to an end. In a narration by An-Nasa’i:
It was narrated from Anas that: The Messenger of Allah [PBUH] said: "By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, none of you has believed until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself of goodness."
The phrase
“of goodness”
is an indispensable condition, because the one who loves something prohibited for himself, then it is not out of belief that he loves this thing for his brother. Hence, the word
“goodness”
means the lawful good which includes all matters that are relating to the Hereafter, like good beneficial works, righteous deeds, sincere worship, and good goals. It includes only laudable matters that are relating to the present world, like: an abundance of lawful sustenance, righteous offspring, a long life, and safety from adversities.
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) was in devotional seclusion in the Mosque of the Prophet (PBUH). A man came and saluted him, and then sat down. Ibn Abbas said to him: “O so-and-so! I see you are sad and depressed!” He said:
“Yes, O cousin of the Prophet (PBUH)! I am indebted to so-and-so for a right of allegiance, and I swear by the sanctity of the one who is in this grave (i.e. the Messenger of Allah) that I cannot discharge it. Ibn Abbas said: shall I talk to him for you? He said: if you would like. Then Ibn Abbas put on his shoes and went out the Mosque. So a man told him:
“Have you forgotten that you are in devotional seclusion?! He said with tears in his eyes:
“No, but I heard him who is in this grave – and who died recently – say:
"Going out for a brother's need is better than ten years Itikaf (confining oneself to a masjid exclusively for the worship of Allah). He who observes I'tikaf of one day for Allah's sake, three trenches are placed between him and Hell; each trench is wider than the distance between the earth and the sky."
In another Hadith:
“Indeed if I walk with a brother of mine for his need is better for me than being in devotional seclusion in this mosque for a month.”
Cooperation is one of the fruits of love amongst believers:
1- Cooperation should be in righteousness and peity:
The fruits of love among Muslims are: sympathy, cooperation, solidarity, unity, and self-denial. Allah ordered believers to cooperate with each other, but he confined this cooperation with being in righteousness and piety not in sin and enmity. Allah says:
﴾ Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment. ﴿
Interpreters of the Quran said: cooperation in righteousness means cooperation in the rightness of the present world. And cooperation in piety means cooperation on the rightness of the Hereafter. It was narrated in a Prophetic supplication:
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to say: "Allahumm-aslih li diniyalladhi huwa 'ismatu amri, wa aslih li dunyaya-llati fiha ma'ashi, wa aslih li akhirati-llati fiha ma'adi, waj'alil-hayata ziyadatan li fi kulli khair, waj'alil-mauta rahatan li min kulli sharrin (O Allah, make my religion easy for me by virtue of which my affairs are protected, set right for me my world where my life exists, make good for me my Hereafter which is my resort to which I have to return, and make my life prone to perform all types of good, and make death a comfort for me from every evil)."
2- Participation in giving opinions amongst believers in fixing matters in this present life and in the hereafter:
Some of the aspects of cooperation are: discussion among Muslims for the righteousness of their present life and the Hereafter, participation in giving opinions, manifestation of facts, diagnosis of problems, searching for solutions, and overcoming obstacles, for individualism, isolationism, negativism, and escaping from solving problems, are not traits of true believers. Allah says:
﴾ O you who believe! When you hold secret counsel, do it not for sin and wrong-doing, and disobedience towards the Messenger (Muhammad ) but do it for Al-Birr (righteousness) and Taqwa (virtues and piety); and fear Allah unto Whom you shall be gathered. ﴿
3- Ash Shura (consultation) amongst believers:
Therefore, Consultation (Shura) is considered as an aspect of intellectual cooperation. Allah ordered His Prophet (PBUH) to practice it:
﴾ And consult them in the affairs ﴿
and He describes believers with it:
﴾ And who (conduct) their affairs by mutual consultation ﴿
4- Alleviating hardship, relieving troubles and concealing defects:
Some of the aspects of cooperation are: alleviating hardship, relieving from troubles, and concealing defects; for as it is narrated by Muslim that Abu Huraira quoted the Prophet (PBUH) as saying:
“If anyone relieves a Muslim believer from one of the hardships of this worldly life, Allah will relieve him of one of the hardships of the Day of Resurrection. If anyone makes it easy for the one who is indebted to him (while finding it difficult to repay), Allah will make it easy for him in this worldly life and in the Hereafter, and if anyone conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and in the Hereafter. Allah helps His slave as long as he helps his brother.”
Alleviating hardships means: relieving and removing it. And hardship means: grief and distress which overtake someone and cause him pain and distress. Here the role of a Muslim comes to help his brother in relieving him from his hardship. So if his brother’s hardship is due to poverty and neediness, he helps him until he fulfills his need, whether by his money or by good efforts. Also, if his brother’s hardship is due to his need to a loan for eliminating an urgent requirement, he loans him. If his brother’s hardship is because of his need to a good mediation, he mediates for him. If his brother’s hardship is due to his need to get married, he endeavors to enable him to get married. If his hardship is due to his need for a job, he tries to find a suitable job for him. If his hardship is due to his need to medication from a physical or physiological disease, he endeavors to find him a suitable remedy in order to relieve him from hardship…. The same thing applies to concealment of faults, facilitation, and assistance.
9- Treating all people with justice is a branch of loving Allah:
Love for Allah is a basis; and one of its branches is to deal with people in justice and fairness, no matter what their denominations and sects might be, to have mercy upon them and to help them in their religious and worldly affairs, because all creatures are Allah’s dependents, and the most beloved to Allah are the most beneficial to His dependants. The Prophet (PBUH) denies for a man to be a Muslim if he cheats any person, he said:
"He who deceives has nothing to do with us."
10- Having mercy on all creations is a branch of loving Allah:
Love for Allah is a basis, and one of its branches is to treat all creatures gently and to be merciful with them.
It was narrated that Ibn 'Umar said; "I heard the Messenger of Allah say: 'May Allah curse the one who disfigures and animal.
The Prophet (PBUH) also prohibited that one kills any animal by imprisonment till death, and he prohibited instigation of fights among animals, or using a living body as a target. Imam Al-Bukhari narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said:
Ibn 'Umar (RA) narrated: The Prophet (PBUH) said: "A woman was punished on account of a cat which she held captive till it died. Hence, she entered the Hell-Fire due to (her mistreatment of) the cat. She did not feed it or give it water while she held it captive, nor did she let it out so that it may eat the things that creep on the earth."
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "A man saw a dog eating mud from (the severity of) thirst. So, that man took a shoe (and filled it) with water and kept on pouring the water for the dog till it quenched its thirst. So Allah approved of his deed and made him to enter Paradise."
The second Khutbah:
How do affection and affability take place?
Allah the All Mighty says:
﴾ If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allah has united them. Certainly He is All-Mighty, All-Wise. ﴿
What is this love and affliction like? What are its conditions and motives? And what are its fruits and consequences?
The story of Umair bin Wahab Al Jumahi: A lesson in loving others for the sake of Allah:
These things are clarified through the story of Omair Ibn Wahb Aj-Jumahi, who was rescued from death in the battle of Badr, and his son Wahb was captured by Muslims…. One day, he sat near Al-Kaa’ba with Safwan Ibn Umaiah, the master of Quraish and the leader of Polytheists, where they were remembering Badr. Then Omair said to Safwan: I swear by the Lord of Ka’aba that if I were not in debt that I have no money to pay back, and if I did not dependants who I am afraid to get lost, I would go to Muhammad and kill him in order to terminate his matter and rid you of him.”
Safwan said: “O Omair! I’ll pay back all you debts for you no matter how much they are; as for your family, I will join them to mine as long as we are alive; and I have enough money to expend on all of them and I can guarantee for them a pleasant life. So go and do what you want!”Hence, Omair ordered that his sword be sharpened and that poison be put on it, then he asked for his camel which was prepared and given to him. He headed for Medina full of hatred and evil towards the holy Prophet, Muhammad (PBUH). When he arrived at Medina, he went towards the Mosque seeking the Prophet (PBUH), but Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw him near the door of the Mosque, so he came towards him, seized him by the collar, and put his sword’s holder around his neck then took him to the Prophet (PBUH) and said:
“O Messenger of Allah! This is the enemy of Allah Omair Ibn Wahb; he came here seeking evil.”
When the Prophet (PBUH) saw him, he said to Omar:
“ O Omar! Let him go.”
And Omar so did. Then the Prophet said:
“Keep away from him.”
So he kept away from him. the Prophet (PBUH) went towards Omair and said:
“O Omair! Come near to me!”
So he came near to him. Then the holy Prophet (PBUH) said:
“O Omair! Why did you come here?”
He said: “I came to ask you to set a certain captive free.”Then he asked him:
“What about this sword which you hang to your neck?”
He said: “Fie on these swords; were they of any benefit on Badr?!”The Prophet (PBUH) said:
“Did not you say to Safwan in the yard of Al-Ka’aba near the Stone: ‘If I were not in debt and had a family, I would go to kill Muhammad’ and did not Safwan Ibn Umaiia take upon himself your debts and family in order to kill me?”
“But Allah prevents you from that?!”
Omair was astonished and said: “I testify that you are the Messenger of Allah, because nobody knew about my conversation with Safwan except he and I; and I swear by Allah that I am sure that no one told you about it except Allah. So I thank Allah because He brought me to you in order to guide me to Islam.”Then the Prophet (PBUH) said:
“Teach your brother his religion (of Islam), enable him to read, and teach him the Quran, then set his captive free.”
And they so did.”
The moral of this story is what Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) said after Omair had believed in Allah and His Messenger and embraced Islam:
“When he entered upon the Prophet (PBUH), a pig was more beloved to me than Omair was; but when he went out (as a Muslim), he became more beloved to me than some of my children. Let us think of Allah’s words:
﴾ And remember Allah's Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith) ﴿
When we believe in the same truth, endeavor to the same objective, follow one path, and when we have sublime human values, and acquire the pristine morals which are far beyond time and place, unity among us will be inevitable, love will be sincere, cooperation will be fruitful, our mission as Allah’s Vicegerents on earth will be fulfilled, and humanity will reach its Zenith.
