EPIC Masjid, Sheikh Umer Sulaiman, Love for Allah (swt)

Love for Allah

Verily, from amongst those who took partners besides Allah, their shirk — their way of associating partners with Allah — was not that they worshipped something besides Allah, but that they loved something as Allah should be loved.

And those who believe love Allah more than anyone else can love anything else. This is an extremely powerful ayah because Allah tells us two things in this Qur'an. Number one, in this ayah Allah says that there is a sense of shirk — that is shirkul muhabba — which is the shirk of loving something the way you should love Allah.

And number two, that no matter how much you love something besides Allah, the one who has experienced the joy of loving and being loved by Allah cannot be outdone. The one who has experienced the joy of his salah, his prayer, the one who has experienced the joy of talking to Allah in du'a, the one who has experienced the joy of living a life of purpose — and that only purpose is to fulfill what Allah has blessed, and to leave what Allah has commanded him to leave — whoever tastes that blessing of having a true, meaningful relationship with Allah has a relationship like no other relationship in this world.

Obligation vs. Love

Let's face it — it's one thing to do what Allah commanded you to do, and it's another thing to love Allah. There is a difference between obligation and punishment, and loving Allah. And I'll give you this example.

Some people come to Salatul Jum'ah to get Jum'ah out of the way. Just come to the khutbah, get it out of the way so I can say, "I got my Jum'ah out of the way." Throughout the time, I'll just hear a nice little bedtime story, take my lunch nap, my qaylulah at Jum'ah. But I got Jum'ah out of the way — alhamdulillah, I fulfilled Jum'ah. I'll show up at the end, block people's cars if I have to, hang out in the back and then I'll pray and alhamdulillah, I got my Jum'ah out of the way.

Whereas some people come to Jum'ah with a sense of purpose, understanding that Allah has given you an opportunity to be forgiven for the past week. Come to Jum'ah with a heart that is missing Allah, ready to absorb what the khateeb is saying — whether he's a boring speaker or not — ready to hear the remembrance of Allah and to act in accordance with it.

Some people pray five times a day, some people do their salat, but Allah tells us even the hypocrites used to pray. But what's the thing about the hypocrites?

When they get up for their prayer, they get up lazy, angry. كُسَالَى doesn't just mean laziness — it means agitated. Like, "Man, I gotta do another prayer. We just prayed Dhuhr. With this new time change, the salawat are too close by." And when they hear a command from Allah, if they can't find the loophole, then they'll do that command — but they'll do it with mediocrity. There's no real love of Allah. And so the purpose of those good deeds, which is to bring the servant close to Allah, is not being realized.

The Hadith Qudsi: Allah's War Against the Enemies of His Awliya

Allah tells us something about loving Him. Listen very closely to this hadith — it is a very beautiful hadith. Allah says, in this Hadith Qudsi, narrated by Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6502)

Whoever takes one of my awliya — one of my beloved — as an enemy, or shows hostility towards him, I will wage war against him. Think about that.

Now usually, whenever a person is lower in status in a relationship, they are the ones who boast about that relationship. A person who is not that attractive marries someone who is very attractive — they'll boast about having the relationship with the attractive one. A person of low status has a relationship with one of high status — they'll boast about having that relationship. A person who is poor will boast about having a connection with one who is rich. Rarely do you see that the one who is higher boasts about the relationship with the one that is lower.

And there is no greater discrepancy, no greater distance in status, than what exists between Allah — the Creator — and the khalq, the creation. Allah created us from nothing. Allah owes us absolutely nothing. Allah could have just told us: "Do this or you go to hell" — and that's it. It's His right. But Allah is proud of His relationship with one of His beloved, even though the one that He loves is so much lower than Him. There is no greater distance — no distance can describe how different Allah is from His creation.

When Allah Loves Someone — It Is an Event

But you know what the Prophet ﷺ tells us? When Allah loves a person, it's an actual event. Something happens. The Prophet ﷺ says:

If Allah loves someone, He calls Jibreel, peace be upon him, and says: "Ya Jibreel, I love that person — so you should love him too." So Jibreel loves him. And Jibreel calls the inhabitants of the heavens and says: "Allah loves this person — you should love him too." And then Allah allows that love for that person to be transferred to the hearts of the people of the earth — acceptance and love is granted in the people's hearts for that person.

Allah treats it like an event when He loves a person. To Allah, that relationship is very special. It's very sacred. It's not about whether he's going to do as much as Allah did for him — that's impossible. It's that this person is going out of his way to please Allah although he doesn't see Him.

The General and the King — A Story of True Love

Think about what effect the love of Allah has on the one who loves Him. It's no longer a relationship of just obligation and prohibition, of reward and punishment — it goes much further than that.

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said that there was a righteous king who used to say that he loved his general more than he loved his own children. And his children said to him: "Why do you love your general more than you love us? This is just a man who works for you. Why do you love him more than us? We do everything for you — we bring you food, we're respectful, we're good children. You tell us to do something, we do it." And the king said: "Come with me."

He took them out on an expedition. And Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said that the king stopped and looked forward — and looked at a well of water. And the general immediately ran to that well of water to bring him a glass of water. And the king said to his children: "That's why I love him more." Because he would have had to tell his children to do that. The general had such a relationship with him that he just knew what would please him. He didn't have to be told: "Go get me water." He just saw that the king's eyes fell upon that well and he immediately went and brought the glass of water.

Love does things that obligation and prohibition cannot do. As Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, said: the love of Allah brings out of the servant even what Kitabullah — the Qur'an — does not. It makes him do things that even the Qur'an does not. Because he starts seeing everything as an opportunity to get closer to Allah. Why? Because Allah means everything to him. It's something serious to him. Something so sacred that he would do anything for the object of his love, which is Allah.

Because that's a sign of love. It's very easy to say "I love you." But a true expression of love is: "I would take a bullet for you. I'd do anything for you." That's why the sahaba said to the Prophet ﷺ that they loved him more than they loved themselves. And when the delegation from Quraysh came and saw the way the sahaba treated the Prophet ﷺ, they said: "No way — we've seen Caesar, we've seen Khosrow, we've seen all of these rulers. No one is more loved by his people than Rasulullah ﷺ." Even though he didn't give them high salaries, he didn't have them sitting in palaces — he had them struggling, risking their lives, spending all of their money for Allah. And they would say to the Prophet ﷺ: "You are more beloved to us than our own selves."

It showed at Uhud. It showed whenever the Prophet ﷺ was attacked — the sahaba threw themselves upon him. Abu Dujanah, may Allah be pleased with him, his back becoming littered with arrows. Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him, trying to catch the arrows as they came at the Prophet ﷺ. That is something that cannot just come out of obligation and prohibition. It's something far greater than that. It's love.

Love Means Avoiding Even What Is Disliked

When you love someone in this world, you love them for some quality, for something about them. As soon as those qualities are absent, the love disappears. That's why marriages fall apart that are built on superficiality. You married someone because they were attractive — and then they weren't so attractive to you anymore. The love disappeared because you didn't love the person, you loved the quality. Whereas if you love a person's inside, their khuluq, their character — the character will stay the same. That inner beauty will still be there.

Now with Allah, think about this. With a human being — when you truly love them — if that person told you: "I'm not happy with what you're doing, but I'm going to let you do it anyway. I really hate what you're doing, I dislike it, but I'm going to let you do it anyway." If you really love that person, would you still go out and do it? No.

But whenever we hear that something is makruh — just disliked, not haram — we say: "A scholar said it's makruh, don't worry about it." You're literally saying to Allah: "Oh Allah, I know you hate this — but I don't care. It's not haram. You didn't command me not to do it."

Or when someone that you love tells you: "I'm not saying you have to do this, but I'd be very pleased if you did. I'd really appreciate it." If you really love that person, you're not going to wait for them to say: "You have to do this or else." Have you ever seen what a person looks like when they first get engaged? She says "jump," he says "how high?" That's love. If you really love a person, you're not going to wait for them to lay down an ultimatum.

When Allah or the Messenger ﷺ show us something that is mustahab, sunnah, recommended — Allah is not going to punish you if you don't do it, but it is recommended. Will you do it? Or will you say: "Alhamdulillah, it's just sunnah." Do you really think the sahaba would ever say: "It's just sunnah"? Never say that. Because you are seeking Allah's love — you are seeking something higher than that.

And what about the gray areas — the shubhaat? Some say it's halal, some say it's haram, it's a doubtful matter. And you still engage in those same doubtful matters? "Well, hey — it's not haram for sure, no one has really said it's haram for sure." That's not the way that a person who loves Allah acts. In fact, that's not even the way a person who loves another human being acts.

The Path to Allah's Love — Through Obligations and Then Nawafil

We read in the lives of the sahaba, we read in the lives of the salaf, and we think: to really love Allah, I need some extraordinary sign. Some ayah needs to come down upon me. Or I need to be in a car accident, and then hear a bird reciting the Qur'an, and that's how I'll really fall in love with Allah. You're waiting for some miracle, some extraordinary thing to happen.

And you know what Allah says in this hadith?

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6502)

My servant doesn't come close to me with anything more beloved to me than the obligations. We realize the goal through the means. Praying five times a day, fasting Ramadan, giving zakah — you're realizing the goal, you're getting close to Allah. And then? You've tasted the sweetness of your prayer. Now you want to pray the sunnah prayers. You're not just getting up because you have to — you want to pray more. You've tasted the sweetness of fasting, so now you want to fast Mondays and Thursdays. You've tasted the sweetness of giving for the sake of Allah in zakah — now you want to give sadaqah.

You went to Hajj — and you know, when some people come back from Hajj they say: "Alhamdulillah, I finished Hajj. I am never coming back. I'm done." That means your Hajj probably wasn't an accepted Hajj. But if a person finishes Hajj and says — as tired as they are, as beat up as they are — "I can't wait to come back. I need to see the House of Allah again. I can't wait to be back in this house." That's tasting the sweetness of it.

So you start getting close. You start developing through the nawafil. Then Allah says: "Until I love him." When you're making that kind of effort, when you start tasting the sweetness of things, and you start doing things because you want to do them — you feel motivated towards them. You're realizing that in your salah, you're taking your time with your prayer. You're focusing on what you're saying, what you're doing, focusing on the moment. Allah sees that effort from you. And you know what? Allah cannot wait to meet you.

Longing to Meet Allah

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6507; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2683)

Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him. Allah wants to meet you. Allah is looking forward to that standing in front of Him. And we also want to meet Allah — although we fear Him.

As Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said: when you fear any creature, you run away from it. But when you fear Allah, you run to Him. It's the opposite effect.

Although I know I've got a lot to worry about — I love Allah. I can't wait to meet Allah. I can't wait to stand in front of Him. I can't wait for that momentous occasion. Why? Because it's not just about obligation and prohibition — although you cannot realize that love until you are fulfilling the obligations and avoiding the prohibitions. There's no way to attain that love otherwise. But it's so much more than that.

It's a willingness to adjust your lifestyle. A willingness to do things because they are pleasing to Allah — not because you have to. A willingness to lose some friends sometimes. A willingness to be looked at as a strange human being — غَرِيب. A willingness to be socially awkward. Why? Because I want Allah.

How Love Protects You from Both Sin and Pride

Imam Ibn Qudamah, may Allah have mercy on him, said that the love of Allah is the only thing that will protect a person from being corrupted by his good deeds and corrupted by his evil deeds.

You're not going to fall into haram knowingly. Allah tells us: they don't commit sins against Allah, they don't do what displeases Allah, knowingly. You're not going to do that if you love Allah, if you have a personal relationship with Allah. But what are you telling Allah when you sin — when you know you're about to commit a sin and you don't stop yourself? You're saying: "Oh Allah, I know you don't like this. I know this angers you. I know you told me not to do this — but I'm going to do it anyway." That's why sin is so detrimental to your relationship with Allah.

And on the other hand — how does the love of Allah protect you from your good deeds? Because what if you're doing your good deeds to show off? What if they are riya? What if they are developing pride — kibr? What if they are causing you to be self-impressed — 'ujb? Then it's all worthless. But if you love Allah, you say: "I don't care if this person thinks that I'm good. I care if Allah thinks I'm good. I don't think I'm better than this person — because I know how much greater Allah is than me." It protects you from your good deeds and it protects you from your bad deeds. Because it's personal. It's more.

Ubayy ibn Ka'b — "Did Allah Say My Name?"

And I'm going to leave you with one thought as I sit down. Rasulullah ﷺ said to Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him: "Read to me — because Allah has commanded that you recite to me." And Ubayy didn't think to himself: "Oh, Rasulullah ﷺ is asking me to read to him — wow! Wait till I tell the sahaba!" He didn't think of that.

You know what he said to the Messenger ﷺ? He said: "Did Allah say my name? Did Allah really say my name? Allah is thinking of me? Allah mentioned me? Allah really said my name?"

That is a person who loves Allah and who has something personal — a secret between him and Allah. Something so personal that not even family members know about it. A secret charity, a secret prayer, a secret du'a — something between that person and Allah that nobody knows. Whereas some people have secret sins, secret disobediences — they're ashamed in front of the people but they're not ashamed before Allah.

Develop that relationship with Allah. Talk to Allah. There is no excuse for anyone not to talk to Allah. Because the language of love is not Arabic. You don't have to speak Arabic to talk to Allah. You can speak to Allah any way that you want. There are no prerequisites to speak to Allah. Make your relationship personal with Allah so that when you meet Him on the Day of Judgment, it's a reunion — it's happiness.

We ask Allah to be pleased with us. We ask Allah to love us. And we ask Allah to make us among those who love and hate for His sake. And we ask Allah to bring us close to every deed that brings about His love in our lives.

Conclusion: Where Do You Stand with Allah?

Dear brothers and sisters, in conclusion — think very deeply about this. Where do you stand with Allah? If you were all alone, in the middle of nowhere, where is your relationship with Allah? When's the last time you spoke to Allah alone? When is the last time you did something for Allah alone? When is the last time you sat there and imagined the day that you would stand before Allah? When is the last time you thought to yourself: "I have to meet Allah whether I like it or not"?

As Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, says: some people will meet Allah and it will be like long-lost relatives — like a family reunion. And some people will meet Allah like slaves who have escaped from their master and are brought back on that day. How will you meet Allah?

(Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Fawa'id)

The one who truly gains happiness in this life is the one who abandons the world before the world abandons him. The one who is truly happy in this world is the one who builds his grave before he even resides inside it. And the one who truly has happiness in this world is the one who pleases his Lord before he meets Him — who sets the stage for that meeting with Allah.

It's fifty thousand years of standing, dear brothers and sisters — but Rasulullah ﷺ said, in the hadith of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported by Imam al-Tirmidhi, that for the believer the Day of Judgment will be like the time between Dhuhr and Asr. A piece of cake. You're meeting Allah, and Allah is going to make that momentous occasion easy for you.

But talk to Allah. Allah wants you to talk to Him. Allah wants you to do things for Him. Do things for Him because you love Him. Do things for Him because you can't wait to see Him. And even if you can't put together a fancy du'a, even if you can't read Arabic, even if all you can do is just make a little bit of du'a to Allah and some tawbah — just seeking His forgiveness — that's enough.

Because Rasulullah ﷺ said Allah is more happy, more pleased with the tawbah — the repentance — of His servant than a man who lost his camel in the desert. And that camel was his means of living. He was stranded. And then he finds his camel. And in his overwhelming joy, he calls upon Allah and — meaning to say: "O my Lord, You are my Lord and I am Your slave" — he mixes up the words and says:

"You are my slave and I am your Lord." Not because he meant it — but it was a moment of intense love, and he mixed up the words. And Allah is happy with that. Allah is pleased with that. Because it was a true expression of love.

Call upon Allah in your moments alone. And have something — a secret between you and Him — that you'd like to come out only on the Day of Judgment, that no one else knows about.

And we ask Allah to make us amongst His true awliya — those who are truly beloved to Him, and those who truly love Him. Wa min Allahi tawfiq. Bi hurmati l-Habib, bi hurmati l-Fatiha.