Love for Allah
The definition of belief in the Qur'an is
complete devotion to Allah and Allah alone. The Hereafter is absolutely
inescapable. The believer is devoted to Allah because he knows he will
certainly give an account of everything he did in the world. Everything
a person owns in the world such as health, intelligence, beauty, wealth,
career, good standards of living, spouse, children, and other blessings
such as food and clothing are all from Allah and is defined by Allah
down to the finest detail. There is no provider other than Allah. The
true believer knows this undeniable fact and so loves and glorifies
Allah ceaselessly. Surely the one who has given everything is deserving
of the greatest love and respect. He never dares to attribute the source
of these blessings to any worldly being, to himself, or anyone else, nor
does he love any being as he loves Allah.
“Allah is most compassionate and most merciful to mankind” (Qur’an
22:65)
When people forget Allah and pay no heed to the true religion, they
begin to love and chase after objects in life thinking they exist
independent of Allah, deceived into thinking that these objects have an
existence outside of Allah, who is the One who actually originates them.
In Quranic terms, being devoted to objects independent of Allah is
associating partners with Allah.
"...Then, when We grant him a blessing from Us he says, 'I have only been given this because of my knowledge.' In fact it is a trial but most of them do not know it." (Qur'an 39:49)
"The believing men and the believing women, they are the friends of one another. They command what is right and forbid what is wrong.” (Qur’an 9:71)
For a believer, the good things in life given to him or her by Allah, are merely ways to get nearer to Allah. He does this by praising Allah for each and every blessing no matter how disguised it may be. For example, the believer is grateful to Allah for his healthy heart and eyes, this leads him to work more righteously in life as Allah requires him to do so. If he 'loves' anything or any being in life, he does so only so he can increase in his love for Allah and to render thanks to Him. Indeed, that is the purpose of all the blessings Allah has provided people. For example, the believer may love his spouse, this makes him thank and love Allah even more and in no way does he consider this love to have originated from any other than Allah. It is all from Allah. In this way, everything on earth is given to us so we can be more devoted to Allah, and follow His commands as described in the Qur'an.
"He said, Mary, who gave you all this? She said, 'they are all from Allah'..." (Qur'an 3:37)
If the believer looses anyone or anything of attachment in the world, he
really has not lost anything so long as he has love for Allah and
continues to be devoted to Him.
When love for objects or human figures, living or of the past, take an
independent standing outside the realm of Allah, a person's purpose of
living is faulty and he is only following his own vain desires and not
Allah. For instance, a person acquires material wealth without duly
thanking Allah or a person who ‘idolises’ an individual due to love for
that person outside and beyond the love of Allah, for instance,
celebrities, football players, family, scientists, and religious
figures.
“Have you considered the one who has taken his own desire as his god?
Allah has, knowing him as such, allowed to be strayed? Sealing his ears
and heart and covering his eyes – who can guide such a person after
Allah has done this? Will you not take heed?” (Qur’an 45:23)
The believer’s only motive on earth is to earn the good pleasure of
Allah and only Allah’s approval, no one else’s.
Having now seen the kind of superior understanding of faith and way of
life of a true believer, it becomes easier to see that disbelievers are
always committing great wrong when they consume Allah's blessings
without making it a way to increase in love of Allah and draw nearer to
Allah. Indeed, they are arrogant about accepting Allah as the originator
of the blessings and deny Him altogether. They begin to venerate human
beings and themselves for every blessing they are given and chase after
objects thinking they are outside of Allah's originating power. Allah
explains this in the Qur'an:
"Yet, there are those who chose to worship others beside Allah as
rivals to Him, loving them as they should love Allah, but the believers
have greater love for Allah" (Qur'an 2:165)
Knowing that Allah is the source of every single blessing on earth, the
true believer derives the greatest pleasure from the worldly blessings
Allah has provided for him, while also earning Allah's Paradise in the
Hereafter.
The hidden idolatry committed by most people is because their hearts do
not reflect on the Qur'an which calls them to true faith by providing
necessary lessons and admonitions. They therefore have given themselves
no possibility of bringing themselves to true faith. Only the Qur'an
explains to people the true sense of faith.
Unfortunately, this form of hidden idolatry we are discussing is not
just restricted to disbelievers. Even many so-called Muslims, who think
they are practising religion, also fall into this hidden idolatry. For
example, some Muslims profess their love for Prophet Muhammad readily
and are full of praises and glory for the Prophet. Amazingly, the same
does not hold true for Allah. Upon a closer analysis, we find that their
case is no different from all the other ignorant people who fail to
accept true faith in Allah and fail to love and glorify Allah
independent of anything else.
"When you mention your Lord alone using the Qur'an, they turn their
backs and run away." (Qur'an 17:46)
Islam is purely and simply a complete surrendering of ones soul to the
Almighty Creator and His purpose in Creation. This is actually a
comprehension more than anything else. Only the Qur'an provides accurate
information on how to attain true faith and comprehension, which is free
of corruption, the kind required by Allah in order to be successful in
the Hereafter. All Muslims must make sincere attempts to understand what
true faith is by taking serious responsibility to study faith directly
from the Qur'an, before it is too late. Until a person does this, there
can be no chance of true faith.
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See also: Unwavering Faith in Allah
Women & Beauty: A Secret Revealed in the Qur'an
Taking the Religion of Islam as a Dogma
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