Love for Allah Almighty:
To attain divine love, it is very necessary that a person loves Allah Almighty. It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubada bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
من أحب لقاء الله ، أحب الله لقاءه ، ومن كره لقاء الله كره الله لقاءه
“Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him; and whoever dislikes to meet Allah, Allah dislikes to meet him.”
What is the proof of love for Allah?
﴿قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ. قُلْ أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ ۖ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْكَافِرِينَ.﴾
“Say, [O Muhammad], ‘If you should love Allah, then follow me, so Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.’ Say, ‘Obey Allah and the Messenger.’ But if they turn away – then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers.”
The virtuous Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Nasir Al-Sa’di, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
In this verse, the obligation of loving Allah, its signs, its result, and benefits are mentioned. Thus He said: ﴿قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ﴾ “Say! If you love Allah.” If you claim this high rank, above which there is no rank, then mere claim is not enough; rather, this claim must be true. The proof of its truth is the obedience to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in all circumstances, in words and actions, in beliefs and deeds, outwardly and inwardly. So whoever follows the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, Allah’s love confirms his claim; Allah loves him, forgives his sins, bestows mercy upon him, and keeps him steadfast on the straight path in all his movements and stillness. Whoever does not follow the Messenger is not one who loves Allah because the requirement of loving Allah is following the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. When following is absent, it is proof that this love does not exist. In this case, if he claims to love the Messenger, his claim is false, and even if love exists, such love without its condition (following) is useless. Everyone should be measured by this verse’s scale. The more someone follows the Messenger, the greater will be his share of faith and love for Allah, and the less the following, the more deficient will be the faith and love for Allah Almighty.
The deeds of the Friends of the Merciful and the Friends of Satan and the end of both:
The following noble verses mention the priceless blessings of the people of Paradise, which are due to the fact that they used to perform righteous deeds, feared the punishment of the Day of Judgment, fed the poor, the orphan, and the captive, even though they themselves had little food, and they did this solely to seek the pleasure and love of Allah. Accordingly, Allah Almighty has said:
﴿إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا . إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ سَلَاسِلَ وَأَغْلَالًا وَسَعِيرًا . إِنَّ الْأَبْرَارَ يَشْرَبُونَ مِن كَأْسٍ كَانَ مِزَاجُهَا كَافُورًا. عَيْنًا يَشْرَبُ بِهَا عِبَادُ اللَّهِ يُفَجِّرُونَهَا تَفْجِيرًا . يُوفُونَ بِالنَّذْرِ وَيَخَافُونَ يَوْمًا كَانَ شَرُّهُ مُسْتَطِيرًا . وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا . إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا . إِنَّا نَخَافُ مِن رَّبِّنَا يَوْمًا عَبُوسًا قَمْطَرِيرًا . فَوَقَاهُمُ اللَّهُ شَرَّ ذَٰلِكَ الْيَوْمِ وَلَقَّاهُمْ نَضْرَةً وَسُرُورًا . وَجَزَاهُم بِمَا صَبَرُوا جَنَّةً وَحَرِيرًا.﴾
“Indeed, We guided him to the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful. Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a blazing fire. Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup [of wine] whose mixture is of Kafur, a spring from which the servants of Allah will drink; they will make it gush forth in force [and abundance]. They [are those who] fulfill [their] vows and fear a Day whose evil will be widespread. And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, [saying], ‘We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude. Indeed, We fear from our Lord a Day austere and distressful.’ So Allah protected them from the evil of that Day and gave them radiance and happiness. And because they were patient, He rewarded them with Paradise and silk [garments].”
How much does a Wali love Allah?
﴿وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَندَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِ ۗ وَلَوْ يَرَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا إِذْ يَرَوْنَ الْعَذَابَ أَنَّ الْقُوَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعَذَابِ﴾
“Some people take others as equals to Allah and love them as they should love Allah, while the believers love Allah the most. And if only those who do wrong could know, when they see the punishment of Allah, that all power belongs to Allah alone, and indeed Allah is severe in punishment (then they would never associate partners with Him).”
Abdul Rahman bin Nasir As-Sa’di, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
And the believers are those who love Allah the most, meaning the polytheists love their deities, but the believers love Allah more than that because their love is purely for Allah. The polytheists share others in their love for their deities, whereas the believers love only the one who truly deserves love. In whose love lies the servant’s true welfare, happiness, success, and salvation. While the polytheists love beings who do not deserve any love; in their love lies the servant’s true misfortune, corruption, and the ruin of his affairs. Therefore, Allah Almighty warned them, saying: ﴿وَلَوْ يَرَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا﴾ “If only those who did wrong could see,” meaning those who associated others with Allah, disobeyed the Lord of the servants by obeying others, wronged by preventing the creation from Allah’s path, and tried to harm them.
If you have become a friend of Allah… :
Allah Almighty says:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا آبَاءَكُمْ وَإِخْوَانَكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ إِنِ اسْتَحَبُّوا الْكُفْرَ عَلَى الْإِيمَانِ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ﴾
“O you who have believed, do not take your fathers or your brothers as allies if they have preferred disbelief over belief. And whoever does so among you – then it is those who are the wrongdoers.”
Abdul Rahman bin Nasir As-Sa’di, may Allah have mercy on him, writes in the explanation of this verse:
Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا﴾ “O believers! Act according to the requirements of faith; be allied with those who fulfill these requirements, and hold enmity towards those who do not fulfill them, and ﴿لَا تَتَّخِذُوا آبَاءَكُمْ وَإِخْوَانَكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ﴾ “Do not take your fathers and brothers as allies,” who are the closest among people to you, and it is even more appropriate regarding others that you do not take them as allies ﴿إِنِ اسْتَحَبُّوا الْكُفْرَ عَلَى الْإِيمَانِ﴾ “if they prefer disbelief over faith,” meaning if they willingly and lovingly prefer disbelief over faith ﴿وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ﴾ “and whoever takes them as allies among you, then indeed they are the wrongdoers,” because they have dared to disobey Allah Almighty and have made the enemies of Allah their allies. Since guardianship and friendship are based on love and support, making disbelievers friends means obeying and loving them over obeying and loving Allah and His Messenger. Therefore, Allah Almighty has mentioned the cause of this, which is the love of Allah and His Messenger. From this, it is established that the love of Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him, takes precedence over everything else. Allah Almighty has subordinated the love of all things to this love.
