The Quran
“Those who spend in prosperity and adversity, and those who suppress anger and pardon men; and Allah loves those who do good.” [Qur’an; 3:135]
“On those who believe and do good works there shall be no sin for what they eat, provided they fear God and believe and do good works, and again fear God and believe, yet again fear God and do good. And Allah loves those who do good.” [Qur’an; 5:94]
Hadith
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “If Allah loves a person, He calls Gabriel saying: ‘Allah loves so and so; O Gabriel, love him.’ Gabriel would love him, and then Gabriel would make an announcement among the residents of the Heaven, ‘Allah loves so-and-so, therefore, you should love him also.’ So, all the residents of the Heavens would love him and then he is granted the pleasure of the people of the earth.” [Sahih Bukhari]
It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“There are three things, whoever has them has found the taste of faith (One of the narrators) Bundar said: ‘The sweetness of faith; When he loves a man and only loves him for the sake of Allah. When Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than anything else; and when being thrown into the fire is dearer to him than going back to disbelief after Allah has saved him from it.” [Ibn Majah]
“Anas R.A reported that the Prophet peace be upon him said “None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children, and all mankind.” [Sahih Bukhari]
“When a man loves his brother, he should tell him that he loves him.” [Abi Dawud]
“Verily Allah ta’ala has said: ‘Whosoever shows enmity to a wali (friend) of Mine, then I have declared war against him. And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved to Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to me with nafil (supererogatory) deeds until I Love him. When I Love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge.’ ” [Bukhari]
“None of you [truly] believes until his desires are subservient to that which I have brought.” [40 Hadith An-Nawawi]
“You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not (truly) believe until you love one another.” [Ibn Majah]
“When a Muslim supplicates for his absent brother the angels say: Amin, and may you receive the like.” [Abu Dawud]
“It is not lawful for the Muslim to shun his brother for more than three (days); they come fare to fare and this one turns away, and that one turns away. The best of them is the one who initiates the salam.” [Tirmidhi]
The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever. [Sahih Muslim]
Narrated by Mu’adh ibn Jabal, “I heard Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying, ‘Allah the Exalted says, ‘My love is due to those who love one another for My sake, meet one another for My sake, visit one another for My sake and spend in charity for My sake’.” [Riyad-us-Saliheen]
It is reported that Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) would say on the Day of Resurrection, “Where are those who have mutual love for My Glory’s sake? Today I shall shelter them in My shadow when there is no other shadow but the shadow of Mine.” [Sahih Muslim]
“The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever.” [Sahih Muslim]
“Shake hands and rancour will disappear. Give presents to each other and love each other and enmity will disappear.” [Muwatta Malik]
A man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment) saying, “When will the Hour be?” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “What have you prepared for it?” The man said, “Nothing, except that I love Allah and His Apostle.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “You will be with those whom you love.” [Sahih Bukhari]
Love of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is essential. The fruit of this love is obeying commands.
Abud-Darda(May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “One of Prophet Dawud’s supplications was:
اللهم إني أسألك حبك، وحب من يحبك، والعمل الذي يبلغني حبك، اللهم اجعل حبك أحب إلى من نفسي، وأهلي، ومن الماء البارد
Allahumma inni as’aluka hubbaka, wa hubba man yuhibbuka, wal-‘amalalladhi yuballighuni hubbaka. Allahumm-aj’al hubbaka ahabba ilayya min nafsi, wa ahli, wa minal-ma’il-baridi
“O Allah! I ask You for Your Love, the love of those who love You, and deeds which will cause me to attain Your Love. O Allah! Make Your Love dearer to me than myself, my family and the cold water).”‘ [Tirmidhi]
Love takes root through knowledge, understanding, and experience. The first basis of love is acquaintance and understanding. By getting to know and being attracted to what is discovered, love grows. It is then experienced through the senses: by seeing, hearing, feeling, etc.
The highest rank of love is the love of Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He). One who loves Allah will also love the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and all righteous people. Deep love of Allah can be acquired by severing all worldly connections and ousting the love of everything other than Allah from the heart and also by increasing knowledge of Allah. Consider the heart like a cup. It has to be emptied of all else and filled with love for Allah.
If one person were to do another some good, in most cases, the beneficiary would not be able to withhold love for the benefactor. Therefore, it makes sense that one must direct his utmost love via heart and spirit towards our ultimate benefactor Allah the Sustainer of the universe.
Contemplation over the attributes of Allah, and the various manifestations of His Power through the designs of nature, for example, pave the way to increasing in love of Allah and emptying other shallow preoccupations.
Next comes the love of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as mentioned in the hadith from Sahih Bukhari above.
Signs of a man’s love for Allah (extracted from Ihya):
- Loving to meet Allah by way of spiritual unveiling and directly beholding Paradise
- Giving priority to that work which Allah loves over everything else that s held dear, to busy one’s self with difficult tasks, to give up low desires and idleness, to be busy with devotions, to seek His nearness by additional devotions and to hope for a higher rank with Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He).
- Predominance of the remembrance of Allah in the heart and on the tongue
- To love to live with the Beloved in solitude, to invoke Him, to recite His book, to pray the night vigil prayer, to seek the treasures of felicity at night and to be engaged in devotions after cutting off all connections.
- To feel sad if one is unable to always remember Allah, if moments elapse without being spent in His remembrance.
- To feel happy in devotions and not to feel difficulty
- To be kind to those who obey Allah and to be harsh with the enemies of Allah and to those who are accustomed to evil.
- To remain fearful (of becoming distant or facing rejection)
- To keep love secret, to give up claims of love, to be wary of disclosing ecstasy and love and to show honour to and proclaim the glory of Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) in fear
- Satisfaction and contentment, and good conduct.
Further Resources
Making Love Last: Prophetic Principles for a Successful Marriage