Love is an emotion recollected in tranquility. It is a fusion which the reason fails to know, a synthesis which results in creation or production. It has a force of melting everything into itself. This whole cosmology is integrated on the principle of synthesis, which is love.
Love is the greatest station the seeker can attain on the path to Allah. The love of Allah is the purest and greatest of all loves. It gives life to the heart, it nourishes the soul and it is the path to eternal success. Love is the way to paradise. It is the main reason why we worship Allah, and it is the only way to live a truly meaningful life on earth.
Without the love of Allah, life is bleak. This is because there is a void in the heart of every human being that can only be filled with the love of Allah. Without love, one’s life will be full of sorrow, fear, pain and regret. On the other hand, when the heart overflows with His love, a person will experience bliss and contentment.
Ibn al-Qayyim (RA) writes, “Undoubtedly, the greatest pleasure of this world is the pleasure of knowing and loving Allah. This is the highest level of bliss one can experience in this world. In contrast, other temporary pleasures of this life are like a drop in the ocean – for indeed, the soul, heart and body were created (to know and love Allah). The most joyous aspect of the world is to know and love Allah, and the greatest pleasure in paradise will be to see Allah.”
The 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi (RA) believed that true love transcends physical attraction and emotional attachment and that the quest for true love is actually the quest for union with the divine.
In a broader sense, love belongs in the hearts and souls of human being. The most important place for love is a safe place like the heart, rather than a weak place like the tongue.
The first kind of love that Islam calls for is the Love for Allah. This love causes us to avoid committing sins for the sake of Allah. This love also encourages us to contemplate all the different aspects of nature, which usually leads us to a deeper trust in the Creator.
The second type of love is the love of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SM). This love also makes you follow the example of Prophet Muhammad (SM) in all his actions and ways. This love is also indicative of the love for Allah as stated in the holy Qur’an: “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger. If they turn away from this then know that Allah does not love those who refuse to obey Him and His Messenger.” (3:32) “(O Messenger!) Tell people: ‘If you indeed love Allah, follow me, and Allah will love you and will forgive you your sins.’” (3:31)
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The writer is a senior sub-editor at the Daily Sun