CULTIVATING THE LOVE OF ALLAH

by Salman Al-Qadah*

A heart filled with the love of Allah is a heart that finds peace and tranquility.

Allah says:

             الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

Allah promises those who believe and work righteousness that He will give them a life of goodness. He says:

مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً ۖ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.

(QS: An-Nahl :97)

This life which is good and pure is by way of the radiance of one’s spirit, the coolness of one’s eyes, and the happiness of one’s heart towards Allah. Faith provides solace to the soul’s pain. It is the physician that cures our tears and our emotional wounds.

From our love for Allah stems our love for His Messengers, His Prophets, and His angels (peace be upon them all). Our love for Allah makes us love His righteous servants among our fellows. We want to be with those who love Him, to associate with them, and to adopt their good ways and manners.

From our love for Allah stems a desire to exhibit goodness to all of creation. This desire manifests itself in our good words, our good deeds, our supplications, and ourhelp. This in itself is a reason for happiness and contentment. Those who go forth tohelp others and fulfill their needs are the people with the most happiness and fulfillment in their lives.

The love for Allah comes by way of keeping His Book as a dear companion  by reading it, contemplating its meanings, and acting upon its teachings. Such companionship of the Qur’an means that the reader is always with it. Whenever he completes one chapter, he moves on to another. He never finishes reading the Qur’an except with the intention of starting again.

A person’s love for Allah is expressed through his love for Prayer, since this is the way the soul can travel to its Lord. It brings rest to the spirit. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Bilal:

“O Bilal, Call the Prayer, so that we may find rest in it.” (H.R. Abu Dawud)

Prayer safeguards us from sinning and wrongdoing. Allah says:

اتْلُ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ ۖ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ ۗ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ

Recite that which has been revealed to you of the Book and keep up prayer; surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil, and certainly the remembrance of Allah is the greatest, and Allah knows what you do. (QS. : Al-`Ankabut:45)

 We show our love to Allah by constantly seeking His forgiveness and by constantly striving to draw nearer to Him. A Muslim never despairs of Allah’s mercy and he never sees his sins to be greater than Allah’s forgiveness. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Allah says:

يَا بَنِيَّ اذْهَبُوا فَتَحَسَّسُوا مِنْ يُوسُفَ وَأَخِيهِ وَلَا تَيْأَسُوا مِنْ رَوْحِ اللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّهُ لَا يَيْأَسُ مِنْ رَوْحِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ

O my sons! Go and inquire respecting Yusuf and his brother, and despair not of Allah´s mercy; surely none despairs of Allah´s mercy except the unbelieving people. (QS: Yusuf :87) Allah also says:

قَالَ وَمَنْ يَقْنَطُ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّهِ إِلَّا الضَّالُّونَ

He said: And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord but the erring ones?. (QS: Al-Hijr :56)

(Our penitence includes our repeatedly seeking Allah’s forgiveness with the prescribed wording for doing so while keeping the meaning of what we are saying clear in our minds. We must recognize and acknowledge our shortcomings before Allah. We should feel acutely how much we need Him and how much we must rely on Him at every moment of our lives.

We show our love for Allah by being aware of the numerous blessings He has bestowed upon us, despite all our sins and shortcomings.

A worshipper of Allah should never forget supplication. It is a door that is always open and never closed. Allah says:

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ

And your Lord says: Call upon Me, I will answer you; surely those who are too proud for My service shall soon enter hell abased. (QS:Al-Mu’min :60)

Additionally, Allah says:

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ

And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.(QS: Al-Baqarah :186)

We must beseech our Lord in humility at every possible occasion and express our need of Him. Our hearts should be tied to Allah. We should wake up and pray to Him during the last third of the night, which is a special and most precious time for our worship.

We should beseech Allah during the last hour of the afternoon on Friday and between the two calls of every Prayer.

We should be careful that all of our sustenance is lawful and good. We should uphold our ties of kinship and honor our parents. We should respect the honor and wealth of our fellow human beings and never transgress against them.

We should receive in our hearts the glad assurance of the good that is bestowed by the One who when He wills something, just says “Be!” and it is.  (T/Imt/RO6)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)