Do we need a date to love?

Ashraf Akintola 

Emotions such as love have their limits, just like outbursts of anger, greed, envy, jealousy, if not curtailed can bring those who brew them immeasurable destruction.  As humans, we are created with the natural inclination to love. Love is, in fact, an attribute of Allah – Al- Wadud, that is recreated as an instinct in us and as a Muslim, one of the conditions of the Kalimah - Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (there is no deity worthy of worship) is “Love”. Love for the word and for what it implies and indicates, and love for the people who act upon it and adhere to its conditions. The prophet (SAW) reiterated that “……You will not enter Jannah until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another……”. Irrespective of the form love takes - filial, romantic, fraternal, or otherwise, this important feature of our existence has been extensively addressed in Islam. How do we love? What or Who do we love? Why do we love? When and where do we express our love are questions if not answered in the context of the Qur’an and the sunnah makes one vulnerable to desires that can derail from the right path.

Another outlook to these burgeoning questions stems from the urgency it requires in this very crucial time where everything has become so mixed up that some Muslims are no longer aware of those qualities which distinguish the believers from the non‐believers thus making them love what they are meant to hate and hate what really defines them that they are supposed to adore and embrace. Our faith revolves around what we love just like Allah warned us- “Say, If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kinsmen, the wealth which you have acquired, the commerce in which you fear a decline, or the houses you love ‐ if these are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His cause, then wait until Allah brings about His Decision (torment). Allah does not guide those who are Al‐ Faasiqun.” (Surat at‐Tawbah: Verse 24). And like the saying goes; A man will be with whom he loves, thus it is important to define this limit and understand its concept.

As a Muslim, what does Loving, honouring and helping the disbelievers against the Muslims, and removing the shariʹah of Allah and stigmatising Islam and the Muslims as reactionaries, fossils and relics of a former age, left behind by the march of history say about you? Unfortunately, this scenario is the case with many Muslim in our contemporary world. The real meaning and application of our affirmation of faith is not limited to Tawhid Ar Rububiya (Unity of Lordship) but extends to Tawhid Al Uluhiyyah (Unity of worship). The question of “Why” is answered with the fact that love is a source of loyalty, and it is a means by which the heart and the hand move to act. It inspires intimacy, concern and help; thus it is an integral part of the matters of this world and the hereafter needed in our acts of devotion and worship. Knowing the “Why” gives a clearer picture of “What” to love giving the credence related to the initial question. The Qur’an explains further;

“Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): ʹIf you love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your wrong actions. Allah is Forgiving, Compassionate. ʹ Say ʹObey Allah and the Messenger. ʹ And if they turn away, then surely Allah does not love the disbelievers.” (3:31‐32).

These being said and espoused by the Quran, it is, therefore, safe to say that our love for Allah and his prophet translates to utmost obedience. Hence no other entity deserves to be put on the same pedestal, not even our soul. And for the fact that these fruit of the heart is not limited to just the divine, Allah instructed that;

“Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Whoever does this has no connection with Allah unless you are guarding yourselves against them as a precaution. Allah bids you to beware (only) of Himself. And to Allah is the journeying.” (3:28).

Ibn Abbas reports that the Prophet said,

“The strongest bond of faith is loyalty for the sake of Allah and opposition for His sake, love for the sake of Allah and enmity for His sake.” (AtTabrani, al-Kabir)                     

 Ibn Abbas is also reported to have said,  

“Whoever loves for the sake of Allah, and hates for the sake of Allah, and whoever seals a friendship for His sake, or declares an enmity for His sake, will receive, because of this, the protection of Allah. No one may taste true faith except by this, even if his prayers and fasts are many. People have come to build their relationships around the concerns of the world, but it will not benefit them in any way.” (Ibn Rajab al‐Hanbali, Jamiʹ alʹ‐Ulum waʹl‐Hikam, p.30)

For all our earthly endeavours, it is important from the foregoing to inculcate into our innermost core aligning all our emotions with what Allah and his messenger dictate. We love what Allah loves and hate what he frowns against. Our declaration of faith is a declaration of complete loyalty to the Shariʹah: “Follow that which is sent down to you from your Lord, and follow no protecting friends beside Him. Little do you recollect!” (7:3). The realization of these basic tenets of our faith therefore opens our eyes to that fact that our expression of love lies only with what is right, pure and divine and not against it. If there is anything to be celebrated about love, then none is superior to the love of Allah and his prophet.