Article Surah 98 · Ayah 8

Signs of Allah’s Love for a Person and Attaining It

Question
What are the indications of Allah’s love for his worshippers and how can we achieve it.
Answer
Praise be to Allah.

Almighty Allah said (what means): “Say (O Muhammad): “if you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic monotheism, follow the Quran and Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [3:31].
Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘if Allah loves a person, He calls Jibrael saying, ’Allah loves so and so; O Jibrael love him.’ And make an announcement amongst the inhabitants of the heaven: “Allah loves so and so therefore you should love him also, and so all the inhabitants of the heaven would love him, and then he is granted the pleasures of the people on the earth.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that Allah said: “I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of mine. And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My worshipper keeps on coming close to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him, then I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hands with which he grips, and his legs with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him, and if he asks My protection (refuge), I will protect him.” [Al-Bukhari].
A-The Excellence of Reciting the Quran
1. Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying: “Read the Quran (regularly) for it will act as an intercessor for its readers on the Day of Resurrection.” [ Muslim].
2. Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Quran and teach it (to others).” [Al-Bukhari].
3. ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said : “When somebody recites one letter from the Quran he will get one good deed in recompense which will be equal to ten good deeds. I do not say that Alif Lam Meem is a letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Meem is a letter (i.e it is equal to three letters).” [ At-Tirmithi].
B-The Excellence of remembering Allah
1. Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said : “A person who recites after every salah (prayer) : sub-han- Allah (glory be to Allah) thirty three times, Al-ham-do lil-lah (all praise belongs to Allah) thirty three times and Al-la-ho Akbar (Allah is great) thirty three times, and completes the figure of hundred with the recitation of La ilaha ila Allah wahdahu lasharikalahu lahu almulku walahu alhamdu wahuwa ‘ala kul shai in qadeer
(“None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and He has no partner, for Him is the kingdom and all the praises and thanks are for Him and he is Omnipotent”) will have his (minor) sins forgiven, although they may be as much as the foam of the sea. [ Muslim].
2. Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Who-ever says ‘Subhan Allahi wa bihamdi hi’, one hundred times a day, will be forgiven all his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea.” [ Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
3. Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said : “The similitude of the one who remembers (glorifies the praises of his Lord) in comparison to the one who does not remember his Lord is like that of the living and the dead.” [Al-Bukhari].
C-Invoking Allah’s Blessings Upon the Prophet
1. Almighty Allah said (what means): “Allah and His Angels send blessing on the Prophet, O you who believe! send your (salah) and salute (greet) on him with a worthy salutation.” 33:56.
2. ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying : “A person who calls for blessings on me, (recites salah) once, Allah sends down mercies on him ten times.” [Muslim].
And Allah knows best.
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The virtue of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them)

Question
What are the signs of Allaah’s love for His slave? Answer
Praise To Allah

You have asked about a serious and weighty matter, which none attain but very few of the righteous slaves of Allaah.
The love of Allaah is "the status for which the righteous compete and strive… It is the nourishment of hearts and souls… the delight of the eyes… It is the life of which one who is denied it is dead… the light which the one who loses it is in deep darkness… the healing of which the one who is denied is sick… the joy which the one who is deprived of it lives in distress and pain…
It is the spirit of faith and good deeds… by means of which one may draw closer to Allaah… which, when it is absent, one is like a body in which there is no soul."
O Allaah, make us among those whom You love.
The love of Allaah has signs and causes which are like the key to the door. These causes include the following:
1 –Following the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Allaah says in His Holy Book (interpretation of the meaning):
"Say (O Muhammad to mankind): If you (really) love Allaah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’aan and the Sunnah/prophetic teachings), Allaah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful"
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:31]
2-5 – Being humble towards the believers and stern towards the kaafirsdisbelievers, waging jihad (a battle/struggle) for the sake of Allaah, and not fearing anyone or anything but Him. Allaah has mentioned these qualities in a single verse, in which He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allaah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting/striving in the way of Allaah, and never fear of the blame of the blamers"
[al-Maa'idah 5:54]
In this verse Allaah describes the attributes of those whom He loves, the first of which is: humility and not being arrogant towards the Muslims, and being stern towards the kaafirsdisbelievers, and not humbling or humiliating oneself before them. They (the ones whom Allaah loves) strive for the sake of Allaah, against the Shaytaan, the kuffaardisbelievers, the hypocrites and the evildoers, and they strive against their own selves (jihad al-nafs). They do not fear the blame of any blamer, because so long as they are following the commands of their religion, he will not care about anyone who mocks him or blames him.
6 – Doing naafil (supererogatory) acts of worship. Allaah says – according to a hadeeth qudsi (divinely inspired saying of the Prophet) – "My slave keeps drawing near to me by means of supererogatory acts of worship until I love Him." Supererogatory acts of worship include naafil prayers, charity, ‘Umrah, Hajj (minor and major pilgrimage to Makkah) and fasting.
8-12 – Loving, visiting one another, helping one another (financially) and offering sincere advice to one another for the sake of Allaah.
These attributes were mentioned in a single hadeeth (narration) in which the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) narrated that his Lord said: "My love is guaranteed for two who love one another for My sake; My love is guaranteed for two who visit one another for My sake; My love is guaranteed for two who help one another (financially) for My sake; My love is guaranteed to for two who uphold ties with one another for My sake."
Narrated by Ahmad, and 4/236 and 5/236; al-Tanaasuh by Ibn Hibbaan, 3/338; the two ahaadeeth were classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, 3019, 3020, 3021.
What is meant by "two who visit one another for My sake" is that they only visit one another for the sake of Allaah, seeking thereby His pleasure for their loving one another for His sake or cooperating in worshipping Him.
From al-Muntaqa Sharh al-Muwatta’, hadeeth 1779.
13 – Being tested. Calamities and disasters are a test for a person, and this is a sign that Allaah loves him, because this is like medicine: even though it is bitter, but still you offer the medicine, despite its bitterness, to the one whom you love; and Allaah’s is the highest description. According to a saheeh hadeeth (authentic narration): "The greatest reward comes from the greatest trial. When Allaah loves people, He tests them, and whoever accepts it gains the pleasure of Allaah and whoever complains earns His wrath.
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2396;and Ibn Maajah, 4031; classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani.
For calamities to befall the believer is better than punishments being stored up for him in the Hereafter. How can it be otherwise when he is raised in status and his bad deeds are erased thereby? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When Allaah wills good for His slave, He hastens his punishment in this world, and when He wills bad for His slave, He withholds his sins until he comes with them on the Day of Resurrection."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2396; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.
The scholars have explained that the one from whom calamities and trials are withheld is the hypocrite, for Allaah withholds [his punishment] in this world, so as to bring him with all his sins on the Day of Resurrection.
O Allaah, make us among those whom You love.
If Allaah loves you, do not ask about the good that you will attain and the virtue that you will acquire… it is sufficient for you to know that you are the beloved of Allaah. The great fruits of the love of Allaah for His slave are as follows:
1 – People will love him and he will be accepted on earth, as it says in the hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari (3209): "When Allaah loves a slave, He says to Jibreel, 'I love so-and-so, so love him,' so Jibreel loves him and then calls out to the people of heaven, 'Allaah loves so-and-so, so love him,' and the people of heaven love him, and then acceptance is placed in the Earth for him."
2 – What Allaah has mentioned in the hadeeth qudsi of the great virtues of those whom He loves. It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, 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 ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6502.
This hadeeth qudsi includes a number of benefits of Allaah’s love for His slave:
(i) "I am his hearing with which he hears" i.e., he does not listen to anything but that which Allaah loves.
(ii) "his seeing with which he sees" i.e., he does not see anything but that which Allaah loves.
(iii) "his hand with which he strikes" i.e., he does not do anything with his hand but that which Allaah loves.
(iv) "and his foot with which he walks" i.e., he does not go towards anything but that which Allaah loves.
(v) "Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him" i.e., his du’aa’s (supplications) are heard and his requests are granted.
(vi) "and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it" i.e., he is protected by Allaah from all things…
We ask Allaah to help us to please Him.
And Allaah knows best.
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