Let me tell you of a hadith I recently heard. Abu Huraira (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said that “Verily, Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection: Where are those who love each other for the sake of my glory? Today, I will shelter them in my shade on a day when there is no shade but mine.” (Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2566, Grade: Sahih)
In another Hadith, Mu’adh ibn Jabal reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said; Allah Almighty said: Those who love each other for the sake of my glory will be upon pulpits of light, admired by the prophets and the martyrs. (Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2390, Grade: Sahih)
I want you now to close your eyes and think of the day when everything will be “Nafsa, Nafsi”. There will be fear and confusion in everybody’s heart and mind. Indeed, that day as we know will be chaotic. And on that day, imagine yourself standing on a radiant and comforting pulpit of light with serenity in your heart . your soul absolutely content with your fate under the supreme shade of the Almighty. SubhanalAllah.
You would like that won’t you and to think of it, you just need to love each other for the sake of Allah to get that cosy, coveted spot. Sounds easy does it not? Except that it isn’t? And this is why, for those who do it, the reward will be so magnificent.
Why is it so difficult? a whole lot of reasons, but since I have not studied the Deen in depth, I humbly put forward three reasons. Firstly, we do not know how to love ourselves. Second, we do not know where and how to channel our innate love of Allah. Third, we love for the wrong reasons? And finally, we give our nafs (self) and ana (ego) most importance.
For folks like us who find faults in the shape of our nose, our complexion and our height to name just a few things, how can we stop ourselves from discerning similar faults in others and gauging them in accordance with these shallow things. Similarly, for some of us who idolize wealth, fame and even flawed humans to a degree of a disease, how can we do shukr (practice gratitude) in what we have. In other words, if we don’t love ourselves and take care of ourselves the way Allah Subhanata’Allah loves us (more than seventy moms, mind you), how can we extend love to others? Indeed, every act first needs to begin with ourselves for it to work effectively for others.
That said, despite our issues with self love, there is always an innate love of Allah present in our hearts, whether we recognise it or not. Instead of exploring and cultivating that love and build a strong foundation of that love in our personality and our character, we set out to find it elsewhere. What is sad is that since we do not know how to cultivate our love for Allah, we set out to satisfy that yearning with acquisition of worldly things or in people , not reflective of His Divinity . This love sadly, as we all know is not unconditional, irrespective of what folklore says. When we seek love which does not bring us closer to Allah, reminds us of Allah and encourages us to further do good and love for the sake of Allah, it inevitably leads to heart ache or for some , despite having it all, still does not fulfil you the way you envisaged it to. Instead you are constantly measuring it against your ego and your self. You are too important to forgive. You are too important to let go. You are too important to compromise. You are too important to relent. Please note, that this sort of malleability is not for abuse ofcourse, lest someone thinks that way. However, this sort of malleability for Allah’s sake and not for another person, but for yourself to get that shade of the Almighty brings peace to your heart like no other.
So then, how do you love for Allah’s sake. Firstly, you need to love Allah by doing all those things you know HE likes and wants you to do. You also love his prophets, the Prophet Mohammad (may peace and blessings be upon him) and His companions and learn about their lives, their trials and how they chose to and expressed their love for Allah and how they loved for Allah’s sake.
Diving deeper, personally, for me it is also initially always about educating yourself as to how Allah wants you to behave with people, your community, your relatives, your friends, your children, your parents, your spouse etc. Once you know what is expected of you and the value Allah has given to each person in your life, it becomes easier to recognize when your nafs and shaitan are at play and let go.
Let go with a smile. Let go with a clear heart. Let go and move on as opposed to let go and mope, because the latter defeats the purpose. It also does not mean that when you love something or someone only because they bring you to closer to Allah, or forgo the whispering of your nafs, or try to be the better person or most importantly forgive, you do not punctuate such acts with a statement: “Frankly, you don’t really deserve it, but I am going to be nice to you, for the sake of Allah.” Hello. You missed the point, there, didn’t you? You are still not loving for the sake of Allah, but for your nafs.
In a hadith, we learn that a man set out to visit his brother from another town, so Allah sent an angel to watch over his steps. When the angel came to him, he said: Where are you going? The man said: I am visiting a brother of mine in this town. The angel said: Do you have a favor over him to be repaid? He said: No, only that I love him for the sake of Allah Almighty. The angel said: I am a messenger from Allah to tell you that Allah loves you as you love him. (Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2567, Grade: Sahih)
Loving people for the sake of Allah therefore is when you want the only reward to be from Allah. The bestest reward possible. You do not love for any worldly attainment or to score any worldly points. You only love to be loved back by Allah.
Another beautiful hadith says that the Prophet ( may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that Allah Almighty said: My love is a right upon those who befriend each other for my sake. My love is a right upon those who defend each other for my sake.” (Source: al-Mu’jam al-Ṣaghīr 1092, Grade: Sahih).
So, as you can see when you truly love for His sake, you focus your life on everything and everyone that brings you closer to Allah. You surround yourself with people that Allah wants you to love and those that you know love Allah. It is not about those relations that are made for worldly success or for selfish gains at all, but about a love that is not marred by expectations. Loving for HIS sake is about “acha gumaan” (having good perception about others) and giving a thousand excuses and defending each other, rather than un-necessarily criticizing each other and causing discord.
Loving each other for Allah’s sake also means that we communicate that love to each other often and with sincerity. Al-Miqdam ibn Ma’di reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: When one of you loves his brother, let him know (Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2392, Grade: Sahih).
So, do you love anyone for the sake of Allah? I hope you run out of people while answering this question. Now that you know who they are, it is time to tell them that. Time to add “ for the sake of Allah” in the narrative, inshaAllah.
Finally, if you have read upto this sentence, I commend you , I know no one likes reading longish stuff anymore, and therefore if you continued reading to find out how you can love for Allah’s sake, I sincerely pray that Allah loves you and leads you to the path where you practice love for Allah’s sake. We are all a work in progress. I am no different. We are all struggling but it is important to keep struggling for His sake than to stop because there is no other love that can save us except for the love of Allah. The pursuit for Allah’s love to love for HIS sake should never end, because all other forms of love will die except for that one Divine Love and except when you love for His sake, as this form of love will never diminish.
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This writeup was an assignment given to me by Humaira Iqbal, who has been routinely conducting sessions based on the book, “An Ideal Muslimah” since Ramadan and has helped a whole lot of us in our journey. Please keep her and all my new friends who are a part of this journey in your duas. JazakAllah.
Ps. Forgive me for typos.
Safire Dreams 