Islamic Notion of Love: How to Become a More Loving Person

Islamic Notion of Love: How to Become a More Loving Person


 


One common misconception about Islam among Non-Muslims, and regrettably among many Muslims, portrays Islam as rigid religion that abides by a set of rules, void of any stress on emotions or the role of the heart.

Islam gives significant weight to the work of the heart, and lays equal responsibility on its conformity with the actions of individuals, making it the core of every act- where each Muslim places his intention “Neyya”, and principally the soil where a person plants the seed of faith.

Similarly, Islamic teachings and the Islamic Faith relate considerably to the virtue of love, not just as a mere human moral that’s cornerstone to a sound Muslim character, but as the foundation upon which the Islamic creed is build in its entirety.

Allah says in the Quran

 

“Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Say… Obey Allah and the Messenger." But if they turn away - then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers.”
—Quran 3: 31-32

Same conception is asserted in the Prophet’s Sunnah;

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “ By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, and his children and all mankind.”
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So Love for Allah and his Prophet is part and parcel of a person’s faith and Islam, the absence of which renders both void and incomplete.

On a deeper note, without the element of love involved in every act of worship or obedience, towards Allah, makes it difficult, and if it’s already difficult, such as Hajj or Fasting , it will double its difficulty ten fold.

And in another Hadith narrated by Anas also reflecting on the notion of Love, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: "Whoever possesses the following three (qualities) will have the sweetness (delight) of faith:

1- The one to whom Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad) become dearer than anything else.

2- Who Loves a person and he loves him only for Allah’s sake.

3- Who hates to revert to atheism (disbelief) as he hates to be thrown into the fire.”


But people tend to downplay the importance of such crucial element of faith, limiting the Islamic belief to a set of acts of worships and obedience to Almighty Allah and religious commands, voiding and ripping them of this noble connotation and moral implication.

Another kind of misconception may approve of the importance of the notion of love but limit it to loving Allah and his Messenger.

Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “None of you will have faith till he likes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself.”

A look into the Islamic teachings pertaining to the mutual responsibility befalling Muslims towards one another and towards their communities is capable of clearing any misconception relating to the matter.