"Whoever loves Allah must follow the Messenger (saws)..."

Whoever loves Allah must follow the Messenger (saws), believe in what he says, obeys what he commands, and emulate what he does Whoever does this does Allah loves, and so Allah will love him.

 

Allah has made two signs of those who love him:

-Following His Messenger (saws),

-And striving in Jihaad for His sake.

 

The true essence of Jihaad is striving to achieve that which Allah loves of Imaan and righteous deeds, and to repel what Allah hates of kuffr, immorality and sin. Allah says:

"Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your spouses, or your kin; the wealth that you have gained; the commerce in which you fear a decline; or the dwellings in which you delight – are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger, or Jihaad in His Cause – then wait until Allah brings about His Decision…" [9:24]

 

Allah has issued this threat as a warning to those whose families and wealth are more beloved to them than Allah and His Messenger (saws) and Jihaad for His sake. Indeed, it is proven that the Prophet (saws) said, “By the One in Whose Hand my soul is, none of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his child, his father, and all the people.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

 

It is reported in the Saheeh that ‘Umar Ibnul-Khattab (ra) said, “Ya Rasulullah, by Allah you are dearer to me than everything except my own self.” He (saws) said, “No, Ya ‘Umar, until I am dearer to you than your own self.” He said, “By Allah, you are dearer to me than my own self.” He (saed) said, “Now, Ya ‘Umar.” [Agreed upon]

 

True love can only be perfected by loyalty to the beloved, by loving what he loves and hating that what he hates. Allah loves Imaan and Taqwaa, and He hates kuffr, immorality and sin. It is known that love influences the will in the heart. The stronger that love becomes, the more the heart will seek that which Allah loves. If the love is perfected, there needs to be a firm resolve to do good deeds which are loved, if the person is able to do them.

 
If he is not able to do them, he will do as much of them as he can, and he will receive a reward equivalent to that of the one who does them, as the Prophet (saws) said, “Whoever calls to right guidance will have the reward like that of the one who follows it, without it detracking from the reward in the slightest. And whoever calls to misguidance will bear a burden of sin equivalent to the at of those who follow it, without it detracking from the punishment in the slightest.” [Muslim]

 

And he (saws) said, In Madīnah there are men, who did not walk in a place or cross a valley, but they were with you.” They asked, “They are in Medīnah?” He (saws) said, “They are in Medīnah, but they have an excuse.” [Agreed upon]

 

Jihaad means to do one’s utmost, to do all that one possibly can, to do that which Allah loves and to repel that which He hates. If a slave fails to do anything he is capable of in Jihaad, this is indicative of some weakness or imperfection in his love for Allah and His Messenger (saws). It is known that usually one cannot achieve what one loves except by putting up with hardship, whether the object of one’s love is worthy or otherwise. Those who love wealth, power, and images do not attain them except by suffering some damage or harm in worldly terms, as well as the harm that will befall them in this world and the next. If a person who claims to love Allah and His Messenger (saws) is unable to put up with hardship, which even wise people who do not love Allah realize they must put up with in order to achieve their goals, this indicates some weakness or imperfection in his love for Allah.

 

It is known that the true believer is overflowing with love for Allah, as Allah says:

"Yet there are men who take others besides Allah as equals; they love them as they love Allah, but those with Iman are overflowing in their love for Allah …" [2:165]

 

Indeed, a person who loves Allah – if he is weak in understanding and fails to grasp the correct concepts – may follow a path that does not achieve the desired goal. Such paths are worthless even if the person’s love for Allah is sincere and praiseworthy. So how must it be if his love is corrupt and faulty, and the path is one that leads nowhere, as in the case of those reckless souls who pursue wealth, power, status, loving things that harm them and do not achieve their goals? What should be sought is the path followed by the people of sound understanding in order to reach the desired goal…

 
…Allah has made the basis of love for Him and His Messenger (saws) Jihaad for His sake. Jihaad involves absolute love for that which Allah has commanded, and absolute hatred for that which He has forbidden, and so He has described those whom He loves and who love Him as:

"…humble towards the believers, strong against the disbelievers, fighting in the sake of Allah and never afraid of the blame of the blamers." [5:54]

 

Hence the love of this Ummah for Allah is more perfect than the love of the nations that came before, and their servitude (‘ubudiyyah) towards Him is more perfect than the servitude of the nations that came before. The most perfect of this Ummah in this regard are the Sahabah (ra) of Muhammad (saws), so whoever is more like them is also more perfect. But do we see any of this in those who claim to love Allah?

[Al-‘Ubudiyyah - By Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahUllah)]