Love of Allah

https://www.khutbah.info/love-of-allah/ Allah created the human soul with a tendency to love. There is no heart but inclines, likes, loves and obsesses. Love varies in degree, extent and intensity. However, there is a love that is deeply entrenched. An intense love that never departs.  To the point that love becomes part of one’s conscience leading to righteous deeds that bring one closer to the All Knowing.   It is the servitude of love. Love of the Lord of the Worlds. The joyous one is the one who has tasted the sweetness of this love. And how fortunate is the one who takes a large portion of this love. Whoever’s heart is genuinely touched by this love relishes in His obedience. And finds comfort in worship and tastes the sweetness of faith. And how beautiful is the taste of Iman (faith) that the Prophet elaborated on:

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ  ,وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ  وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ ,  وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا  ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ  فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ ,  وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ ,  وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ   وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ    

Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.

 يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ – آل عمران:102 

Al Imran 102 : O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.

Oh people:

Allah created the human soul with a tendency to love. There is no heart but inclines, likes, loves and obsesses. Love varies in degree, extent and intensity. However, there is a love that is deeply entrenched. An intense love that never departs.  To the point that love becomes part of one’s conscience leading to righteous deeds that bring one closer to the All Knowing.   

It is the servitude of love. Love of the Lord of the Worlds. The joyous one is the one who has tasted the sweetness of this love. And how fortunate is the one who takes a large portion of this love. 

Whoever’s heart is genuinely touched by this love relishes in His obedience. And finds comfort in worship and tastes the sweetness of faith. And how beautiful is the taste of Iman (faith) that the Prophet elaborated on:

 ثَلَاثٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ وَجَدَ بِهِنَّ حَلَاوَةَ الْإِيمَانِ -وَذَكَرَ مِنْهَا- : مَنْ كَانَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَبَّإِلَيْهِ مِمَّا سِوَاهُمَا  

There are three matters for which whomever has them, then he has tasted the sweetness of faith: The one for whom Allah and His Messenger are more beloved than anything else…

Love of Allah is the pillar of Tawhid (Divine Unity). The basis for servitude. And the mainstay of steadfastness.

Living in its shade is light and life. And the heart that does not taste it, is from the dead.

Possessing it facilitates whatever a person may miss. And whoever is deprived it, misses the best of all bounties. 

To be granted the love of Allah was invoked by the best of those who have supplicated and the most genuine of worshippers. The Prophet invoked:

  أَسْأَلُكَ حُبَّكَ , وَحُبَّ مَنْ يُحِبُّكُ , وَحُبَّ عَمَلٍ يُقَرِّبُنِي إِلَى حُبِّكَ

O Allah, indeed, I ask You for Your love and the love of those who love You, and for the action that will cause me to attain Your love 

Commendation to those whose hearts yearn to love Allah. The hearts are  programmed to love those who do good towards them. And there is no one more beneficent than Allah. Picture that His beneficence is renewed with every moment and breathe. 

  وَمَــا بِكُمْ مِنْ نِعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ  

An Nahl (16) 53: And whatever you have of favor – it is from Allah. 

Favors followed by favors.  Inundate His servants night and day, apparent and hidden. 

How can Allah the Blessed and Exalted not be loved when he created us from nothingness. And he surrounded us with favors. And bestowed upon us many gifts and generosity

 وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً     

Luqman (31) 20: And has abundantly bestowed upon you His favors, both apparent and hidden? 

Favors that flow upon us. From above and below us. 

وَإِنْ تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا         

An Nahl (16) 18: And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them.

And he brought us from the wombs of our mothers not knowing anything. And guided us to the true religion; a bestowal and favor from Him. He the Exalted gave us food and clothing, air and water, hearing and sight, a tongue and two lips and two hands and two arms.

فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

Ar Rahman (55) 13:  So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

How can Allah the Blessed and Exalted not be loved when He grants you and does not withhold? And he does not wait for or want recompense from you. He give you plentifully without anything in return.

He is kind to you even though you need Him and are argumentative. 

How can the Glorious King not be loved? He is the One who safeguarded us with His care. And guided us to his religion and Shariah. And within it, He facilitated for us the easy and kept the difficultly and hardships away from it. 

How can the Mighty, Knower of the Unseen not be loved? And he promised His servants forgiveness of the sins and covering faults. To whoever repents, believes and embarks the best of ways. 

How can The Forgiving, the Grateful not be loved? The One who is grateful to his servants. He gives hundreds of good deeds for one good action.  And gives great reward for simple acts of obedience. And he pardons for mistakes and sins. Through just a moment of regret and deep remorse. And repentance and seeking forgiveness. And He the Exalted expiates many of the bad deeds of His servants through acts of obedience in the night and day. 

How can one not love the Blessed and Exalted and He is more merciful with us than our mothers? Those attempting to denigrate him are perished. The polytheists disbelieved in Him and attributed falsehood and a son to Him. They attributed to Him a partner and someone else. The One the Singular called them:

قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ يَنْتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ

Al Anfal (8) 38: Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them.  

He the Exalted is forbearing of His servants in spite of their disbelief and associating others with Him. Then through his generosity he provides for them. 

How can one not love the Dignified and Beautiful. And every beauty is in Him and from Him.  He has the most perfect names. And the loftiest attributes. The ideal actions. There is no beauty like or comparable to Him. If a person reflects on His perfect names and internalizes his beautiful attributes this leads to him loving his generous Lord and mighty Creator. And closeness to the Forbearing, the All Knowing.

How can one not love the Especially Merciful, the Forgiving.  And He infuriated the Iblees for our sake. The Messenger of Allah  said: 

 إِنَّ إِبْلِيسَ قَالَ : أَيْ رَبِّ , لَا أَزَالُ أَغْوِي بَنِي آدَمَ ما دَامَتْ أَرْوَاحُهُمْ فِي أَجْسَادِهِمْ , قَالَ: فَقَالَ الرَّبُّ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى: وَعِزَّتِي وَجَلَالِي لَا أَزَالُ أَغْفِرُ لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَغْفَرُونِي»

Iblis said: “Oh my Lord, I shall continue to lead the sons of Adam astray as long as their spirits are in their bodies” The Lord Blessed and Exalted replied, “By my Might, Majesty, I shall continue to forgive them as long as they ask my forgiveness.” [Imam Ahmad]

How can one not love the Blessed, the Exalted and His mercy preceded His wrath. When Allah completed the creation He wrote above His Throne: 

 إِنَّ رَحْمَتِي تَغْلِبُ غَضَبِي  

My mercy precedes My wrath. [Bukhari 7553, Muslim 2751] 

His mercy encompassed all things. If the sins of His servant reached the clouds of the sky, then he felt remorseful after he sinned, Allah would forgive him and would not mind. Allah said:

وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ        

Al Araf (7) 156: but My mercy encompasses all things

How is it possible to not love Allah when one’s blessings, future, eternity in the afterlife are in His hands. For the paradise of the Most Merciful has bounties and fragrances that are beyond the imagination and not bounded by the heavens. Prepared for you oh man. If the Divine unity, iman (faith) and righteous deeds are realized. So glad tidings for this lavish bliss. And a sincere promise that is not false. And the greatest blessing in it is glancing at the One whom you loved in this world although your eyes have not seen Him in your life. 

By Allah if hearts melted in their cavities and livers disintegrated in love and longing for their Creator and Originator they would not be blamed for that. 

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ  لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ  إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

I say what you have heard and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. So seek forgives from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Second Khutbah

الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ,  وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ  , وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَاْ إِلَهَ إِلَّاْ اَللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَاْشَرِيْكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَاً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ

All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.

Oh Muslims:

And the love of Allah is among the most regarded worships of the heart and the most important driver for acts of obedience, then the most important question is how do we know the extent of the love of Allah in our hearts and chests?

For the love of Allah is not a claim to proliferate.  Nor a relation to be proud of. Rather it has proofs, features and signs. If a person finds them they are indications of beats of love within his heart.

For whoever genuinely loves Allah the Exalted loves His messengers and prophets. And His angels, books and allies. And loves His religion and Divine law. And he makes alliances based on it.  

Whoever truly loves Allah, loves His messenger and loves his guidance and sunnah. And followed his path and his religion. Allah said:

قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ

Al Imran (3) 31: Say, “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”

And whoever loves Allah, his tongue and his being will not let up from being watchful of Allah. Then he remembers and reminds of the greatness of his Lord Standing, sitting and on his side.

When the love of Allah is engraved in the heart of a person, he  is moved to do good deeds. So he rejoices in prayer. And enjoys making remembrance (thikr). And he longs for fasting. And takes the Quran as his companion.

Whoever loves Allah in his heart strives within himself to reject sins. And is ashamed of openly sinning and displaying blameworthy traits. And if his inner self invites him to base desires he remembers His love the Knower of the Unseen.

And whoever loves Allah does righteous deeds that are loved by the Most Perfect and Majestic. Indeed his great Lord Most high loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves. And those who are conscious of him and the doers of good. And the patient and those who rely on Him. And the grateful and the charitable.

And whoever loves Allah of Owner of Majesty and Honor forsakes his mattress and sleeping and purifies himself and stands with those who pray at night.

And whoever loves Allah is grateful for the blessings, utters the most beautiful words. And fasts plentifully. And prays at night while the people are sleeping.

And whoever loves Allah, the love of all others diminishes in his heart. And then his speech, actions, aims, living, earnings and life are all driven by this encompassing love that is deeply rooted in his heart. Allah said:  

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Al Anam (6) 62: Say, “Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.

 O Allah, we ask You for Your Love, and the love of whoever loves You, and the love of deeds that will bring us closer to Your Love.

هَذَا وَصَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى نَبِيِّكُم كَمَا أَمَرَكُمْ بِذلِكَ رَبُّكُمْ , فَقَالَ

I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon your Prophet as your Lord commanded:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

Al Ahzaab (33) 56: Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace.

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنا فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ وَعَافِنا فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ وَتَوَلَّنا فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ وَبَارِكْ لنا فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَقِنا شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ وَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ

O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed.  For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.

اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا سَأَلَكَ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا عَاذَ بِهِ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ كُلَّ قَضَاءٍ قَضَيْتَهُ لَنا خَيْرًا

O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good

 عِبَادَ اللّهِ  إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ  يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

Servants of Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded. 

اُذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ واشْكُرُوهُ يَزِدْكُمْ واسْتَغْفِرُوهُ يَغْفِرْ لكُمْ واتّقُوهُ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مَخْرَجًا   وَأَقِمِ الصّلَاة

Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favors – He will increase you therein.  And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.  

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