All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. He guides His obedient servants to His love and admits the doers of good to His Paradise. Love of Allah the Almighty requires us to know and do what Allah loves. The kindness that Allah the Almighty loves can be achieved through fearing Allah and being conscious of Him in all our word of mouth and deeds too. As such, when a Muslim should speak, one must say the best of words, and when carrying out a task, one must seek perfection and do it to the possible best. Allah says:
وَلَوْ شَاء اللّهُ مَا أَشْرَكُواْ وَمَا جَعَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا وَمَا أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِوَكِيلٍ
“And had Allah pleased, they would not have associated others (with Him), and We have not made you a keeper over them, nor are you over them a guardian.” (Surah Al-Anam, 107)
Love of Allah requires us to love what Allah loves and to dislike what displeases Him and to further demonstrate that love by following the Quran and the Sunnah. When we love Allah, that love draws us closer to Him and helps us build a strong relationship that can help us in this life and the hereafter. As Muslims, our faith requires that our love for Allah and his prophet supersedes any other type of love for any other object or creation. Allah says:
عَسَى اللَّهُ أَن يَجْعَلَ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَ الَّذِينَ عَادَيْتُم مِّنْهُم مَّوَدَّةً وَاللَّهُ قَدِيرٌ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“Perhaps Allah [that] will put between you and between those (too) whom you have been enemies, among them love. And Allah (is) All-Powerful. And Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surah Al-Mumtahinah 60:7)
Draw closer to your Lord by doing all acts of obedience that He loves. You can even go nearer to Him, the Most Exalted, by prayers, charity or any other acts of righteousness. While, so doing, seek the love of Allah, the Most Sublime, and the attainment of his guidance. This is a precious opportunity to also advise each other on the values and ethics that Allah, the Most Exalted loves. Such values include beauty.
Here are some ways to increase your love for Allah Almighty:
- Loving Allah is the principal for knowing Allah’s Lordship
- Loving Allah should be in the hearts of humans forever
- Loving Allah feel happiness, blessings, success in life
- Loving Allah is advising the good and prohibiting evil
- Loving Allah is a source of nourishment of our souls
- Loving Allah greatly helps a person to abandon sins
- Loving Allah has sought knowledge and take action
- Loving Allah is when being overcome by desires
- Loving Allah is the noblest and greatest deed
- Loving Allah is greater than that of anything
- Loving Allah is staying away from poisons
- Loving Allah is the pure worship
- Loving Allah prevents doubts
- Loving Allah is uncountable virtues
- Loving Allah is also obedience to His Law
- Loving Allah is performing voluntary prayers
- Loving Allah is happiness and success in life
- Loving Allah is staying connected to the Quran
- Loving Allah is the root and essence of Tawheed
- Loving Allah will be the source of every other love
- Loving Allah is a consolation at times of misfortunes
- Loving Allah helps a person refrain from committing sins
- Loving Allah is to be humble and submissive before Allah
- Loving Allah is following the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad
- Loving Allah must be associated with glorifying and exalting Him
Allah has made His love obligatory on the believers. We focus on planting Allah’s love, then we will not only get His love but He will instil our love in others’ hearts. Love for Allah brings about happiness, His pleasure, and keeps us from indulging in temptations, we can focus on factors that increase our love for Allah in our hearts. Show your love in the good deeds that you do, in the bad deeds that you strive to stay away from, and in the efforts that you make in understanding your deen. Allah says:
هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا
“He (is) the One Who sends His blessings upon you and His Angels so that He may bring you out from the darkness[es] to the light. And He is to the believers Merciful.” (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:43)
Today, when the hearts of most of us are filled with lusts, desires, temptations, and fantasies, we need to remind ourselves that it is not possible to have those take a room in the same heart where we want to plant our love for Allah.
Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:
- “And Allah loves the steadfast.” (Al Imran: 146)
- “Allah loves those who are patient.” (Quran 3:145)
- “Verily with hardship, there is a relief.” (Quran 96:6)
- “Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.” (Al-Maida: 42)
- “Serve Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience.” (Quran 39:2)
- And whatever you have of favour – it is from Allah.” (An-Nahl: 53)
- “Indeed, Allah loves the righteous [who fear Him].” (At-Tawba: 4)
- “Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him] on.” (Al-Imran: 159)
- “And put your trust in Allah, if you are believers indeed.” (Quran 5:23)
- “And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.” (Al-Baqara: 195)
- “say, [O Muhammad], ‘If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you.” (Al Imran: 31)
There is no doubt those who do their best, take the necessary means and rely upon their Lord, knowing that His arrangement is better than theirs, will cherish tranquillity and assurance of the heart. Show your love for Allah by abstaining from what He has asked us to abstain from. Stay away from shirk, hypocrisy, backbiting, oppression, gambling and every other vice that the Qur’an has warned us against. Allah says:
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Say, “If you love Allah, then follow Allah will love you and He will forgive for you your sins. And Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surah Al-Imran 3:31)
Moreover, one should be kind towards others; give to those who are deprived, pardon whoever wrongs him, repel evil by that deed which is better, be patient and show persistence. While so doing, one should show persistence and seek the satisfaction of Allah and His love.
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ
“Indeed, you (can) not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He (is) most knowing (of) the guided ones.” (Surah Al-Qasas 28:56)
Thus, the more we love Allah, the better we will be able to engage with Him at this level and the better we will be able to feel and expect his mercy in return. Such tolerance entails that one should strive to be fair in all his dealings and avoid taking that which is not his right. Truly, such beautiful qualities are amongst those loved by Allah. We forget that we need Allah’s help and strength to guide us. Allah says:
لَن تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا مِن شَيْءٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِهِ عَلِيمٌ
“Never will you attain [the] righteousness until you spend from what you love. And whatever you spend of a thing then indeed, Allah of it (is) All-Knowing.” (Surah Al-Imran 3:92)
Our love for Allah can be expressed by how much we seek knowledge about Him and Islam. Learn more about what Allah says in the Quran. Try to count everything good in your life, and everything that seemed bad but turned out to be good. All that is from Allah. The fact that you are Muslim. May Allah the Almighty guide us all to obey Him and obey His Messenger Muhammad PBUH and obey those He has commanded us to obey in line with His orders.