Love is a feeling that penetrates the depths of the human soul and originates from creation itself, and it is a concept with various manifestations. In the Qur’an and hadith, it is generally expressed with the words “hubb” and “muhabbah/mahabbah”, and at times with “wudd”, “mawaddah”, and their derivatives (Suleyman Uludag, “Muhabbet,” DIA, 30/384.).
In order for a person to maintain a healthy life, they require not only material needs such as food and drink but also spiritual needs such as faith, worship, and supplication. Therefore, for a person to attain true happiness, these needs must be met in a balanced manner. Undoubtedly, one of our spiritual needs is to love and to be loved. Love is a significant emotion that originates from creation itself. As the Prophet (saw) stated: “The believer is one who loves and is loved. There is no good in a person who neither loves nor is loved.” (Tabarani, al-Mu‘jam al Awsat, 6/58 (5787)) However, love reaches its peak through faith and the righteous deeds that nourish it. Indeed, Allah the Almighty states: “As for those who believe and do good, the Most Compassionate will (certainly) bless them with (genuine) love.” (Maryam, 19:96). The concept of love (mahabbah) is attributed both to Allah and to human beings. Although there are various definitions of love, their common point is this: either the one who loves is Allah and the one who is loved is the servant, or the one who loves is the servant and the one who is loved is Allah (Rasit Kucuk, Sevgi Medeniyeti, p. 25.). Indeed, one of the names of Allah is al-Wadud (Hud, 11:90; Buruj, 85:14), which signifies that He loves His believing servants who act in accordance with His pleasure, and that He is loved by His creation (Bekir Topaloglu, “Vedud,” DIA, 42/598–599). The Prophet Muhammad (saw) is a perfect human being who loved both the Creator and His creation, as he was a means for people to know and love Allah (Al-i ‘Imran, 3:31). He referred to himself as Habibullah (the beloved of Allah), yet he stated that this was not a cause for pride (Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 3 (3616)). The title Habibullah became one of the most frequently mentioned attributes by Muslims after the phrase Rasulullah (Topaloglu, “Muhammad,” DIA, 30/438).
The Prophet Muhammad (saw) draws attention to the connection between love and faith as follows: “You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not truly believe until you love one another…” (Muslim, Iman, 93 (54)) That those who believe in Allah and perform righteous deeds will attain the love of Allah is expressed in a verse as follows: “…And do good, for Allah certainly loves the good-doers.” (Baqarah, 2:195)
Undoubtedly, the ones most deserving of love are Allah and His Messenger. Indeed, in the hadiths it is stated that Allah and His Messenger must be loved more than anyone else (Bukhari, Iman, 8 (15); Muslim, Iman, 69–70 (44)), and that such love is a sign of perfect faith whose sweetness is deeply felt within the soul (Bukhari, Iman, 9 (16); Muslim, Iman, 67 (43)). It has also been promised that those who love one another for the sake of Allah, who meet and part with this love, will be among the seven fortunate groups honored under the shade of the Throne on the Day of Resurrection, as Allah’s special guests (Bukhari, Zakat, 16 (1423); Muslim, Zakat, 91 (1031)). However, loving Allah and His Messenger is not a mere claim; it necessitates living in accordance with their pleasure. For the one who loves is the one who obeys the beloved. As expressed in a poem attributed to Imam al-Shafi‘i: “You claim to love Allah, yet you do not refrain from disobeying Him. Such love is false, and its reality is impossible. If your love were true, you would surely obey Him. For the lover is obedient to the one he loves.” (Diwan al-Imam al-Shafi‘i, p. 96) The noble companions also loved the Prophet Muhammad (saw) more than their own lives and expressed this love by saying, “May my mother and father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah!” (Bayhaqi, Shu‘ab al-Iman, 13/27 (9903)).
After Allah and His Messenger, those most deserving of love are, first and foremost, our parents, through whom we came into this world, followed by our siblings, who are part of them; our spouses, with whom we share the joys and trials of life; and our children, who carry the potential to keep our record of deeds open. Therefore, we should love them and express our love for them. For just as loving someone is important, making that love felt is equally so. The Beloved of all lovers, the Prophet Muhammad (saw), serves as an example for us in the matter of love, just as he does in all other areas. In one hadith, he expressed his love for his grandson, Hasan, saying, “O Allah! I love him, so love him as well, and love those who love him” (Bukhari, Libas, 60 (5884); Muslim, Fadha’il al Sahabah, 56–57 (2421)). When his beloved daughter Fatimah came to him, he would stand up, take her by the hand, kiss her, and seat her in his own place. Fatimah (ra), in turn, adopted this noble character and treated her father the same way (Abu Dawud, Adab, 143–144 (5217)).
It is narrated that while a man was sitting in the presence of the Prophet (saw), another person passed by. The man said, “O Messenger of Allah, I truly love that man”. The Prophet then asked him, “Did you tell him?” The man replied, “No”. The Prophet said, “(Then go) and tell him”. So the man went to him and said, “I love you for the sake of Allah”. The other man replied, “May Allah, for Whose sake you love me, love you as well” (Abu Dawud, Adab, 112–113 (5125)).
One day, the Messenger of Allah (saw) took the hand of Mu‘adh ibn Jabal and said to him, “O Mu‘adh! By Allah, I love you” Mu‘adh replied, “I love you too, O Messenger of Allah!” (Nasa’i, Sahw, 60 (1304)). Following this, the Prophet (saw) gave him the following advice: “O Mu‘adh! I advise you not to neglect saying this supplication after every prayer: ‘O Allah! Help me to remember You, to give thanks to You, and to worship You in the best manner.’” (Abu Dawud, Witr, 26 (1522)) Allah the Almighty states in a Hadith Qudsi: “Those who love one another solely for My sake, who gather for My sake, who visit one another for My sake, and who give in charity for My sake, deserve My love.” (Muwatta’, Sha‘ar, 16); “For those who love one another for My sake, there will be pulpits/pavilions of light, which will be the envy of even the prophets and martyrs.” (Tirmidhi, Zuhd, 53 (T2390)) As understood from these hadiths, what makes love truly valuable is that it is purely for the sake of Allah, without any worldly expectation (Islam through Hadiths, 3/71–84) The noble companions also loved one another for the sake of Allah in pursuit of this glad tiding, and they demonstrated every form of selflessness and sacrifice in doing so (Hashr, 59:9).
