People disagree about what constitutes
love of
Allah and the
Prophet. They
have many things to say about it, but in reality, they are referring to
different
states.
Sufyan said, "Love consists of following the
Messenger of Allah." It
was
as if he were thinking of the words of Allah,
"Say: if you love
Allah,
then follow me." (3:31)
One of the scholars said, "Love of the Messenger is
to believe in
his victory,
protect his
Sunna, obey it and to fear being in opposition to
him.
One of the scholars said, "Love is constant
remembrance of the
beloved."
Another said, "It is preferring the beloved."
Another said, "Love is yearning for the beloved."
One of the scholars said, "Love is the heart
following the will of
its master,
loving what he loves and hating what he hates."
Another said, "Love is the heart's inclination to be
in harmony with
the
beloved."
Most of these statements indicate the fruits of love
rather than its
reality.
The reality of love is to incline to what one finds agreeable and
harmonious,
either:
(1) by the pleasure in its perfection – like love of
beautiful forms, melodious sounds, delicious foods and drink to which
one naturally inclines because they are agreeable;
(2) or by pleasure in the perfection of its noble inner
qualities
which is sensed by the intellect and heart–- like love for the
righteous, scholars and people of correct behaviour whose marvellous
lives and good actions have been related. Man's nature inclines to
intense love for these sorts of things to the point of fanaticism. Such
partisanship of one group against another and sectarianism within a
nation can result in homelands being abandoned, inviolable things being
dishonoured, and lives lost;
(3) or someone can love something because he finds it
agreeable
by reason of gaining benefit and blessing from it. The self is
naturally disposed to love that which is good to it.
When you have understood this well, then
examine
these three causes of
love
in respect of the Prophet and you will find that all three things which
inspire
love apply to him.
The beauty of his form and outward appearance and
the perfection of
his character
have already been mentioned, so there is no need to say any more about
them.
As regards the benefit and blessing his community
gain from him, we
have
already mentioned the qualities of Allah he possessed – his compassion
for them, his mercy for them, his guiding them, his tenderness for them
and
his striving to save them from the Fire. He is, "merciful,
compassionate
to the believers," (9:128) and "a mercy to the worlds," (21:107)
and, "a bringer of good news, a warner and a caller to Allah by His
permission." (33:45-46) "He recites its signs to them and
purifies
them and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom," (62:2) and "guides
them to a straight path." (5:16)
What goodness could be worthier or of greater
importance than his
goodness
to all the believers! What favour could be more universally beneficial
and
of greater use than his blessing to all the Muslims since he is their
means
to guidance, the one who rescues them from blind error, and the one who
summons
them to success and honour? He is their means to their Lord and their
intercessor. He speaks up on their behalf and bears witness for them
and
brings them to eternal life and everlasting bliss.
So it should be clear to you that love of the
Prophet must be an
obligation
in the Shari'a because of the sound traditions we have related and the
nature
of his overflowing goodness and universal beauty we have just
mentioned.
If a man can love someone who is generous to him
just once or twice
in this
world, as is well known to be the case, or someone who saves him from
destruction
or harm even once, when that damage and harm are only of a temporary
nature,
then the one who gives him undying bliss and protects him from the
eternal
punishment of Hellfire should be loved more. A king is loved when his
behaviour
is good and a ruler is loved for his upright conduct. Someone who lives
far
away is loved for their knowledge or noble character. Whoever possesses
all
these qualities in total perfection is more entitled to be loved and
more
deserving of attachment
'Ali, describing the Prophet, said, "Whoever saw him
suddenly was in
awe
of him. Whoever mixed with him loved him." We mentioned that one of the
Companions could not turn his eyes away because of his love for him.