26. LOVING THE CREATOR IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF TRUE SERVITUDE (‘UBUDIYYAH)
I have contemplated the verse,
“He loves them [believers] and they love Him.” [al-Maidah (5):54]
and inferred that the human ‘self {nafs) refuses to affirm its love (mahabbah) for the Creator if such longing (shawq) necessitates emotional distress. The ‘self justifies its position by arguing that its obedience (ta’at) to Him is its love for Him. Contemplating this justification made me realise that the ‘self-did not yet acquire the [adequate] knowledge of loving Allah because of its strong inclination towards what it perceives in the form of palpable events and objects.
To clarify, the kind of love that is based on tangibility is restricted to the apparent objects of what is loved, whereas the kind of love that is based on knowledge and worship goes beyond to perceive the inner intangible objects. For this reason, we find people love Abu Bakr (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) and some other people love ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (radiyAlldbu ‘anhu). And there are some very staunch followers of Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and some die hard followers of al-Ash’ari; this type of following often instigates disputes and fights between the two groups, even sacrificing their lives for the sake of defending them out of their love to them. Though they have neither seen them nor would seeing their images instigate such love. Rather, they pictured the meanings of what those whom they love stand for, and that directed them to learn of the perfection of these religious icons in the field of knowledge.
As a result, they loved the images of these people, which they have perceived with their hearts. Now contemplate and think, if this is the case with creation, then what about the One who created these intangible images?
How could I not to love the One who imparted me with my senses and bestowed on me knowledge I enjoy!? The appreciation of knowledge and the means by which I grasp knowledge surpasses all other tangible enjoyments for, indeed, He is the One who taught me, created my awareness, and guided me to what I have grasped. He reflects His Existence through every new creation He makes, through which I can understand His perfection, through the perfection of what He creates. He created all of what and whom I love, be it tangible or intangible. I love what I love by His will and Power, for He facilitates for me the means by which realise what 1 love. Indeed, for me, the best of all enjoyment is to come to know Him, for if He did not teach me, I would have not recognised Him.
How am 1 not supposed to love the One who created and [constantly! maintains my life? The One in whose Hand is my provision and Unto Him I shall return? The One who created and adorned everything people like and inclined people’s hearts to all that.
Whilst all what He created is perfect, His Capacity and Power is even more perfect! And, despite the [systemic and] marvelous creation of His, His perfection surpasses and is more superior to the perfection of the created! The meaning of realising [of all that] is much more enjoyable than what is realised.
If we see an astonishing sculpture, we would have spent all the time commending the artist and complimenting his work and his talent instead of paying attention to the work per se. This is actually where the pure thoughts land when it looks beyond the tangibility of objects; they fall in love with the Creator of the work by necessity.
That being the case, as much as a person can notice the Creator through what He creates, is as much as he will love Him. When such perception is strong, it will originate feelings of longing (shawq) and concern (qaliq). If such perception directs a person to realise the supremacy of the Lord, it will generate feelings of fear (of Him), and if it directs a person to realise the Generosity of the Lord, it will generate strong hope. Indeed,
“and everv people knew its watering place.” [al-Baqarah (2): 60]
(source: al-Hafiz Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-jawzl [d. 597AH] “CAPTURED THOUGHTS being” a translation of his masterpiece ‘Sayd al-K hatir)
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