7.16. THE GUIDANCE OF THE BOOK AND THE SUNNAH REGARDING THIS
The Qur’an and the Sunnah clearly state that Allah loves and is loved. The Salaf of the nation, its Imams, and the Shaykhs of the path all agree on this. This is why the rhetoric theologians who took the path of Sufism agreed with them, like Abu’l-Qasim al- Qushayri and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. The latter supported the view in al-Ihya and other works, and Abu’l-Qasim mentioned this as well in al-Risalah in the way of the Sufis, and so did Abu Talib in his book called Qut al-Qulub. Regarding Abu Hamid, even though he followed the Sufis in this he relied on the proofs he found in the books of philosophy which state that Allah loves and is loved. This important topic has been analyzed in greater detail elsewhere in the discussion about the great principles.
Allah, Most High, says:
“…a people He will love and who will love Him.” (al-Ma’idah (5): 54)
And
“But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah.” (al-Baqarah (2): 165]
And
“…are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger.” (al-Tawbah (9): 24)
It is related in the Two Sahihs that the Prophet said: “He who has three (traits) will taste the sweetness of faith: a person who loves Allah and His Messenger more than anything, a person who loves another only for the sake of Allah, and a person who would abhor to go back to unbelief after Allah saved him from it just like he abhors being cast in fire.”
What we are saying here is that logic dictates that these neo- Jahmites, the Mu’tazila and their ilk, who negate the reality of the attribute of love should also negate the delight of gazing at Allah. It is for this reason that Paradise according to them is really nothing but pleasures like eating and drinking. Such a view is wrong by the consensus of the Salaf and the scholars of the nation. This is one of the two groups we are discussing here.
By Shaykhu’l-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
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