HADITH FOURTEEN: LOVING ALLAH AND LOVING THE WORLD
HADITH FOURTEEN : LOVING ALLAH AND LOVING THE WORLD.
The Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, «O Allah, whoever believes in You and testifies that I am Your Messenger, make meeting You beloved to them, ease Your decrees upon them, and give them less of this world. And whoever disbelieves in You and does not testify that I am Your Messenger, do not make meeting You beloved to them, do not ease Your decrees upon them, and give them more of this world.»
Reported by Ibn Hibban (208) and al-Tabarani in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir (808) and al-Albani declared it sahih (al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, 1338) and Shu‘ayb al-Arna‘ut
Commentary
Waiting to meet Allah, the greatest love, is the joy of the believer. Their hearts have migrated from worldly love to divine love, and they cannot wait to see Allah in the Hereafter.
Loving to meet Allah
This life is a journey. We move from one stage to another, from one place to another, from one day to another, and from one concern to another. We are constantly travelling, literally and figuratively. We travel in search of what we love, but we also long for what we leave behind. Travel as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم explained:
«Travel is a piece of torment.»
Reported by al-Bukhari (1804) and Muslim (1927)
Physical travel is difficult because it deprives one of food, drink, comfort, and family. There is no peace until one reaches their destination and returns to their home. If this entire life is also a journey, it is also a piece of torment until we find a restful place and a loving embrace. We are constantly moving, looking for someone or something. But we are also seeking and moving towards Allah in all of our journeys. Allah informed us in the Quran that we are all moving towards meeting Him. He said:
And have Taqwa of Allah and know that you will meet Him. And give good news to the believers.
Al-Baqarah (Q2:223)
Meeting Allah brings lasting comfort and peace. This is the good news that the believers should hear. The One they love, whom they sacrificed for, and whom they were worshipping their whole life is waiting for them at the end of their journey. When they meet Him, all their pain will wash away. They will finally find complete and pure happiness. Ibn Mas‘ud said:
The believer has no comfort until they meet Allah, glory be to Him. And the one whose comfort is in meeting Allah, comfort is close to them.
Al-Zuhd by Ibn al-Mubarak (p. 6)
There can be no true and lasting peace without Allah. Everything else is incomplete and impermanent. Every other destination is missing something. How can we enjoy what we know we are going to lose eventually? We strive so much to reach our goals only to be disappointed when we have them. Then, we go after something else. Yet, satisfaction eludes us. We think that this and that will make us happy, but they turn stale when
they are in our hands. When will this end? When will we find comfort? Only Allah can satisfy the gap in our lives, only He can make us truly happy. Those who seek Allah will soon meet Him, and He will comfort them. They will finally meet the One that they loved and worshipped. They will get to meet the One they have sacrificed for, and He will receive them with love, forgiveness, and blessings. There is no greater reunion than
this one. Therefore, Allah comforted the believers who cannot wait to see Him when He said:
Whoever hopes to meet Allah, then Allah’s appointed time is coming. And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.
Al-‘Ankabut (Q29:5)
Can you wait to see your Beloved? The One who gave you everything? The One that you talk to all the time? The One who cares for you more than you care for yourself? This is the greatest wish of those who love Allah: to finally see Him, to finally find the peace of being close to Him, to attain His pleasure and fear nothing and no one anymore. This future reality brings them comfort in the face of every present difficulty. They remember their eventual departure to Allah, and every earthly pain appears small and fleeting. It will all go away, and Allah is the only One who remains.
We may be looking forward to seeing Allah, but is Allah looking forward to seeing us? Listen to this beautiful hadith. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«Whenever a Muslim man settles in a mosque [i.e. attends it regularly until it becomes like a home for him] for Salah and dhikr, Allah will be happy with him from the time he leaves his home [heading for the mosque] like the family of an absentee is happy with him when he comes back.»
Reported by Ahmad (8350) and Ibn Majah (800) and al-Albani declared it sahih (Sahih ibn Majah, 659)
This is the happiness Allah feels for this daily meeting. (By the way, women have the same reward when they pray at home). Imagine Allah’s joy when He meets us for the grandest meeting! Imagine our joy! Imagine the incredible bounties and wonders that we will see.
To put things in perspective, seeing Allah in Jannah is greater than all of its blessings and luxuries combined. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«When the people of Jannah enter it, Allah will say to them, “Do you want anything else from Me?” They will say, “Did You not brighten our faces, grant us Jannah, and save us from Hell?” So He removes the barrier, and nothing that they were given will be more beloved to them than looking at their Rabb.»
Reported by Muslim (181)
The greatest joy in Jannah is to gaze at the Face of Allah, glory be to Him. He is more Beautiful than everything, more Perfect than anything. The people of Jannah were seeking Him their entire lives, and now here He is. To finally get the chance to see
Him is to finally see the One who is closer to you than your own soul. Their hearts were about to melt in this world waiting for this moment, and now they finally have their greatest wish. Jannah is blessed with being close to Allah. And the best of Jannah, al-Firdaws, is the nearest to Allah. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«If you ask Allah, ask Him for al-Firdaws, for it is the best of Jannah, the highest Jannah, above it is the Throne of the Merciful, and the rivers of Jannah spring from it.»
Reported by al-Bukhari (2790)
The Throne of Allah is the ceiling of al-Firdaws, and above the Throne is Allah, the Highest. Al-Firdaws is the closest we can get to Allah, and no one can imagine the bliss of being this close to the Most Merciful.
All of us have someone that we are waiting to see, someone we cannot wait to see. For some, it is an absent or deceased family member. For some, unfortunately, it is a social media influencer, actor, dancer, or singer. No matter who they are, our desire to meet them is based on love. We want to be close to whom we love, to enjoy their company and to hear their words. Imagine the joy that an earthly union brings, the excitement and contentment you feel or have felt the last time you met a loved one. Now, imagine meeting Allah for the first time. Whatever joy meeting another human may bring, it is but a tiny fraction of the joy of meeting Allah. Seeing Allah is seeing perfect beauty, complete mercy and peace, overwhelming contentment, and knowledge that there is no pain or fear anymore. It is to be finally happy, wholly happy, with nothing to ever spoil this happiness. It is to know that all your work and sacrifice paid off, and now you can
rest and enjoy His Presence, His direct Speech, His incredible Mercy, and His incredible Care. It is finally finding comfort after decades of looking. There is no suffering anymore, my friend. Now, you are home.
Lovers cannot wait to see their beloved. Those who love Allah actually miss Him. In fact, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم asked for such longing when he said:
«O Allah, by Your knowledge of the unseen and Your power over creation, let me live as long as You know that living is good for me, and let me die when You know that death is better for me. O Allah, let me fear You in secret and in public. I ask You to make me true in speech in times of pleasure and anger. And I ask You for moderation during poverty and wealth. And I ask You for everlasting delight and joy that will never cease. I ask You to make me pleased with what You decreed and for a comfortable life after death. I ask You for the pleasure of looking upon Your Face and for longing to meet You without a calamity that brings harm or a trial that causes misguidance. O Allah, beautify us with the adornment of Iman and make us guides and rightly guided.»
Reported by Ahmad (18325) and al-Nasa’i (1305) and al-Albani declared it sahih (Sahih al-Nasa’i, 1305)
This du‘a asks Allah to grant us such love of Him that we will wait with anticipation for that moment when we get to see and talk to Him. Allah then becomes the greatest joy we have in our life, the greatest goal. Everything else shrinks and disappears. Waiting to meet Allah becomes the greatest delight in this world, just as anticipating meeting a loved one fills us with happiness. Only joy is left when you know that you will soon meet Allah. Pain and hardship disappear.
Loving to meet Allah intensifies just before death. The following important hadith clarifies the matter superbly. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him. And whoever hates to meet Allah, Allah hates to meet him.» ‘A’ishah or one of his wives said, “We hate death.” He said, «Not that. Rather, when the believer is about to die, they will be given the glad news of the pleasure of Allah and His reward, so nothing will be more beloved to them than what lies ahead. They love to meet Allah and Allah loves to meet them. And when the disbeliever is about to die, they will be given the news of the punishment of Allah and His torment, so nothing will be more hated to them than what lies ahead. They hate to meet Allah and Allah hates to meet them.»
Reported by al-Bukhari (6507) and Muslim (2684)
We have a natural aversion to death. ‘A’ishah wondered how our hatred of death can be reconciled with loving to meet Allah. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم explained that this hatred of death disappears once one receives news of the great honour and mercy
awaiting them. It is incredible to know that this scary moment in one’s life—where one is leaving all familiar things behind and facing ultimate uncertainty—can turn into such a peaceful and pleasurable moment. The joy of meeting Allah turns everything bitter sweet.
As some welcome death because of their love of Allah, others wish for it to escape their worldly troubles. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«The Hour shall not take place until a man would pass by another’s grave and say, “I wish I were in his place,” not out of love to meet Allah.»
Reported by Ahmad (108666) and al-Albani declared it sahih (al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, 578) and al-Arna’ut
The wisher in the hadith desires death because of all the difficulties that will mount before the Day of Judgement. The hadith also points to some who anxiously await death because they love to meet Allah. There are some, however, who wish to remain in this world to earn more good deeds in preparation for meeting Allah. Mu‘adh ibn Jabal said before his death:
Welcome death, welcome a beloved and hidden visitor that came when needed [or came while I am poor of good deeds]. O Allah, I used to fear You, but today I hope from You. O Allah, You know that I did not love the world and a lengthy stay in it to dig rivers or plant trees but for the thirst of hot afternoons [when fasting], bearing the burden of [praying for] hours [at night], and crowding the scholars with the knees in circles of remembrance.
Al-Zuhd by Ahmad ibn Hanbal (p. 148)
Mu‘adh I loved the worship of Allah in this world because it brought him closer to Allah. But which is better? Is it better to long for death because it will bring us to Allah or desire life because it allows us to worship Allah more and know Him better? The answer is that it is best to go with what Allah decrees and loves. The hadith quoted above—reported by Ahmad (18325) and al-Nasa’i (1305)—surrenders the matter to Allah. If Allah knows that continued living is better for us and He extends our lives,
then this is what we should love because Allah loves it. And if Allah knows that there is no good left in our lives and brings about our death, then this is best for us. Try to train yourself to accept and love what Allah loves. If you do, your life will be happier and simpler.
Ease of Allah’s decree and less of this world
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in the Hadith prayed to Allah to ease His decrees for the believers. It is Iman and the love of Allah that bring about this ease. No matter the hardship and difficulty, the believers can be patient because they know where it came from and what it is leading to. If we understand that Allah decrees every hardship,
we will absorb it better. If we know that every hardship is leading back to Allah—with forgiveness and rewards for our patience and compensations for our loss—we can rise above it. Our Iman will soften the blow of every hardship. Our love of Allah keeps us focused on the Hereafter, not on the necessary vicissitudes of life. ‘Amir ibn Qays said:
I loved Allah such a love that eased for me every ordeal and made me content in all affairs, so I do not care while loving Him in what condition I may be in the morning or at night.
Hilyat al-Awliya’ (vol. 2, p. 89)
Loving Allah is the greatest aid in overcoming life’s problems. If His love dominates the heart, it diminishes worldly problems until they go away.
When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would sit, a group of his Companions would sit with him. Among them was a man who had a young boy. This boy would approach his father [while he was sitting with the Prophet] from behind, and he would carry him and put him on his lap. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم once asked him, «Do you love him?» He replied, “O Messenger of Allah, may Allah love you as much as I love him.” Then the boy died, and the man was sad over him and he stopped coming to the circle [of the Prophet] because it reminded him of his son. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم noticed his absence and said, «How come I do not see so-and-so?» They replied, “O Messenger of Allah, the young boy you saw had died.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم met the man and asked him about his young boy. He told him that he was dead, so he consoled him. And then he said, «O so-and-so, which would be more beloved to you: that you enjoy him [alive] for the rest of your life or that you would not come tomorrow to any gate of the
gates of Jannah except to find that he has proceeded you to it to open it for you?» He replied, “O Prophet of Allah, that he proceeds me to the gate of Jannah to open it for me is more beloved to me.” He said, «This will be for you.» A man from the Ansar asked, “O Messenger of Allah, may Allah accept me as a ransom for you, is this for him specifically or for all of us?” He replied, «No, for all of you.»
Reported by al-Nasa’i (1870) and al-Albani declared it sahih (Sahih al-Targhib, 2007)
This is an emotionally charged hadith. The father deeply loved his young boy. You get a feeling for it when he said, “May Allah love you as much as I love him.” His love was deep and immense. And you can see it too in his inability to attend the circle of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. It was not easy for the Companions to stay away from the Prophet and miss his comforting words. But he did because the pain was deep, and the gathering would only renew his sadness. He would remember there all the times his son would run to him, and he would hug him while on his lap and continue to listen to the Prophet’s teachings. The Prophet’s consoling words, however, successfully mitigated that loss. It informed the man that he was given more than what he had
lost, that he will see his son again, and enjoy his company for eternity in Jannah. This reality helps us all cope with life’s uncertainty. Whatever happens here is impermanent: no pain or sadness lasts. It must come to an end. And when it does, Jannah will be waiting for the virtuous.
His love for Allah and His Prophet helped him overcome his loss. If his heart were only filled with love for his son, his death would have devastated him. But he also loved Allah and trusted Him. You can never lose hope when you love Him. You can move on because your gaze is fixed on Him. You know that if you reach Him, you will have everything you ever wanted. So, as long as you are seeking Him, no loss is real anymore. He is a substitute for everything, but nothing is a substitute for Him.
Our hearts are the arenas where different loves compete. One love is always on top, superior to all others. If our hearts are slaves to the world, it is difficult for them to attain the love of Allah. The world intoxicates as alcohol does. How could a heart that is always drunk on this world aspire to love Allah?
The first remedy to minimising the influence of this world is to seek only the halal, avoiding the clear haram and the ambiguous. The second step is to limit our intake of this world: avoid excess, waste, and unnecessary luxury. If we do not, our hearts will always be obsessed, worried about losing what we have or getting more of it. The du‘a of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم for the believers to receive smaller portions of this world is a protection from fitnah. The temptation of this world decreases when we limit our access to it. This way, the heart will be freer and healthier. There are, of course, those who can be rich and yet very loving of Allah. They do not allow their wealth to enter their hearts, for this space is reserved only for Allah and what He loves.
Since the nonbeliever does not love Allah, they lack the divine love that can alleviate all hardship. The decrees of Allah will naturally be more difficult for them: they see no benefit in hardship and cannot lean on Allah to make things better. They are also rabid lovers of this world, willing to do anything to retain it. For these reasons—stemming from their stubborn rejection of faith—the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم made dua against them. But this du‘a could also help them. If they cannot deal with life’s problems despite having so much of this world, perhaps they will reconsider and seek a different path. Maybe they will rethink what they love and why they love it; maybe they will understand that it is not bringing them answers. Perhaps they will seek Allah because they cannot find any peace without Him.
The greatest joy in life is to live waiting to meet Allah. There is nothing else like it. As children, we could hardly wait for Eid with all its lights, presents, food, family visits, and pure fun. Meeting Allah is the real Eid. The real joy. But this Eid requires worship before it, just like Ramadan and Hajj before our Eids. Allah said:
So whoever hopes to meet their Rabb, let them do righteous deeds and not associate anyone in the worship of their Rabb.
Al-Kahf (Q18:110)
If you are looking forward to meeting Allah, get ready for it. Get excited about it with every Salah, fasting, and charity you give. And if it seems like the wait is taking too long, know that you can come closer to Allah in this world. Allah said:
And prostrate and come closer.
Al-‘Alaq (Q96:19)
You can keep coming closer to Allah in your prostration. Those who are close to Him here will be close to Him up there.
DR. ALI ALBARGHOUTHI
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