HADITH THIRTEEN : ALLAH LOVES THE FAITHFUL
HADITH THIRTEEN : ALLAH LOVES THE FAITHFUL. The Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, «The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, though there is good in both of them. Strive to attain what benefits you, seek assistance from Allah and do not be helpless. If a misfortune befalls you, do not say, “If I had done this, then this and that would have happened.” But say, “Allah has decreed and He does what He wills,” for “if I had” opens the door for
Shaytan’s work.»
Reported by Muslim (2664)
Commentary
Those with the strongest Iman have the strongest love for Allah. Allah loves them because of their patience and striving. They keep trying, they ask Allah for help, and they never give up. Their goal is the greatest love of all.
Strength: a blessing or a curse?
When we say that someone is strong, we are typically praising them. But is strength always a blessing? Who are the strong whom Allah loves?
Often, physical strength is a biological gift—i.e. people born naturally strong or with bigger bodies—and not a consequence of effort. On the other end, some are born physically weaker. Both of these states cannot be the reason why Allah loves some
more or less. Indeed, physical strength can also be a product of training and hard work. But in itself, it is not an act of virtue. Many of those who frequent the gyms today are vain. They focus solely on their appearance, displaying their bodies for praise and recognition. Such displays of strength and fitness, when not done for a good end, only feeds our ego and narcissism. We become more materialistic the more we invite people to look at our bodies, where our appearance decides our worth.
Allah, on the other hand, looks at our hearts and not our bodies. Our hearts define us, not our bodies. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«Allah does not look at your appearances and wealth, but He looks at your hearts and deeds.»
Reported by Muslim (2564)
Without the strength of Iman and character, physical strength leads to transgression and sin. This is why the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم redefined strength by saying:
«The strong is not the one who overpowers others physically but the one who controls themselves when angry.»
Reported by al-Bukhari (6114) and Muslim (2609)
Physical strength on its own is neither admirable nor condemnable. It is what we do with it that matters. When we pursue it for noble ends, it is praised and rewardable. Allah says:
And prepare against them whatever you are able of power.
Al-Anfal (Q8:60)
If one intends to do good with their physical exercise (i.e. what is pleasing to Allah), their workout will be an act of worship. The pursuit of power is noble when the end is. And the same rule applies to all physical/material accomplishments. Fame for the sake of fame is egotistical. Academic degrees are not meant for bragging. Oratory skills in the service of falsehood are a curse. Poverty is better than wealth that leads away from
Allah. Worldly accomplishments are corrupting when Iman is missing.
Iman enhances our life. This is not only true spiritually, but materially as well. Allah said:
And O my people, ask forgiveness from your Rabb and repent to Him, and He will send rain abundantly upon you and add strength to your strength.
Hud (Q11:52)
Strength is boosted with Iman. How so? Obeying Allah blesses the body and brings about Allah’s assistance and guidance. It could also be that when a soul is blessed with Iman, the body reaches more of its potential, and so it can do what it could not before.
Allah loves the strong believers
The strength praised in the Hadith is that of Iman. There are three pillars to this strength: knowledge, commitment, and worship.
Knowledge is the first step in the path of Iman. The more we know Allah and His revelation, the firmer our belief. We learn from Allah’s revelation the wisdom behind His commands and actions, and the benefit and reward of worship. We also learn
what Allah loves and hates, helping us to chart a course for our life and determine its goals. This knowledge protects us from doubt, teaches us how to repel the whispers of Shaytan, helps us conquer sin, and guides us back to Allah in repentance. If a Muslim desires the love of Allah, they must learn their religion. You cannot love what you do not know. This is especially important today because of the raging fire of temptations and doubts (fitnahs). A strong Muslim today must learn their religion in detail and in-depth.
Knowledge without commitment is fruitless. Allah sent down he message of Islam to be lived. This is the second natural step. When we recognize the truth and virtue of what Allah revealed, we will decide to follow it. The last step is the product of this commitment: the worship of Allah. This includes worshipping with sincerity, energy, and interest. It involves attempting to perfect our worship: on time and with the obligatory and recommended components. And it includes asking Allah for acceptance, consistency in worship, and guarding oneself against self-admiration. The strong believer is one who is strong in their love of Allah, strong in their physical worship, strong in avoiding sin, and strong in displaying the best of manners.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gave an example of the strength of Iman which Allah loves in the following hadith:
«There are three people whom Allah loves and three whom He hates. [The first of the three whom He loves] is a man who faces the enemy with his company and stays steadfast until he is killed or his company is victorious. And travellers who journey long at night until they love to put their sides on the ground, so they camp but one of them steps aside to pray until he wakes them up for their departure. And the man who has a neighbour who annoys him, so he remains patient with his harm until death or relocation separates them. And the ones whom Allah hates are the often-swearing merchant, the stingy who reminds people of his favours, and the arrogant poor.»
Reported by Ahmad (21340) and al-Albani declared it sahih (Sahih al-Jami‘, 3074) and al-Arna‘ut
The first three are exceptionally brave and patient. They all demonstrate steadfastness despite difficulty. What allows one to sacrifice their life for the sake of Allah, standing alone even when others flee? Why would one stand praying at night, though extremely fatigued, while everyone else sleeps? How could you be so patient with an annoying neighbour, day after day? We cannot do any of these things if our Iman is weak.
The strong in Iman are strong in their love of Allah. They are strong in doing what Allah loves. They put in extra effort. They sacrifice. They want Allah more, so they do more. They want Allah more than anything else.
All of us get tired. All of us are busy. All of us lose our patience. All of us feel overwhelmed. The strength of Iman does not mean escaping human weakness and frustration to become an angelic figure. It means that we try to control our weaknesses and rise above them. We, at times, will fail. But we will always get up and try again, harder this time. It is a fresh start every single time, even if we fail a million times. We will push ourselves to learn. We will strive to apply. We will ask Allah for help. We will keep trying. We will learn from our mistakes. But we will never give up. The Hadith of the chapter provides the roadmap to strength (see next section).
There is a reinforcement loop between knowledge, commitment, and worship. When we engage in worship, we learn something new about that worship and ourselves. When we see the fruits of our worship, our commitment to it increases. Iman requires all of its three pillars to be strong, each feeding and enhancing the other. Love cannot be strong if there is no practice.
The roadmap to strength
After declaring that Allah loves those strong in Iman, the Hadith offers the steps needed to gain this strength and to gain Allah’s love.
The first step is to “Strive to attain what benefits you.” Though it should be a given that everyone naturally seeks what benefits them, our observation of humanity tells us otherwise. We sometimes do not know what is beneficial, and at other times we lack motivation and commitment. A straightforward remedy to the first problem is to trust Allah’s judgement. If you are ever in doubt about what is beneficial, you will find it in what Allah loves. Allah only commanded what is good for us, and He prohibited what is harmful. In the area of the permissible acts, experience and science can tell us what to do and what to avoid (e.g. exercise and a balanced diet are good, lack of sleep and stress are bad).
If our problem is not ignorance, then we lack the will to follow the truth. It is when we say to ourselves: “I know that I am supposed to do this, but I do not have the energy to do it.” Is there a solution to this? Yes. It is to ponder the gravity of seeking Jannah and salvation from Hell. Like any prime real estate on earth, Jannah has a price. Everything of value requires sacrifice. We often do not feel like going to work or school, but we do. Why? We force ourselves because we know that we need the money and the degree, and the alternative is dire. We save to buy a house, and in the process, deny ourselves many luxuries. This tells us that we have the ability to sacrifice and persevere. Why is it possible to sacrifice for that cause? Because we understand how precious the outcome is. Will we not push ourselves to secure the best real estate in existence, Jannah? (P.S. If you find that you are too weak to internalise this, move to the “second step”.)
When we have the knowledge and the will, we will be motivated to seek the beneficial everywhere it may be. Our goal each day will be to do as much good as possible before we leave this earth and meet Allah. If Allah opens a door of righteousness for us, we enter. We do not belittle any small act of piety because it leads to greater acts. Every good deed is possibly the step that puts us in Jannah. Every good deed is a gift from Allah, and we should accept His gifts. We approach each opportunity to do good with enthusiasm, remembering the great reward that it brings. Who knows if the chance will ever come back? We saw in Hadith Seven the example of Abu Bakr who filled his day with righteousness (worship and the help of others). This is what seizing the day looks like. We will not be able to match the piety of Abu Bakr but we can let it inspire us.
The second step is “Seek Allah’s assistance and do not be helpless.” Whenever we find ourselves unable to do something, we should never give up. Sometimes, circumstances
stop us from reaching our goals: we lack the money, the time, or the opportunity. At other times, we are not motivated to do the right thing. For some, they have tried everything but were met only with frustration. No matter what the roadblock may be, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم asked us to cast despair aside. What is most important at this stage is not to surrender and lose hope. Instead, be sure that you can ask Allah for help and that He will assist you. He can remove any obstacle, inject you with energy, and
make the seemingly impossible possible. He is the Lord of all, and He can change all. And if Allah decides to give you, no one can stand in your way.
This is something that we often forget. When we are facing some trouble, some of us are quick to retreat in disappointment and despair. We keep struggling with this failure, allowing it to undermine our trust in Allah and poisoning the rest of our life. We forget that we have access to the One with the greatest power to change everything. And if you rely on the Most Powerful, you will be unstoppable. This reliance (tawakkul) on Allah gives the believers eternal hope that nothing and no one can extinguish. It gives the believers physical strength and endurance beyond what they thought they were capable of. Listen to Allah when He said:
If there are twenty of you who are patient, they will overcome two hundred, and a hundred of you will overcome a thousand of the disbelievers.
Al-Anfal (Q8:65)
It is Iman and patience that gives the believers the advantage. It is a 1:10 ratio, but they are still more powerful because of Iman. If this is the power that Allah promised—mental, emotional, and physical—how can we ever think of ourselves as weak. How can we ever lose hope? We are weak if we do not call on Him to help us. We are weak if we surrender. We are weak if we depend on ourselves. But if Allah is with you, you are strong. No, you are the strongest by the will of Allah.
The third and final step in the Hadith is not regretting the past and moving forward. This is the trap that some of us are in at this moment. We look at a painful moment in the past and wonder “What if…?” This futile thinking brings a flood of sadness and regret. It saps us of energy and condemns us to anger, doubt, and hopelessness. It is a common trap of Shaytan. He tries to use any means to sadden us and cut our connection with Allah. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم explained that this thinking is harmful and useless. What happened had to happen because it was Allah’s decree.
No amount of planning or precaution could have changed the past. You could not have said anything or done anything to change it. If you believe this, then why trouble yourself with “If I only…”? This statement invites in the whispers of Shaytan and destroys our Iman. If you want your Iman to be strong, keep looking forward, and ignore the frustrations of the past. Yes, we can learn from our past, but we should never be hostages to it. Learn from it but fly above it. Your future is not going to be a replica of your past. You are not the same person you were yesterday, so why would your tomorrow be a repeat of your past? Ask Allah to assist you, to change you, and you will be different, better. Trust Allah. Move forward. There is no reason for you to be weak anymore. He is with you if you are with Him.
Allah loves what benefits you
One of the many beautiful things about Allah is how much He cares about us. If something is good for us, He commands us to do it and rewards us when we do. And if it is harmful, He prohibits it and rewards us when we avoid it. All of Allah’s revelation revolves around this goal: bringing what benefits us closer and protecting us from harm. Allah’s revelation is there to make us happy.
Knowing this about Allah makes Him the joy of life itself, the truth that gives everything else meaning. Without Him, we would move aimlessly, live bitterly, and be emotionally unfulfilled no matter what we do. Allah rescues us with His revelation, a great mercy that supersedes the benefit of food and drink. When we approach the Quran and Sunnah as such, we will love Allah for everything He taught us and asked us to do. Every time we listen to Him, we will feel safe and loved. Every time we ignore His Wisdom, we feel lost and abandoned.
No one protects us from harm as Allah does. It begins with His revelation, but it does not end there. Hadith Eleven showed us how Allah protects us from worldly temptations. We run after them, and He gently removes them from our path. We cry
for them and complain, like children crying for candy, and He patiently exposes us to different life experiences, so we mature and see how childish we were. He protects us from Shaytan and his whispers, from Jinn and their evil, and from humans who wish us harm. He protects us from accidents, sickness, and emotional pain. And when He allows some of this to happen, He allows it to protect us too, like medicine we take to reclaim our health. It is bitter, but it is effective. All natural medicine is from His Mercy. Anyone who helps us does so because of Him.
Some point to their pain and blame Allah. But we forget that each pain points to a blessing. We must have had something in order to lose it, and this possession was a blessing (e.g. if I lost money, I lost the money that Allah gave me). If Allah wanted your harm or hated you, why would He give you so much? He only took back some of what He gave you to bring you back to Him, to give you the greater reward of Jannah. Allah never mistreats anyone. He never harms you. He never leaves you alone. Be with Him, and you will find Him closer than your closest friend. All good flows from Him to you. From Him, all good is waiting for you.
DR. ALI ALBARGHOUTHI
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