HADITH TWENTY NINE: THE EARTHLY SIGN OF ALLAH’S LOVE
Abu Dharr asked the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, “What about a man who does something and people love him for it?” He said, «This is hastened good news for the believer.»
Reported by Ahmad (21400) and Muslim (2392). The wording is that of Ahmad
Commentary
When Allah loves you, He sends you signs of His love. One of these signs is the love people give you. Look beyond their praise to see the pleasure of Allah and His approval.
Divine love and people’s love
We have a natural desire to be loved. It is inborn. We need it most when we are young; its absence in those formative years can scar us. Yet we never stop needing it as adults. We always need human connection and intimacy, and it is painful when it is absent. This is the reason we are constantly looking for someone to love who will love us back. This perpetual search is at the core of all our thoughts and efforts.
Human love has its disadvantages. Not everyone we love is ready to receive love or requite it. And if they are, we may not know how to express this love properly. Our love can be excessive or insufficient, misdirected, or tainted with negative emotions and insecurities. Some kill because of love, envy because of love, wreck another’s life because of love, or destroy their own lives trying to love another. Love—this powerful and inherent emotion—unleashes the greatest potential for good or evil. Love can be an addiction, more severe than any other addiction. We love something/someone excessively until we believe that we cannot live without it. We seek it to fill the gaps in our life until we become its prisoners: our happiness evaporates without it. We think that we need it because we need love. Yet our love could be misdirected. What we love could be wrong for us, or we could love it with unhealthy intensity and desperation. When we link our love to Allah, we liberate it from earthly constraints, and it can fly free. We are no longer prisoners. And love is no longer a prison.
We have seen in Hadith Twelve the connection between loving Allah and loving people. This Hadith confirms this connection while adding something important. On the path of love, look for signs of Allah’s love. Do not let anything else distract you.
When we are trying to do something good, it seems natural to look for validation, recognition, and even praise. We cannot function without it. Since we are all looking for love, we are looking to receive love with every good thing we do. Our challenge, however, is to decide which love we are seeking. It is easy to slip from seeking Allah’s pleasure to hoarding human compliments and praise. If we do, we would be distancing
ourselves from real love. Humans—please remember this—are very fickle. They love you and then they hate you for no good reason. You cannot rely on the longevity of human love. If we only invest in their love, we would be wasting our lives and emotions. Rather, love the One who grants all love and controls all hearts. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«The one who seeks Allah’s approval though it is upsetting to people, Allah will be pleased with them and will make people pleased with them. And the one who seeks people’s approval though it is upsetting to Allah, Allah will be displeased with them and will make people displeased with them.»
Reported by Ibn Hibban (276) and al-Albani declared it sahih (Al-Ta‘liqat al-Hisan, 276)
You and I do not control our hearts. They can change in an instant. It is such a waste to try to make someone like you but upset Allah in the process. This love will not make you happy, and it will not last. Make Allah happy—religiously and in life—and the right person will love you, and their love will uplift you. Allah will give you all that you need.
Does this mean that we should pay no attention to human praise? The challenge is how to interpret it properly. How do we react when someone heaps praise on us? If we allow it to become our goal and motivation—if we start seeking it and we look forward to it—then we are no longer seeking Allah and no longer sincere in worshipping Him. But we can interpret human approval as a sign descending from the sky that Allah loves us, a reflection of Allah’s happiness with what we did. We can see in worldly approval the approval of the Hereafter. In that way, we can value human admiration and praise because it points to something higher and better, not because it is human praise per se. This is what the Hadith is teaching us.
But we must distinguish between right and wrong love, and right and wrong people. Not all love is good love, not all love is a sign of divine love, and not everyone who loves you actually loves you. The popularity of celebrities (social media, actors, singers, sports stars, and politicians) is not a sign of divine love. If you want to know why, ask yourself: are they pleasing to Allah? Do people love them for Allah’s sake? The fame and admiration many of them receive are superficial and destructive. It is based on loving what Allah hates, and no good comes from that. The challenge is to resist the allure of this artificial love and seek the one that really counts. Suhayl ibn Abi Salih said:
We were in ‘Arafah as ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz passed by, and he was the Emir of Hajj, and people stood up to catch a glimpse of him. I said to my father, “Father, I think that Allah loves ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz.” He asked, “Why?” I replied, “Because of the love people have for him in their hearts.”
Reported by Muslim (2637)
‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz V received this love because he was pleasing to Allah. And this requires—sometimes—taking unpopular stands, which Umar did. If our concern is people’s love and popularity, we will seldom do the right thing. But if we intend to please Allah, He will grant us all the love we need. He will bring righteous love closer to us. And it will not be a love that will burden us in this life or the next.
For these reasons, it is crucial not to seek human praise and approval. Al-Nawawi wrote in explanation of the Hadith:
This all [i.e. receiving human praise is good] if people praise him without him seeking their praise. Otherwise, seeking it is abhorrent.
Sharh al-Nawawi on Muslim (vol. 16, p. 189)
If praise comes to you without you asking for it or looking forward to it—and your act is pleasing to Allah—then praise Allah. But if you find yourself seeking it and waiting for it, then you are its prisoner. You have polluted your intention.
This is the same attitude we should have with worldly wealth. Hakim ibn Hizam said:
I asked the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم and he gave me, then I asked him and he gave me, then I asked him and he gave me and said, “O Hakim, this money is attractive and sweet. Whoever takes it with a generous spirit (i.e. without greed and without looking forward to it), it will be blessed for them. And whoever takes it with greedily craving, it will not be blessed for them but will be like one who eats and does not get full. And the upper (i.e. giving) hand is better than the lower (i.e. receiving) hand.”
Reported by al-Bukhari (1472)
In another hadith, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
If Allah sends you provision without [you] asking for it and without greedily craving it, then take it because Allah gave it to you.
Reported by Ibn Hibban (3403) and al-Albani declared it sahih (al-Ta‘liqat al-Hisan, 590)
Similarly, if human praise comes without looking forward to it and without asking for it, then accept it as a sign from Allah. But if it comes because you ran after it or are eagerly waiting for it, there will be no blessing in it.
The greatest motivation
Experiencing the love Allah reveals to us an invaluable truth: the only reward worthy of our life and deeds is the pleasure of Allah. Nothing else comes close, and nothing else satisfies our hearts. Spending our energy and our life attempting to please humans is a tragedy. Our life is the most precious thing we have, while human approval is worth nothing. In comparison to the greatness of Allah, human praise is ephemeral, their promises are a mirage, and they cannot help themselves, let alone help us. Human love ends, eventually. But the love of Allah is inexhaustible. Human love is the shore, whereas Allah’s love is deeper than the deepest ocean. The more we love Him, the greater and deeper it gets. Human love does not have the power to save us, but the love of Allah is all the saving we need. If you are going to give your life in exchange for one thing, it must be the love of Allah. Nothing else compares to it, and nothing else is worth it.
When our goal is to reach Allah’s love, we will never stop. We will keep going because the source of our inspiration is never-ending. The more we do, the sweeter and more fulfilling it gets. We will not want to stop. On the opposite side, if we are living to collect human praise and approval, we will be frustrated and exhausted. We will discover that we have collected bubbles. And we will regret it, especially when we realise that those who flatter us will abandon us at the first sign of trouble. So, if you want to do something, make it count and let it be for Allah. If you are looking for love, aim for the best and highest, and seek the love of Allah. Love Allah and love for Allah. Love people but do not let their love guide you. Allah created you for Him, not for them. Do not wait for people to thank you and appreciate you. Keep your eyes on the Highest. His love is greater than any other. And His pleasure fills the heart more
than any other. You will not be truly happy and free until you are close to Him.
DR. ALI ALBARGHOUTHI
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