HADITH TWENTY ONE : PRAYING FOR LOVE
The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم was delayed one morning from coming to us for Morning Prayer, until we were about to see the sunrise. Then he came out quickly, the Iqamah was called, and the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم prayed a short Salah. When he finished the Salah with the Salam, he called with his voice saying to us, «Stay in your rows as you are.» Then he turned to us and said, «I am going to narrate to you what kept me from you this morning. I got up during the night, I performed Wudu’ and prayed what was destined for me to pray, and I got sleepy during my Salah and fell asleep. Then I saw my Rabb, Blessed and Most High, in the best appearance. He said, “O Muhammad!” I said, “Here I am, my Rabb!” He said, “What are the angels arguing about?” I said, “I do not know, Rabb.” He said, “What are the angels arguing about?” I said, “I do not know, Rabb.” He said, “What are the angels arguing about?” I said, “I do not know, Rabb.” So I saw Him place His Palm between my shoulders, and I felt the coolness of His Fingertips between my breasts. Then everything became clear to me and I knew. So He said, “O Muhammad!” I said, “Here I am, my Rabb!” He said, “What are the angels arguing about?” I said, “In the acts that atone.” He said, “And what are they?” I said, “Walking to congregational prayers, sitting in the mosques after Salah, and completing Wudu’ despite difficulties.” He said, “And what are the acts that elevate?” I said, “Feeding others, speaking leniently, and Salah at night while people are asleep.” He said, “Ask.” I said, “O Allah, I ask you to help me do good deeds, avoid evil deeds, love the poor, and that You forgive me and have mercy on me. And if You want to tempt people, take my soul untempted. And I ask You that You love me, that whomever You love loves me [or I ask You that I love You, that I love whomever You love], and that I love the deeds that bring one nearer to Your Love.» The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, «Indeed this is true, so learn it to understand it.»
Reported by Ahmad (22109) and al-Tirmidhi (3235) and al-Albani declared it sahih (al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, 3169)
Commentary
Praying for Allah’s love, and for what He loves, is one of the greatest things we can ask for and receive. Such a gift will illuminate our life and teach us whom to love, what to love, and what to avoid.
The great vision
This was a tremendous dream. There is so much in it that behooves us to understand the advice of our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and try to follow it. Ibn Rajab V wrote a short book explaining this Hadith ( اختيار الأولى في شرح حديث اختصام الملأ الأعلى ), and yet there is
even more that can be added. I will highlight a few of its gems:
1. This was a dream, and the dreams of the Prophets are true. Since their dreams are protected from error (‘Ismah), this is one of the ways that Allah reveals the truth to them. We, on the other hand, do not have the same privilege, so we have to check our dreams against the Quran and Sunnah. These two are our protection from error.
2. Note what the angels were arguing about. Allah described them in the Hadith as “the Upper Crowd,” signifying their nobility and high station. This may refer to all angels or
specifically to the highest among the angels. So, when they discuss a matter, you know it is important. And what are they concerned with? It is not politics. It is not fashion. It is not sports. These things may be important or fun to talk about, but they are not the most important and beneficial. I write this because some among us, once you start talking about the very things the angels were talking about, tune you out because the topic is too dull. But when you bring up movies, games, shopping, and the likes, their eyes light up, and you become interesting again. The believers need to remember this. If they accuse you of being “boring,” remember that the angels of Allah do not discuss trivial matters. If you find yourself alone and discouraged, remember the noble angels of Allah and try to be like them. If you stay close to them in this life, you will be with them in the Hereafter. As for the “interesting” people who think that religion is “boring,” make du‘a for them. And do not let them tempt you away from what Allah revealed. On the Day of Judgment, only one topic will matter. And it is what the angels are talking about. The rest will vanish into memory.
3. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم saw this dream as he was praying at night. And there is a connection between Allah’s favors and night prayer. We have seen previously and will see later in the book, that getting closer to Allah takes effort and sacrifice. This is what distinguishes those who truly love Allah from those who simply claim to love Him. When one draws nearer to Allah, they will see more and more of His favors. It is not necessary or important to see dreams. The greatest favor is the joy and peace He gifts. The greatest favor is Allah’s love and Jannah. But it all has a price. Love will only grow if you nurture it. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم continued to worship to keep getting closer and closer to Allah, and this is our path as well. If we want Allah to love us, we have
to do what His beloved صلى الله عليه وسلم did. Do something extra today to bring you closer to Allah, simply out of loving Him and thanking Him. Make it a habit. Let it be a daily, weekly, or monthly thing. In time, you will be able to build on it. It will take you to a new exciting place in your life.
4. The actions that atone and those that elevate may seem very ordinary: everyone knows about them. In other words, no mystery was revealed here. Or was it?
Many may expect from such a dream something that nobody else knows: secret worship or supplication that changes everything instantaneously and drastically. But this was not the case. We are drawn to mystery and salivate at the thought of hidden and privileged knowledge. But Islam is not a mystery. This cannot be stressed enough. Islam is not a mystery. The path to Allah is as clear as day. And this Hadith is evidence.
When the highest circle of angels were discussing what forgives sins and raises people in Jannah, they were talking about these “ordinary” things that all of us know. But the very fact that they spoke about them makes them extraordinary. And maybe this is part of the message of the Hadith. Because these acts are common knowledge, we stop valuing them. Though we all know about them, we seldom do them. And here lies the real mystery: extremely precious acts that few appreciate, like precious metal that people mistake for sand, but turns out to be more expensive than gold. If we are seeking mystery and privileged knowledge, look at what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم taught, but few are following. Look at what we made into dull acts but are highly meritorious, and inject life into them. Wudu’, congregational prayers, spending time at the masjid, feeding the hungry, kind speech, and night prayer are all within reach. They are so close and yet seem so far. The real privilege is to be among the few who do them.
He asked for love
He could have asked for anything. And it is instructive to think about it. If we had this chance, what would we ask for? I do not mean rehearsed answers of what we are supposed to ask. I mean the truth. If I had this opportunity, what is the first thing I would ask for?
The most beloved to Allah, Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, asked for love. It is the most comprehensive thing one can get. We should memorize this du‘a and make it our own. But before love, he asked for five things.
He asked Allah to help him do good, avoid evil, for forgiveness, protection from fitnah, and good company. You can think of these five as the love recipe, the ingredients to reach the love of Allah. See, Allah’s love is the pinnacle of Islam, the highest fruit. We can wish for it, claim to have it, assure ourselves that somehow someday we will get it, or believe that we already have it. But reality could be something else. Unless the ingredients of love are present, love will remain a fantasy (even in human relationships). The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was teaching us that you need to soar to reach it. You need to be ready to love Allah and receive His love. For that, you need the five ingredients.
Doing good is the path that will take us to Allah. But this path remains incomplete until we avoid evil. Doing what Allah loves requires avoiding what He hates. If not, we will not find our way to Allah or be severely delayed. The journey must also avoid fitnah, which steals us away from Allah. Fitnah confuses, and will lead us to believe that we are on the right path when we are not. And since we are going to make mistakes along the way, we need Allah’s forgiveness and mercy to protect us from the consequence of sin. Finally, we need good company on our journey. They help us when we are weak, and remind us when we forget. So, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم asked for loving the poor
(or the humble, according to another interpretation). He chose the poor for at least two reasons. The first is that loving them will happen for the sake of Allah, since they have no worldly attractions that pull us to them. If we keep their company, it will be because of Allah. The second reason is that they are more likely to be humble, closer to Allah, and least distracted by this world. Their company will not tempt us—like the rich may with their wealth—but remind us of what is important in this life.
With these five ingredients, we would be ready for the next and most important phase: the love of Allah. This is not to say that we will not experience any love for and from Allah before that. Rather, the full experience and joy of Allah’s love are founded on a bed of obedience and sacrifice. Before that, it was faint and experienced sporadically.
When he صلى الله عليه وسلم turned to love, he asked for Allah’s love, the love of those who love Allah, and the love of deeds that Allah loves. The first request is simultaneously about loving Allah and receiving His love. The latter is more precious than the former. Ibn Kathir wrote:
What is significant is not that you love, but that you be loved.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (vol. 2, p. 32)
Allah’s love for us is the happiness of this life and the next. It is the culmination of all our work, the fruit of all our sacrifices. We reach this love by loving Allah and drawing closer and closer to Him each day. When we come close enough, Allah will love us, a love that will change our lives. You will read more about that in the last hadith in this book.
The second and third love requests teach us, among other things, that not all love is good. We may love someone who hates Allah, who stands between us and Him. Or we may love something that corrupts our life and distances us from Allah. This would be a disaster. We would be in love with something that is going to destroy us. We may think that we cannot live without it, yet it is making us sick and miserable. We must ask Allah to protect our hearts from harmful love, to grant us a love that He loves. The Companion Abdullah ibn Yazid al-Khatmiyy said:
O Allah, grant me Your Love and the love of whomever their love is beneficial for me with You. O Allah, and grant me what I love and let it strengthen me to do what You love. And whatever I love but You kept away from me, let it be a disengagement [i.e. free time] to be used in what You love.
Musannaf ibn Abi Shaybah (29592)
Sometimes we love what harms us, and sometimes we hate what is good for us (more on this later in the book). What we love may become a burden. It could distract us from greater love. For that, we have to be careful with what we allow into our hearts. Abdullah ibn Yazid asked for a love that Allah would be pleased with. If he were to love someone, he prayed that this love would bring him closer to Allah, not the opposite. And if he were to love something, it would feed into the love of Allah, not undermine it.
Allah may decide that some of what we love is not going to be ours. This is a tough one: to love someone or something but not have it. This is when a lot of us break down. We start believing that since Allah does not grant us what we want, He does not care about us. But Abdullah ibn Yazid’s du‘a reminded us that compared to Allah’s love, every worldly love is small. If we do not get what we want, Allah can fill that space. If we do not get what we want, the gap it leaves can be filled with what Allah loves. This may be the very reason why Allah did not give it to us: it was going to take us away from Him. Allah deprives us to give us, takes away the tawdry to replace it with the valuable. He protects us from this world to bring us closer to Him.
If we love Allah, we will love for His sake. We will look at everything around us differently. We would not love for personal reasons only. Our ephemeral feelings and social conventions would not trap us. There is a deeper reality that transcends our limited experience, transcends the trivial and popular. Our hearts would have the benefit of Allah’s love to discover what is good and what is not. Loving for Allah’s sake is transcendent and noble. It extends love to everything in this universe and brings it all back to the Most Beloved, Allah.
DR. ALI ALBARGHOUTHI
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