Reasons to Attain the Love of Allah

22-2-2018 | IslamWeb

Question:

Will I go to Hell if I don't love Allah but only do my muslim duty (pray & fast) out of fear of Him? I hate that I was creates so I find it hard to love/be grateful to Him, but I also do not want to go to Hell.

---

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

If your feeling that you do not love Allah is just whispers or a thought that quickly disappears while you struggle against it and do not feel content with it, then this will not harm you, Allah willing, because the Prophet said: "Allah has forgiven my nation for the whispers that they have as long as they do not speak about it or act according to it." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]

However, if you really mean what you say that your heart is free of the love of Allah and that you only fear Him, then you should know that since you fear Allah, you must also love Him.

If someone does not have any love for Allah in his heart, then he is not a believer; Ibn Taymiyyah said:

"Affirmation is part of belief (faith). Along with affirmation, there must be some love of Allah and Fearing Him, otherwise the affirmation that is devoid of any of this, then it is not at all belief." [End of quote]

Therefore, if you want to be saved from Hellfire, dear questioner, you must love Allah above everything else. The love of Allah alone is not enough to be saved from Hellfire, because many non-Muslims love Allah.

Ibn al-Qayyim said when talking about the types of love:

"The first of them is the love of Allah, but this alone is not sufficient to save a person from the punishment of Allah and to earn him His reward. The polytheists, worshipers of the cross, Jews and others all love Allah.

The second is to love that which Allah loves. This is what brings a person into Islam and out of disbelief. The most beloved of people to Allah is the one who is most correct and most devoted in this kind of love." [End of quote]

We remind you of the reasons that lead to the love of Allah in brief, as mentioned by Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, in Madaarij as-Saalikeen, may Allah benefit you.

"1- Reciting the Quran while pondering over its meanings and what is meant by it.

2- Getting closer to Allah by performing optional deeds after completing the obligatory ones.

3- Continual remembrance of Allah under all circumstances, with one’s tongue, heart and actions. The extent of one’s love of Allah is determined by the extent of this Remembrance.

4- Giving precedence to what Allah loves over personal love, when being overcome by desires.

5- Contemplating and reflecting on the Names and Attributes of Allah, and roaming in this garden of knowledge.

6- Recognizing and remembering the favors and bounties of Allah – both the manifest and hidden, as this leads to loving Him.

7- To have one’s heart totally humble and submissive to Allah – and this is the most wonderful matter.

8- To be alone with Allah during the time when He descends to the lowest heaven, which is the last third part of every night, by supplicating Him, praying to Him, and reciting His Words; completely humbling oneself to Him and fulfilling the requisites and etiquette of true worship, and ending that by seeking Allah’s forgiveness and repenting to Him.

9- To sit in the gatherings of true and sincere lovers of Allah, reaping the fruits of their speech.

10- To stay away from all the causes which distances the heart from Allah – the Almighty." [End of quote]

Allah knows best.