What Does It Mean to Love Allah?
مشاركة
Book I · Knowing Allah — Article 6 of 25
Opening Reflection
Nearly everyone says they love Allah.
But what does that love mean?
Is loving Allah a feeling that appears during prayer? Is it the comfort we experience when hearing the Qurʾān? Is it fear of losing His blessings? Is it obeying His commands even when obedience is difficult?
Love of Allah includes feelings of longing, gratitude, reverence, and closeness — but it cannot be reduced to emotion alone. Feelings rise and fall. Some days the heart feels alive; on other days worship requires effort.
True love reveals itself most clearly when what Allah loves conflicts with what we desire.
It is easy to claim love when obedience is convenient. The deeper test comes when Allah’s command asks us to leave something our souls want, forgive someone who hurt us, pray while tired, remain honest when dishonesty would benefit us, or trust Him when His wisdom is still hidden.
Love is not proven by what the tongue claims. It is proven by what the heart chooses when it must choose between Allah and everything competing with Him.
Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله wrote:
“Love of Allah is the life of the heart and the light of the soul. Without it, the heart is a body without a spirit — present in form but absent in reality. Every other love that does not lead to the love of Allah is a distraction. And every love that leads to the love of Allah is a blessing.”
— Ibn al-Qayyim, Madārij al-Sālikīn
What Allah Says
“Allah will bring forth a people whom He loves and who love Him.”
— Sūrah Al-Māʾ idah 5:54
“Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’”
— Sūrah Āl ʿImān 3:31
“Whatever blessing you have is from Allah.”
— Sūrah Al-Naḥl 16:53
“My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him. My servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary deeds until I love him.”
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6502
Notice the order in Sūrah Al-Māʾ idah: He loves them, and they love Him. Before we ever knew how to seek Allah, He guided us toward Him. Even our ability to love Allah is itself a gift from Allah. The true question is not: Who notices me? It is: What can I become so that Allah loves me?
What the Prophet ﷺ Taught
“A person tastes the sweetness of faith when Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to them than everything else, when they love another person for Allah’s sake, and when they hate returning to disbelief as they would hate being thrown into fire.”
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 16
“O Allah, I ask You for Your love, the love of those who love You, and the deeds that will bring me to Your love. O Allah, make Your love dearer to me than myself, my family, and cold water.”
— Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 3490
The Prophet ﷺ showed us that love of Allah is not passive — it is lived through prayer, repentance, remembrance, honest dealings, mercy toward others, and patient trust in Allah’s wisdom. Following him ﷺ is not worshipping him. We follow him because Allah chose him as His final Messenger and commanded us to follow his guidance.
How the Early Muslims Understood It
Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله explained the test of love in Sūrah Āl ʿImān 3:31:
“This verse is the judge of every person who claims to love Allah. The truthfulness of that claim is proven by following Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ. A claim of love that is not accompanied by following him is incomplete. This is why the scholars called this verse ‘the verse of the test’ — it separates sincere love from mere words.”
— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله described the relationship between love and obedience:
“Obedience is not the price of love — it is love’s fruit. The servant who truly loves Allah finds that obedience becomes lighter, not heavier. The heart that loves Allah does not experience His commands as a burden; it experiences them as a path toward the One it longs for.”
— Ibn al-Qayyim, Madārij al-Sālikīn
Imam al-Ghazālī رحمه الله wrote on the causes of love’s weakness:
“The heart that feels distant from Allah should not despair — it should examine. Dryness in worship is rarely without a cause: a sin persisted in, the Qurʾān abandoned, the heart crowded with distraction, or the soul carrying pain it has not brought honestly to Allah. The cure for distance is truthful return, not the performance of closeness.”
— Al-Ghazālī, Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-Dīn
Imam al-Saʿdī رحمه اللڇ commented on the qualities Allah loves in His servants:
“Allah did not leave love undefined. He told us who He loves: those who repent, those who purify themselves, those who do good with excellence, those who are patient, those who rely upon Him, and those who act justly. Love of Allah is therefore not a feeling to wait for — it is a path to walk.”
— Al-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān
Lessons for the Heart
Love of Allah does not mean you will never struggle. It gives your struggle a direction. It does not mean you will never sin. It prevents sin from becoming your permanent home. It does not mean you will always feel spiritual sweetness. It teaches you to remain loyal when sweetness is absent.
It does not mean you stop loving creation. It places every created love beneath love of the Creator. It does not mean every hardship disappears. It means hardship can no longer convince you that life is meaningless.
And it does not mean merely saying, “Allah is in my heart.” It means allowing His guidance to shape what your heart pursues, what your tongue says, what your eyes seek, what your hands do, and where your feet carry you.
Signs that love is growing: You remember Allah throughout the day. You care about what pleases Him. Sin troubles your heart. You return after failure. You enjoy private worship. You love what brings you nearer to Him. You place His command above pressure. You become more merciful toward creation.
How to increase love: Know Him through His Names. Read the Qurʾān as His words to you. Protect the obligatory prayers. Remember your blessings. Reflect on how often He has forgiven you. Perform hidden good deeds. Leave something for His sake. Spend time with people who remind you of Him. And ask Allah to place His love within you — love of Allah is itself a gift.
Living It Today
1. Protect the obligatory prayers. Prayer is not an interruption in your day. It is your repeated return to the One for whom the day exists.
2. Read the Qurʾān as Allah’s words to you. Pause when He describes Himself, His promises, His warnings, and the people He loves.
3. Perform one hidden good deed. Secret worship weakens the ego and creates a relationship with Allah that does not depend upon human recognition.
4. Leave one thing for His sake. Giving up a sin solely because Allah dislikes it is one of the clearest declarations of love.
5. Ask Allah for His love. Repeat the duʿāʾ of the Prophet ﷺ: Allāhumma innī asʾalu-ka ḥubbaka, wa ḥubba man yuḥibbuka, wal-ʿamala alladhī yuballighu-nī ḥubbaka.
Questions for Reflection
- When your desires conflict with Allah’s command, which one usually wins?
- Do you love Allah Himself, or mainly the blessings you hope to receive from Him?
- Which obligatory act needs the most attention in your life?
- Is there a sin you know you should leave for Allah’s sake?
- What private act of worship could you begin that no one else needs to know about?
- Which Name of Allah most increases your love for Him?
- If your heart feels distant, what may be contributing to that distance?
A Duʿāʾ
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ حُبَّكَ، وَحُبَّ مَنْ يُحِبُّكَ، وَالْعَمَلَ الَّذِي يُبَلِّغُنِي حُبَّكَ
Allāhumma innī asʾalu-ka ḥubbaka, wa ḥubba man yuḥibbuka, wal-ʿamala alladhī yuballighu-nī ḥubbaka. Allāhumma-jʿal ḥubbaka aḥabba ilayya min nafsī wa ahlī wa minal-māʾ il-bārid.
“O Allah, I ask You for Your love, the love of those who love You, and the deeds that will bring me to Your love. O Allah, make Your love dearer to me than myself, my family, and cold water.”
— Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 3490
O Allah, Al-Wadūd, the Most Loving — place Your love within our hearts. Make it the love that guides every other love, the loyalty that holds when feelings fade, and the truth that remains when everything else is tested. Teach us to love You through knowing You, to show that love through following Your Messenger ﷺ, and to seek Your love above every other approval. Do not let us be satisfied with claiming love while our choices contradict it. And if our hearts feel distant, draw them back — for You are nearer to us than we are to ourselves. Āmīn.
Further Reading
Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah (2:165, 2:195, 2:222) · Sūrah Āl ʿImān (3:31, 3:76, 3:146, 3:159) · Sūrah Al-Māʾ idah (5:42, 5:54) · Sūrah Al-Naḥl (16:53)
Hadith: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 15, 16, 6502 · Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 3490
Classical works: Madārij al-Sālikīn and Al-Dāʾ wa al-Dawāʾ — Ibn al-Qayyim · Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm — Ibn Kathīr · Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān — Al-Saʿdī · Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-Dīn — Al-Ghazālī
Next: Book I · Article 7 — What Does It Mean to Fear Allah?
The Path to Allah is a Zeitoun District educational series for Muslims, new Muslims, and every sincere heart searching for their Creator.