Signs of Allaah's Love For His Slaves And The Efforts For It's Achievement

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatuallahi wa barakatuhu

Riyad-us-Saliheen
Gardens of the Righteous

The Book of Miscellany
Chapter 47

Signs of Allaah's Love For His Slaves And The Efforts For It's Achievement

By Imaam Aboo Zakariya Yahyaa Ibn Sharaf An-Nawawi

Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, the Exalted, says:

"Say (O Muhammad to mankind): 'If you (really) love Allaah then follow me (i.e., accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'aan and the Sunnah), Allaah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."" (3:31)

"O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allaah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the way of Allaah, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allaah which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allaah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower." (5:54)

386. Aboo Hurayrah radhiallaahu 'anhu reported: The Messenger of Allaah Sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "Allaah, the Exalted, has said: 'I will declare war against him who treats with hostility a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (voluntary prayers or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) until I love him, (so much so that) I become his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me something, I will surely give him, and if he seeks My Protection (refuge), I will surely protect him". [Al-Bukhaari]

Commentary: This Hadeeth tell us the status and distinctive signs of the favoured men of Allaah ('Auliya' Allaah) The Noble Qur'aan has defined them as:

"Those who believed (in the Oneness of Allaah) and used to fear Allaah much (by abstaining from evil deeds and sins and by doing righteous deeds)". (10:63).

According to this definition, every believer who really fears Allaah is a favoured of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala. It means that except for faith and piety, favoured of Allaah are neither people of the special kind nor have they any special distinctive signs, as is generally thought by some people. In this respect, the ignorance of the general public is shocking because they regard even such persons as favoured of Allaah who not only neglect the religious obligations and the practice of the Prophet Sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, but also woefully lack cleanliness. Sometimes they call even mad or half-mad persons as favourites of Allaah, whereas a Wali in the true sense is one who is meticulous about observing the obligations and is fearful of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala.

This Hadeeth brings about the following four points:

Firstly, the love of those whom Allaah loves entail the love of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, and hating them entails the hatred of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala.

Secondly, when a true Muslim acquires nearness and love of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala by means of performing religious obligations, supererogatory and voluntary prayers, Allaah then becomes his special helper and protects his limbs and organs and does not let them work for His disobedience. Then he does not use any part of his body for things which are disliked by Him Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala. It is wrong to infer from this Hadeeth, as men of heretical and polytheistic trend try to do, that Auliya' become the eyes, ears, hands, feet, etc. of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala. That is to say that Almighty Allaah descends in them. Thus, on the basis of this contemptible reasoning, they conclude that it makes no difference whether one begs from Allaah or Auliya because the two are one being. For such people supplicating "O Allaah! Help us", "O Prophet of Allaah! Help us" and "O Ali! Help us" etc., has certainly gone astray, rather commits Shirk (polytheism) . May Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala save us from these sins. According to the Hadeeth, a true pious man likes and adopts what is liked by Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, and avoids all such things which are not liked by Him.

Thirdly, the performance of the obligatory acts of worshipping has the first and foremost importance for attaining the pleasure of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala because their fulfillment is liked the most by Allaah Almighty and also because they furnish the foundation, on which the edifice of Islam is built. As we cannot think of a building without foundation, similarly, we cannot think of voluntary worship without fulfilling the basic obligations. The fact is that one who neglects them ceases to be a Muslim. This is the reason for the severe warnings of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala to those who default on this account. Those who neglect voluntary prayers have not been given any warning. It is, however, true that their performance in addition to the obligatory ones increases lustre of obligations. Nawafil (voluntary acts of worship) help one to attain the exalted place of being loved by Allaah by virtue of which one is endowed with the special Help of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala.

Fourthly, Almighty Allaah certainly grants the prayers of those whom He loves. But acceptance of their prayers, however, does not mean that their results appear at once. Sometime the results of these prayers appear after a long time. The prayer of virtuous persons is certainly granted but whether it takes a long or short time depends solely on the Will of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala.

387. Aboo Hurayrah radhiallaahu' anhu reported: The Prophet Sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "When Allaah loves a slave, He calls out Jibreel and says: 'I love so-and-so; so love him'. Then Jibreel loves him. After that he (Jibreel) announces to the inhabitants of heavens that Allaah loves so-and-so; so love him; and the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him and then make people on earth love him". [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim].

Another narration of Imaam Muslim is: The Messenger of Allaah, Sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said: "When Allaah loves a slave, He calls Jibreel (Gabriel) and says: 'I love so-and-so; so love him.' And then Jibreel loves him. Then he (Jibreel) announces in the heavens saying: Allaah loves so-and-so; so love him; then the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him; and then people on earth love him. And when Allaah hates a slave, He calls Jibreel and says: 'I hate so-and-so, so hate him.' Then Jibreel also hates him. He (Jibreel) then announces amongst the inhabitants of heavens: 'Verily, Allaah hates so-and-so, so you also hate him.' Thus they also start to hate him. Then he becomes the object of hatred on the earth also". [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim].

Commentary: This Hadeeth mentions the reward of love for the sake of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala. A person who loves for the sake of Allaah is not only loved by Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala but also by the inhabitants of the earth as well as the heavens. On the other hand, those who are hated by Allaah are also hated by the inhabitants of the earth and the heavens. It must be borne in mind that they alone remain popular in this world who are righteous by nature - who strictly maintain the distinction between the lawful and the unlawful (Ma'ruf and Munkar). But those whose nature is defected by constant sins, cease to distinguish between right and wrong and lose their credibility. They generally hate the pious persons for the reason that every category of people loves and likes people of its own kind.

388. 'Aishah radhiallaahu 'anha reported: The Messenger of Allaah, Sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam appointed a man in charge of an army unit who led them in Salaat (prayer); he always concluded his recitation with Soorat Al-Ikhlaas: "Say (O Muhammad): 'He is Allaah, (the) One. Allaah-us-Samad (Allaah-the Self-Sufficient) . He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none equal or comparable to Him."" (112:1-4). Upon their return to Al-Madeenah, they mentioned this to the Messenger of Allaah Sall Allaahu'alayhi wa sallam, who said, "Ask him why he does so?" He was asked and he said, "This Soorah contains the Attributes of Allaah, the Gracious, and I love to recite it. The Messenger of Allaah Sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam then told them, "Tell him that Allaah loves him". [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim].

Commentary: We learn from the Hadeeth the following:

1. The Companions always rushed to the Prophet Sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam to ask his opinion about anything they noticed strange to them.

2. The superiority of Soorat Al-Ikhlaas as it clarifies points of Tawheed.

3. The permissibility to recite two Soorah during Salaat, apart from Soorat Al-Faatihah, in one single Rak'aah.

4. The permissibility of reciting the same Soorah over and over again, as this Sahaabi (Companion) who led the Salaat used to recite Soorat Al-Ikhlaas after each recitation.

Allah Knows Best