My discerning Muslim brother!
Know—may Allah grant you and me sincere love for Him—that loving Allah is among the noblest acts of worship of the heart and the greatest foundations of servitude. It is more than a verbal claim or a passing emotion. It is worship of the heart born of knowing Allah, His names, attributes and blessings, whose effects appear in following His Messenger, obedience, reverence, repentance and submission.
Allah Most High says: “Say, “If you love Allah then follow me[13]; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: for Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”” [Al ‘Imran: 31]
The verse tests the claim of love against its proof: following the Messenger ﷺ demonstrates the sincerity of a servant’s love for his Lord and is a means of attaining Allah’s love and forgiveness.
Signs of sincere and complete love include giving Allah’s command precedence over your own desires, loving what He loves and disliking what He dislikes, finding comfort in His remembrance, longing to obey Him and returning to Him in repentance whenever you slip.
Sincere love does not make a person immune to sin. A believer may weaken and stumble, but a sincere lover is not content with disobedience, does not relish it or remain comfortably in it. He regrets, seeks forgiveness and struggles to return. Sins diminish a servant’s love for his Lord and his faith in proportion to their seriousness; committing a sin does not necessarily erase the foundation of love.
To strengthen your love for Allah, reflect upon His Book, come to know Him through His names and attributes, consider His blessings, both outward and inward, and observe the obligatory duties before drawing nearer through voluntary acts. In the sacred hadith: “My slave continues to draw near to Me by doing supererogatory deeds until I love him.” Narrated by al-Bukhari.
Remember Him and supplicate to Him often. Strive against your own soul to abandon what displeases Him, and keep company with those who remind you of Him and help you obey Him.
The reality of love becomes clear under trial: when desire and divine command conflict, which do you put first? When alone with something forbidden, whose watchfulness do you remember? And when you stumble, to whom do you return?
Love of Allah is more than a spoken word: it is worship in the heart, outward obedience and repentance after a slip. The more a servant knows his Lord, follows His Messenger ﷺ and obeys His commands, the more firmly rooted his love becomes, and the more its fruits appear in his worship, character and conduct.
O Allah, we ask You for Your love, the love of those who love You, and love for every deed that brings us closer to Your love. Make Your love dearer to us than ourselves, our families and cool water. Grant us sincere obedience to Your Messenger, the sweetness of worship, constant return to You and a good meeting with You. Amen!