[…] Read also: 10 Quran Verses That Teach Us About Love […]
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Do you find yourself drawn towards that which you love most? Think about your favourite person, food and things. How much time and money do you spend on these things?
We must realise that, the things we love most will dictate every single action we take.
So if you love Allah, your actions will pull you towards the pleasure of Allah. But if you love materialistic things, your mind, attention, focus, and whatever decisions you make will be geared towards that.
Love is essentially the single most powerful force that dictates most of our actions.
This is why understanding the true nature of love is important for us.
So what does Allah teach us about love in the Quran?
Here is a list of Quran verses that Allah talks about what He loves, what he hates and how we can go about using the power of love.
1. Love is intimate
“It is He who created you from one soul and created from it its mate that he might dwell in security with her… “
(Al-Araf 7:189)
This Quran verse about love refers to how Allah created the male and female as intimate companions for a settling life.
Marriages are set with this love and intimacy foundation to provide an ideal household for child-rearing and overall happy life, not just for meeting temporary pleasures.
2. Love can become lust
“And women in the city said, “The wife of al-‘Azeez is seeking to seduce her slave boy; he has impassioned her with love. Indeed, we see her [to be] in clear error.”
(Yusuf 12:30)
In this Quran verse about love, Allah shows how love can quickly turn to lust if one is not careful. The story of Yusuf (a.s) and Zulaikha – the wife of Al-Azeez – is a clear depiction of how dangerous love can be.
Even though Zulaikha is the wife of a great ruler, she was still enslaved to her love for Yusuf (a.s) which led her to her own destruction following her desires.
We can further take heed from this classic story by following Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.w) advice…
“No person (man) should be alone with a woman except when there is a Mahram with her.” (Sahih Muslim)
I suppose that includes being alone on whatsapp and other modern social media platforms too. 😉
3. Love can cause sibling rivalry
“When they said, “Joseph and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, while we are a clan. Indeed, our father is in clear error.”
(Yusuf 12:8)
The story of Yusuf and his siblings is a very interesting one. Being brought up by a Prophet (Prophet Jacob a.s), you would think that they would have a loving and healthy family, but rather contrary… His brothers felt jealous of their father’s love for Yusuf a.s therefore they decided to cast him out.
This Quran verse about love shows us that love can attract jealousy and cause problems. In this case, a parent’s favouritism towards one child caused their sibling rivalry.
So, just be mindful when it comes to loving our loved ones. It may be hard not to favor one over another since it’s human nature, just be sure to show and express our love for them as equally as possible.
4. Love is earned
“… Whoever does righteousness – they are for themselves preparing, That He may reward those who have believed and done righteous deeds out of His bounty. Indeed, He does not love the disbelievers.”
(Ar-Rum 30:44-45)
Here’s a Quran verse about love that Allah shows how He will not give His love freely to just anyone. His love is specifically given to those who believe in Him and do righteous deeds. Therefore, Allah’s love needs to be earned.
5. Love is rewarded
“… A garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous. Who spend [in the cause of Allah] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people – and Allah loves the doers of good.”
(Al-Imran 3:133-134)
By earning Allah’s love, we will then be rewarded with Jannah – a garden where eternal bliss is promised. This Quran verse about love shows us that no act of love for the sake of Allah will go unrewarded.
Allah loves the doers of good, so keep striving! 🙂
6. Love is steadfast
“And how many a prophet [fought and] with him fought many religious scholars. But they never lost assurance due to what afflicted them in the cause of Allah, nor did they weaken or submit. And Allah loves the steadfast.”
(Al-Imran 3:146)
When we love something or someone, being steadfast is a natural result of our love.
People would stand for hours in the hot sun queuing in front of iphone headquarters just to be the first to get their latest iphones.
Prophet Muhammad SAW would stand for hours until his feet were swollen in Qiyam just to prostrate to his Lover.
It all comes down to who and what you love most.
7. Love is following Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w)
“Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”
(Al-Imran 3:31)
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said…
“None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind.” (Sahih Bukhari)
This Quran verse and hadith about love shows how true love for Allah can only be expressed by following the teachings of His messenger (s.a.w). So much so that Allah and His messenger (s.a.w) should be at the forefront of our lives, not our family, parents, friends or anyone else.
It’s always Allah and His messenger (s.a.w) first.
This means that, when we make a decision or take any action, make sure it is first of all in the favor of our Lord and his messenger before anyone else.
Let’s say we want to throw a birthday party, what kind of birthday party would be pleasing to our Lord and His messenger (s.a.w)?
Perhaps one that does not encourage food wastage, excessive mingling between men and women and haram beverages like alcohol and so on.
All the actions we take in our lifetime will be a testament to our love for Allah and His messenger (s.a.w). Let’s be mindful. 🙂
8. Love is reliance on God
“… if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him].”
(Al-Imran 3:159)
This Quran verse about love shows how love from other creations of Allah can be feeble and that the ultimate form of love is reliance on Allah.
In the battle of Uhud, many disobeyed the Prophet’s (s.a.w) orders due to greed and fear when they heard rumours of the Prophet’s (s.a.w) death. This resulted in the Muslim’s defeat. Although Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was disappointed, he treated his people with gentleness and pardoned their disobedience.
Allah shows us in this Quran verse that love requires gentleness. As He instructed the Prophet to be gentle with his people, we are also required to follow his footsteps by relying on Allah for strength and continue to pardon those around us with gentleness whenever people wrong us.
9. Loving humanity
“Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not love those who are self-deluding and boastful.”
(An-Nisa 4:36)
There is also a hadith that says…
“The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever.” (Sahih Muslim)
This Quran verse and hadith about love shows how loving humanity requires a kind of shared humility and humbleness between people. This kind of love will allow us to create a deeper bond and understanding for the sake of Allah. InsyaAllah. 🙂
10. Love is not obsessive
“… do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves. Indeed, Allah loves not one who is a habitually sinful deceiver.”
(An-Nisa 4:107)
There were hypocrites in the time of the Prophet (s.a.w) who purposely betrayed their trust with the Prophet (s.a.w) and the people of Madinah by creating all sorts of mischief.
Allah says these people are only deceiving themselves and will be thrown into hellfire without help from anyone. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was taught not to argue on their behalf since they are devoid of Allah’s love.
This Quran verse about love shows that love is not obsessive nor unconditional. We do not condone mischief or falsehood, therefore people who deliberately engage in them must be dealt with justly.
Conclusion
Quran verses can give us many insights on love. It’s up to us to extract them and take heed from these love lessons. What are some of your favourite love lessons from the Quran?
Share them so we can all benefit too. 🙂
Till next time.
Love and Salam,
Aimi
ulfa says
I am a student, Its quiet hard for me to not thinking about him. I had told myself to become a stronger person. Then I cried because i don’t like the adolescents level. I want to stay away from that feeling even though it was our ‘fitrah’ as a human being. There is to many fitnah dunia we have to bear. I hope i will become strong enough to implement syariah Islam in my life.