What is the meaning of love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah?

Question:
May Allah reward you. Among the questions we received, this questioner says: Shaykh, what is meant by love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah, and how is one rewarded for that?

Answer:
The meaning is that a person loves someone only for the sake of Allah; he does not love them for the sake of worldly greed, or because they are merely of his group, or because they are merely his relative. Rather, he loves them for the sake of Allah the Exalted, as a means of drawing near to Allah and out of love for his believing brother. This is love for the sake of Allah. Hatred is likewise; he does not hate according to his own desires, but rather he hates those whom Allah hates. And Allah hates disbelievers, hypocrites, and open sinners. So he hates those whom Allah the Exalted hates. However, the believing sinner is a combination of love and hatred; he is loved for the faith in him and hated for the disobedience in him. As for the hypocrite and the disbeliever, they are hated with pure hatred, with no love mixed with it. Yes.