Explaining the condition for a Muslim to be gathered with the one he loves, and explaining the etiquette of a Muslim visiting his Muslim brother.

The Shaykh : It is necessary that we note, and having read these authentic hadiths in this chapter, something important in his saying (peace be upon him): : It is possible to make that into two matters: The first matter is that this virtue and this excellence, which is that a person is gathered with the person he loves, even if that person is lower than him in deeds, requires that he be sincere in his love for him, just as that Bedouin said: "I love Allah and His Messenger," while acknowledging his shortcoming; he loves Allah and His Messenger. The second matter is the implications of love for Allah and His Messenger; its implications are that a person strives diligently, and to the extent he is able or his circumstances allow, to act in accordance with the deeds of the one he loves, as the poet said perfectly:
"So imitate them, if you are not like them, *** For imitating the noble ones is success."
If the lover is sincere in his love for Allah, and the one he loves is sincere in his love, then he must act in accordance with the deeds of this beloved, but within the limits of his ability and circumstances, as we mentioned. With these two conditions—the first condition being that he is sincere in his love for that person for the sake of Allah, and the second condition being that he strives to act in accordance with his deeds—then this hadith comes: . The purpose of this explanation and the reminder of these two matters is so that a man does not come and say, "I love Allah and His Messenger," while he does not do anything for Allah and His Messenger other than being content to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. At that point, if such a person claims his love for Allah and His Messenger, his deeds, which are completely deficient in this regard, contradict him. Also, as the poet said:
"You disobey Allah while you display your love for Him, *** By your life, this is a marvel in logic.
If your love were sincere, you would have obeyed Him, *** For the lover of the one he loves is obedient."
This is the intended meaning of our explanation of the two previous matters, so that a person does not be deluded and say, "By Allah, I love Allah and the Messenger," while in reality he is the farthest from Allah and His Messenger in action. The purpose of this hadith is that the person who is sincere in his love for Allah and His Messenger does not disobey Allah and the Messenger. He performs the obligatory acts and the duties and refrains from the forbidden, but Islam is broad. The characteristics of Islam by which a person draws near to Allah are many, and very many. So he will be deficient compared to the first two groups (the foremost and the next). As long as he truly loves Allah and His Messenger, such a person is gathered with the one he loves. This is the point of distinction. The man who is deficient in the obligatory acts and indulges in the forbidden is not gathered with the pious and righteous whom he claimed to love, because he is not sincere in his love for Allah and His Messenger. However, if he comes and strives to perform everything Allah has obligated upon him on one hand, and strives to refrain from everything Allah has forbidden on the other hand, but he is deficient in increasing in righteous deeds on one hand, and his foot may slip sometimes on another hand, so he commits something of what Allah has forbidden, but this is not his habit and not his custom that he constantly disobeys Allah and commits various wrongs and forbidden things. Rather, the opposite is the truth: his habit, always and forever, is to do what Allah has commanded and refrain from what Allah has forbidden, but he may err. This intercedes for him and becomes a reason for Allah to forgive his sin by gathering him on the Day of Resurrection with the one he loved, because he was sincere in his love for Him.
This is sufficient, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.