A hadith in "Sahih al-Jami'": (Love your beloved gently, for he may become your enemy one day)

The questioner : Regarding the hadith in "Sahih al-Jami'": What is the understanding (fiqh) of this hadith?

The Shaykh : The understanding (fiqh) of this hadith is that a person must be moderate in everything; , and the best of matters are the moderate ones. Loving to the extreme is an error. One should be moderate in love and in hatred. It is not befitting for a Muslim to be excessive in his love, lest it turn into its opposite one day, and the same applies to the opposite. One should not be intense in his hatred, given the possibility that this hated person may become a beloved one day. The essence and goal of this hadith are very clear: moderation in good and in evil, in good and in evil. The greatest proof of this is his saying (peace be upon him): in the story of the group who came to the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked them about his worship, his standing in prayer, his fasting, and his visiting his wives. They informed them of what they knew of his moderation: that the Messenger (peace be upon him) stands in prayer at night and sleeps, fasts and breaks his fast, and marries women. As for those men, they went to extremes. They made a pact among themselves: one said, "I will stand in prayer forever, I will stand and fast forever and not break my fast." Another said, "I will stand in prayer at night and not sleep." Another lived as a monk—and there is no monasticism in Islam!—and said, "I will not marry women." The story is well known. The point is that the Messenger (peace be upon him) said to them: . This is moderation in worship. Love for the sake of Allah is worship, and hatred for the sake of Allah is worship, but it is not permissible to exaggerate in this, lest the matter turn into its opposite. And without doubt, whoever exceeds the limit of a thing reaches its opposite.