Is the sign of Allah's love for a servant that he loves all people, or that the righteous among them love him?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Noble Shaykh, is the sign of Allah's love for a servant that he loves all people, or that the righteous among them love him?
The Shaykh : If Allah the Exalted loves a servant, He calls out to Jibril, "I love so-and-so, so love him." Jibril then loves him, and then Jibril calls out in the heavens, "Allah loves so-and-so, so love him," and the people of the heavens love him. Then acceptance is placed for him on earth, from the righteous and the non-righteous alike. For you find that every person praises and loves the righteous man, even though the love of the believers for him is not the same as the love of the open sinners or the disbelievers. But if someone were to say, "We see some open sinners who hate and detest the people of good. Does this indicate that Allah does not love this righteous servant?" The answer is: No, because the righteous must have enemies. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said:[Al-Furqan 25:31]. Likewise, the followers of the Prophets must have enemies among the criminals. Yes.
The Shaykh : If Allah the Exalted loves a servant, He calls out to Jibril, "I love so-and-so, so love him." Jibril then loves him, and then Jibril calls out in the heavens, "Allah loves so-and-so, so love him," and the people of the heavens love him. Then acceptance is placed for him on earth, from the righteous and the non-righteous alike. For you find that every person praises and loves the righteous man, even though the love of the believers for him is not the same as the love of the open sinners or the disbelievers. But if someone were to say, "We see some open sinners who hate and detest the people of good. Does this indicate that Allah does not love this righteous servant?" The answer is: No, because the righteous must have enemies. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: