Tawhid in the Love of Allah and the Love of His Messenger
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The Shaykh : Tawhid in love means filling your heart with the love of Allah and the love of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The love of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is subordinate to the love of Allah. If he had not been the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds, we would not have been obligated to obey and love him as we are obligated to do when he is the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds, is that not so? Yes. Therefore, the love of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the obligation to act according to his Sunnah are both subordinate to the love of Allah. So the foundation of it all is the love of whom? The love of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). You must single out Allah in love, and make the love of everything else subordinate to the love of Allah. But unfortunately, many people today—may Allah protect us and you—
The audience: Amen.
The Shaykh : love alongside Allah, love alongside Allah, or even love in place of Allah. You find them prioritizing this world over what pleases Allah (Mighty and Majestic), prioritizing their wife over the love of Allah, prioritizing their child over the love of Allah, prioritizing their friend over the love of Allah. This is shirk (associating partners with Allah). It may reach the level of major shirk, or it may be less than that. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:165] of these to their equals.
Love, in reality, my brothers, is what moves the will. Love is what moves the will. If a person loves something, does he move to will it and reach it, or not? Answer me, everyone!
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed. I say that love is the driver of the will. So if you love Allah, this love must carry you to will His pleasure. Let me give a simple example. If you love a friend of yours: do you hasten to fulfill what is due to this friend, or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, you hasten. If he makes an appointment with you, you do not break it. If he asks you for something, you do not withhold it. You look at what he desires and you fulfill it for him. So love is the driver of the will, and the will, together with the ability, brings the action into existence. Do you understand, everyone?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Good. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says:[At-Tawbah 9:24] Wait, wait for the punishment [At-Tawbah 9:24] So we must single out Allah in His love (Mighty and Majestic). But unfortunately, there are people among the Muslims who single out the Messenger in love and do not love Allah as they love the Messenger! They single out the Messenger with complete love, and do not love Allah as they love the Messenger. This is a mistake, a great mistake. Who sent the Messenger?
The student: Allah.
The Shaykh : Allah. Who created him? Allah. Who legislated the law for him? Allah. How can you single out a slave among the slaves of Allah with the peak of love, excluding Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? This is a mistake. And let the one who does this know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not accept this at all. He does not accept from us that we prioritize his love over the love of Allah. A man said to him one day: "What Allah wills and what you will." He said:Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 18:1391 And if it is not permissible for a Muslim to prioritize the love of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the best of creation, over the love of Allah, then it is even more impermissible to prioritize the love of those below the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). It is not permissible for us to prioritize the love of our fathers or our mothers or ourselves or our scholars or our shaykhs over what? Over the love of Allah, absolutely not. Rather, we do not even equate the love of these people with the love of Allah, for the love of Allah is the foundation. If the lovers love for the sake of Allah, they benefit from the love. And if they love for other than that, the love may be a harm, or it may be neither beneficial nor harmful.
The audience: Amen.
The Shaykh : love alongside Allah, love alongside Allah, or even love in place of Allah. You find them prioritizing this world over what pleases Allah (Mighty and Majestic), prioritizing their wife over the love of Allah, prioritizing their child over the love of Allah, prioritizing their friend over the love of Allah. This is shirk (associating partners with Allah). It may reach the level of major shirk, or it may be less than that. Allah the Exalted said:
And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah
ومن الناس من يتّخذ من دون الله أندادا يحبونهم كحب الله والذين آمنوا أشد حبا للهLove, in reality, my brothers, is what moves the will. Love is what moves the will. If a person loves something, does he move to will it and reach it, or not? Answer me, everyone!
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed. I say that love is the driver of the will. So if you love Allah, this love must carry you to will His pleasure. Let me give a simple example. If you love a friend of yours: do you hasten to fulfill what is due to this friend, or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, you hasten. If he makes an appointment with you, you do not break it. If he asks you for something, you do not withhold it. You look at what he desires and you fulfill it for him. So love is the driver of the will, and the will, together with the ability, brings the action into existence. Do you understand, everyone?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Good. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says:
Say, [O Muhammad], "If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihad in His cause, then wait
قل إن كان آباؤكم وأبناؤكم وإخوانكم وأزواجكم وعشيرتكم وأموال اقترفتموها وتجارة تخشون كسادها ومساكن ترضونها أحب إليكم من الله ورسوله وجهاد في سبيله فتربصواuntil Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people."
حتى يأتي الله بأمره والله لا يهدي القوم الفاسقينThe student: Allah.
The Shaykh : Allah. Who created him? Allah. Who legislated the law for him? Allah. How can you single out a slave among the slaves of Allah with the peak of love, excluding Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? This is a mistake. And let the one who does this know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not accept this at all. He does not accept from us that we prioritize his love over the love of Allah. A man said to him one day: "What Allah wills and what you will." He said: