Love for the sake of Allah

From: www.islamonline.com

To love someone for the sake of Allah is a grand act for which much merit and many rewards have been promised."To love for the sake of Allah" means loving someone, not for worldly gain, but because he/she is more religious and pious or busy in serving Muslims and Islam, or because loving him or her is commanded by Allah; like loving parents.Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:"Allah shall ask on the Day of Judgment; ' Where are those who loved for the sake of my greatness? Today when there is no shade, I shall have them in my shade.'" [Sahih Muslim]Allah (swt) says in the Qur�an:"The Believers are but a single brotherhood."[49:10]

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:�There are three things, that whoever attains, will find the sweetness of faith: If Allah and his messenger are dearer to him than anyone else; if he loves a person solely for the sake of Allah; and if he would hate to return to disbelief (kufr) after Allah has rescued him from it, as much as he would hate to be thrown into fire."[Agreed upon]Having love for Allah's pious and good bondsmen is actually an outcome of one's love for Allah, so it earns the same rewards and merits as the latter.Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was asked:"When shall come the Day of Judgment?" Our Prophet (pbuh) asked him : �What preparation have you made for the Day?" The man said, "Nothing, but I have love for Allah and for his messenger."

The Prophet (pbuh) said: "You shall be (on that Day) with whom you love."The above saying (hadith) has been quoted by Anas. He said that these words of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) pleased us as nothing had ever done. He added: "I have great love for the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) - may he be eternally blessed - and with Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, and because of this love, I shall be in their company, even though my deeds are not equal to theirs." [Sahih Bukhari]Allah has commanded Muslims to love one another, to take one another as friends and brothers and care and help each other, Allah (swt) says in the Qur�an:(And hold fast by the covenant of Allah all together and be not disunited, and remember the favor of Allah on you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts so by His favor you became brethren; and you were on the brink of a pit of fire, then He saved you from it, thus does Allah make clear to you His communications that you may follow the right way.)[3:103]Our love for each other for the sake of Allah implies a willingness to sacrifice our needs for the sake of our fellow Muslims� needs in a manner that far outweighs normal sacrifice for the sake of friendship.

This pure love is crucial to maintaining Muslims� faith, if Muslims don�t have strong relations with each other, their faith will automatically decrease.Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:�The relationship between believers is like a wall, parts of which support other parts.�[Muslim]The concept of love for the sake of Allah doesn�t recognize nor permit �friendship" between men and women that is outside of marriage and familial bonds. However, Muslims wives and husbands shouldl love each other for the sake of Allah, their children will love them and love each other for the sake of Allah. This will sure result in strong family relations and a healthy Muslim community.

A Muslim should not forsake or abandon his brother, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:�There should be no breaking off of ties, no turning away from one another, no hating one another. Be brothers, as Allah has commanded you.�[Muslim]Also Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) advised Muslims to show their love for one another, he said:�If a man loves his brother in faith, he should tell him that he loves him.�[Abu Dawud]There are so many sayings of our Prophet (pbuh) showing that having love for someone for the sake of Allah is an act of great merit, which grants one the opportunity of doing good in this world and being in exalted company in the Hereafter.Hence, one should love good people for the sake of Allah and with the intent of becoming good oneself and earning Allah's pleasure.
Source: Islamiway