Every good begins with loving Allah. Worldly contentment and the eternal blessings of the Hereafter are obtained through this love alone. This sermon explores the source of love for Allah (knowledge of Him), its outward sign (following His Messenger), and its sweetest fruit (loving fellow believers for His sake) — and how the heart of the believer is meant to nourish the highest of all loves.
Loving Allah — The Fruit of Knowing Him
A person loves only what they know. Hasan al-Basri's famous saying captures this: "Whoever knows his Lord loves Him." Allah is known through the attributes He revealed of Himself in the Qur'an. He is the Lord of the worlds, the One who creates and sustains, who sees and hears, who knows what hearts conceal. He is Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim, granting endless compassion to all His creatures. He feeds even those who reject Him. He resurrects, judges, and rewards His obedient servants with paradise.
These attributes belong to no one else. He has bestowed upon humanity all the faculties it possesses. The believer therefore must love Him above all and worship Him alone.
Allah Himself declares that the believer's love stands above every other attachment:
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَندَادࣰ ا يُحِبُّونَهُمۡ كَحُبِّ ٱللَّهِۖ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَشَدُّ حُبࣰّ ا لِّلَّهِ
— Surah Al-Baqarah 2:165Among people are some who take besides Allah equals — they love them as they should love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah.
This "stronger love" is the love of a heart that has come to know Allah as He truly is. The believer recognizes that their existence, every breath, every blessing comes from Him — and that recognition is the soil in which love grows.
The Sign of Love — Following His Messenger
The Qur'an refuses to let love of Allah remain a passive feeling. It demands a visible sign, the unmistakable mark of authentic love:
قُلۡ إِن كُنتُمۡ تُحِبُّونَ ٱللَّهَ فَٱتَّبِعُونِي يُحۡبِبۡكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَيَغۡفِرۡ لَكُمۡ ذُنُوبَكُمۡۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورࣱ رَّحِيمࣱ
— Surah Al-Imran 3:31Say: "If you love Allah, follow me. Then Allah will love you and forgive your sins. And Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful."
The verse transforms love from a mere emotional claim into adherence to the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace be upon him). To love the Prophet is to walk in his footsteps; to take him as the standard in every matter. Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) once said:
— "O Messenger of Allah, I love you more than everything except my own self."
The Prophet replied: "O Umar, by the One in whose hand my soul is, you will not be a complete believer until you love me more than your own self." Umar reflected for a moment, then said: "By Allah, I now love you more than my own self." The Prophet said: "Now, O Umar, your faith is complete."
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Oaths and Vows, no. 6632Surah Al-Ma'idah paints the moral portrait of the believer Allah loves:
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَن يَرۡتَدَّ مِنكُمۡ عَن دِينِهِۦ فَسَوۡفَ يَأۡتِي ٱللَّهُ بِقَوۡمࣲ يُحِبُّهُمۡ وَيُحِبُّونَهُۥٓ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ
— Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:54O you who believe! If any from among you turn back from his faith, soon Allah will produce a people whom He loves and who love Him — humble with the believers, mighty against the rejecters, striving in the path of Allah.
The people Allah loves carry three marks: tenderness with their fellow believers, firmness in the face of those who attack the faith, and earnestness in striving for His sake. These three lines are the practical face of love.
Remembrance — The Tongue of Love
To name often the one you love is the nature of the lover. Allah Himself describes a mutual remembrance between Him and His servant:
فَٱذۡكُرُونِيٓ أَذۡكُرۡكُمۡ وَٱشۡكُرُواْ لِي وَلَا تَكۡفُرُونِ
— Surah Al-Baqarah 2:152So remember Me, I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not deny Me.
The exegetes have unfolded this verse along many lines: "Remember Me through obedience, and I will remember you with mercy. Remember Me in prayer, and I will remember you by answering your call. Remember Me in private, and I will remember you in public." Dhikr is the kernel of worship and the tongue of love.
A divine narration (hadith qudsi) reads:
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Tawhid, no. 7405I am as My servant thinks Me to be. I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me silently within himself, I remember him within Myself. If he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a better gathering than his.
The hadith conveys nearness in human metaphors — a span, a cubit, a fathom. These are figurative expressions for divine readiness to respond.
Loving for Allah's Sake — The Taste of Faith
Love of Allah does not isolate the believer; it forges bonds with other believers — but only when those bonds are rooted in Him.
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Iman, no. 16Three traits, when found in a person, will let them taste the sweetness of faith: that Allah and His Messenger be more beloved to them than anything else; that they love a person only for the sake of Allah; and that they hate to return to disbelief after Allah has saved them from it, just as they would hate to be thrown into fire.
Believers love one another for Allah's sake alone — never for worldly profit. Friendships built on personal gain turn into enmity on the Day of Judgment; friendships built on taqwa earn the shade of Allah's throne. The Prophet announced:
— Sahih Muslim, al-Birr, no. 2566Allah will say on the Day of Judgment: "Where are those who loved one another for the sake of My Majesty? Today I shall shelter them in My shade — a day when there is no shade except Mine."
Surah Al-Furqan, in describing the servants of the Most Merciful, captures this bond of brotherhood rooted in taqwa:
وَٱلَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبۡ لَنَا مِنۡ أَزۡوَٰجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّٰتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعۡيُنࣲ وَٱجۡعَلۡنَا لِلۡمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:74And those who pray: "Our Lord! Grant us from our spouses and children comfort to our eyes, and make us leaders among the God-conscious."
Stories
The Prophet's Nights of Worship
The hadith collections record that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to stand in prayer at night until his blessed feet swelled. When asked, "O Messenger of Allah, Allah has already forgiven all your past and future shortcomings. Why do you exert yourself so greatly?" he answered:
— "Should I not be a grateful servant?"
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Tahajjud, no. 1130This reply reveals that his worship sprang not from fear of punishment but from love and gratitude. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) describes how the Prophet would pray in the deep of night: "O Allah, all praise is for You. You are the Light of the heavens and the earth. You are the Truth, Your promise is true, Your speech is true, the meeting with You is true. O Allah, I submit to You, I believe in You, I rely on You, I take refuge in You. Forgive me for what I have done and what I will yet do, in private and in public. You are my God; there is no god but You." The hands stretched out in the night silence — this is the language of a heart that loves Allah.
A Mother's Mercy and Allah's Mercy
Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Captives were brought to the Prophet after a battle with the Hawazin tribe. Among them was a nursing woman who had lost her own child. She gathered the milk that had collected in her breast and was giving it to whichever child she found among the captives. At last she discovered her own child among the captives — she snatched him to her chest and began to nurse him with intense love.
The Prophet turned to his Companions and asked:
— "Do you think this woman would ever throw her child into a fire?"
They replied, "No, by Allah, not while she has the power to prevent it." The Prophet said:
— "Allah is more merciful to His servants than this mother is to her child."
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Adab, no. 5999This hadith sets the comparative scale of Allah's mercy: the highest of all human tenderness — a mother's love for her child — is only a drop next to Allah's mercy for His servants. The lover of Allah carries hope as the companion of love; despair never enters the same heart.
"I Love the Attributes of Allah"
A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Prophet appointed a man as imam over a military detachment. He always led prayer with Surah al-Ikhlas. When the men returned, they complained: "Our imam only reads the short surah and never moves to longer ones." The Prophet ordered them: "Ask him why."
The man replied: "Surah al-Ikhlas contains the attributes of Allah. I love to read it, so I led the prayer with it." When this was reported to the Prophet, he said:
— "Tell him that Allah loves him too."
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Tawhid, no. 7375To love Surah al-Ikhlas — "Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal; He does not beget, nor is He begotten" — purely for what it says about Allah is the clearest proof that love is the fruit of knowing Him.
"You Will Be with Those You Love"
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: We were leaving the mosque with the Prophet. A man approached at the door and asked:
— "O Messenger of Allah, when will the Hour come?"
The Prophet replied: "What have you prepared for the Hour?" The man said:
— "O Messenger of Allah, I have not prepared much prayer or fasting or charity for the Hour, but I love Allah and His Messenger."
The Prophet answered: "You will be with those you love."
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Adab, no. 6171For believers whose deeds fall short but whose hearts are filled with love, this is the most comforting word in revelation — love is the bond that brings the family of the believers together on the Day of Gathering.
The Marks of Loving Allah
When love of Allah takes root in a heart, it shows in unmistakable ways:
- Delight in worship: Worship becomes not a duty but the chance to stand before the Beloved.
- Adherence to the Messenger's Sunnah: Love is translated into following.
- Constant remembrance: The tongue moves to dhikr, the heart to longing, the limbs to gratitude.
- Loving believers for Allah's sake: Friendship is measured by taqwa, not interest.
- Shame before sin: Reluctance to be insolent toward the One you love.
- Zeal for Allah's limits: Forgiving in personal matters, firm in matters of justice.
A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) described the Prophet as one "who never took revenge for his own sake; he only punished when the limits set by Allah had been transgressed."
Putting the Love of Allah Into Practice With VAAZ
The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah collection in the VAAZ app features Al-Wadud (the All-Loving), Ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful), and Al-Latif (the Subtle and Kind) — three windows onto the divine attributes that nourish love. The dua archive contains the supplication of Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him): "O Allah, I ask You for Your love and the love of those who love You."
For the companion virtue of sincerity, see the Sermon on Sincerity (Ikhlas); for the Prophet's example in life and conduct, see the Sermon on the Prophets' Stories. Knowing Allah is the beginning of love; loving Him is the fruit of knowing Him; following His Messenger is love's only proof.
References
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:152, 2:165.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Imran 3:31.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:54.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Furqan 25:74.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Iman, hadith no. 16 (The taste of faith).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Tahajjud, hadith no. 1130 (The Prophet's night prayer).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Adab, hadith no. 5999 (The mother's mercy).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Adab, hadith no. 6171 (You will be with those you love).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Tawhid, hadith no. 7375 (Love of Surah al-Ikhlas).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Tawhid, hadith no. 7405 (Allah's nearness to the servant).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Oaths and Vows, hadith no. 6632 (Umar's love for the Prophet).
- Sahih Muslim, Book of al-Birr, hadith no. 2566 (Those who love for Allah's sake).