Being ‘in love’ can be both a wonderful experience and a dangerous one. Love involves attachment. Attachment involves clinging to something created. Clinging to something created involves the reality of mortality. For indeed it is as Allah has said,

“Everyone shall taste death.” 3:185

The dangers of attachment are manyfold. However, one of the biggest dangers is that Love can overcome the heart. In doing so, the dedication of one’s life will be for the object of love, and not for the objective of Loving Allah.

Indeed, the one in love must ask their soul, “Is this love for the pleasure of Allah? Do I love this object so that I may come closer to my Lord? Will this love benefit my hereafter, or will it place it in ruin?

If the soul answers ‘no’, then one needs to step back and correct the intention. Not just the intention of yourself, but the intention of the one loved. We, as Muslims, must remember our goal. Our goal is not the pleasure of the creation unless it pleases Allah, rather our Goal is Allah. Our goal is to strengthen our love for Him through our love for others.

An example of strengthening our love for Allah through our love for others is the bond of marriage. If the wife or husband wakes one another up in the early morning for Fajr or Qiyaamul-Layl (night prayer), they have used this love to increase love for Allah.

If the wife encourages her husband to spend his wealth on the poor or encourages him to become involved in bettering this Ummah (nation), the result insha’Allah (by the will of Allah) result will be an increase in Love for Allah.

An increase in love for Allah can even be achieved by having marital relations that bring about children that will worship Allah alone.

We must understand the importance of reaching this noble objective of increasing our Love for Allah. We should make our Salah (prayers), give sadaqah (charity), make du’aa (supplications) in the late parts of the night, based upon love for Allah.

A brother once told me that he felt his Salah was worthless. So I advised him to start making his Salah, not JUST because it is fardh (obligatory), but because he wants to increase his closeness with Allah. I told him that he should build a relationship with his Master. Salah is not a one-sided ritual. Rather, it is two-sided. Allah is pleased by your submitting your soul to him. By gaining that pleasure and Love of Allah, you too, begin to increase in love for him by realizing his favors and blessings. If you increase your asking of Him in prostrations (sajdah), and you truly begin to rely upon Him within your life, your Love will increase for Him.

Indeed building this trust with Allah will only be of benefit in this world and in the Hereafter. Allah says,

And in Allah should the believers put their trust. (Aali Imran 3:122)

Placing one’s trust in someone other than Allah has no guarantees. Whereas placing your trust in Allah alone, always has the guarantee of being fruitful. ‘Certainly, Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him).’ (Aali Imran 3:159)

The point is that we should strive to love for Allah’s sake, even before loving for our own sake. By loving for Allah, we are living for Allah.

And indeed, Allah commanded,

Say (O Muhammad SAW): “Verily, my Salat (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the ‘Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists). (Al-An’am 6:162)

So ask your soul if your life and love are dedicated to Allah!

So if you love Allah, remember that you must love, obey and cling to the best of mankind’s way, Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa ‘alaa Aalihi wa sallam – may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Allah says,

Say (O Muhammad SAW to mankind): “If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Aali Imran 3:31)

Let us not be careless and forget our objectives. Let us not be careless and forget what our love really means.