Have you ever wondered what exactly love is? Take a moment to think about it.
It is not easy to define. A poet once wrote that when the pen is put to paper and writes about love, it breaks in two. When we try and express our love, we find it very hard to find the right words. The expressions we use do not fully represent what is burning deep down inside our hearts. This may explain why we associate love with actions and not just words.
We embrace each other, buy our loved ones gifts and kiss our children. Love is truly a powerful, unique and irresistible feeling. We love a thing or a person because they make us feel good. Many people love others because of what they have done for them. For example, people love their parents because of what they have done for them. They cared, nurtured and provided for us. This leads to feelings of gratitude and love.
From this, we can see that love certainly, in part, stems from a deep and profound feeling of gratitude. It is that feeling that makes us want to reciprocate and return the favour. We can also love someone not because they have done something for us, but rather because their very nature is such that it makes us love them.
Loving God
Sadly, you can love someone that has lost love for you or never loved you in the first place. This can be extremely painful and disturbing. But there is one love that is not like that. A love that is totally unique; that is the love of God. God wants us to seek His love. For those who embark on that journey, God surely loves them back.
You may actually be someone that God loves, and a sign of that love is that you are reading this right now! One of God's names is 'The Most Loving'; He is the source of all love. His love is greater than any worldly love we have experienced.
This should instill in us a deep yearning for His love, as this is the greatest gift that anyone can ever receive. God's love is a source of internal tranquility, peace, and eternal bliss in the hereafter.
"Those who have faith and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of God – truly, it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace." — The Qur'an, Chapter 13, Verse 28
God's love transcends all types of love, including a mother's love. Motherly love, although selfless, is based on her internal need to love her child. It completes her, and through her sacrifices, she feels whole and fulfilled. But when we talk about God's love, God is an independent being who is self-sufficient and perfect. He does not require anything, nor is His love based on a need or want; it is therefore the purest form of love.
"God is more affectionate to His servants than a mother to her children." — Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
The Path to Love
God is the most loving Being, and He wants to love you with His special love. But, in order to fully embrace that love, and for that to be meaningful, you have to love Him and follow the path that leads to His love. Love is expressed in actions; someone who loves you will show their love. A clear sign that you love God is that you make Him the only one that you worship.
In Islam, worship is a comprehensive term that refers to knowing God, loving God, obeying and submitting to Him and singling out all actions for Him alone. Anything good that we do can be an act of worship, whether that is praising God, being good to our parents and family, reflecting about nature, giving charity, fasting, smiling, searching for medical cures, or even thinking good thoughts about God and forgiving people's mistakes. All of these are considered worship, if they are done for the sake of God.
"Your God is the one God: there is no god except Him, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy. In the creation of the Heavens and Earth; in the alternation of night and day; in the ships that sail the seas with goods for people; in the water that God sends down from the sky to give life to the earth when it has been barren, scattering all kinds of creatures over it; in the changing of the winds and clouds that run their appointed courses between the sky and earth: there are signs in all these for those who use their minds. Even so, there are some who choose to worship others besides God as rivals to Him, loving them with the love that is due to God, but the believers have a greater love for God." — The Qur'an, Chapter 2, Verses 164-165
Knowing the vast extent of God's generosity and mercy will make us grateful servants. With gratitude comes love, and as we get closer to God, He also comes closer to us. You will feel the presence of His mercy and forgiveness, and experience the reality of His love because when you remember God, He remembers you. Thus, the servant loves His Lord and the Lord loves His servant.
"God, the Most High, said, 'I am as My servant expects I am. I am with him when he mentions Me. If he mentions Me to himself, I mention him to Myself; and if he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly greater than it. If he draws near to Me a hand's length, I draw near to him an arm's length. When he comes to me walking, I will come to him running.'" — Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
A Sign of Love
A sign of our love is in what we do. Loving God is not just a statement; it is proven and expressed in how we act, and who we become. Worshipping God is the highest expression of our love for Him.
God, by definition, is the One who is entitled to our worship; it is a necessary fact of His own existence. We praise people all the time by virtue of their attributes, even though they do not directly benefit us in any way. Consider our applause or admiration for sport stars, artists and scientists. However, unlike humans, God's names and attributes are perfect. This means that God is worthy of our utmost praise. God is the one that we should be in awe of, and it is His greatness that should capture our attention.
We grow in our knowledge of His majestic nature by looking into nature; all of the magnificent life forms in the land, seas and the air have been created by Him. All of this vast universe is just a small part of His entire creation!
"Have you not considered how God sends water down from the sky and that We produce with it fruits of varied colours; that there are in the mountains layers of white and red of various hues, and jet black; that there are various colours among human beings, wild animals, and livestock too? It is those of His servants who have knowledge who stand in true awe of God. God is almighty, most forgiving." — The Qur'an, Chapter 35, Verses 27-28