How can you obtain the love of Allah?

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ 

Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” 

(Surah Ale-Imran: 31)

Love is a very strong emotion. 

It is an emotion that draws you towards the object of your love, where you forget everything else in the process. 

At the same time, you will find yourself drawing away from everything that distances you from your beloved.

Similarly, when you love Allah,  you would want to go towards Him. 

You would want to please Him. And you would want to distance yourself from all those things that come between you and Him! 

But loving Allah is not mere lip service. We need to prove it. How?

By following the Messenger of Allah ﷺ

Following him at all times.

In word and in action.

In belief and in practice.

In private and in public. 

Because whatever the Messenger (ﷺ) has instructed is, from Allah. And whatever the Messenger (ﷺ) is calling towards is, what Allah loves.

And who is the Messenger (ﷺ)? 

Allah describes him in the Qur’an as Uswatun Hasanah. The most beautiful example. A model to be followed.

The Sahabah (ra) loved Allah and they also loved the Messenger (ﷺ). 

So much so that they would observe every single action of the Prophet (ﷺ). How he would stand, how he would sit, how he would walk, how he would speak. 

Every single thing. 

When you love Allah and follow the Messenger ﷺ, two things can happen as a result

1. Allah will love you

Allah who is Lord of The Heavens and the Earth, the Owner, the Creator, the One who has All Power, All Might.

He will love you. This is not something small!

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “When Allah loves a slave, He calls Jibril and says: ‘I love so-and-so; so love him.’ And then Jibril loves him. Then he (Jibril) announces in the heavens saying: ‘Allah loves so-and-so; so love him’. Then the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels)also love him; and then people on earth love him.” [Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The more a person follows the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), the more Allah will love him.

2. Allah will forgive your sins!

Allah will forgive your sins. Again is this something small? No. We all want our sins forgiven, big and small, secret and the apparent!

So in light of this ayah, ask yourself:

How much do I love Allah?

What steps will I take to follow the Sunnah more closely in order to obtain Allah’s love?

Your Action Point:

Write down three actions from the Sunnah that you want to start implementing today.  Such as…

The Sunnah in “Waking Up”

The Sunnah in “Going to Sleep”

The Sunnah in “Eating”

The Sunnah in “Leaving the House”

The Sunnah in “Wearing Clothes”

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