True, as the Quran says “If your fathers and your sons and your brethren and your mates and your kinsfolk and property which you have acquired and trade, the dullness of which you fear, and dwellings which you like, are dearer to you than Allah and His apostle and striving in His way, then wait till Allah brings about His command, and Allah does not guide the transgressing people.”[82]
A man came to the Prophet and said: “I love thee, O Apostle of God”. “Be ready for poverty.” replied the Prophet. “And I love Allah”, said the man. “Prepare to face tribulations”[83] replied the Prophet. The following tradition is narrated by the Khalif Omar: The Prophet one day saw Masah, son of Umair coming to him with a lambskin round his loins. “Look” said the Prophet to his companions, “how God has illumined his heart. I have seen him living in ease and well provided by his parents but now the love of Allah and His apostle has wrought a change in him.”[84]
The Prophet used to pray thus: “My God, give me thy love and the love of him who loves thee and the love of that action which will bring me nearer to thee and make thy love sweeter than cold water to the thirsty”.[85]
“Verily Allah loves those who repent and those who purify themselves.”[86] Say “If you love Allah, then follow me. Allah will love you and forgive you your faults, and Allah is forgiving, merciful”.[87] We have said before that love means yearning towards a desired object and that beneficence and beauty, whether perceived or conceived, equally attract our hearts. But in using the word love for God, no such meaning is possible as it implies imperfection. God’s love towards men is the love of His own work. Someone read the following verse of the Quran: “He loves them and they love him” in front of Shaikh Abu Said of Mohanna, who interpreted it saying: “He loves Himself because he alone exists. Surely an author who likes himself; his love is limited to his self.” God’s love means the lifting the veil from the heart of His servant, so that he might gaze at Him. It also means drawing him close to Himself. Let us give an illustration. A king permits some of his slaves to approach his presence, not because he requires them but because the slaves possess or are acquiring certain qualities which are worthy of being displayed before the royal presence. This privilege, this lifting of the veil, brings us nearer to the conception of God’s love. But it must be remembered that approaching the divine presence should entirely exclude the idea of space, for then it would imply change in Him, which is absurd. Divine proximity means the attainment of godly virtues by abstaining from the promptings of the flesh and hence it implies approach from the point of view of quality and not of space. For example, two persons meet together either when both of them proceed towards each other or one is stationary and the other starts and approaches him. Again a pupil strives to come up to the level of his teacher’s knowledge who is resting in his elevated position. His uphill journey towards knowledge keeps him restless, and he climbs higher and higher till he catches a glimpse of the halo which surrounds his master’s countenance. The nature of divine proximity resembles this inward journey of the pupil; that is, the more a man acquires insight into the nature of things, and by subjugating his passions leads the life of righteousness, the nearer will he be coming to his lord. But it must be remembered that a pupil may equal his teacher, even be greater than he, but as regards divine proximity, no such equality is possible. God’s love means that which purifies the heart of his servant in a manner that he may be worthy of being admitted before his holy presence.
It may be asked: “How can we know that God loves a certain person?” My answer is that there are signs which bear testimony to it. The Prophet says: When God loves his servant, He sends tribulations, and when He loves him most he severs his connection from everything. Some one said to Jesus: “Why do you not buy a mule for yourself”? Jesus answered: “My God will not tolerate that I should concern myself with a mule”. Another saying of Mohammed is reported thus: When God loves any of His servants He sends tribulations, if he patiently bears them, he is favoured, and if he cheerfully faces them, he is singled out as chosen of God. Surely it is this joyous attitude of his mind whether evil befalls him or good, that is the chief sign of love. Such minds are providentially taken care of in their thoughts and deeds and in all their dealings with men. The veil is lifted and they live in wrapped communion.
As for the signs of a man’s love for God, let it be borne in mind that every body claims His love, but few really love Him. Beware of self-deception; verify your statement by introspection. Love is like a tree rooted in the ground sending its shoots above the starry heaven; its fruits are found in the heart, the tongue and the limbs of the lover—in fact his whole self is a witness to love just as smoke is a sure sign of fire burning.
Let us, then, trace the signs which are found in the true lover.
Death is a pleasure to him, for it removes the barrier of body and lets the fluttering soul free to soar and sing in the blissful abode of his beloved. Sufyan Thauri and Hafi used to say: “He who doubts dislikes death, because a friend will never dislike meeting a friend”.[88]
A certain Sufi asked a hermit whether he wished for death, but he gave no answer. Then the Sufi said to him: “Had you been a true hermit you would have liked death. The Quran says: If the future abode with Allah is especially for you to the exclusion of the people, then invoke death if you are truthful. They will never wish it on account of what their hands have sent on before, and Allah knows the unjust”.[89] The hermit replied: “But the Prophet says: ‘Do not wish for death’”. “Then you are suffering”, said the Sufi, “because acquiescence in divine decree is better than trying to escape it”.
It may be asked here: Can he who does not like death be God’s lover? Let us consider first the nature of his dislike. It is due to his attachment to the worldly objects, wife, children, and so forth, but it is possible that with this attachment, which no doubt comes in the way of his love of God there may be some inclination towards His love, because there are degrees of His love. Or it may be that his dislike is due to his feeling of unpreparedness in the path of love. He would like to love more so that he might be able to purify himself just as a lover hearing of his beloved’s arrival would like to be given some time for making preparations for a fitting reception. For these reasons if a devotee dislikes death, he can still be His lover, though of inferior type.