the share allotted to love. For this reason it is related from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—that he said, “He has tasted the flavour of faith who is content with Allah as Lord, with Islam as religion, and with Muhammad as prophet.”
In the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections he also said, “Three qualities, whoever possesses them will find the sweetness of faith: that Allah and His Messenger are dearer to him than anything else; that he loves a person only for the sake of Allah; and that he hates to return to disbelief after Allah has saved him from it just as he hates to be cast into the Fire.”
These reports clarify the discussion of love. Hence we say, by way of a separate section: Loving Allah and His Messenger is among the greatest obligations of faith, its strongest bonds, and its loftiest foundations; indeed, it is the root of every deed of faith and religion, just as truthful affirmation is the root of every verbal declaration of faith and religion. Every movement in existence springs only from love—either from love that is praiseworthy or from love that is blameworthy—as we have explained at length in the “Principle of Love” found among the Major Principles.
All deeds of faith and religion originate only from praiseworthy love, and the root of praiseworthy love is love of Allah, exalted be He. Any act that arises from a love blameworthy in Allah’s sight cannot be a righteous act. In truth, every religious deed issues solely from love of Allah, for Allah accepts of deeds only what is intended for His Face. It is established in the Ṣaḥīḥ that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—reported that Allah Most High says, “I am the One who has no need of partners. Whoever performs a deed in which he associates another with Me, I abandon him and his association—the whole of it belongs to the one with whom he associated.”
The Ṣaḥīḥ also contains the ḥadith of the first three for whom the Fire will be kindled: the ostentatious Qurʾān-reciter, the ostentatious warrior, and the ostentatious donor.
Thus devoting the religion sincerely to Allah is the only religion that Allah accepts. It is with this that He sent the earliest and the last of the messengers, with this that He revealed every scripture, and upon this that the imams of the people of faith are unanimously agreed. This is the distilled essence of the Prophetic call and the pivot of the Quran around which its entire discourse turns.
The Exalted says at the beginning of al-Zumar, Ghāfir, al-Jāthiyah, and al-Aḥqāf: “The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.” At the opening of al-Zumar He further says: “Indeed We have sent down to you the Book in truth; so worship Allah, devoting the religion sincerely to Him—surely the sincere religion belongs to Allah alone.” The whole surah revolves around this meaning, from His words: “Say: I have been commanded to worship Allah, devoting the religion sincerely to Him, and I have been commanded to be the first of the Muslims,” to His words: “Say: It is Allah whom I worship, making my religion sincerely His,” and His statement: “Is not Allah sufficient for His servant? Yet they threaten you with those besides Him.”