Suhayb said, “Had he not feared Allah, he still would not have disobeyed Him.” That is, he would refrain from sin even if no fear were present, for the reverence and honour he shows to Allah keep him from disobedience.
When a servant who both hopes and fears anchors his fear and hope in the torment of being veiled from his Lord and the bliss of His self-disclosure, it is clear that this proceeds from his love for Allah. Love is what engenders the yearning for the unveiling and the fear of the veiling.
If, however, his hope and fear concern torment or delight involving created things, he nonetheless seeks that end by worshipping Allah—a worship that necessarily contains love for Him, and that love is sweeter than every other love. For this reason the people of Paradise are more engrossed in it than in anything else, as the hadith states: “The people of Paradise will be inspired to glorify Allah just as you are inspired to breathe.” This shows the ultimate pleasure they find in remembering Allah and loving Him.
Thus, the fear of being harmed by created things and the hope of finding joy in them lead a person back to the love of Allah, which is the root of all. All of this rests on the foundation of love.
Accordingly, the Quran and the Sunnah speak explicitly of the believers’ love for Allah. Allah says: “Yet those who believe are more intense in their love for Allah” ⦗al-Baqarah 2:165⦘; He also says: “He loves them and they love Him” ⦗al-Maʾidah 5:54⦘; and: “...dearer to you than Allah, His Messenger, and striving in His path...” ⦗al-Tawbah 9:24⦘.
In the two Ṣaḥīḥs it is narrated that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “There are three qualities; whoever possesses them will taste the sweetness of faith: that Allah and His Messenger are dearer to him than anything else; that he loves a person only for Allah’s sake; and that he detests returning to disbelief after Allah has saved him from it just as he would detest being cast into the Fire.”
Indeed, loving the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is obligatory because of one’s love for Allah, as the verse from al-Tawbah indicates, and as the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: “By the One in whose hand is my soul, none of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his child, his father, and all people.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī relates that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said, “By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, you are more beloved to me than everything except my own self.” He replied, “No, O ʿUmar, not until I am more beloved to you than your own self.” ʿUmar then said, “By Allah, you are now more beloved to me than my own self.”
Similarly, one must love the Prophet’s Companions and his relatives. In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “Love for the Anṣār is a sign of faith, and hatred for the Anṣār is a sign of hypocrisy,” and he said, “No man who believes in Allah and the Last Day will hate the Anṣār.” ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The unlettered Prophet pledged to me that no one loves me except a believer and no one hates me except a hypocrite.” In the Sunan it is related that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to al-ʿAbbās: “By the One in whose hand is my soul, they will not enter Paradise until they love you for Allah’s sake and because of my kinship”—meaning the Banū Hāshim.
A hadith traced back to the Prophet through Ibn ʿAbbās states: “Love Allah for the favours with which He nourishes you; love me out of love for Allah; and love my household for my sake.”
As for Allah’s love for His servant, He says: “And Allah took Abraham as an intimate friend” ⦗al-Nisāʾ 4:125⦘; He also says: “He loves them and they love Him” ⦗al-Maʾidah 5:54⦘; “Do good—for Allah loves those who do good” ⦗al-Baqarah 2:195⦘; and “Be just, for Allah loves those who act justly” ⦗al-Ḥujurāt 49:9⦘.