whose heart is attached to the mosque: whenever he leaves it, he longs to return. Two men who loved one another for Allah’s sake—meeting for His sake and parting for His sake. A man who donates in charity and keeps it so secret that his left hand does not know what his right hand has spent. A man who remembers Allah in solitude and his eyes overflow with tears. And a man whom a woman of standing and beauty invites, but he says, “I fear Allah, Lord of all worlds.”
The very foundation of love is knowledge of Allah, glorified and exalted be He, and it rests on two pillars. The first is what is called the love of the common people: they love Him because of His beneficence toward His servants. No one denies this love, for hearts are innately disposed to love whoever treats them well and to dislike whoever wrongs them. Allah, exalted is He, is the true Benefactor, the One who bestows every favor—though blessings may come through intermediaries, He alone enables those intermediaries and is the ultimate Cause of all causes. Yet if this kind of love does not draw the heart to love Allah for His own sake, then the servant has, in reality, loved nothing but himself. This is not blameworthy; rather, it is praiseworthy. It is the love meant by the saying, “Love Allah for the sustenance with which He nourishes you of His favors; love me for the love of Allah; and love my family out of love for me.” Whoever stops at this point, however, has not recognized from Allah anything that would make Him worthy of love except His kindness to him.
This resembles the two kinds of praise scholars mention: one is gratitude, expressed only for a blessing received; the other is laudation born of love, praising Him for what He deserves in and of Himself. Love is the same. The second pillar is to love Him for what He is intrinsically worthy of. This is the love of the one who has come to know, from Allah’s own perfection, the reasons He deserves to be loved. There is no aspect by which Allah may be known—through any of the meanings indicated by His names and attributes—without His deserving perfect love from that very aspect. Indeed, all His actions merit love: every favor from Him is sheer grace, and every trial from Him is pure justice. For this He is worthy of praise in every circumstance, in prosperity and adversity alike. This is the highest and most complete love—the love of the elect.
Such people seek the delight of gazing upon His noble countenance; they taste sweetness in remembering Him and in conversing with Him—more vital to them than water is to fish. Were they cut off from it, they would feel a pain they could not bear. They are the foremost, as reported in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim from Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by a mountain called Jumdan and said, “Keep on! This is Jumdan; the solitary ones have outstripped the rest.” They asked, “Messenger of Allah, who are the solitary ones?” He replied, “Those, men and women alike, who remember Allah much.” In another version he said, “Those enraptured by the remembrance of Allah; remembrance lifts their burdens so they will come on the Day of Resurrection light.”
Likewise, in the report of Hārūn ibn ʿAntarah, from his father, from Ibn ʿAbbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—Moses said, “My Lord, which of Your servants is dearest to You?” He answered, “The one who remembers Me and never forgets Me.”