The scholars have explained that, in matters of love, people fall into three categories.

The first category comprises those who are loved with a pure, undiluted love, unaccompanied by any dislike whatsoever. These are the angels, the messengers (peace be upon them), and the elite among the believers such as the Companions—“Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and do not place in our hearts any rancor toward those who believe” (Q 59:10)—as well as the righteous predecessors and the people of the Sunnah and the community. They are loved because their creed is pure, they stand upon the truth, and they obey Allah and His Messenger.

The second category consists of those who are hated with a total, unqualified hatred, with no love mixed in. They are the disbelievers, the enemies of Allah: “O you who believe, do not take My enemies and your enemies as allies” (Q 60:1)—that is, as beloved friends whom you love, support, and defend. Rather, it is obligatory to disavow them, for they are the enemies of Allah: “You will not find a people who believe in Allah and the Last Day showing affection to those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even if they were their fathers, their sons, their brothers, or their kin. Such are the ones in whose hearts He has inscribed faith, and He has strengthened them with a spirit from Him, and He will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow…” (Q 58:22). The “spirit” here means the strength of faith.