made obedience to Allah a means to that end. It is established in an authentic hadith that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, a caller will announce: ‘People of Paradise, Allah has a promise for you that He wishes to fulfil.’ They will ask: ‘What is it? Has He not brightened our faces, made our scales heavy, admitted us to Paradise, and saved us from the Fire?’ Then the veil will be lifted, and they will look upon Him. Nothing He has given them will be dearer to them than looking upon Him. This is the additional reward.”
He thus explained that looking upon Him is dearer to them than all the pleasures they enjoy. Their love of looking upon Him follows from their love for Him: they love to look upon Him only because they love Him. Every believer finds in his heart love for Allah, tranquillity in remembering Him, delight in knowing Him, and pleasure and joy in remembering Him and speaking intimately to Him. This grows stronger or weaker, increases or decreases, according to people’s faith. The more complete a person’s faith, the more complete his delight in these things.
For this reason, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in the hadith narrated by Ahmad and others:
“Of the things of your world, women and perfume have been made dear to me.” Then he said: “And my greatest delight has been placed in prayer.”
He would also say:
“Bring us comfort through prayer, Bilāl.”
This is discussed at length elsewhere. The point here is that His believing servants love Him, and He, glorified and exalted, loves them. Their love for Him is in proportion to their doing what He loves. Thus, in Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Abū Hurayrah narrates that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Allah Most High says: ‘Whoever shows enmity towards a close servant of Mine has openly challenged Me to war. Nothing by which My servant draws near to Me compares to fulfilling what I have made obligatory upon him. My servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary acts of worship until I love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees