will. Yet at times the heart holds such love for Allah as prompts a person to obey Him, and such reverence for Him and shame before Him as restrains him from disobeying Him. As ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “What an excellent servant Suhayb is! Even if he did not fear Allah, he would not disobey Him.” That is, he would not disobey Him even without fearing Him—so how much more so when he does fear Him! His reverence and honour for Allah prevent him from disobeying Him.
When a person’s fear and hope concern the torment of his Lord veiling Himself from him and the delight of His revealing Himself to him, these clearly follow from his love for Him. Love is what gives rise to the longing for Him to reveal Himself and the fear of His veiling Himself. If, instead, his fear and hope concern suffering or enjoyment through created things, he seeks this only through worshipping Allah, which necessarily entails loving Him. Then, when he experiences the sweetness of loving Allah, he finds it sweeter than every other love. Hence, the people of Paradise are occupied with this above all else, as stated in the hadith:
“The people of Paradise will be inspired to glorify Allah just as they are inspired to breathe.”
This shows the supreme delight they take in remembering Allah and loving Him. Thus, fear of suffering through created things and hope of enjoyment through them lead a person to love Allah, which is the foundation.
All of this rests upon “the foundation of love.” We therefore say: the Book and the Sunnah explicitly mention the love of the believing servants, as in His words:
“But those who believe are stronger in their love for Allah.”
And His words, exalted is He:
“He loves them, and they love Him.”
And His words, exalted is He:
“More beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving in His cause.”
In the two Sahīh collections, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Whoever possesses three qualities will taste the sweetness of faith: that Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than anything else; that he loves a person solely for Allah’s sake; and that he hates returning to disbelief after Allah has saved him from it just as he hates being thrown into the Fire.”