whether inwardly or outwardly. This tasting, in turn, necessarily entails pleasure, which a living being experiences inwardly and outwardly. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in an authentic hadith:

“He has tasted the flavour of faith who is content with Allah as his Lord, Islam as his religion, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as his Prophet.”

It is also reported from him in the two Sahih collections that he said:

“Whoever possesses three qualities will experience through them the sweetness of faith: that Allah and His Messenger are dearer to him than anything else; that he loves a person solely for Allah’s sake; and that he hates to return to disbelief after Allah has rescued him from it just as he hates to be thrown into the Fire.”

Thus, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained that tasting the flavour of faith belongs to those who are content with Allah as their Lord, Islam as their religion, and Muhammad as their Prophet. He also explained that the sweetness of faith is experienced by those whose love for Allah and His Messenger is stronger than their love for anything else, who love a person for Allah’s sake alone, and who hate the opposite of faith just as they hate to be thrown into the Fire.

This love of faith and hatred of disbelief necessarily entail the sweetness of faith, just as the contentment mentioned above necessarily entails tasting the flavour of faith. This is pleasure; it is neither the assent and knowledge present in the heart nor the love present in the heart. Rather, it is their result, their fruit, and their necessary consequence. These things are inseparably connected: pleasure cannot occur without love and tasting. For if someone loves something but has not tasted it