this world out of longing for Him.” Their statements on this subject are numerous.

Those who agreed with the early generations, the leading scholars, and the spiritual masters that bliss is found in looking upon Allah Most High nevertheless disagreed over “the question of love,” which underlies that bliss. Various groups of … (1) and jurists held that Allah Himself is not the object of love; rather, love means loving obedience to Him and worship of Him. They also said that He does not love His believing servants; rather, His love means His will to bestow kindness upon them and take them under His protection.

This view was adopted by speculative theologians who professed to defend the Sunnah. Indeed, groups among the followers of Mālik, al-Shāfi‘ī, and Ahmad fell into it, including Judge Abū Bakr, Judge Abū Ya‘lā, Abū al-Ma‘ālī al-Juwaynī, and others like them. In reality, this is an offshoot of Jahmism and Mu‘tazilism. The first person in Islam to deny “love” was al-Ja‘d ibn Dirham, the teacher of al-Jahm ibn Safwān. Khālid ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Qasrī slaughtered him as a sacrifice, saying:

“O people, offer your sacrifices; may Allah accept them. I am sacrificing al-Ja‘d ibn Dirham, for he claimed that Allah did not take Abraham as an intimate friend and did not truly speak to Moses.”

Then he descended and slaughtered him.

What the Quran and Sunnah establish, and what the early generations of the Muslim community, its leading scholars, and the masters of the spiritual path agreed upon, is that Allah loves and is loved. Hence, they were joined in this view by those who embraced Sufism among