Yet they know that stating the intention aloud is not obligatory; what is obligatory is simply that the will to act be present in the heart. It is already present, but despite this they believe it is not. If one of them is told, “The intention is already present in your heart,” he will not accept it because of the false belief he holds, which contradicts his innate disposition.

Likewise, love for Allah and His Messenger is present in the heart of every believer. So long as he is a believer, he cannot banish it from his heart. Signs of his love for Allah and His Messenger become apparent when someone begins to insult and disparage the Messenger, or to insult Allah and speak of Him in an unworthy manner. The believer becomes far angrier at this than he would if his own father and mother were insulted.

Nevertheless, many adherents of speculative theology and rationalist thought have denied love in relation to Allah, saying, “It is impossible for Him to love or to be loved.” They made this a fundamental tenet of religion, adding, “In opposition to the advocates of divine indwelling”—as though only the advocates of divine indwelling affirmed that Allah loves. Yet it is well known that this is the religion of the prophets and messengers, the Companions, their successors, and all believers. The Quran and Sunnah establish this, as we have explained at length elsewhere.

This love for Allah and His Messenger is present in the hearts of most of those who deny it—indeed, in the heart of every believer—even if he denies it because of a misconception that has occurred to him.