Accordingly, a person’s love for the Messenger rises in direct proportion to his love for Allah: the more dearly he loves Allah, the more dearly he will love the Messenger ﷺ.

Regrettably, however, some people love the Messenger alongside Allah rather than for Allah’s sake. Mark the distinction well: they love the Messenger alongside Allah, not on account of Allah. How does this manifest? You see one of them loving the Messenger more than he loves Allah, and that amounts to shirk (associating partners with Allah). You are required to love the Messenger for Allah’s sake—because he is the Messenger of Allah—and the original, foundational love is the love of Allah Himself. Those who exaggerate in their veneration of the Messenger ﷺ love him alongside Allah, not for Allah, effectively making him a partner to Allah in their love—indeed, greater than their love for Allah. If the Messenger ﷺ is mentioned, their skin tingles with emotion and reverence, but when Allah is mentioned they remain cool and unaffected.

Can such love ever benefit a person? It cannot. It is a form of idolatrous love. You must love Allah and His Messenger, and your love for the Messenger ﷺ must spring from, and be subordinate to, your love for Allah: “that Allah and His Messenger be dearer to him than anything else, and that he love a person only for Allah’s sake.” This is the point of reference: you love a person solely for Allah—not because of kinship, not for wealth, status, or any worldly gain, but purely for Allah.

By contrast, love of relatives is a natural affection. Everyone feels a natural love for his kin; even animals love their young. A mother among beasts—or even insects—will cherish her offspring until they grow and can fend for themselves, after which she begins to drive them away.

If you have a cat, watch how she shows tenderness to her kittens and carries them in