the Fire or to revert to disbelief.

In another narration—namely the one recorded by al-Bukhari—

Overall meaning of the ḥadīth: The Prophet ﷺ informs us that when a Muslim is marked by three qualities—(1) he prefers the love of Allah and His Messenger to the love of anyone or anything else, even family and wealth; (2) he loves people solely because of their faith and obedience to Allah, with no worldly motive; and (3) he detests disbelief with such intensity that, for him, being cast into the Fire and falling back into disbelief are equally abhorrent—then whoever attains these three qualities will taste the sweetness of faith. Acts of obedience will become delightful to him, and he will willingly bear hardships for the sake of Allah’s good pleasure.

Relevance of the ḥadīth to the chapter: It highlights the virtue of preferring the love of Allah and His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ over every other love.

Points derived from the ḥadīth:

1. The excellence of giving precedence to the love of Allah and His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ over all else.
2. The virtue of loving for the sake of Allah.
3. True believers love Allah with a pure and sincere love.
4. Anyone endowed with these three qualities is superior to one who lacks them, even if the first had been a disbeliever who embraced Islam or a sinner who repented.
5. It is lawful to detest disbelief and the disbelievers, for whoever hates a thing naturally hates those who embody it.