0
I really like the way 'Love' has been explained in this paper, so I thought I'd share it with my sisters.
The Concept of Love in the Shi'i Creed
Sayyid Muhammad Rida Hijaz
Vol XI No. 1 and 2
Love is one of the sublimest and most appealing of concepts in Shi'ism in particular and Islamic culture and belief in general. In Shi'i belief, mahabbah or hubb, and related words like mawaddah and waliyah, play a very significant and profound role, to the extent that, to cite one instance, it is asserted to be the fundamental basis of the faith. In a famous hadith, the Prophet (s) is reported as questioning his followers concerning the "firmest handhold of faith" (awthaq 'urwat al-iman). When they cannot reply, he declares:
The firmest handhold of faith is to love for the sake of God and to hate for the sake of God, to befriend God's friends and to renounce His enemies.' [1]
In another tradition, Fudayl ibn al-Yasar, a disciple, asks al-Imam al-Sadiq, may peace be upon him, whether love and hate derive from faith; he replies:
Is faith anything but love and hate? [2]
It is also narrated that al-Imam al-Baqir, may peace be upon him, stated that:
Religion (din) is love and love is religion. [3]
As these statements and traditions indicate, love plays an important role in Shi'i doctrine. Hence it deserves our close attention in order that we may discover the real meaning of the concept.
First of all, some questions come to the mind. What is the kind of love that has been emphasized by Islam in general and Shi'ism in particular? Who is the object of this special kind of love? Why should the believers have this kind of love and what purpose does it serve?
Love, in Shi'i doctrine, includes three interrelated categories: Love for God, love for the Prophet and his Household, and love for the faithful.
Love for Allah:
According to Islamic teaching, God is the highest and foremost object of love. The Holy Qur'an says:
Say: "If your fathers and your sons, your brethren and your wives, your kinsfolk and the property you have acquired, the commerce you fear may slacken and the dwellings which you love-if these are dearer to you than God and His Apostle and striving in His way, then wait till God brings His command; God does not guide an ungodly people." (9:24)
This ayah clearly indicates that the love of God has precedence over everything and whatever that one may love in one's life. Moreover, the Holy Qur'an points out in another verse that the believers' love of God is greater than that of anything else, but that some people love certain things as much as they love God:
And there are some among men who take for themselves objects of worship besides God. whom they love as they love God, and those who believe are stronger in love for God ... (2:165)
That is, God is the source of all love just as He is the source of all that exists. That love is an attribute of God is affirmed implicitly by numerous Qur'anic verses. Hence love for God is the foundation of belief, the foundation on which man is to establish the principles of his faith. This is also affirmed by reason. It may be noted that
(a) human nature aspires to perfection and beauty, and God is absolute perfection and eternal beauty; thus it is an innate quality of the human nature to love God;
(
men by nature love whoever does good to them, and they appreciate such favour and benevolence, as Imam 'Ali, may peace be upon him, said:Generosity and magnanimity enslave men. [4]
Now, as God is the source of all being, of all generosity and benevolence, man, by virtue of his nature, loves God. The Prophet, may God bless him and his Household, said:
Love Allah because He has done good to you and He has bestowed favours upon you. [5]
It is narrated that God declared to Moses and David, may peace be upon them: "Love Me and endear Me to the people." When they asked Him how they could endear Him to the people, He replied:
Remind them about My favours and bounties, for they do not recall My favours without the feeling of gratitude. [6]
This relationship of love between man and his Creator is reciprocal, and the intensity of a people's love for God is indicative of God's love for them, as indicated by the following verse:
God will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him. (5:54)
This love stands for a spiritual relationship between God and the God-loving people wherewith they are ever made aware of the beneficence and mercy of their Lord. It is narrated in a hadith qudsi that when God loves someone He becomes his ears, his eyes, his tongue, and his hands:
When I love him, then I shall be his ears with which he listens, his eyes with which he sees, his tongue with which he speaks, and his hands with which he holds; if he calls Me, I shall answer him, and if he asks Me, I shall give him. [7]
Aside from the fact that one who loves God is loved by Him, a real love for God prompts one to perform the best of deeds. Reason and nature dictate that if someone really loves God, he would act in a manner that is pleasing to God. In this regard, the Holy Qur'an says:
Say: "If you love God, then follow me, and God will love you and forgive you your sins," and God is Forgiving and Merciful. (3:31)
This ayah indicates the interrelation between love, as an inner state, and emulating the Prophet, which is an outward action. Moreover, it implies that no one may neglect his religious obligations under the pretext of love for God.
Love for the Prophet:
After God, the Prophet, Muhammad, may God bless Him and his Household, is the one whom the faithful love. It is evident that the love for him is a ramification of the love for God. It is stated in traditions that God loves the Prophet and his Household as the ideals of human perfection so much that He created the heavens and the earth and whatever is in them out of His love for them. In the Hadith al-Kisa', it is narrated by Fatimah, may peace be upon her:
When they, the Ahl al-Bayt, gathered under the kisa', the Almighty said: "Let it be known to you, My angels and those who are in the heavens, that I have not created the heavens and the earth and what is in them, but for My love for the Five Ones under the kisa." [8]
The Prophet, may God bless him and his Household, said to his followers:
Love me because of the love of God. [9]
We love the Prophet as he is the beloved of Him, and He has directed us to love him. This is the first and the most important reason for loving the Prophet. Further, he is the Perfect Man and personifies the highest degrees of such virtues as generosity, greatness, moral sublimity and wisdom. Hence human nature is fascinated by his perfect being and loves him. Thirdly, he brought us the most significant and essential gift which benefits us both in this world and the next and gives us true life. [10]
For these reasons, and because of the many verses and traditions which declare the necessity of loving the Prophet, may God bless him and his Household, it is obligatory for all Muslims to love him as much as they love themselves and even more, as according to the Qur'an:
The Prophet has a greater right on the faithful than they have on themselves. (33:6)
Love for the Prophet's Household:
As part of the love for the Prophet, love for the Household of the Prophet is also necessary for all believers. In fact, it is a test of the genuineness of one's love for the Prophet, and it is declared in traditions that it is the first thing which they would be questioned about on the Day of Resurrection. [11]
As regards the necessity and importance of this love, there are more than three hundred ayahs and hadith found in both Sunni and Shi'i sources. In all, they indicate that the main role of this love is to nourish faith. It is narrated that the Prophet, may God bless him and his Household, said:
There is a basis for every thing, and the basis of Islam is the love for us, the People of the Household. [12]
In another hadith he is reported to have said:
One who wants to partake of the firmest handhold (of faith) should abide by the love of 'Ali and my Household. [13]
He also said:
Love of them (my Household) is a sign of faith, and enmity towards them is a sign of unbelief. Whosoever loves them, loves God and His Messenger. And whosoever harbours enmity towards them is enemy of God and His Messenger." [14]
It is narrated that al-Imam al-Sadiq, may peace be upon him, said:
For every kind of worship there is another which surpasses it, and the love for us, the people of the Household, is the best form of worship. [15]
On the basis of the traditions that have been cited and many others like them, it is clear that the love for the Household of the Messenger is a necessary part of every Muslim's faith. This is further confirmed by taking into consideration that the love of the Household is considered by the Qur'an as the mark of gratitude for the guiding mission of the Prophet. God says:
Say (O Muhammad, unto mankind): "I do not ask you a wage for this except the love of my kinsfolk." (42:23)
When the Holy Prophet was asked by his followers as to who were his near of kin" whose love God has made obligatory on all Muslims, the Prophet replied; "Fatimah, 'Ali, al-Hasan and al-Husayn." [16]
would always spend time with his children. Once he was sitting in his house with his two young children, Hazrat Abbas, his son, and Bibi Zainab, his daughter.
