这可能成为多神崇拜的一种表现,因为有些时候人的心会把所爱之人当作与安拉并列的对手;他爱这个人,如同爱安拉一样。那么,对所爱之人的爱超过对安拉的爱的人又当如何呢?这种爱是不会被宽恕的,它是一种多神崇拜,而安拉不宽恕多神崇拜;但祂宽恕那些悔罪的人,抹去他们心中一切多神崇拜的痕迹(即纯粹的悔罪)。这种多神式之爱的一个迹象是,痴迷之人宁愿取悦所爱之人,而不愿取悦他的主。当所爱之人的权利与他的主的权利相冲突时,他竟把所爱之人的权利置于优先!许多对女性怀有非法情欲、对其照片或面容怀有非法迷恋的人,正是如此。把他们的情欲放在天平的一端,把他们的一神信仰放在另一端,然后试着做一个公正的衡量,看看什么能够取悦安拉和祂的使者。许多这样的人公开宣称,他们心中已经再没有位置,除了所爱之人。他们对所爱之人的偏爱强过对造物主的爱。他们把全部的爱与激情都献给了所爱之人,以至于再没有剩余来崇拜安拉,而他们明知崇拜安拉要求对爱与顺服的完美投入。医治这种致命顽疾的方法,在于明白:此病与人的一神信仰相悖,其缠扰源于自身的无知,以及心对记念安拉的疏忽。人首先必须学习安拉的独一性及其迹象,然后履行外在与内在的功修,使心恒久地沉浸于对安拉的记念之中。他应当以谦卑和顺服转向安拉,寻求祂的佑助,以便将此病从自己身上驱除。 没有比对真主真诚更好的治疗方法，应当体现在一个人的一切行为之中。这正是真主~在经文中提到的治疗之道，祂说：（这样做，是为了使我们把罪恶和淫欲从他身上除去。他是我的诚实的仆人之一。）真主~告诉我们，祂因为约瑟夫对其主的真诚崇拜，而使他远离了邪恶和非法的性行为。 人还应当知道，遵循伊斯兰教和理智，能够为个人带来利益，并消除或减少一切导致败坏的根源。众所周知，对女性或其图片产生非法的注视之欲，既无宗教上的益处，也无世俗上的益处。相反，它所带来的恶果多得不可胜数，我们在此仅列举以下几个方面： 第一，心完全沉溺于所爱之人，从爱慕其主~或念记祂的心中分散出来。因此，当两者同时想要占据同一颗心时，必然会有一方战胜另一方。 第二，心会因此而受煎熬，因为凡是爱慕真主~之外之物的人，都会因此而受到惩罚。 第三，心成为其俘获者手中的囚徒，对方可以使它蒙受屈辱。被迷惑的心，会对自身的屈辱毫无察觉。 第四，心会被分散，无暇顾及其宗教和世俗的利益。 第五，当心被情欲所迷，今世和后世的一切疾病都会纷至沓来。的确，心越是接近满足其欲望，就越远离其主，于是落入恶魔的掌控之中。 第六，当情欲支配了心，理智便会被新生的恶魔低语所败坏。 第七，这种疾病会导致感官的败坏，至少是其中某些感官的败坏。事实上，心一旦败坏，眼睛、耳朵和舌头也会随之败坏。眼睛将再也看不到所爱之人的丑陋之处或缺点。 耳朵不会听从放弃这种非法习惯的要求,因为沉溺于某种行为的人看不到自己的缺陷;他对情欲的热烈之爱在他眼上蒙上了一层帷幕。唯一能觉察此事的,是曾经沉溺其中而后戒除的人。正因如此,那些在多神崇拜的生活之后皈依伊斯兰的圣门弟子,胜过那些生来就是穆斯林的人。欧麦尔·本·哈塔卜 ~ 说:"伊斯兰的纽带一个接一个地被那些生于伊斯兰、从未见过贾希利耶(蒙昧时代)的人所破坏。"第八,情欲是热烈或过度的爱;它控制人的心,并开始猛烈地运用他的动物性和理性的力量,直至导致自我毁灭。关于情欲的进程,人们已经很好地观察到:它的开始是甜蜜的,它的中间充满忧虑和焦虑,它的结局是自我毁灭。在这种情欲的开始阶段,学者们说,如果命中注定他不能以合法的方式(通过婚姻)与所爱之人结合,那么一个人应当尽其最大能力抵制它。然而,如果他未能抵挡其力量,至少应当保持沉默,不向他人透露,因为那样他将侵犯所爱之人的尊严,并给自己增添更多的不义。这种情欲所滋生的弊病很多,在某些情况下,它甚至使生长在伊斯兰中的人陷入多神崇拜。确实,有一位宣礼员(Mu'addhin)曾从屋顶上看见一位美丽的女子,并为她神魂颠倒。于是他下来,请求与她相恋。她回答说自己是基督徒,并说如果他愿意皈依她的宗教,她就嫁给他。他接受了。然而就在同一天,当他登上她家屋顶的一级台阶时,他摔了下来并死去。 当一些基督徒想要使一名穆斯林囚犯背离他的信仰时,他们让他接触一位美丽的女子,她便必须吸引他的注意,直到她掌控他的心。然后,如果他接受她的宗教,她就必须把自己献给他!这将发生在这样的时刻:(安拉使信道者在今世和后世都坚守那坚定的言辞;安拉使不义者迷误,安拉随意而行。)1 一个理智的人不会让自己陷入这种炽烈的欲望,因为它只会导致恶果。谁让心思沉溺于情欲,谁就只是在欺骗自己,甚至可能毁掉自己的心智,因为如果他不是不断凝视所爱之人的面容,情欲就不会主宰他的心。最有益的爱是对安拉的爱,这种爱是绝对的;一切心灵都天生具有这种爱。这正是清真言的奥秘,因为真主是心灵以爱、颂扬、赞美和顺服来崇拜的那一位。然而,如果崇拜不是专向安拉而行,它就不被接受,因为崇拜是爱的完满与顺服和谦卑的完满相结合。要求爱安拉的义务之证据,在他的一切启示中、在众先知的使命中,以及安拉赋予仆人的自然秩序中都有提及。人心自然会爱那赐予他们恩惠的主,正如安拉所说:(你们所享有的一切恩惠都来自安拉。当灾难降临你们时,你们便向他呼求。)2 当仆人认识了他的至美之名和属性——那些彰显他的完美与至尊的名字与属性——这一证据也就更加明显。爱有两个吸引之源:美丽与尊贵;而安拉拥有这两者,且达到绝对完美的程度。他是优美的,也喜爱优美,因为一切优美都属于他。 安拉~说(对祂的使者穆罕默德~说):(你说:如果你们真心爱安拉,那就跟随我吧;安拉就会爱你们,赦宥你们的罪过。)1 祂~又说:(信道的人哪!你们中谁若背弃自己的宗教(伊斯兰教),安拉将带来一群人,祂爱他们,他们也爱祂;他们对信士谦卑,对不信道者刚强,为安拉之道而奋斗,不怕任何责难者的责难。这是安拉的恩典,祂把它赐给自己所意欲的人;安拉是博大的,是全知的。你们的保护者,只能是安拉、祂的使者和信道的人,即那些谨守拜功、完纳天课、虔诚鞠躬的人。谁以安拉、祂的使者和信道的人为保护者,那么,安拉的党徒必定是胜利者。)2 以某人为保护者,其基础是爱,正如仇恨是敌对的基础。安拉~是信道者的保护者,他们是祂虔诚的仆人。祂~爱他们,并且依照他们爱祂的程度而成为他们的保护者。安拉~谴责那些在祂之外以他物为保护者的人,因为祂~说:(世人中有人以安拉之外的物为匹敌者,他们爱那些物,如同爱安拉一样。但信道的人,对安拉的爱更加深厚。)1 祂~告知我们那些以他物与祂并列而加以崇拜的人,当他们在火狱中聚集时,会对那些被他们奉为与全世界的主并列的神明说:(指安拉发誓,我们确实陷入了明显的迷误,当时我们把你们与全世界的主等同看待。) 2 凭借这种建立在爱主基础上的一神信仰,安拉**派遣了祂的所有使者,携带着祂的启示,传递同一个讯息——从第一位先知(阿丹 ﷺ? ) 到最后一位先知(穆罕默德)**;因为正是为了这一目的,安拉创造了天地、天堂和火狱:以永久的居所赐予爱祂的人,以火狱惩罚那些以同类匹敌祂的人。先知穆罕默德ﷺ起誓说,一个人的信仰不算完善,直到先知ﷺ在他心中比他的孩子、父亲和所有人都更加亲爱;那么对主的爱又当如何呢?他ﷺ还对欧麦尔·本·哈塔卜说:"不,除非我在你心中比你自己更亲爱。"也就是说,你的信仰不算完善,直到你的爱达到这一标准!如果安拉的使者在爱及其应有的要求上,比我们自己更值得我们去爱,那么主难道不比我们自己更有资格被爱吗?安拉创造人是为了崇拜祂,并为他创造了天地间的一切;主难道不应当得到我们的爱与喜悦吗(通过我们专一的感激、敬畏和对祂独一的崇拜来体现)?祂是最慷慨的,祂在仆人开口请求之前就已赐予;祂欣赏仆人微小的努力,并饶恕许多罪过,为之涂除。天地间的一切每天都向祂祈求,祂倾听每一个人的请求。祂从不会被仆人们众多的请求所困扰,也从不会厌烦那些反复恳求的人。相反,祂更喜欢那些反复向祂求助的人,甚至不喜欢人们不向祂祈求!人们为何不爱这唯一为他们增添善功(将信士的一件善行加倍至十倍)、消除他们恶行的主呢?祂应答祈祷,除去灾祸,赦免罪过,并酬报善行! 爱的圆满表现为自我的欣喜、喜悦与快乐;这些完美之爱的迹象,如果导向最伟大的永恒之乐,即后世及其恩赐之乐,那确实值得赞扬!安拉~说:(不然!你们却宁愿今世的生活,而后世却是更好、更持久的。)1 巫师们在信仰之后对法老说:(你要判决什么,你就判决吧。你只能判决今世的生活。我们确已信仰我们的主,以便祂赦免我们的罪过,以及你强迫我们所行的魔术。安拉是更优美的,也是更持久的。)1 安拉~创造人类和精灵,是为了使他们在后世的世界中获得这永恒的快乐;后世最美好的恩赐和快乐,是注视安拉~的尊容,直接聆听祂的话语,并且亲近祂~。先知~说:"安拉~将揭开面纱,在赐予他们的一切事物中,没有什么比注视他们的主——至尊至威者——更令他们喜爱的了。"2 在另一段圣训中:"当祂~向他们显现,他们看见祂时,便忘记了他们所享受的一切恩赐。"先知~在他的一段祈祷中说:"我求你赐予我注视你慷慨尊容的喜悦,并怀着与你相见的渴望。"3 第二种快乐是应受谴责的,它与后世的快乐相反。那是以偶像为安拉之匹敌者的快乐;他们在今世爱慕它们,彼此互利,正如他们在审判日向主解释时所说:("我们的主啊!我们曾彼此互利,但现在我们已到达你为我们所定的期限。")祂将说:"火狱是你们的归宿,你们将永居其中,除非安拉另有旨意。你们的主确是至睿的,确是全知的。" 因此,我们使作恶者彼此成为盟友,这是他们所赚取的报应。)1 罪人、作恶者和违法者的享乐只在此世,然而这正是他们逐步走向毁灭的引子。安拉~说:(我将以他们察觉不到的方式,渐渐地惩罚他们;我确是宽限他们,我的计谋确是坚定的。)2 一些学者对上述经文的解释补充道:每当作恶者犯下罪行,安拉~就会为他们降下一项恩赐,(直到他们沉浸在所获得的享受之中时,忽然间,我们将他们惩治,他们便陷入毁灭,满怀悔恨与忧伤。于是,作恶之民的根本被斩断了;一切赞颂和感谢都归于安拉,众世界的主。)3 关于这类享乐之人,安拉~说:(难道他们以为,我们用财产和子嗣供给他们,就是在速速地给他们赐福吗?不然,他们是没有觉悟的。)4 他~又说:(所以,不要让他们的财产和子嗣使你(穆罕默德ﷺ啊)赞叹;实际上,安拉的意图是借这些东西在今世惩罚他们,并让他们的灵魂在不信道的状态下离去(死亡)。)5 第三种享乐,既不能成为后世的享乐,也不会招致惩罚;这正是先知ﷺ在圣训中所指的:"人所消遣的一切都是虚妄的,除了:他射箭、训练他的马匹,以及与他的妻子嬉戏;因为这些都属于正当的事。"6 这种爱并不受谴责,它是值得称赞的爱的一种,对先知ﷺ的爱也属于此类。然而,我们在此所指的是那种占据爱者之心的爱;即一个人将自己的思想和念想都倾注于其所爱之人身上。 每一位穆斯林心中都必须有对真主和祂的使者的爱,这是他进入伊斯兰教的必要条件;然而这种爱的程度因人而异,只有真主才知道。正是这种爱减轻了宗教义务的重担;它使吝啬的行为变得慷慨;它将勇气注入懦夫的心中;它净化心灵,驯服私欲;它照亮面容,使心灵喜悦。同样,爱真主的话语(《古兰经》)也是爱真主的标志。若想看清自己对真主的爱有多深,就看看你内心如何热爱《古兰经》;你聆听它时的喜悦,与他人聆听音乐时的喜悦相比如何。众所周知,凡爱慕某人者,其言语便比其他一切都更令他珍视。奥斯曼·本·阿凡(愿真主喜悦他)说:"如果我们的心灵得到净化,它们永远不会厌倦真主的话语。"有一天,先知ﷺ对阿卜杜拉·本·麦斯欧德(愿真主喜悦他)说:"给我诵读《古兰经》。"他回答道:"我怎能给您诵读,而它是降示给您的呢?"先知ﷺ说:"我喜欢听别人诵读。"于是他诵读《妇女章》,直到诵到第41节:{当我从每个民族中带来一个见证人,并且我把你(穆罕默德)带来作为这些人的见证人时,情况将会怎样呢?}然后先知ﷺ对他说:"停下!"这时他看见先知ﷺ的双眼充满泪水。至于对配偶的爱,这并无可指责之处。这是真主赐予祂仆人的恩典;因为祂说:{他的迹象之一,是为你们从你们自己中创造配偶,使你们对她们感到安宁,并在你们之间注入爱情与慈爱。在此确有迹象,为那些深思的民众。}祂使女人成为男人心灵的安歇之所,并在他们之间确立真诚的爱与情感,这是带有慈爱的爱。 安拉 ~ 在提到男人可以娶和不可以娶的女人之后说:(安拉想为你们阐明(哪些是合法的,哪些是非法的),指示你们以前的人所走的正道,并赦宥你们;安拉是全知的,是至睿的。安拉想赦宥你们,但那些随从私欲的人,却想使你们(信士)大大地偏离正道。安拉想减轻你们的负担,因为人是被造得软弱的(即不能忍耐而不与女人交合))2 贾比尔·本·阿卜杜拉 4 传述:先知 :Ji 看见一个女人,于是他去找他的妻子栽乃卜,与她满足自己的欲望。然后他去见他的同伴们,对他们说:"女人前来,又离去,形如魔鬼,所以你们中任何一人看见女人时,都应当去找自己的妻子,因为那样会消除他心中所生的念头。"3 从这段圣训中可以学到许多教训:首先,建议人以同类之物来转移对所贪恋之物的注意;命令人以最好的良方来医治对任何女人的迷恋,那就是与妻子满足性欲。先知 ~ 曾说:对于两个相爱的人来说,没有比婚姻更好的了。1 娶所爱的女人是治疗迷恋的最佳良方,这是安拉 ~ 为人类所许可的。达五德 %!\\ 也曾运用这一良方,他娶了一位他非常爱慕的女子。至于栽乃卜·本特·贾哈什的故事:她的丈夫宰德 4 决定与她离婚,尽管她并不同意。他 4 向先知 ~ 请示,先知 ~ 叫他留住她。然而先知 ~ 得知他们终究会离婚,于是暗中计划,待她与宰德分开后便娶她为妻,因为他 ~ 担心人们会说:"先知娶了自己儿子的妻子。"(因为在他 ~ 开始履行先知使命之前,曾收宰德为子。) 安拉想要为仆人的利益制定一项普遍的法规,于是当宰德休妻,宰奈卜的待哈迪期满后,安拉派先知ﷺ去向她求婚。宰德站在门的背面。先知从门后呼唤她:"宰奈卜啊,安拉的使者在向你求婚。"她说:"在我向安拉祈祷求问之前,我不能决定。"她便去礼拜,安拉亲自主持此事,在祂的宝座之上缔结了他们的婚约,并降示启示:({当宰德与她离婚后,我把她嫁配给你。})宰奈卜在先知ﷺ的其他妻子面前,常以自己与先知ﷺ的婚姻为荣,说:"你们的婚事是你们的家人主持的,而我的婚事是安拉在七重天之上主持的。" 毫无疑问,女人是先知ﷺ所喜爱的,他说:"香水和女人已被使我喜爱,而我的慰藉则在于拜功。" 先知ﷺ曾为一位痴爱其妻的奴隶说情,而他的妻子在获得自由后拒绝回到他身边。伊本·阿拔斯说:"芭里喇的丈夫是一个名叫穆吉斯的奴隶,仿佛我现在还看见他跟在芭里喇身后哭泣,泪水顺着胡须流淌。先知ﷺ便对芭里喇说:'你为何不回到他身边呢?'她说:'安拉的使者啊!您是命令我这样做吗?'他ﷺ说:'不,我只是为他说情。'她说:'我不需要他。'先知ﷺ对阿拔斯说:'阿拔斯啊!穆吉斯对芭里喇的爱,以及芭里喇对穆吉斯的恨,难道不让你惊讶吗?'" 先知ﷺ曾平均分配他与妻子们相处的时间,并且说:"主啊!这是我在我所拥有的事情上的分配,所以请不要因我不能掌控的事(即爱情)而责备我。"因为安拉说:({你们即使极想公平对待众妻,也绝不能做到公平。})这指的是爱情和性事方面。 一个坠入爱河的人应当展现耐心与自制，并且应当更倾向于为了安拉而表达爱、敬畏与喜悦；如此，他/她便属于安拉所说的那些人之列：（至于那畏惧自己将站在主前、并克制自己不顺从私欲与情欲的人，天堂必定是他的归宿。）（至于畏惧将站在主前的人，将有两座乐园。）我们求安拉——至高宝座的主——使我们成为那些将对安拉的爱置于自身私欲之上、并借此唯独寻求祂的喜悦的人。

This can become an aspect of polytheism, because a person's heart, in some cases, adopts the lover as a rival to Allah ~ ; he loves him as he loves Allah ~ ; but what about the one whose love for his lover is greater than his love of Allah ~ ? This type of love is not to be forgiven; it is a type of polytheism, and Allah does not forgive polytheism; He ~forgives those who repent, w1pmg away all aspects of polytheism in their hearts (i.e. for pure repentance). One sign of this polytheistic love is that the passionate person prefers the pleasure of his lover to that of his Lord. When the rights of his lover are in conflict with the rights of his Lord, he gives precedence to the right of his lover! This is the case of many of those who have an illegal passion for women, and an illegal passion for looking at their pictures or faces. Put their lustful passion on one side of the scales and put their Faith of Monotheism on the other, and then try to make a just measurement that would please Allah ~ and His Messenger. Many of these people declare publicly that there is no longer a place in their heart; except for their lover. They have a predilection for their lover that is stronger than for their Creator. They have devoted all their love and passion for their lover and so have none left to worship Allah, knowing that worshipping Allah requires the perfection in one ' s love and submission. The cure for this crippling condition is to know that the affliction by this ailment, which opposes one's Faith of Monotheism, comes from one' s ignorance and one ' s heart 's carelessness about remembering Allah ~- One first has to learn Allah's Monotheism and its Signs, then he should perform both the outward and inward acts of worship, which would occupy his/her heart in the constant remembrance of Allah ~ - He/she should tum to Allah ~ in humiliation and submission, to seek His Help, in order to turn that ailment away from him/her. There is no cure better than being sincere to Allah ~. in all one's actions. It is the cure mentioned by Allah~. when He said: (That happened, so We might avert from him all evil and lust. He was one of Our Chosen (Guided) Servants.) Allah ~ informed us that He turned Yusuf away 1 from the evil and illegal sexual intercourse because of his sincere worship of his Lord. One should also learn that following Islam and intellect enable the achievement of benefits for the individual, and remove or reduce all causes of corruption. It is known that developing a passion for unlawful gazing at women or their pictures has neither religious nor worldly benefit. Rather, its evil consequences are too many to be counted, so we list but the following aspects: First, the heart is completely devoted to its lover, and distracted from loving its Lord ~ or remembering Him. So is inevitable that one would overcome the other when they try to gather in the same heart. Second, the heart would be tortured with it, because whoever loves something besides Allah ~ . would be punished by it. Third, the heart becomes a prisoner in the hands of its captor who could subject it to disgrace. An intoxicated heart becomes unaware of its humiliation. Fourth, the heart is distracted from its religious and worldly benefits. Fifth, all the ailments of this world and the Hereafter come rushing towards the heart, which is besotted by lust. Indeed, as the heart gets closer to satisfy its passion, it becomes distant from its Lord, and so it falls in the hands of the devil. Sixth, when lust takes control of the heart, the mind becomes corrupted with emerging devilish whisperings. Seventh, this ailment leads to the corruption of the senses, or at least some of them. In fact when the heart is corrupted, the eyes, the ears and the tongue also become corrupted. The eyes no longer see the evil aspects or shortcomings of the lover. The ears do not listen to the demands of giving up such an illegal habit, because the one who is involved in an activity does not see his defect; his ardent love for lust places a screen over his eyes. The only person, who is aware of it, is the one who was once involved in it and later gave it up. It is for this reason that the Companions who embraced Islam after a life in polytheism were better than those who were born in Islam. 'Umar bin Al-Khattab ~ said: "The bonds of Islam are violated, one after the other, by those who were born in Islam and never witnessed Jahiliyah (the pre-Islamic era)." Eighth, passion is ardent or excessive love; it takes control of a man's heart and starts to vigorously use both his animal and mental powers, until his self-destruction occurs. This has well observed in the course of passion: its beginning is sweet, its middle is full of worry and anxiety, and its end is self-destruction. In the beginning of such passion, the scholars have said that a person should resist it to his best capability, if it had not been decreed for him to reach his lover legally (through marriage). However, if he fails to resist its power, he should at least keep silent about, and not reveal it to other people, because he would be violating the sanctity of the lover, and add more injustice upon himself. There are many ailments generated by this lustful passion, which in some cases has led people, who were brought up in Islam, into polytheism. Indeed, a Caller to prayer (Mu 'addhin) once saw a beautiful woman from the roof and was infatuated by her. So he went down and asked to be her lover. She replied that she was a Christian, and that she would marry him if he accepted to embrace her religion. He accepted, however on the same day, when he climbed a step on their roof, he fell and died. When some Christians wanted to tum a Muslim prisoner away from his religion, they exposed him to a beautiful woman, and she would then have to attract his attention, until she took control of his heart. Then she would have to offer herself to him if he embraced her religion! This would be in such moment that (Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the Word that stands firm in this world and in the Hereafter; and Allah will cause to go astray those who are wrong-doers, and Allah does what He wills.) 1 A reasonabl e person would not subject himself to this kind of passionate desire, because it simply leads to evil consequences. Whoever occupies his mind with lust is merely deceiving himself and may even destroy it, as had he not been constantly gazing at the face of his beloved, lust would not have dominated his heart. The most beneficial love is that of Allah ~ which is absolute; that which all hearts are instinctively born with. This is the secret of the Testimony of Faith, because God is the One Whom hearts worship with love, glorification, praise and submission. Yet worship is not accepted if it is not directed to Allah ~' Alone, as worship is the perfection of love together with the perfection of submission and humiliation. The proof of this obligation to love Allah ~ was mentioned in all of His Revelations, the Message of His Prophets, and the natural order endowed by Allah ~ in His Servants. People's hearts are naturally attracted to love the One Who bestows His Blessings upon them, as Allah ~ has said: ( Whatever of blessings and good things you have, it is from Allah. Then, when harm touches you, unto Him you cry aloud for help.) 2 This proof is also evident once His Servants learn His Best Names and Attributes, which designate His Perfection and Supremacy. Love has two attractors: beauty and honour; which Allah ~ possesses to a degree of absolute perfection. He ~ is graceful and loves grace, as all grace belongs to Him J.;. Allah ~ said (addressing His Messenger, Muhammad ~ ): ( Say: If you really love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love and forgive you your sins.) 1 He ~ also said: ( 0 You who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the way of Allah, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills: Allah is All-Sufficient for His Creatures' Needs, All-Knower. Verily, your Wali (helper or protector) is none other than Allah, His Messenger, and the believers, those who perform Sa/at, and give Zakat, and bow down with obedience to Allah in prayer. Whosoever takes Allah, His Messenger, and those who have believed as Protectors, then the Party of Allah will be the victorious.)2 The basis of taking someone as a protector is love, just as the basis of enmity is hatred. Allah ~ is the Wa!T of those who believe, and they are His Pious People. He ~ loves them, and He is their WalI according to the level of their love for Him J.;. Allah ~ has censured those who take others as protectors besides Him £; for He ~ said: ( And of mankind are some who take others besides Allah as rivals (to Allah). They love them as they love Allah. But those who believe, love Allah more (than anything else). ) 1 He ~ informed us about those who take others as rivals to Him (in worship) , when they say to these rivals as they gather in Hell: ( By Allah, we were truly in manifest error, when we held you (false gods) as equals (in worship) with the Lord of the 'Alamin. ) 2 With this Monotheism, based on the love of Allah, Allah ~ sent all His Messengers with His Revelations, bearing the same Message from the First Prophet (Adam ~ \) to the Last Prophet (Muhammad :i); as it was for its sake that Allah ~ created the heavens and the earth, Paradise and Hell; making Paradise (as a permanent abode) for the people who love Him, and Hell (as one) for those who associate rivals to Him. The Prophet :i swore that a person's faith is not complete until the Prophet :i becomes dearer to him than his child, his father and all people; so what about the love of the Lord £ ? He ~ also said to 'Umar bin Al -Khattab: "No, until I am dearer to you than your own self' i.e . your faith is not complete until your Jove reaches this standard! If the Messenger of Allah is more deserving (to us) than our own selves , in love and its requirements , then is th e Lord £ not more entitled to love than our own selves? Allah ~ created man to worship Him, and created for him everything in the heavens and the earth; is the Lord not entitled to our love and pleasure (shown by our dedicated appreciation, awe and worship of Him, Alone)? He ~ is the Most-Generous; He gives to His Servant even before His Servant asks Him for anything. He ~ appreciates the little effort from His Servant, and forgives so many misdeeds, expiating them . Everything that exists in the heavens and the earth asks of Him daily, and He ~ listens to the requests of everyone. He ~ is never confused by all the numerous requests from all His Servants, and He never gets annoyed by those who make most insistant supplications. Instead, He ~ is more pleased with those who repeatedly ask Him of their needs , and He even dislikes not being asked! Why do people not love the only One Who brings them good deeds (by multiplying a believer's good deed by ten) and removing their bad deeds. He ~ answers invocations, removes misfortunes, forgives sins and rewards good deeds! The perfection of love is manifested in the delight, joy and happiness of the self; and certainly these signs of perfect love are praiseworthy, if they lead to the greatest eternal delight, namely that of the Hereafter and its blessings! Allah ~ said: (Nay, you prefer the life of this world, although the Hereafter is better and more lasting.) 1 The sorcerers said to Pharaoh, when they believed: ( "So decree whatever you desire to decree, for you can only decree regarding this life of the world. Verily, we have believed in Our Lord, that He may forgive us our faults, and the magic to which you did compel us; and Allah is better (as regards reward, in comparison to your reward) and more lasting.")1 Allah ~ created mankind and jinn so as to grant them this eternal delight in the world of the Hereafter; and the best ever blessing and delight of the Hereafter is that of looking at the Face of Allah ~ and listening directly to His Words, and being close to Him ~. The Prophet ~ said: "Allah ~ would lift the veil , and of all the things given to them nothing would be dearer to them than the sight of their Lord, the Mighty and the Glorious."2 And in another Hadith: "When He ~ appeared to them and they saw Him, they forgot about all the blessings which they were enjoying." The Prophet ~ said in one of his supplications: "I ask You for the pleasure to look at Your Generous Face, with the desire to meet You. " 3 The second type of delight is a reprehensible one, which is opposite to the delight of the Hereafter. It is the delight of those who take idols as rivals to Allah; they love them and benefit from one another in this world, as they will try to explain to their Lord, on the Day of Judgment: ("Our Lord! We benefited from one another, but now we have reached our appointed term which you did appoint for us" He will say: "The Fire is your dwelling place; you will dwell therein forever, except as Allah may will. Certainly, your Lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing." Thus, We do make the wrong-doers supporters of one another, because of that which they used to earn.) 1 The delight of sinners, wrong-doers and transgressors is only here, on earth, yet it is but a gradual lead to their destruction; Allah ~ said: ( We shall gradually seize them with punishment in ways they perceive not; for I respite them; certainly my plan is strong.) 2 Some scholars added to the interpretation of the above Verse that whenever the transgressors commit a sin, Allah ~ creates a blessing for them, ( until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given, all of a sudden, We took them (in punishment), and they were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows. So, the root of the people who did wrong was cut off; all Praise and Thanks are Allah's, the Lord of the 'Alamin.)3 Allah ~ has said about people of such delight: (Do they think that in wealth and children We extend to them, We are hastening to them with good things? No indeed, but they have no awareness.) 4 He ~ also said about them: ( So do not let their wealth and children impress you (0 Muhammad :j;); in reality Allah's Plan is to punish them with these things in the life of this world, and that their souls shall depart (die) while they are disbelievers.) ' The third type of delight is one which does not succeed as a delight of the Hereafter nor generate any punishment; it is the one which was meant by the Prophet ~' in the Hadith: "Everything with which a man amuses himself is vain, except for: his shooting with his bow, his training of his horse, and his playing with his wife; for they pertain to what is right. " 2 This love is not censured; it is one of the types of love that is praiseworthy, as well as love for the Prophet :j;. However, what we mean here is that love which occupies the heart of the one who loves; the one who devotes his/her thought and remembrance to his/her beloved one. Every Muslim has in his heart a love for Allah and His Messenger which is necessary for him/her to enter Islam; yet the degree of this love varies from one to another, and is known only to Allah ~ - It is this love which reduces the pressure of the religious obligations; it makes the niggardly acts become generous ones; it puts bravery in the heart of the coward; it purifies the mind and tames the self; it lightens up the face and delights the heart. Likewise, loving the Word of Allah~ (the Qur'an) is a sign of having love of Allah. If one wants to see the degree of one's love for Allah, look at the way you love the Qur' an in your heart; your delight in listening to it, as compared to other people's delight in listening to music. It is known that whoever loves a beloved, his/her words and speech become dearer to him/her than anything else. 'Uthman bin Affan ~ said: "If our hearts were purified, they would never have enough of the Word of Allah." One day, the Prophet ~ told Abdullah bin Mas'ud ~ : "Recite the Qur'an to me." He replied: "Shall I recite it to you, eventhough it was revealed to you?" The Prophet ~ said: "I like to hear it from others." So he ~ recited Surat An-Nisa' (The Women), till he reached the Verse (N° 41): ( How (will it be) then when We bring from each nation a witness, and We bring you (0 Muhammad) as a witness against these people.) Then the Prophet~ told him: "Stop!" Whereupon he saw the eyes of the Prophet ~ overflowing with tears." 1 As for the love of one's spouse(s), there is no blame in this. It is a blessing that Allah~ has bestowed upon His Servants; for He ~ said: (Among His Signs is that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect.) 1 He ~ has made women as a resting place for a man's heart, and established sincere love and affection between them, which is love with mercy. Allah ~ has said, after mentioning what is lawful for men of women and what is not: ( Allah wishes to make clear (what is lawful and what is unlawful) to you, and to show you the ways of those before you, and accept your repentance; for Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise. Allah wishes to accept your repentance, but those who follow their lusts, wish that you (believers) should deviate tremendously away (from the right Path). Allah wishes to lighten the burden for you, for man was created weak (i.e. cannot be patient to leave sexual intercourse with women))2 Jabir bin Abdullah 4, reported that the Prophet :Ji saw a woman, and so he approached his wife, Zaynab, to fulfil his desire with her. He then went to his Companions and told them : 'A woman advances and returns in the shape of a devil , so when one of you sees a woman, he should approach his wife, for that would repel whatever he felt in his heart. " '3 There are many lessons to be learned from this Hadith: first, it is advised to distract oneself from something coveted with something of the same nature it is commanded to heal the passion for any woman with the best cure, and that is to fulfil one's sexual desire with the wife. The Prophet ~ said that there is nothing better for two lovers than marriage 1• Marrying a beloved woman is the best cure for passion, which Allah ~ made legal for mankind. This cure was used by Prophet Dawud %!\\; for he married a woman whom he loved very much. As for the story of Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh: her husband Zayd 4, had decided to divorce her, although she did not agree. He 4, consulted the Prophet ~ who told him to keep her. However the Prophet~ learnt that they inevitably were going to divorce, and kept secret the plan that he was going to marry her once she had become separated from Zayd, because he ~ was worried that people might say: "The Prophet ti married the wife of his son." (As he ~ had adopted Zayd as a son before the start of his Mission as a Prophet). Allah ~ wanted to legislate a general legislation for the benefits of His Servants; so when Zayd 4e, divorced Zaynab and her 'Jddah 2 period expired, Allah ~ sent the Prophet ~ to propose to her. Zayd 4e, stood with his back to the door. The Prophet called her from behind the door: "O Zaynab, the Messenger of Allah is proposing to you." She said: "I cannot decide until I ask Allah ~ (in prayer). " She performed a prayer, and Allah ~ took charge Himself and concluded their marriage contract above Hi s Throne; with the Revelation: (So when Zayd had divorced her, We gave her to you in marriage.) Zaynab used to boast of her 1 marriage to the Prophet ~ before the other wives of the Prophet, saying: "Your families conducted your marriage, but mine was conducted by Allah from above the seven heavens." There is no doubt that women were made dear to the Prophet ~. as he said: "Perfume and women have been made dear to me, but my comfort has been provided by Salah (prayer)."2 The Prophet ~ interceded for a slave who was passionately in love with ex-wife, who had refused to return to him, once she was manumitted. lbn 'Abbas~ said: "Barira's husband was a slave called Mughith; it is as if I am seeing him now , going behind Barira and weeping with his tears flowing down his beard. The Prophet then said to Barira: 'Why don't you return to him?' She said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Do you order me to do so?' He ~ said: 'No, I am only interceding for him.' She said: 'I am not in need of him.' The Prophet said to 'Abbas: 'O 'Abbas! Are you not astonished by the love of Mughith for Barira, and the hatred of Barira for Mughith?'"3 The Prophet ~ used to equally divide his time with his wives, and used to say: "O Allah! this is my division, for what I own, so do not blame me for what I do not own." (i.e. love). For Allah ~ said: (You will never do perfect justice between your wives, even if it is your ardent desire) 1, which is regarding love and sexual intercourse. A person who is in love should show patience and restraint, and should prefer to show love, fear and pleasure for Allah ~ ; thus he/she would come under the category of those about whom Allah ~ said: ( But As for him who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires and lusts, verily Paradise will be his abode .)2 ( But for him who fears the standing before his Lord, there will be two gardens .)3 We ask Allah ~ ' the Lord of the Supreme Throne, to make us among those who prefer their love for Allah to that of their own desires, and seek therewith to attain His Pleasure, Alone.