How can a living heart not love the Rabb?

Ar Rahman Ar Rahim, there is no ilah but He.
Without His merciful love, there will never be ‘me’.
In the womb before I could even ask.
He provided me with a heart, ears and eyes.

How can one not love the exceedingly Loving and Merciful?
So deeply touched by His Love, one can’t help being tearful.
With His incessant gifts, like the rain that showers.
Pause a while to ponder, naturally one’s heart quivers.

The Prophet told us a story of the sincere slave.
Who devoted five hundred years to worship and praise.
In a state of sujud he died and on the day he was raised.
By Allah’s merciful love, in Paradise he was to be placed.

‘Wait!’ said the slave so confident of his merits.
‘Send me to Paradise on account of my deeds.’
When the gift of his eyesight was on one side of the balance.
His hundreds of years of deeds failed to match its significance. 

Purely upon justice, into Hell fire he was ushered.
‘My Rabb, put me in Paradise by Your merciful love!’ he pleaded.
So The Most Kind Rabb called him to stand before Him.
To testify His merciful love that encompasses everything.

“O my slave, who created you?” the Rabb asked.
“You, my Rabb.” he answered his heart pounding fast.
“Who gave you the strength to worship Me for five hundred years?”
“You, my Rabb.” he admitted probably amidst tears.

“Who put you on the mountains in the island in the middle of the sea?
And produced palatable water for you from the salty sea?
And each day brought you a delicious pomegranate as food?
And even fulfilled your wish to die in a state of sujud?”

“You, my Rabb!” was all he could admit and answer.
His heart could not deny the favours of The Most Generous Master.
Even a million years in prostration could never be enough.
To  fulfill the rights of Allah to be worshipped, thanked and loved.

“All these(favours) happened because of My merciful love,
and I will make you enter Paradise by My merciful love.”

How can the heart not love the Master?
His merciful love has no equal in this world and the hereafter .
A lifetime of sincere worship can never repay.
All the favours He deliberately gives us each day.

The heart’s joy is to submit to Him with the greatest love.
It’s inspiration is in knowing the Rabb loves to be loved.

[This poem is written based on a hadith reported by al Hakim from his book al Mustadrak]
Wallahua’ lam.

Dear respected readers, assalamualaikum.

Upon discussing the first condition to be a slave of Allah which is Love, let us begin with a powerful means of obtaining love and that is by knowing the Rabb. Allah is known through His Names and Attributes He had named Himself with in the Quran and through the words of the Prophet SAW.

Dr Umar Sulaiman al Asyqar in his book Al Asmaa Al Husna wrote: “When asked who is Allah, a correct answer would be ‘He is the Being(Dzat) who is Ar Rahman and Ar Rahim.’ [Refer to Surah al Hasyr:22 and Surah Al Baqarah:163]....... With the names Ar Rahman Ar Rahim, Allah is praised and glorified. “ Praise and gratitude be to Allah, Rabbal alamien. Ar Rahman Ar Rahim." (Surah Al Fatihah:2-3)

Ar-Rahman means He is the Being who owns rahmah in the most superlative form of the word. His rahmah is a constant, continuous, inherent, inseparable attribute of Him. Ar-Rahim means He is capable of dispensing or giving rahmah. When ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim is put together it is a powerful means of emphasis of an infinite, unequal and unmatched rahmah of the Being who owns it and gives of it.

In Arabic, ‘rahmah’ comes from the root word ‘rahim’ which means womb.  Rasulullah in one occasion described the love a mother had towards her child as ‘rahmah’. He said “Look at the rahmah of the mother to her child....do you think this mother will throw her child into the fire? Verily Allah has more rahmah for His slaves than this mother to her child.”

Rahmah is more than mercy as it is often translated. It is mercy plus love. Either we say it is a merciful love or a loving mercy.

In the Quran, Allah says: “ My Rahmah envelops EVERYTHING.” Surah al Araaf:156.  The verse carries the meaning as if there is no other rahmah except His. This is true because all rahmah originates from Allah Ar Rahman ar Rahim. The wild beast do not kill its child out of the rahmah Allah gives to it. This is part of the rahmah Allah gives to all His creatures for their existence whether they are believers or not.

Revelation(wahyu) given to the Prophets and Messengers is the greatest rahmah of Allah upon man. In Surah Ar Rahman, Allah tells us all His Acts which are manifestation of His name Ar Rahman. And first of all He mentions “He teaches Al-Quran” (Surah Ar Rahman:2). And then in the next verse he mentions that He has created man.  Teaching man the Quran is  a  greater act of rahmah than the creation of man. That is how He wants us to perceive  the value of the Quran.

Prophet Muhammad was sent as rahmah to all the worlds. What he brings is rahmah to every single man and every single thing: animate and inanimate, until the end of time. Even to the ants and the fishes and the plants and the rocks. There is rahmah in the syariah and rahmah in the sunnah. Following Rasulullah SAW brings us a life filled with rahmah. Happiness and security is guaranteed because Allah says "Verily, those who say 'Our Rabb is Allah' and remain firm(on that Path), on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." (Al Ahqaaf:13)

It is obligatory upon the believer’s heart to love Allah. Love is an ibadah(act of ubudiyyah) of the heart which is wajib. It is the primary basis of his tawheed and comprises his ubudiyyah(slavery to Allah). Yusuf Qaradhawi in his book ‘The meaning of Tawheed’, describes ubudiyyah as the peak of submission plus the peak of love. Submission to Allah without love is an empty act of worship. Love without submission is a fake or a false claim. Partial love and partial submission too will not fulfill the meaning of ubudiyyah.

Why is love so important?

Khurram Murad said in one of his lectures:

“The demands Islam place on man is not of a nature which could be fulfilled just through social pressure but must be fulfilled through an inner urge. Although man can do hundreds of things out of habit and to obtain social approval, or cultural norm or practice, what is needed in Islam is man do things out of inner urges from man’s heart  and the most powerful inner urge is LOVE.”

Internalizing the attribute ar-Rahman ar Rahim will inculcate shukr and praise: the seeds of love. A heart soaked in shukr and praise will sprout with love of the Rabb. Attachment and hanging on to the rahmah of Allah also gives hope to the heart. So that no matter how distressed, fatigued, shakened and low, it will never despair.

Hereby is a simple translation from the words of Ibnul Qayyim in his book Syifa’ul Alil Fii Masaailil Qadha’ wal Qadar wal hikmah wat Ta’ lil, “No (amount of) good deeds and acts of obedience from a person can rightfully repay Allah for all His nikmah and rahmah upon him. If Allah chooses to punish a person, He has not done the slightest injustice on him. If He chooses to give him rahmah, that rahmah is greater than all his good deeds put together. Indeed all his good deeds have no value at all compared to that single rahmah from Allah.”

It is the greatest right of Allah that the slaves should purify and perfect their ubudiyyah to Him the best they could. The rahmah of Allah on us in the hereafter is proportional to the the degree of perfection of our obedience, inwardly and outwardly. O Allah, we ask from You Your Rahmah in this month of Ramadhan, the month You sent us the Quran. Please forgive us. By Your infinite rahmah, please include us to be among Your righteous slaves.