6. Love

We live on the same planet, breathe the same air, enjoy the same moon and are warmed by the same sun, yet our hearts are so disconnected from one another. Love is the only true feeling that can bring peace back into our lives, the only sentiment that can unite our efforts and combine our hearts, yet we can hardly find it in our present existence. There are two kinds of love: metaphorical love, which is transient love related to the material world and the bodily life; and Divine love, the love of Allah - this is the real, eternal and infinite love. The writings of the Muslim philosopher Rumi demonstrate that both kinds of love should ultimately lead the way to Allah. 59 Metaphorical love can lead to Divine love. The admiration of nature's beauty, the pure sacred feelings between a man and his wife and unconditional parental love are reflections of great blessings from Allah, a manifestation of His Divine Names and Attributes; this love is a bridge that leads a wise mind to the All-Powerful, All-Compassionate Creator.

To love Allah we have to feel His existence through our modest humble minds. Our reason and reflection should confess total submissiveness and awe. For Muslims, love of Allah comes first; it is the purest and truest kind of affection, the essence of every creation. It is the requirement of faith for the true Muslim. Allah (~) says in His Holy Book: 59 Can, 2004. ~Say, 'If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His Cause, then wait until Allah brings about His Decision [torment].

And Allah does not guide the people who are rebellious [disobedient to Allah].'~ (Quran 9: 24) M. Fethullah Gulen wrote in Love and Tolerance how love has been forgotten in our daily struggle for survival. How our material possessions, worldly greed, narrow vision, envy and selfishness have all replaced these sacred feelings of love and compassion in our hearts. People's sense of loyalty and moral and ethical commitments have weakened with their preoccupation with the problems of everyday life. Gulen refers this obvious deterioration to our distance away from the greatest source of love, from our God, Allah.

Because we have not followed His Path, because we have not loved Him as we should, the feelings of love are gone from our hearts. In order to love each other again and to live in peace and harmony, we should turn only to Him and love Him with all our hearts. 60 Allah (~) says in His Holy Book: 60 Gulen, 2004. ~They have not made a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified is He, and High is He above all that they associate as partners with Him!) (Quran 39: 67) Allah promises us that if we love Him and follow His path, He will love us in return. ('i, : .:.,1~ JT •_;y-") ~Say [O Muhammad to people], 'If you [really] love Allah, then follow me [accept Islamic monotheism, follow the Quran and the Sunnah], Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.

And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.'~ (Quran 3: 31) Imagine how great this would be - to earn the love of Allah! There is a hadith qudsi that gives us some idea of what that is like: «If Allah loves a person, He calls out to Gabriel saying, "Allah loves soand-so, therefore love him." So Gabriel loves him, and makes an announcement to the inhabitants of heaven, "Allah loves so-and-so, therefore love him also." And the inhabitants of heaven love him, and he is then granted the pleasure and acceptance of the people on earth.» 61 To love (in the true Islamic meaning) is to relate everything we love to Allah and avoid associating worldly partners and idols with Him. This higher meaning of love takes it beyond mere human relations into a more sacred and spiritual level. I have heard the expression 'to love for the sake of Allah' many times before, but I did not truly understand its meaning until recently. I met a group of 61 Muslim. enthusiastic young women who were preparing for a conference about true Islamic relationships and morality.

The organizers lived in different countries and communicated through e-mail; they had never met before, but they were all so dedicated and believed so much in the Islamic values they were teaching, that they had experienced an incredibly strong bonding, connecting their souls. They met each other for the first time at the conference and lived together for only one week; a week of hard work and extreme dedication. At the end of the conference, I saw them crying because they were soon to be separated. I felt true love, a divine affection that bonded their hearts and freed it from all worldly greed and personal interests; a love that generated an immense energy revealed in their beautiful work and a successful conference. They found their happiness in each other's success, in self-denial and in the Divine love that filled their hearts and overflowed, as if bathing everything and everybody around them in a sacred divine blessing.

I then remembered these words by Ghazali, "Love for Allah envelopes the heart; it rules the heart and it even spreads over everything." Our Prophet(~) taught us: «By the One who holds my soul in His Hand, you will not believe until you love each other. Shall I tell you about something that if you do it you will love each other? Spread peace (i.e., saying, "Salam") among you.» 62 He (~) also said: «None of you (truly) believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.» 63 There is another important meaning in this hadith. In order to love our brothers and sisters in faith, we need to love ourselves first. This is not an invitation for selfishness, but a call for you to discover and appreciate your true self, to focus on loving what you are and not 62 Muslim, Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi. 63 Bukhari and Muslim. hating yourself for what you are not.

If you think negative thoughts, if you resent your presence, actions, fortune and fate, you will definitely feel the same about others, you will fill your heart with envy and your mind with sorrow and regret. Only when we connect to our inner love, we will find the power within ourselves to help others; we will feel the desire to share this love with the world and we will see this passion purifying our hearts and spreading through our lives, causing them to glow with beauty. There is an old Egyptian saying: "If your house is made of glass, do not throw stones at others." So do not search for people's mistakes or concentrate on their defects and imperfections; instead, try to find the good in everyone. If we accept the other person as she or he is, if we try to love them only for the sake of Allah, it will be easier for us to communicate, understand each other and live peacefully together. Allah says in this hadith qudsi: «Those who love each other for My sake, have pulpits of light; the Prophets and the martyrs wish eagerly for their status.» 64 I once read an old Chinese tale about a young girl named Lin who got married and went to live with her husband and mother-inlaw.

Lin could not get along with her mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very different, and Lin was angered by many of her mother-in-law's habits and criticisms. Time went by and Lin and her mother-in-law kept on arguing and fighting. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing Lin's poor husband great distress. Finally, Lin could not stand it any longer, so she went to see her father's friend, Mr.

Huang, who was an herbalist. She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she 64 Tirmidhi (a good, sound hadith). could solve the problem once and for all. Mr. Huang thought for a while, and finally said, "Lin, I will help you solve your problem, but you must listen to me very carefully." Mr. Huang went into the attic, and returned with a package of herbs.

He told Lin, "You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause suspicion. Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body. Every other day, prepare a delicious meal and put a little of these herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspects you when she dies, you must act very friendly towards her. Don' t argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen." Lin was very happy.

She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her plot. Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Lin served the specially-treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother.

After six months, the whole house had changed. Lin had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost never got mad or upset. She had not had an argument with her mother-inlaw in six months, because she now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with. The mother-in-law's attitude toward Lin also changed; she began to love her like her own daughter; and Lin's husband was very happy. Finally, Lin went to see Mr.

Huang and asked for his help again - but this time, a different kind of help. She asked him to keep the poison from killing her mother-in-law! "She has changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother now," said Lin, "I do not want her to die from that poison I gave her. " Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head, "Lin, there is nothing to worry about.

I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were tonics to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave her. How you treat others is exactly how they will treat you. There is a wise Chinese saying: The person who loves others will also be loved in return. " 65