Allah Loves…

Taqwa is the quality the Qur’an most often ties to Allah’s love. The chapter asks how fear and love fit together.

Key points

• The Qur’an opens al-Baqarah by calling itself guidance for the people of taqwa, and fasting is prescribed so that we reach it.
• Allah created us to love us and to succeed, so taqwa is not fear that drives us away: it is fear of losing His love, which drives us back to Him.
• The picture of taqwa as walking a path lined with thorns, gathering your clothes in tight so nothing catches, describes it as care rather than terror.
• ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz described taqwa as leaving what Allah dislikes; long prayers and fasts beyond that are excellence (ihsan).
• In practice it is the pause before a word, a look or a deed that would displease Him.

Think aboutWhat is the one “thorn” you keep brushing against? What would pulling your clothes in tight look like there?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Everyone will be pricked by a thorn. What Allah loves is the one who turns back to Him afterwards.

Key points

• Every child of Adam sins, and the best of those who sin are those who repent: we were not created never to sin, but to know what to do when we do.
• In a sound hadith the Prophet ﷺ said that if we did not sin, Allah would bring people who would sin and seek His forgiveness, because He loves to forgive.
• Repentance polishes the stain sin leaves on the heart, and with sincere repentance bad deeds are turned into good ones (25:70).
• Ibn al-Qayyim pointed to Adam and Yunus: both rose higher after they turned back than they were before they slipped.
• No sin closes the door for good, as long as the servant turns and uses the fall to move towards Allah.

Think aboutIs there a sin you have treated as a final verdict on yourself? What would turning back look like this week?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Ihsan is the highest station: worshipping Allah as if you see Him, and treating people with the same standard.

Key points

• Taqwa is the stepping stone to ihsan: one keeps you from what He dislikes, the other pushes you to do more than is asked.
• The Qur’an speaks of Allah’s love for the people of excellence about as often as His love for the people of taqwa.
• Ali ‘Imran 3:134 gives its signs among people: giving in ease and in hardship, swallowing anger even when it is justified, and pardoning when you are in the right.
• The Qur’an describes three selves: the one that urges evil, the one that blames itself (taqwa), and the one at peace with its Lord (ihsan).

Think aboutWhere do you meet the minimum, at work, at home or in prayer, and stop there?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Allah loves to be praised. Humans can rise above the angels by praising Him by choice.

Key points

• Al-Hasan al-Basri explained that angels obey without choosing, while people choose to praise, love and worship, and so can be raised higher.
• The Prophet ﷺ told a Companion to praise Allah more, because his Lord loves praise.
• Asked by Abu Dharr which words Allah loves most, he named the words Allah chose for His angels: subhan Allahi wa bi-hamdih.
• Two short phrases are light on the tongue, heavy on the Scale and beloved to the Most Merciful (al-Bukhari): keep the tongue busy with them.

Think aboutWhen in your day could the two phrases fill a silence: the commute, the queue, the washing-up?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Unlike people, Allah does not tire of being asked. Asking Him is itself a way of coming close.

Key points

• Du‘a is made of praise and then request, and both bring us nearer to Him.
• Al-Baqarah 2:186 answers the question about Allah with “I am near” before it promises an answer: nearness is the first gift of du‘a.
• Your Lord is too generous to send back empty the hands raised to Him (Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi).
• A saying given to ‘Umar: he did not carry the worry of the answer, only the worry of being able to ask. If you are able to ask, you are in a good place.
• The answer comes in the form that is best for us, in this life or the next.

Think aboutDo you avoid asking Allah for something because you feel too distant? Ask for it today.

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Allah loves those who repent and those who are trying to purify themselves (2:222), not only those who have arrived.

Key points

• Shaytan works twice: first he invites the sin, then he makes us too ashamed to turn back and ask.
• Some scholars read “those who purify themselves” as wudu and physical cleanliness; the author focuses on the inner meaning: the effort itself is loved.
• Al-Hasan al-Basri and Mujahid described the penitent as those who do not persist in a sin and do not keep returning to it carelessly.
• Falling into the same sin again after sincere repentance does not cancel the earlier repentance. What harms is persisting while ignoring that Allah sees.

Think aboutWhich effort have you stopped because you kept falling short? Allah loves the trying.

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

No two drops are more beloved to Allah than a tear shed in awe of Him and blood shed in His cause, and no traces more than those left by serving Him (at-Tirmidhi).

Key points

• The Companions carried the marks of Badr, Uhud and the Trench; the Prophet ﷺ comforted them that those wounds would not follow them into Paradise.
• An eye that weeps in awe of Allah will not be touched by the Fire (at-Tirmidhi).
• On the Day of ‘Arafah Allah boasts to the angels of pilgrims who come dusty, dishevelled and sleepless, asking only for His mercy.
• Zayn al-‘Abidin was found after his death to have marks on his back from the sacks he carried to the poor at night.
• This is not a call to hurt yourself: Allah sees the struggle of the sick, the old and the tired who keep praying.

Think aboutWhat mark has worship left on your life, and what tears do you wish you had shed?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Allah loves those who rely on Him (3:159). Trust is what keeps du‘a and repentance going when life feels out of control.

Key points

• People drift when their du‘a or repentance seems not to have worked; Ibn ‘Abbas tied belief in the decree to belief in One God.
• Trusting Him is a form of asking and of love, and it removes the distraction of trying to control everything.
• Tawakkul gives calm in this life and longing for the next: it is hard to hope for lasting reward if you think He is punishing you now.
• The book describes three levels of trust: like trusting an agent who works for you, like a child trusting its mother even when she disciplines it, and like complete surrender, sure He moves you only for your good.
• Where there is mistrust there cannot be real love.

Think aboutWhich of the three levels describes how you trust Allah right now?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Allah loves the patient (3:146). Patience rests on trust, and it is needed in ease and worship as much as in hardship.

Key points

• You cannot be patient with how life is going until you believe Someone is in charge of it and acting for your good.
• Patience in hardship: holding back for His reward, knowing ease comes with hardship (94:5–6).
• Patience with desires: fasting is a school of patience, and some scholars read “seek help through patience and prayer” (2:45) as fasting and prayer.
• Patience in ease: not rushing to use up every pleasure as if this life were all there is.
• Patience in worship: staying the course so that our deeds are done well and accepted.

Think aboutWhich of the four is hardest for you: hardship, desire, ease or worship?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

After taqwa and ihsan, justice is the quality the Qur’an most often ties to Allah’s love. It is about our daily lives, not only rulers.

Key points

• Do not let dislike of a people lead you to treat them unjustly (5:8), and make peace justly between believers who quarrel (49:9).
• The just ruler shaded on the Day of Judgement and the just on pulpits of light are not only sultans: each of us is put in positions to be fair.
• Allah hates oppression; on that Day He settles accounts even between animals, so how will our wrongs to people go unanswered?
• Sufyan ath-Thawri wished he had to answer only to Allah for his sins, since wrongs against people are not simply let go.

Think aboutIs there anyone you have wronged who could claim from your good deeds? Can you put it right now?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

The most beloved people to Allah are those most beneficial to people (at-Tabarani). The chapter unpacks what that means.

Key points

• Beneficial people pass on Allah’s attributes to others: His comfort, His relief and His provision.
• The beloved deeds named in the hadith: bringing joy into a believer’s heart, removing a hardship, paying off a debt, feeding the hungry.
• The Prophet’s ﷺ stories of people entering Paradise for small deeds, like the woman who gave water to a thirsty dog or the man who cleared a path, are all acts of service.
• Show mercy to those on earth and the One above will show you mercy: Allah never lets us outdo Him in kindness.

Think aboutWho could you bring joy to, or relieve, before the week is out?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

The first of several qualities people rarely link with righteousness: the strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak, and in both there is good (Muslim).

Key points

• Strength is meant broadly: faith, resilience, body, mind, knowledge and means.
• The same hadith says: seek what benefits you, ask Allah for help, do not give in to helplessness, and do not dwell on “if only”.
• Many of the most beloved deeds need strength: you cannot pay someone’s debt or carry someone’s grief from a position of weakness.
• The upper, giving hand is better than the lower, receiving one; the community too is told to prepare its strength (8:60).
• This is about what is in our power, not about trials we did not choose.

Think aboutWhich kind of strength, of body, knowledge, means or faith, could you build this year for others’ sake?

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Believers should aim to be givers rather than takers, keeping their dignity even in need.

Key points

• The Prophet ﷺ sought refuge from debt and from being overpowered, while there are also chapters on the virtue of patient poverty.
• ‘Awf ibn Malik reported that some Companions pledged never to ask people for anything, so that one would not even ask for a dropped whip to be handed up (Muslim).
• A believer’s nobility is in standing in prayer at night, and his dignity in not needing people.
• This is about mindset, not suffering in silence: anyone in real need should ask for help.

Think aboutWhere have you become comfortable depending on others when you could stand on your own?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Pride (kibr) keeps a person from Paradise, yet Islam redirects competitiveness and a show of strength into good.

Key points

• Allah did not remove the Companions’ competitive nature; He turned it into racing for His pleasure, as Abu Bakr and ‘Umar did.
• Staying silent out of fear of people while wrong is said in front of you is a failure of self-respect.
• A hadith in Abu Dawud: there is a pride Allah loves, in battle and in giving charity, and a pride He hates, in transgression.
• Abu Dujanah walked with a swagger and a red band before battle; the Prophet ﷺ said Allah hates that walk except in that place.
• Competing in good becomes bad the moment it is about ego or making others feel small.

Think aboutWhere could a little healthy competition push you to give or do more?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Ghirah, protective honour, is loved by Allah when there is real cause for it and hated when there is none (Abu Dawud).

Key points

• Envy is allowed only of a person given knowledge they teach or wealth they spend for Allah: wishing for the good they do, not for their loss.
• Ghirah should stir us when people are wronged: women anywhere disrespected, or Muslims persecuted for their faith, such as the Rohingya and the Uyghurs.
• Love for the Prophet ﷺ is not shown by riots and burning; defend him in a way worthy of him.
• Spouses should be protective of each other. Honour killings have nothing to do with Islam and are among the gravest wrongs.

Think aboutWhen did you last feel stirred by a wrong done to someone else, and what did you do with it?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Allah is gentle and loves gentleness in all things. The default of the Prophet ﷺ was gentleness, and composure is a form of strength.

Key points

• When some people greeted him with a curse disguised as a salam, he answered only “and upon you”, and calmed ‘A’ishah’s angry reply (al-Bukhari).
• Do not read the seerah to confirm what you already are, picking his rare moments of anger or of compromise to justify yourself.
• Allah has attributes of punishment too, but context decides when they appear; gentleness is the default.
• Not raising his voice to win, not cutting people off, staying calm under insult at the height of his power: that was strength.

Think aboutIn which argument do you mistake loudness for strength?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Al-Ma’idah 5:54 describes the people Allah loves: humble towards believers, dignified before those who reject faith, and unafraid of blame.

Key points

• Al-Ghazali distinguished healthy humility from humility that slides into self-humiliation.
• Some are courteous at work and harsh in the masjid; it should be the reverse: bring your best manners to the believers.
• Dignity among non-Muslims does not mean rudeness: it means not hiding or giving up your faith. Share your Eid with your neighbours instead.
• Ibn al-Qayyim noted the verse says “the blame of anyone who blames”: sometimes the pressure to drop a practice comes from other Muslims.

Think aboutIs there a part of your faith you hide or soften in certain company?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

The Prophet ﷺ told al-Ashajj of ‘Abd al-Qays that he had two qualities Allah loves: forbearance (hilm) and deliberation (anah) (Muslim).

Key points

• While the rest of his delegation rushed to greet the Prophet ﷺ, al-Ashajj first saw to the camels and the baggage, changed into clean clothes, then came.
• Hilm is patience with people, harder than patience with events. Ibrahim is called halim, and al-Halim is one of Allah’s names: He does not punish at once.
• Anah is the opposite of haste: doing things in order, properly, with steady momentum rather than slowness.
• Some will call this slow; it is intentional.

Think aboutWhere does haste cost you most: in words, decisions or work?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Allah loves that when you do a job, you do it with itqan: thoroughly and well.

Key points

• Ihsan is the higher motivation; itqan is the higher standard of work that shows it.
• The care in Muslim architecture and calligraphy came from people who paid attention to detail in everything.
• Do not excuse sloppy work because it is voluntary or “for a good cause”: Allah is the One you are working for.
• Bring the same standard to worldly work and to worship.

Think aboutWhich piece of voluntary or community work have you been doing half-heartedly?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

The deeds most beloved to Allah are the consistent ones, even if small (al-Bukhari, Muslim).

Key points

• ‘A’ishah said the family of the Prophet ﷺ kept up a good deed once they began it.
• You will not pray Tarawih-length nights all year, but a small night prayer kept up keeps the habit alive.
• Scholars saw consistency as a sign of sincerity: deeds that rise and fall with circumstances lean on something other than Allah.
• Take on only what you can sustain: Allah does not tire until you do.

Think aboutWhat one small deed from your best Ramadan could you keep up every day?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Asked which deed is most beloved to Allah, the Prophet ﷺ said: prayer on time (al-Bukhari, Muslim).

Key points

• Prayer is the first thing we will be asked about, and voluntary prayers will be used to make up what was missing in the obligatory ones.
• Praying early in its time shows eagerness for Allah, except ‘Isha’, which may be delayed a little. Travel allows prayers to be joined.
• The Prophet ﷺ asked Bilal to give the call so they could find rest in prayer, and called prayer the coolness of his eyes.
• The hypocrites rise to prayer lazily (4:142), and Maryam 19:59 warns of generations who lost the prayer: habitual delay drifts into lateness and then missing it.
• Whoever keeps the five prayers properly has a promise from Allah of Paradise (Abu Dawud).

Think aboutHow long after the adhan do you usually pray? Could you halve it?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Purity is half of faith (Muslim), and Allah loves those who purify themselves (9:108). How we prepare shows how much we long to meet Him.

Key points

• The Prophet ﷺ would have ordered the siwak before every prayer, had it not been a burden on his ummah.
• Al-Ghazali: people dress, wash and perfume themselves for someone they love; how do we prepare to meet the Most Loving?
• Do not come to the masjid smelling of garlic or onion: it troubles the angels and the people beside you.
• He used very little water for wudu but great care: reaching between the fingers and toes. Bring itqan to purification.

Think aboutWhat could you change in how you prepare for prayer: wudu, clothes, scent?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

The places most beloved to Allah are the masjids, and the most disliked are the markets (Muslim).

Key points

• The masjid is meant to be home for every believer, including women, whom the Prophet ﷺ said must not be kept from the houses of Allah.
• Markets make it hard to remember Allah, which is why there is a dhikr for entering one.
• An-Nawawi explained that the masjid is beloved for the dealings it fosters: mercy, truth and harmony in place of the market’s haggling and false oaths.
• The goal is to make our masjids like his Madinah, and carry that spirit back into the market. Buying and selling has no place inside the masjid.

Think aboutIs your masjid a place where people feel at home? What could you do about that?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Love for Allah’s sake is special to this religion: it joined hearts that were once enemies (3:103).

Key points

• Two people who love each other for Allah, meeting and parting for Him, are among the seven shaded on the Day of Judgement.
• An angel met a man travelling to visit a brother he loved for Allah, and told him Allah loved him for it (Muslim).
• Tell the person you love them for Allah’s sake, and know that the one who loves more is the more beloved to Allah.
• When Allah loves a servant He tells Jibril, then the angels, and acceptance is placed for him on earth.

Think aboutWho do you love for Allah’s sake but have never told?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Love for Allah’s sake should start at home, and no one has more right to your kindness than your mother.

Key points

• Asked who most deserves good companionship, the Prophet ﷺ said “your mother” three times, then “your father” (al-Bukhari, Muslim).
• Allah places kindness to parents right after worshipping Him (17:23). This is not a licence for parents to harm or oppress.
• A man who had sinned gravely was asked whether his mother was alive; she was not, so he was told to be good to his maternal aunt, who stands in the mother’s place.
• Ibn ‘Abbas told a man in a similar position that he knew no deed nearer to Allah than devotion to one’s mother (al-Adab al-Mufrad).
• The pleasure of the Lord is in the pleasure of the father: parents are doors to Paradise, especially as they age.

Think aboutWhat could you do for your mother, or for whoever filled that role, this week?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Allah loves the servant who is God-fearing, content and unnoticed (Muslim). Some of His most beloved are the least noticed among us.

Key points

• The Prophet ﷺ asked about a prominent man and then a poor one, and said the poor man was better than an earthful of the other (al-Bukhari).
• This is not about hiding good deeds; it is about not seeking importance in gatherings, staying quiet and modest where talk is idle.
• The Prophet ﷺ, the most famous of people, could not be told apart when he sat with his Companions, and ‘Uthman, among the richest, carried himself quietly.
• When the woman who cleaned the masjid died and was buried at night without him being told, he asked to be taken to her grave and prayed over her.

Think aboutWho in your community does quiet work no one notices? Notice them.

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Allah has mercy on, and loves, the one who is easy-going when buying, selling and asking for repayment.

Key points

• Easy-going in repayment never means interest: it means patience and flexibility.
• Among the first warnings in the Qur’an are those who short-change with the scales (83:1–3).
• Do not be cheated, but do not haggle someone down to their last coin: the extra five may mean little to you and a lot to them.
• Buying small things from those trying to earn an honest living can be a sadaqah.

Think aboutThe next time you bargain, who needs the difference more?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

“If you love Allah, follow me, and Allah will love you” (3:31). Every quality in the book is found most fully in the Prophet ﷺ.

Key points

• He was given the most exalted character (68:4), and there is something in his example for every part of life.
• Reviving a Sunnah carries great reward: trace your good qualities back to him and they become acts of following him.
• We will never reach his worship or his mercy, which is why the verse ends with forgiveness: Allah loves the sincere attempt.
• Small Sunnahs matter, but aim for his larger qualities too.

Think aboutWhich quality from this book will you take on as following him?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Allah loves that His concessions be taken, as He hates that disobedience be committed (Ahmad).

Key points

• A traveller who struggles may break the fast: on one journey the Prophet ﷺ said those who broke their fast and served the others had taken the reward that day (Muslim).
• Shortening the prayer when travelling follows his Sunnah of accepting Allah’s gift.
• Hasten to break the fast at sunset and delay suhur until just before dawn: both are taking His ease.
• This is not hunting for the easiest fatwa; it is gratefully using the ease built into the law. Allah wants ease for you, not hardship (2:185).

Think aboutIs there a concession you refuse out of pride, as if hardship were always more pious?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter

Allah is beautiful and loves beauty (Muslim). Caring how you look is not pride.

Key points

• When the Prophet ﷺ warned against even an atom of pride, a man asked about liking good clothes and shoes; he said that is not pride, Allah loves beauty.
• When Allah blesses you, He loves to see the trace of that blessing on you: enjoy it without waste or showing off.
• Take your adornment to every masjid (7:31), and above all on Eid, within what is permitted.
• Al-Ghazali criticised those who wore rags by choice as if it were love for Allah. Speak of blessings without boasting or inviting envy.

Think aboutHow could you show gratitude for a blessing this week, without showing off?

Write a fa’idah from this chapter