Chapter 5 - On Love and Eagerness

“Show their affection to such as came to them for refuge.” [The Holy Quran: Hashr 59:9]; Therefore religion is the same as love, and love is the same as religion.”

Imam Baqir (a.s) said: “When you wish to know whether there is any good in you, look at your heart. There is some good in you if you love those who obey God. God will then love you. But there is no good in you if you are the enemy of those who obey God, and love those who sin. Then God will be your enemy. Every man is with whom he loves.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “A believer can taste the sweetness of God's love if he abstains from the world. He will thus succeed. Then he will attain God's love. He will be considered to be insane by those who love the world, but in fact the sweetness of God's love has made him attend to nothing but God.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said that God's Prophet (a.s) asked his companions: “Which of the handles of faith is stronger?” They said: “God and his Prophet know best.” Some of them said: “Prayer”. Some said: “Alms”. Some said: “Pilgrimage” and others said “Holy Jihad.” God's Prophet (a.s) said: “Each of the things you mentioned has some nobility, but neither one is the right answer to my question. The strongest handle for faith is love for the sake of God, and animosity for God's sake. You must love God's friends and avoid God's enemies.”

“Those who love for the sake of God will be located on the right hand side of God- both His hands are right- and on a fresh chrysolite green land under the shade of His Throne on the Resurrection Day. Their faces will be whiter than snow, and shinier than the Sun. All the nearby-stationed angels and all the appointed Prophets will be envious of their position. The people will ask who they are. They will be told: “Those are the ones who loved for God's sake.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “Whenever two believers face each other, the one who is kinder to the other is the nobler one.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “One of the strongest handles of faith is love for the sake of God, and animosity for God's sake, and giving charity or not giving charity for the sake of God.”

“O' God! I am about to choke from my anguish for You. I swear by your Majesty that I love You wholeheartedly, as You know.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “The love of the good people for other good people is rewarding. The love of the bad people for the good people is considered to be a form of nobility for the good people. The animosity of the good people with the bad people is a source infamy for the bad people.”

Imam Baqir (a.s) said: “God will reward any man who loves another man for the sake of God, even if God knows that the second man is going to be one of the residents of Hell. God will also reward any man who hates another man for the sake of God, even if God knows that the man being hated is going to be one of the residents of Heaven.”

A man told Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (a.s): “When a man comes to me and swears to God that he loves me, can I swear to God that he is honest?” Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (a.s) replied: “Check to see if you love him wholeheartedly. Then swear if you love him.”

A man asked Imam Sadiq (a.s) regarding another man who claimed he loved him. He asked how he could be sure that the man loved him. Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “See if you really love him, too. If so, he really loves you.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “Whoever makes friends inappropriately is exposed to losing that friendship.”

Imam Baqir (a.s) said: “We love to benefit from our wives, families and God-given things like maids and slaves. And we should pray for what God's decree has not yet descended. Once the divine decree descends, we can no longer love what God does not love.”

“People worship God in three ways. Some worship Him in the hope of receiving His rewards. This is the form of worshipping of the greedy ones. Some worship Him because they are afraid of the Fire. This is the form of worshipping of the servants who are afraid. But I worship Him because I love Him, and this is the form of worshipping of the noble ones. This form of worshipping is based on peace of mind, since God the Almighty said: “And they will be secure from terror that Day.” [The Holy Quran: Naml 27:89] He also said: “If you love God, follow me: God will love you and forgive you your sins.” [The Holy Quran: Ali-i-Imran 3:31], God loves whoever loves Him, and whomever God loves has peace of mind.”

God's Prophet (a.s) said: “On the Resurrection Day, whoever loves Me is with Me, and whoever loves a stone, God will resurrect him with that stone.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “One of the strongest handles of faith is to love for the sake of God, to hate for the sake of God, to give charity or not give charity for the sake of God.”

God's Prophet (a.s) said: “I swear by the One who controls my life that you will not enter Heaven unless you have faith. You will not have faith unless you love each other. Do you want me to tell you what to do to love each other? Just greet each other.”

God's Prophet (a.s) once told one of his companions: “O' Servant of God! Love for the sake of God, and hate for the sake of God. Make friends for God's sake. Fight for God's sake. Indeed no one can attain God's friendship otherwise, and no one can experience the taste of faith otherwise, even if he prays and fasts a lot. Certainly most friendships today are for worldly affairs. They express friendship, or hatred to each other on that basis. But this will not make them needless of their Lord.” Then the man said: “O' Prophet of God! Is it possible for me to realize for sure that I have loved or hated for the sake of God? But who is the Almighty God's friend so that I love him and obey him? Who is God's enemy so that I can hate him and be his enemy?” Then the Prophet of God pointed to the Ali and said: “Do you see and know this man?” He said: “Yes.” He said: “He is God's friend, so love him. His enemies are the enemies of God. Therefore be their enemy, and always be friends with his friends even if they kill your brother and son. Be the enemy of his enemies even if they are your father or son.”

God's Prophet (a.s) said: “When God the Almighty sees that the people of a village have excessively committed sins, but there are three believers in the village, He will call the people who commit sins and tell them that He would have sent down His true punishment without any hesitation if there were no believers who loved God's Grandeur, who prayed, and constructed mosques and asked for God's forgiveness at dawn due to their fear of God.”

” O' my Lord! I prayed, fasted, gave charity for You and remembered you often.” God the Almighty said: “But praying was a light to guide you in your path, fasting was an armor against the Fire, charity was a shade, alms was light, and your remembrance of Me was Heavenly palaces for you. What have you done for Me?” Moses asked: “Please advise me on what I can do for just for You.” God the Almighty replied: “O' Moses! Have you ever made friends with anyone just for Me?” Moses then realized that the best thing to do is to make friends in the way of God, and to be enemy of some people in the way of God.