Sharh Al-Aqeedat-il-Wasitiyah (Islamic book) -A muslims foundation of beliefs

16. The Attributes of Love and Justice

Allah says: "Lawful to you (for food) are all the beasts of cattle except that which will be announced to you (therein), game (also) being unlawful when you assume Ihram for Hajj or 'Umrah (pilgrimage). Verily, Allah commands that which He wills". (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 5:1)

"And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the sky." (Surah AL An'am, 6:125)

"And do good, Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the gooddoers)." (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:195)

"... and be equitable. Verily! Allah loves those who are equitable."(Surah AI-Hujurat, 49:9);

"So long, as they are true to you, stand true to them, Verily Allah loves Al-Muitaqeen (the Pious and righteous)". (Surah At-Taubah, 9:7)

"Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves." (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:222);

"Say (0 Muhammad (peace be upon him) 'If you (really) love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you."' (Surah Al-Imran, 3:31);

"Allah will bring the people whom He will love and they will love Him." (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 5:54);

"Verily, Allah Loves those who fight in His cause in rows (ranks) as if they were a solid structure." (Surah As-Saff, 61:4);

"And He is Oft-Forgiving, full of love (towards the pious who are real true believers of Islamic Monotheism)." (Surah Al-Buruj, 85:14).

Allah says: "And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the sky."    This verse shows that providing guidance and leaving strayed are the volitions of Allah and whomsoever He wishes to give guidance, that is, wants to bestow him with revelations and assistance, He opens up his heart for revelation and fills it up with radiance which keeps it open, as has been stated in the Hadith. And those whom Allah wants to leave strayed and humiliated, He turns their breast extremely narrow and the light of Faith cannot penetrate into it. Such a man has been likened to one who is ascending into the heaven. These verses contain the affirmation of those acts of Allah which take place from His Attribute of love. The love of Allah for some people, some acts and some manners is an Attribute established with His Self. These are active voluntary Attributes which are related to His Will.

Out of His powerful Will, He likes certain things as against certain other things. The Ash'ari and the Mu 'tazilah deny the attribute of love. Their contention is that it creates an illusion of shortcoming, for among the creatures, love indicates an inclination towards the person who is the object of love or derives pleasure from that person. The Ash 'ari turn the attribute of love into the attribute of  intention and say that the love of Allah with His slaves is nothing more than the fact that He intends to give them respect and reward.

They hold similar views about the Attributes of agreement, wrath and aversion, etc. According to them all these are in the sense of reward and retribution.

The Mu'tazilah do not accept that the Attributes of intentions are established with the Self of Allah. They do the explanations of love in the sense of the spirit of virtue which is due on Allah in favour of such worshippers. Its basis for them lies in the belief that to reward the obedient and to punish the sinful is due on Allah.

Ahlul-Haqq prove that the love, worthy of Allah is a real attribute of Him. According to them there is no place in it for defect and similitude. Ahlul-Haqq prove that Allah has intention of rewarding the beloved worshipper and giving him respect by way of an implication of being His beloved worshippers. What answer will the deniers of love give to that Hadith which has been narrated by Abu Hurairah in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"Indeed when the Mighty and Magnificent Allah loves a slave, He tells Gabriel: 'I love that particular person, You should also love him.' Then Gabriel says to the inhabitants of the heaven, 'Your Lord loves that particular person and so all of you love him.' Then the inhabitants of the heaven also love him, and he is given recognition on the earth. And when Allah keeps animus with someone then the same thing happens in this case also."

This Hadith has been reported both in Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Allah says "And do good, Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the gooddoers)." He has commanded here for goodness in general, particularly in connection with providing the sanctioned livelihood. Goodness in Nafaqah (livelihood) takes place in spending wealth and by preventing hoarding, or following the middle path between spending and hoarding. This is an important command stated by Allah in Surah Al-Furqan (the Criterion) (25:67)

Muslim has reported in his Sahih a narrative from Shaddad bin Aus (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"Allah has made it compulsory to do good for everything. When you have to behead a person do it in a good manner, and when you slaughter an animal do it well. You must keep your knife sharpened and the animal to be slaughtered must have been kept comfortably."

Allah says, "Indeed Allah loves the good-doers". This command for doing good is causative, for, when people will come to know that goodness is the cause of the love of Allah they will try to obey Him.

In another verse Allah says, "... and be equitable. Verily! Allah loves those who are equitable." which means doing justice at the time of settling disputes between two hostile groups of the believers. The word is derived from Qist which means apportioning equally. One of the Names of Allah is Al-Muqsit also. In the noble verse, justice has been raised above nobility and this is a means of inviting the love of Allah.

Allah says,"So long, as they are true to you, stand true to them, Verily Allah loves Al-Muitaqeen (the Pious and righteous)" which means that when there is a covenant between you and some other persons such as those with whom you made a treaty near the Inviolable House of worship then you remain firm on your promise till the time they remain firm in relation to you. Allah has again stated the nature of this command in the verse: "Verily, Allah loves

Al-Muttaqeen (pious and righteous persons)" i.e. are afraid of Him in everything, and one of these is not to violate promises.

Allah says,"Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves." In this verse Allah gives the tidings of His love for those slaves who are of the following two kinds:

1. Repentant: Those people who repent a great deal and turn to Allah with abundance of penitence, and because of which they become purged and purified of open and secret sins.

2. Purified: Those people who overstress their efforts in achieving purity, that is, by performing Wudu to obtain cleanliness or by bathing to remove pollutions. It has also been said that the better among the purified are those who avoid having coitus with their wives during their menstruation period or avoid having anal sex with them. It is better to lay down this word as a general rule.

Allah says, "Say (0 Muhammad (peace be upon him) 'If you (really) love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you."' The context of this verse is "narrated as follows: Some people claimed that they loved Allah. Allah sent this verse for their trial. In this verse Allah laid down the obedience of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as a pre-condition, for this love could be attained of his obedience only by accepting his guidance and the grace of his obedience.

Allah says, "And He is Oft-Forgiving, full of love." This verse mentions two Names of Allah which are included among the best names. i.e. AI-Ghafoor and Al- Wadood.

Al-Ghafoor is derived from the root Ghafr which means the One Who connives at His wrongdoing worshipper and is lenient in seizing them. The real meaning of Ghafr is to cover. As is Mighfar for covering the head.

Al-Wadood is derived from the root Wudd which means pure love and refinement. This word either means One Who has enormous love for those who are obedient to Him and He remains close to them through His help and cooperation, or, it means that His obligation is so great that His creature is bound to love Him, worship Him and recite hymns in His praise.