FOUR KINDS OF LOVE

Imam Ibne Qayyim al Jawziyyah

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim writes in “Al-Jawaab al-Kaafi” (1/134), about kinds of love:

There are four kinds of love, which we must differentiate between, and those who go astray do so because they do not make this distinction.

The first of them is love of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa), but this alone is not sufficient to save a person from the punishment of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) and to earn him His reward. The Mushrikeen (Polytheist), worship-pers of the cross i.e. Christians, Jews and others all love Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa).

The second is love of that which Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) loves. This is what brings a person into Islam and out of Kufr (Infidelity). The most beloved of people to Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) is the one who is most correct and most devoted in this kind of love.

The third kind is love for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa), which is one of the essentials of loving that which Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) loves. A person’s love of that which Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) loves cannot be complete until he also loves for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa).

The fourth is love for something alongside Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa), and this love has to do with Shirk (Polytheism). Everyone who loves things alongside Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) but not for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) has taken that thing as a rival to Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa). This is the love of the Mushrikeen.

There remains a fifth kind of love which has nothing to do with our topic; this is the natural love which is a person’s inclination towards that which suits his nature, such as the love of a thirsty person for water or of a hungry person for food, or the love of sleep, or of one’s wife and children. There is nothing wrong with this unless it distracts a person from remembering Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) and keeps him from loving Him. Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) says (interpretation of the meanings):

“O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah”. (al-Munaafiqoon 63:9)

“Men whom neither trade nor sale (business) diverts from the remembrance of Allah”. (al-Noor 24:37)

Imam ibn al-Qayyim further writes:
The difference between loving for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) and loving something alongside Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) is one of the most important distinctions. Everyone needs to make this distinction and is indeed obliged to do so. Loving for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) is a sign of the perfection of faith, but loving something alongside Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) is the essence of Shirk. The difference between them is that a person’s love for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) is connected to his love of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa); if this love becomes strong in his heart, this love dictates that he will love that which Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) loves. If he loves that which his Lord loves and he loves those who are the friends of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa), this is love for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa). So he loves His Messengers, Prophets, angels and close friends because Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) loves them, and he hates those who hate them because Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) hates those people. The sign of the love and hatred for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) is that his hatred for the one whom Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) hates will not turn into love merely because that person treats him kindly, does him a service or meets some need he has; and his love for those whom Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) loves will not turn to hatred simply because that person does something that upsets or hurts him, whether it is done by mistake or deliberately, in obedience to Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) or because the person feels that he has a duty to do it for some reason, or because the person is a wrongdoer who may yet give up his wrongdoing and repent. The entire religion revolves around four principles: love and hatred, and stemming from them, action and abstinence. The person whose love and hatred, action and abstinence, are all for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa), has perfected his faith so that when he loves, he loves for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa), when he hates, he hates for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa), when he does something, he does it for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa), and when he abstains from something, he abstains for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa). To the extent that he is lacking in these four categories, he is lacking in faith and commitment to religion. This is in contrast to the love of things alongside Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa), which is of two types.

One is diametrically opposed to the principle of Tawheed (Monotheism) and is Shirk (Polytheism); the other is opposed to perfection of sincerity and love towards Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa), but does not put a person beyond the pale of Islam.

The first kind is like the love of the Mushrikeen for their idols and gods. Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allah as rivals (to Allah). They love them as they love Allah”. (al-Baqarah 2:165)

These Mushrikeen love their idols and gods alongside Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) as they love Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa). This love and devotion is accompanied by fear, hope, worship and supplication. This love is pure Shirk which Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) does not forgive. Faith cannot be perfected unless a person regards these idols as enemies and hates them intensely, and hates the people who worship them, and regards them as enemies and strives against them. This is the message with which Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) sent all His Messengers and revealed all His Books. He created Hell for the people of Shirk who love these rivals, and He created Jannah (Paradise) for those who strive against them and take them as enemies for His sake and to earn His Pleasure. Anybody who worships anything from the vicinity of the Throne to the lowest depths of the earth and takes a god and a supporter besides Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) and associates another beings in worship with Him, will be disowned by the object of his worship when he is most in need of it i.e., on the Day of Judgement.

The second kind is love for the things which Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) has made attractive to people, such as women, children, gold, silver, branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. People love them with a kind of desire, like the love of the hungry person for food and the thirsty person for water. This love is of three kinds.

If a person loves them for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) and as a means of obeying Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa), he will be rewarded for that; it will be counted as a part of love for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) and a means of reaching Him, and he will still find enjoyment in them. This is how the best of creation i.e. the Prophet (SallAllaho Alaihe wa Sallam) was, to whom women and perfume were made dear in this world, and his love for them helped him to love Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) more and to convey His Message and fulfil His commands. If a person loves them because they suit his nature and his own desires, but he does not give them preference over that which Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) loves and is pleased with, and he gets them because of his natural inclination, then they come under the heading of things which are permissible, and he will not be punished for that, but his love of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) and for the sake of Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) will be lacking somewhat. If his sole purpose in life is to get these things, and he gives priority to that over that which Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) loves and is pleased with, then he is wronging himself and following his own desires.

The first is the love of al-Saabiqoon (those who are foremost in Islam); the second is the love of al-muqtasidoon (those who are average) and the third is the love of al-zaalimoon (the wrongdoers). (Al-Rooh by Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, 1/254)