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Question
# 3: The Concept of Love for God and God's
Love:
Question:
What verses of the Quran deal especially with the love of
man and God, and the love of God for man?
The
Answer:
The essence of the Quranic
teaching is that just as God is One and without partners, so
also must our love for Him be unique and exclusive. The
Muslim confession of faith, "There is no God but Allah,"
which is constantly on the lips of the Muslims is an
indication of this fact. The word ilah in it is
derived from walah which means a beloved that is
worshipped. This statement of faith is taught neither by the
Torah nor by the Gospels, but only by the Quran. Its close
association with Islam has made it the distinctive piece of
this religion. Five times a day, this statement of faith is
called out loudly from the minarets of the mosques -- a
practice that is often resented by the Christians and
Hindus, making it appear that it is a sin with them to
remember God with love. It is only in Islam that the break
of dawn each day is greeted by the caller to the prayer
calling out, la ilaha ill-allah -- I bear witness
that there is no God -- dear and beloved -- except Allah.
The same cry issues forth from the Islamic mosques and
floats skyward at the time of the afternoon, late afternoon,
sunset and night prayers. Does any other religion show a
comparable demonstration of the love of God?
The Sense
of the Word Islam also Indicates Love:
The meaning of the word
islam indicates that its source is love. The real
meaning of the word islam is to submit to Allah and
be genuinely ready to sacrifice everything for Him. This is
a practical state that is born out of love. This goes to
show that the Quran has not confined love to mere lip
service but has also taught the practical aspects of love
and sacrifice. Is there any other religion in the world
whose founder has named it islam (submission)?
Islam is a lovely word that is loaded with the sense
of sincerity, affection, and love. Blessed is the religion
that is named Islam.
Quranic
Teachings about Man's Love of God and His Creation:
Allah states about the love of
man for God, "And those who believe are stronger in (their)
love for Allah" (2:165). In another place God says, "laud
Allah as you lauded your fathers, rather a more hearty
lauding" (2:200). In yet another place, God says, "Say: My
prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are surely
for Allah, the Lord of the worlds" (6:162). The Prophet here
is commanded to say to those who seek to follow him that
they too must make the same sacrifices as the Prophet had
made. Again, God says:
"If your fathers and your
sons and your brethren and your wives and your kinsfolk
and the wealth you have acquired, and trade whose
dullness you fear, and dwellings you love, are dearer to
you than Allah and His Messenger and striving in His way,
then wait till Allah brings His command to pass."
(9:24)
In another place God says:
"And they give food, out of
love for Him, to the poor and the orphan and the captive:
'We feed you, for Allah's pleasure only -- We desire from
you neither reward nor thanks'." (76:8,9)
There is, however, a second part to
this question that inquires whether, according to the Quran,
God loves man? The fact is that the Quran is replete with
verses that state, Allah loves those who oft return to Him
[God's love of
man is not like the love of human beings, where separation
from the beloved causes pain and sorrow. The real meaning of
God's love is that He deals with those who do good in the
manner of a lover towards the
beloved.], Allah loves
those who do good, and Allah loves those who are patient.
But the Quran does not state anywhere that God also loves
those who love disbelief, evil and cruelty. Instead, the
Quran puts forward the concept of having conferred a favour
on them. For instance, the Quran says: "And We have not sent
thee but as a mercy to the whole world" (21:107), where the
word 'alamin (whole world) includes disbelievers,
transgressors and sinners. Mercy for them is the holding
open of the doors to salvation if they follow the
prescriptions of the Quran.
Trade of
Son for Sinners not Found in Quran:
I admit that the Quran does
not speak of the kind of God's love for man where He puts
the curse of all the sinners on His own dear son and then
kills him on the Cross in redemption for these sins. A curse
on the Son of God is, God forbid, a curse on God Himself
because the Father and the Son are not separate identities.
It is obvious that an accursed God is a contradiction in
terms. Reflect, also, on the manner in which God showed His
love for the sinners. He killed the good for the love of the
bad. No righteous being can pursue such a
conduct.
Quran
Reserves the Use of the Word 'Love' Only with God:
The third facet of this
question, is directed at finding out the Quran's teaching
about the love of man for man. The words in which the Quran
has chosen to describe this relationship are mercy and
kindness because the pinnacle of love is worship and so the
word 'love' is appropriate for God alone. Hence, for human
beings the words mercy and goodness are used instead of love
because just as the perfection of love requires worship, the
perfection of mercy requires kindness
[Even if the word
'love' has been used, in some places, to describe the
relationship between men, the use of the word is to be
interpreted in an allegorical sense. According to the
Islamic teachings, real love is particular to God alone and
all other loves are metaphorical and not
real.]. This distinction
has not been appreciated by other nations, and so they have
given over the right of God to others. I do not believe that
Jesus could have uttered a word with such polytheistic
connotations. It is my opinion that these odious words were
introduced into the Gospels later and ascribed to
Jesus.
In short, the holy word of God has
used the word mercy for describing the relationships between
mankind. For instance, God says that believers are those who
"exhort one another to truth" (103:3) and "exhort one
another to mercy" (90:17). In another place, He says:
"Surely Allah enjoins justice and the doing of good (to
others) and the giving to the kindred." Thus it is the
command of Allah that men be just to others; of still
greater virtue is that they do good to others; and an even
greater virtue is that they show kindness to men like they
would to someone near and dear to them.
Can there be a better moral teaching
in the whole world? The command to do good has not been
confined to merely conferring favours on others, but has
been taken to the next higher stage where the doing of good
becomes an instinctive urge, described in the verse by the
term 'giving to the kindred'. Although a person who does a
good deed as a favour performs a virtuous act, there is some
motivation of recompense and reward. Such a person may get
annoyed if the favour is denied or not acknowledged, and
sometimes, in the heat of emotions, he may remind others of
favours conferred. However, doing goodness out of an
instinctive urge, which the Quran has compared to goodness
done to the kindred, is the highest stage of performing
virtuous acts, and there is no stage of virtue after it.
Examples of this stage are the acts of goodness performed by
a mother in caring for her child for which she seeks no
recompense and gratitude.
Torah and
Gospel Devoid of these Stages of Man's Duty to Man:
These are the three stages of
man's duty to man (i.e., to do justice, to do good, and
instinctive goodness) that the Quran has commanded. When we
compare this with the Torah and the Gospel, we have to say,
in all honesty, that they are devoid of this morally high
level of teaching about the rights of man. How can we expect
them to preach goodness, which is at the third level, when
they do not even fully explain the first two
stages?
Since the Torah was revealed only for
the Israelites, and Jesus was sent only for the sheep of
Israel, it is understandable that the Torah and the Gospel
did not deal with justice and goodness toward outsiders.
Instead, their commands were limited in scope to the
Israelites. If these teachings were not constrained only to
the Israelites, then why was it that when a gentile woman
pleaded with Jesus and made her humble and sincere
submissions, Jesus did not act mercifully toward her, but
said that he was sent only for the Israelites
[Matthew,
15:24.]. When Jesus did
not set an example of mercy and good treatment toward the
gentiles, how can it be expected that his teachings would
command acts of goodness toward non-Israelite nations. Jesus
said very clearly that his ministry was not for other
nations, and it would be futile to expect his teachings to
contain instructions of merciful dealings toward other
nations. Accordingly, the thrust of Jesus' teaching is
toward the Israelites, as he did not consider himself
authorised to give advise to any other. How could he then
give a universal message of mercy? If the Gospels contain
anything contrary to the teaching of Jesus that his
preaching and sympathy were restricted to the Israelites,
then such a statement has to be a later addition because of
the obvious contradiction with the former
statement.
Unlike the
Torah, Teachings of the Quran are Universal:
Similarly, the Torah was
directed toward the Israelites and its teachings also are
directed only to the Jews. However, it was only the Quran
that brought the universal message of justice, goodness and
sympathy. God states: "Say: O mankind, surely I am the
Messenger of Allah to you all" (7:158), and: "And we have
not sent thee but as a mercy to the whole world"
(21:107).
Top
Books
Section
> by
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib of
Qadian
> Four
Question Answered (Siraaj-ud-Deen Eesaee Kay Chaar Swaalon
Kay Jawaab)
> Question # 3: The Concept of Love for God and
God's Love
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