| Al Imran: (31) Say, If you love Allah...

Know that when the Almighty called the people to faith in Him and in His Messengers as a means of warning and admonition, He called them to it through another path. This is because the Jews used to say, {We are the sons of Allah and His beloved ones} (Al-Ma'idah: 18), so this verse was revealed.

It is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood before the Quraysh while they were prostrating to idols in the Sacred Mosque and said: "O people of Quraysh, by Allah, you have certainly opposed the religion of Abraham!" The Quraysh replied: "We only worship these [idols] out of love for Allah, to bring us nearer to Allah in rank." So this verse was revealed.

It is also narrated that the Christians said: "We only glorify the Messiah out of love for Allah," and this verse was revealed.

In summary, every group of rational people claims to love Allah and seeks His pleasure and obedience. Therefore, He commanded His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to say: "If you are truthful in your claim of loving Allah the Almighty, then be submissive to His commands and cautious about disobeying Him."

The implied meaning of the statement is: Whoever truly loves Allah must be extremely cautious about anything that incurs His displeasure. If the decisive proof of the prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is established, then following him becomes obligatory. If this following does not occur, it indicates that the claimed love was never truly present.

Issues in the Verse:

The comprehensive discussion regarding love has already preceded this in the exegesis of the Almighty's saying: {But those who have believed are stronger in love for Allah} (Al-Baqarah: 165).

The theologians insist that the love of Allah the Almighty is defined as:

1. The love of glorifying and honoring Him.
2. Or, the love of obeying Him.
3. Or, the love of His reward.

They argue this because love is a type of desire (irādah), and desire is only connected to contingent events or benefits.

Know that this view is weak. This is because it is impossible to say that everything is loved only for the sake of another meaning; otherwise, it would lead to an infinite regress (tasalsul) or a circular argument (dawr). Therefore, it must terminate in something that is loved for its own sake (li-dhātihi). Just as we know that pleasure is loved for its own sake, similarly, we know that perfection is loved for its own sake. Furthermore, when we hear the stories of Rustam and Isfandiyar regarding their bravery, our hearts incline toward them, even though we are certain that this inclination brings us no benefit—indeed, we might even believe that this love is a sin we are not permitted to maintain. Thus, we know that perfection is loved for its own sake, just as pleasure is loved for its own sake. The perfection of perfection belongs to Allah, the Glorified and Exalted. Therefore, this necessitates that He is loved for His own sake, both by Himself and by those close to Him who have witnessed an effect of His perfection and majesty.

The theologians state: As for Allah's love for the servant, it means His will to convey goodness and benefits in this world and the Hereafter to that servant.

The people claimed they loved Allah and showed eagerness for Allah to love them. This verse encompasses an obligation derived from two aspects:

1. If you love Allah, then follow me: Because the miracles have proven that Allah has obligated you to follow me.
2. If you love that Allah should love you, then follow me: Because if you follow me, you have obeyed Allah, and Allah loves everyone who obeys Him. Moreover, following me involves nothing other than my calling you to obey and glorify Allah and abandon the glorification of others. Whoever loves Allah is eager for Him, because love necessitates complete turning toward the beloved and complete turning away from the unloved.

The author of Al-Kashshāf delved into this section by attacking the saints of Allah, writing here things that are inappropriate for a rational person to write in books of obscenity. Even if he dared to attack the saints of Allah, how did he dare to write such foul language in the exegesis of the words of Allah? We ask Allah for protection and guidance.

Then the Almighty said: {And He will forgive you your sins}. What is meant by Allah's love for him is the granting of reward, and what is meant by the forgiveness of his sin is the removal of punishment. This is the ultimate goal sought by every rational person. Then He said: {And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful}, meaning: Forgiving in this world by concealing various sins from the servant, and Merciful in the Hereafter through His grace and generosity.

! 7 < { Say, Obey Allah and the Messenger. But if they turn away, then indeed, Allah does not love the disbelievers. } .

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