Allah’s Love — The Divine Initiative
The Quran makes a remarkable series of declarations about what Allah loves:
- “Allah loves the patient.” (3:146)
- “Allah loves those who put their trust [in Him].” (3:159)
- “Allah loves those who are equitable.” (5:42)
- “Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and who purify themselves.” (2:222)
- “Allah loves those who fight in His cause in a row as though they are a [single] structure joined firmly.” (61:4)
- “Allah loves the doers of good.” (3:148, 2:195)
And what Allah does not love:
- The arrogant (mutakabbirin), the corrupters (mufsidun), the unjust (zalimin), the treacherous (kha’inin)
This catalogue of divine love and non-love establishes a map of the spiritual life: to grow in the qualities Allah loves is to become more beloved. The spiritual path is, in one framing, the path of becoming increasingly lovable to Allah.
Rabi’a al-Adawiyya — Pure Love Without Motive
Rabi’a al-Adawiyya (d. 801 CE) — the great female Sufi saint of Basra — is credited with crystallizing what is called mahabbah khalis (pure love, love for Allah’s own sake):
Her famous prayer: “O Allah, if I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell. If I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise. But if I worship You for Your own sake, do not withhold from me Your everlasting beauty.”
This prayer revolutionized Islamic spirituality: it insisted that genuine love of Allah transcends both fear and hope. Fear (khawf) and hope (raja’) are valid spiritual orientations, but mahabbah surpasses them — the lover doesn’t ask “what do I get?” or “what do I avoid?” They simply love.
The Verse of Mutual Love — 3:31
“Say: If you love Allah, follow me — Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (3:31)
This is called Ayat al-Mahabbah (the verse of love). Its structure is crucial:
- Human mahabbah → expressed through ittiba’ (following the Prophet)
- Divine mahabbah → result: yuhbibkum Allah (Allah will love you)
- Effect: forgiveness of sins
Love is authenticated by its fruit in action — not sentiment but alignment with prophetic example. The one who claims to love Allah but ignores the Sunnah has love that is unverified; the one who follows the Prophet demonstrates their love, and that demonstration becomes the ground of divine love returning.
Mahabbah and the Other Maqamat
In the Sufi tradition, mahabbah is often placed at the summit of the maqamat — above even ma’rifa (gnosis). The reasoning: one can know without loving; but one cannot truly love without the knowledge that love requires. Mahabbah is thus knowledge’s completion — the transformation of knowing into relation.
“Those who believe are more intense in love for Allah.” (2:165)
The believer’s mahabbah is described as more intense (ashaddu hubb) than any other love — a claim that makes love for Allah constitutive of iman itself, not merely an optional spiritual achievement.
Ismaili Walaya as Mahabbah Institutionalized
In Ismaili thought, the walaya (loyalty, love-guardianship) of the believer toward the Imam is the concrete institutional expression of mahabbah: love of Allah expressed through love of the Imam and through the Imam reaching back to the divine source. The Imam’s walaya is the divine mahabbah made accessible in creation — the channel through which divine love flows toward the believer and through which the believer’s love ascends to the divine.
See also: Understanding Walayah, Sulook, Fana, Baqa, Marifa, Hal Maqam, Asma Al Husna, Prophet Muhammad