Love.....

“Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.”
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind.”
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

If you google the web, you will find hundreds of quotes about love. There are qizillion love songs that has been written. Some  songs, have stand the test of time such as “Love Me Tender’ by Elvis Presley, but there were also some awfully corny ones like “My Achy Breaky Heart” sung Billy Ray Cyrus.

All these are dedications and writings about human love. The beauty of human love is, that we can physically feel it in our heart. Our heart skips a beat when think of him or her.  Our heartbeat quickens at the very sight of him or her. Sometimes, we feel that our heart would burst from overdose of love, but.....have we ever stop and ask ourselves, do we love our Creator? It could be that we fear Him but is it possible to love Him and to be loved by Him, in return?

If we love someone, we would give that person the best of everything. We would shower them with gifts and presents. We would declare our undying love and affection, on a regular basis, sometimes, every second of the day.

The Wise Owl had once, told me to love God Al Mighty. At that time, I thought that he has finally gone mental. I mean, how is that possible? How can I love Him? I can’t dedicate love songs to Him. I can’t pick up the phone and utter 'I love You'. I can’t sms or even ‘whatsapps’ Him. Also, how do I know that my love is not one-sided? How can I know that my love is being reciprocated?

Those are the questions that I asked the Wise Owl and this is what he told me:

God has loved me even before I was born. He has decided to give me the best of this world even before my soul was blown into my tiny body. He started with, choosing Islam as my religion. If I was born into a different religion, I’m not sure if I can actually find my way to Islam. Then, He gave me very loving and affectionate parents. They didn’t abandon me the moment I was born but stuck with me through thick and thin. He gave me siblings, for me to fight with as well as to love. He gave me perfectly working limb and senses. He gave a roof over my head.

Next, he gave me education and knowledge. He gave me a good job, wealth and good health. He also gave a wonderful husband, 4 boisterously healthy kids and friends for life.

Along the way, God had also allowed me to experience a broken heart so that I learn how to heal and forgive;  grief, so that I know how to pick up the pieces and move on; misfortune so that I learn to be patient and more accepting.

More often than not, He lets me feel happiness, love and affection. MasyaAllah, God has even appointed my own personal bodyguards!

 
 

“For each one are successive [angels] before and behind him who protect him by the decree of Allah . Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. And when Allah intends for a people ill, there is no repelling it. And there is not for them besides Him any patron.

Surah Ar-Ra’d 13:11

“"And whatever good you have - it is from Allah; and then, when misfortune comes to you, you cry to Him for help."

(Qur'an, An-Nahl 16:53)

SubhanAllah! Allah does love me.... He has bestowed upon me an abundance of blessings and mercy. The Wise Owl is right, I must reciprocate His love for me but the question is, how?

“Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah , then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."

Surah Al-Imran 3:31

I must be grateful to Him. I must thank Him for the very air that I breathe. I must also love and follow the teachings of my beloved Prophet pbuh.

“"God Almighty said: If My servant loves to meet Me, I love to meet him, and if he hates to meet Me, I hate to meet him." (narrated by Bukhari) 

 ‘Meet’ here means to establish prayers. We have 5 compulsory appointments with our Creator every day. The Wise Owl calls it 'dating time'. When He calls, we must heed to His Call and meet Him immediately. When our boss at work calls us, do we tell him or her to wait? No! we don’t! We wouldn’t dare! We would not risk being terminated for doing so. But when God, who bigger and more powerful than our boss, calls, we have the audacity to tell Him to wait until we are free to meet Him. Sometimes, we make him wait 1 or 2 hours. We don’t even have the heart to make our sweetheart wait 1 hour so how, is it, that we can make God wait longer?

“"God Almighty said "I am as My servant expects Me to be. I am with him if he remembers Me. If he remembers Me to himself, I would remember him to Myself. And if he remembers Me in a gathering, I would remember him in a gathering, which is even better. And if My servant draws near to Me by a hand's span, I would draw near to him by an arm's length and if he draws near to Me by an arm's length, I would draw near to him by a fathom's length. And if My servant comes to me walking, I would go to him speeding." (narrated by Bukhari)

To me, if I make God wait for me during my lifetime, then God will make me wait in the Hereafter. If I forget about Him then maybe He will forget about me. Oh no..no…no...I would like for Him to put me on the express lane. I want to be given priority but first, I must give Him, priority.  

Just think, we get irritated when we feel unappreciated by the people who we care for. We feel angry when we are neglected and we feel hurt when we are deserted. Have we ever thought that God might feel the same?

The Wise Owl is right (as usual!). I must love my Creator more. I must thank Him more often and most important of all, I must be punctual for all my ‘appointments’ with Him. If I love Him, I wouldn’t make Him wait. If I love Him, I wouldn’t make Him angry. If I love Him, I would make Him be pleased with me……

“Abu Huraira reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: When Allah loves a servant, He calls Gabriel and says: Verily, I so and so; you should also love him, and then Gabriel begins to love him. Then he makes an announcement in the heaven saying: Allah loves so and so and you also love him, and then the inhabitants of the Heaven (the Angels) also begin to love him and then there is conferred honour upon him in the earth; and when Allah is angry with any servant He calls Gabriel and says: I am angry with such and such and you also become angry with him, and then Gabriel also becomes angry and then makes an announcement amongst the inhabitants of heaven: Verily Allah is angry with so-and so, so you also become angry with him, and thus they also become angry with him. Then he becomes the object of wrath on the earth also.”

Sahih Muslim.