Love permissible.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Assalam
Alaykom Wa Rahmat Allah
The
messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) must’ve mentioned something about love
in Islam; The love to particularly the opposite sex. If someone loves another
of the opposite sex before marriage, would one’s heart (faith) or devotion to
Allah die?
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
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Answer:
Love permissible
comparison Allah prophet(saws)
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness
that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah
Ale-Imraan verses 14-15:
14 Fair (or attractive)
in the eyes of men is the love of things they covet: (ie.) women, and sons, heaped-up hoards of gold and silver, horses (or vehicles)
branded, and (wealth of) cattle and well-tilled land. Such are the possessions of this worldly
life; but in nearness to Allah is the best of the goals.
15 Say: ‘Shall I give you glad tidings of things far better than those?
For the righteous are Gardens in nearness to their Lord, with rivers flowing
beneath; therein is their eternal home; with companions pure (and holy) and
(above all) the Good Pleasure of Allah.
For in Allah's Sight are (all) His servants.
Respected brother in Islam, love-hate, like-dislike,
joy-sorrow, smile-weep, etc. are but natural emotions of mankind! What determines virtue and sin is what one
says or does when one experiences these natural emotions!
To love someone is a natural emotion, and there is
absolutely no sin if one happens to like or love a non-mehram member of the
opposite gender; it is what one does and says after one has fallen in love with
that person which would determine whether it would be counted as a virtue and a
good deed in the Sight of Allah or a sin!
If one falls in love, and informs one’s guardians that
they love so and so, and requests them to sanctify their love in the sacred
bond of marriage so that they may love each other for the rest of their lives
would be counted as a virtue and a good deed in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.
But if one falls in love, and strives to meet or talk to
the person in secret and in private, and in their love transgress the
Prescribed Boundaries of Allah Subhanah before they are united in the sacred
bond of marriage; then indeed it would constitute a huge sin in the Sight of
Allah Subhanah.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah
Maidah verse 5:
5 This day are (all) things good and pure made lawful unto you. The food of the People of the Book is lawful
unto you and yours is lawful unto them. (Lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only)
chaste women who are believers but chaste women among the People of the
Book revealed before your time when ye give them their due dowers and
desire chastity, not lewdness nor secret intrigues. If anyone rejects faith fruitless is his work
and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who are losers.
Your
Question: ….If someone loves another of the opposite sex before marriage, would
one’s heart (faith) or devotion to Allah die?
It is only natural for a human being to ‘love’ things
which his bestowed nature covets: ie. women, and sons, and branded vehicles,
and wealth or property, etc.
There is absolutely no harm or sin if one ‘loves’ these
‘worldly provision’, provided one holds one’s ‘love’ for Allah Subhanah and His
Messenger (saws) superior to and above every other being or thing one happens
to ‘love’…..it is only when one holds the ‘love’ of these ‘worldly provisions’
superior to and above the ‘love’ that one should hold for Allah Subhanah and
His Messenger (saws) that one would fall into severe error.
As long as one ‘loves’ Allah and His Messenger (saws)
above all their other worldly ‘loves’, it would not effect the faith and the
devotion of their hearts unto their Lord Most Gracious…..it is only those who
place their worldly ‘loves’ superior to and above the ‘love’ that they should
have for Allah and His Messenger (saws) whose hearts are devoid of faith and
devotion unto their Creator.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah
Taubah verse 24:
24 Say: ‘If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your
wives, your kindred, the wealth that ye have gained, the commerce in which ye
fear a decline, or the dwellings in which ye delight, are dearer to you than Allah or His Messenger, or the striving in His
Cause; then wait until Allah brings about His Decision! And Allah
guides not the rebellious.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.14 Narrated by Anas
The Prophet (saws) said "None of you
will have faith till he loves (Allah Subahnah and) me more than his father, his children and all mankind combined!"
And how is one to know whether one’s heart loves Allah
Subhanah and His Messenger (saws) more than anyone and anything else in
creation?......whenever the love or desire one has for anyone or anything else
in creation clashes with the Guidance or the Command of Allah Subhanah and His
Messenger (saws), those who love Allah and His Messenger (saws) more, willingly
sacrifice their other ‘love’ only for the Sake of Allah Subhanah! These are those fortunate beings in whose
hearts faith and devotion unto their Lord Creator and His Cause is truly and
firmly established.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan