Question: Some people claim to love Allah, but at the same time, they become intimate with atheists without feeling any discomfort at it. Is it possible to love Allah in such a manner?
ANSWER
It is stated clearly in the Qur’ân and ahâdîth that Allahu ta’âlâ is hostile against disbelievers. Then is it possible for a person who sympathizes with His enemies to love Him? If disbelievers were not the enemies of Allahu ta’âlâ, bughd-i fillah (enmity for the sake of Allah) would not have been wâjib. It would not have been the most superior way to make one attain the consent of Allahu ta’âlâ and the cause of perfection of îmân.

A hadîth-i sharîf declares:
(If your acts of worship were equal to those of Jabrâ’îl ‘alaihis-salâm, neither your acts of worship nor your good deeds would be accepted unless you love the Believers for the sake of Allah and unless you consider the disbelievers to be evils for the sake of Allah.) [Ey Oğul İlmihali]

Allahu ta’âlâ asked Hadrat Mûsâ:
“O Mûsâ! What have you done for Me?”

“O my Rabb! I have performed namâz, observed fast, given zakât, and made remembrance (dhikr).”

“O Mûsâ! The namâz you have performed is incumbent on you and a means for your attaining Paradise; the fast you have observed protects you from Hell; the zakât you have given gives you shade on the Day of Judgement; and the remembrance you have made gives you light in the darkness of that Day. That is, all of them bring benefit to you alone. What have you done for Me?”

“O my Rabb! What should I have done for You?” he asked

“Have you had love for My friends, and have you stayed away from My enemies only for My sake?”

Thereupon, Hadrat Mûsâ understood that the love for Allah and the best of all good deeds and worships performed for Allah were to love for the sake of Allah and to feel hostility for the sake of Allah. (Maktûbât-i Ma’thûmiyya)

Besides, He declared to Hadrat ‘Îsâ:
(Even if you do acts of worship that equal those done by all creatures on the earth and in heavens, it will be of no value unless you love My friends and unless you feel hostility towards My enemies.) [Kimyâ-i Sa’âdat]

It is necessary that lovers should love those whom the Beloved loves and dislike those whom the Beloved dislikes. This love and this dislike are not within the power of them; love necessitates it. Here, will and working that are necessary in other deeds are not necessary. It happens by itself. The friend’s friends seem beautiful, and His enemies seem very ugly. Unless a person who says that he loves keeps away from the enemies of his beloved, his claim is not believed. He is called a hypocrite.

Allahu ta’âlâ purports in the fourth âyah (verse) of Mumtahina Sûra, “Take lessons from the statements made by Ibrâhîm and those Believers who were with him. They said to the disbelievers: ‘We are far from you your idols. We dislike your religion. There is enmity between you and us until you believe in Allahu ta’âlâ.’” And the âyat-i karîma following it purports, “These statements of theirs contain lessons for you and for those who wish the good pleasure of Allah and the blessings in the Hereafter.” Hence, this tabarrî (keeping away) is necessary for those who wish to win the good pleasure of Allahu ta’âlâ. Allahu ta’âlâ purports, “To love disbelievers means not to love Allahu ta’âlâ. Both of two opposites cannot be loved.” If one claims to love someone and at the same time does not keep away from the beloved’s enemies, this claim of one’s will not be believed. The 28th âyah of Âl-i ‘Imrân Sûra purports, “Allahu ta’âlâ threatens those who love disbelievers with his torment.” This grave threat shows how critical the offense is. (Maktûbât-i Ma’thûmiyya, Third Volume:55th Letter)

Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî declared:
For adapting oneself to Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm completely and flawlessly, one needs to love him completely and without a defect. The symptom of complete and perfect love is to bear hostility against his enemies and to dislike those who dislike him. Love cannot include sloth. Lovers, being crazy about their darlings, cannot do anything against them. They cannot come to a mutual agreement with those who act against them. The love for two opposites cannot settle in the same heart together. That is, to love one of two opposites entails enmity towards the other. (First Volume, 165th Letter)

Let him do what love necessitates
While a scholar was passing by a bazaar, he saw a child slap an elderly man across the face. But the old man said nothing. The scholar was astonished by what he saw and asked the reason for it.
“I deserved more than this,” said the old man.

“Why?” the scholar inquired.

“Learn it from the child,” responded the old man.

Thereupon, the scholar asked the child:

“Why did you give the old man a slap on the face, sonny?”

“Sir, this elderly man claims to love us, but he has not visited us for two days. Let him either not claim to love us or do what his loves necessitates,” answered the child.

Then the scholar uttered the following by crying, “If a person who claims to love a creature gets a slap when he does not do what his love calls for, what will be the situation of those who claim to love the Creator but do not do what their love calls for as the necessary conditions?” Of course, they fall into the suffering of keeping away from their Rabb.”