There was a person who was so happy with what Allah, the Exalted, had given him, and that Allah loved him. Someone came and said: “You haven’t spoken the truth. This love, it isn’t the meaning which you’re thinking of. This love is such and such.”
And Allah, the Exalted, was too generous to let this person ever be entangled in his failure. During that time I felt I had this robe of honour. I was lost in it. And I left anyone who tried explaining it until it held me back in many ways. Yes, I made the generosity of Allah as an indication for me, however, the generosity (of Allah), is it always love? Is receiving sustenance from Allah always love? Receiving from Allah, is it always love? No. What did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say? In what is narrated by Al-Hakim and Al-Bayhaqi in Shu’ab Al-Iman, “Indeed Allah gives wealth to whom He loves and to whom He does not love, but Allah only gives Iman to one whom He loves.” Therefore, it is possible that receiving from Allah is not a matter of love. Allah provides a person with sustenance. He is certain that this is an indication that Allah always loves him. (He says) “Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala protects me from danger.” Is this definitely a proof that Allah loves him? Perhaps Allah has trapped him.
In that case, wealth, generosity, clothes, sustenance and protection are not always love. Love is something else. The believer, when he sees that he is fortunate. When he sees that he is accustomed with these gatherings. He is constantly reciting the Qur’an. He is constantly standing before Fajr. He should be happy because this an indication that Allah loves him. An indication that Allah, the Exalted, loves him. So he should rejoice because of the love of Allah which is more than his happiness due to his Salaah which he prays and his worship which he performs because it is a great state.
I will tell you of that woman. The worshiper who used to help around the house of one of them. The owner of the house heard her saying in her prostration during the night, “Oh Allah, I ask you by ‘your love for me‘ that you honour me, that you grant me success…” to the end of what she was praying for.
This man became blue, meaning, he felt that these words contained poor etiquette. So he waited until she completed her Salaah then said to her, “What are you saying with these words? How can you know that Allah loves you? You should say ‘Oh Allah, I ask by my love for you.'” She said to him: “Sir, if He did not love me, He would not have awakened me at this hour. If he did not love me, He would not have allowed me to stand in front of him. If He did not love me, He would not have allowed me to have this private discourse (between her and Allah).”
She was rejoicing because of what she knew of Allah’s love for her. That the love of Allah for her was more than her happiness due to the Salaah which was favoured upon her.
And you (Oh reader). When you are fortunate enough to stand (to pray) during a time like this…and you find yourself in front of Allah.
Then behold! You have smelt the fragrance of Allah’s love for you.