Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, "When Allah loves a slave, He calls Jibril and says: 'I love so-and-so; so love him'. Then Jibril loves him. After that he (Jibril) announces to the inhabitants of heavens that Allah loves so- and-so; so love him; and the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him and then make people on earth love him".
[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].
So we learn that when Allah ta'ala loves a servant, then all the creation from the heavens and the earth are notified of Allah's love for this individual and it is made compulsory upon the entire creation to love that individual too.
Allah ta'ala has placed His beloveds upon the Earth and He has opened the path to success through them. Allah ta’ala’s creation recognise him as a beloved of Allah as he is always drowned in Allah's remembrance.
Allah ta'ala has commanded us to be in the company of the pious which means that such pious people will certainly be present upon the Earth for us to benefit from until Qiyamah.
So who is the pious person?
We should avoid creating our own standards of who is a pious person because Shaytan is always looking to deviate. He causes one to be inclined to the non-pious through the wrong criteria. This is which is why we need to recognise the correct signs of piety through the criteria provided by Nabi ﷺ.
It is narrated by Asma bint Yazid رضي الله عنها that she heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: "Shall I not tell you of the best of you?" They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "The best of you are those who, when they are seen, Allah the Mighty, the Majestic, is remembered." [Ibn Majah]
The quality of a true pious person is that when you see him, you remember Allah. Why is this such? Because when Allah ta'ala loves an individual, undoubtedly that servant also loves Allah. And the individual who loves Allah, his lifelong focus is upon Allah. He obeys Allah and his Rasul ﷺ and he follows the deen correctly.
Why has Allah commanded us to love the people whom He loves? Genuine love for a person brings about imitation. When you truly love a person, you desire to imitate them in every way without any hesitation, without harbouring doubts and creating excuses.
When one spends time in the company of the pious, loving the Sunnah becomes natural and practicing the deen is made easier. People who once never prayed, begin praying tahajjud after spending time in the company of the pious. This is because the effect of companionship always rubs on a person. You can listen to speeches your entire life and the effect may never rub on to you, but a single moment in the company of the Awliyah Allah, is enough to change you and transform your destiny. Many people have attested to this.
Many claim to love the Prophet ﷺ but their actions do not reflect this. If one is true in his claim, then he would be steadfast upon the Sunnah without hesitation and excuses as holding love for him ﷺ demands one to imitate his ways. The principle of love is such that it does not seek what is compulsory and what isn't. Rather, it necessitates complete adherence and submission.
Hadhrat Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله عنه was given the title, "lover of the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ."
Once he was walking on a journey and he passed by a tree or a boulder and he rubbed his body against it and walked on. When asked why he did this, he replied, "once I was travelling with Nabi ﷺ and when he passed through this place, his blessed body touched this area. That's why I'm imitating that act now." This is an example of true love.
Love dictates action not just words and empty claims of love. Allah ta'ala allows words of guidance to reach us so that we can implement as we haven't got much time in this world to keep listening without taking heed. When guidance reaches a person, he should make an intention to practice the deed. This is the etiquette of receiving the Ahadith and instructions of Nabi ﷺ This is the true practice. Thereafter, if he doesn't get the opportunity to fulfil it and death overtakes, then he will still earn its complete reward.
What does it mean to be reminded of Allah upon seeing a person.
When you see him, the passion and yearning for deen is established and the love for the sunnah is ignited within you. So when you develop this yearning, consider him to be a friend of Allah and take guidance and benefit from him and Allah will open doors.
The definition of "remembering Allah" is to be reminded of Allah's instructions and commandments. This is the direct effect of pious company as Allah has placed great impact in the company of His beloveds.
What is the benefit of loving those whom Allah loves?
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: A man came to Nabi ﷺ and said , “O Messenger of Allah, what do you say about a man who loves a people but his deeds do not compare to theirs?” The Prophet ﷺ said, “A person will be with those whom he loves.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
Allah ta'ala has defined this very clearly and even the womenfolk are included in this - those who are present and those who aren't.
The hardest thing we find in our society is not performing prayers,Hajj or Umrah. Rather, what we find it most difficult, is practicing the ways of the Prophet ﷺ.
"Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger achieves a great success." [33:71]
If anyone practices a deen in which there is no imitation of the sunnah, regardless of what he does, it is not accepted in the eyes of Allah and he won't be successful.
Hadhrat Mawlana Shafi Rahmatullahi Alayh was a great personality in history and he mentioned an event in his life when he went to visit the Rawdah Mubarak. He said, "I used to visit the Rawdah Mubarak but I couldn't dare go close to the blessed Raudah as I didn’t consider myself worthy." So he would convey his Salaam from a distance. He narrates that on one occasion he heard an announcement saying. "Don't worry about the distance because the love does not diminish due to it. In reality the one who implements my sunnah regardless of how far in distance he is, he is the one who is close to me." And then he was commanded infront of the Rawdah to convey this message to the people so he would share this in his lectures.
Hadhrat Mujjadid Alf Thani Rahmatullahi alayh, never travelled to Madinah Shareef, and he was the founder of Naqshbandi Mujaddidi silsilah. But he was not far from Nabi صلي الله عليه وسلم. Rather he spread the blessed Sunnah and was given the title of "Reviver of deen." He revived the ways of the Sunnah when it had become completely abandoned in the land.
Do not live in deception that you will become pious and successful without the sunnah. In reality, everything Nabi ﷺ did is necessary. Why? Because every sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ leads one to Allah.
"Say, (O Muḥammad ﷺ), "If you should love Allāh, then follow me, [so] Allāh will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful." [3:31]
This is a clear announcement and a confirmed path in which we will earn Allah's love Himself- by imitating His Nabi ﷺ.
Similarly, we claim to love our Sheikh greatly, but the student who loves his teacher should imitate the style of his teacher. He should obey his instructions and advices, otherwise it is hypocrisy.
Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, "When Allah loves a slave, He calls Jibril and says: 'I love so-and-so; so love him'. Then Jibril loves him. After that he (Jibril) announces to the inhabitants of heavens that Allah loves so- and-so; so love him; and the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him and then make people on earth love him".
[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].
So we learn that when Allah ta'ala loves a servant, then all the creation from the heavens and the earth are notified of Allah's love for this individual and it is made compulsory upon the entire creation to love that individual too.
Allah ta'ala has placed His beloveds upon the Earth and He has opened the path to success through them. Allah ta’ala’s creation recognise him as a beloved of Allah as he is always drowned in Allah's remembrance.
Allah ta'ala has commanded us to be in the company of the pious which means that such pious people will certainly be present upon the Earth for us to benefit from until Qiyamah.
So who is the pious person?
We should avoid creating our own standards of who is a pious person because Shaytan is always looking to deviate. He causes one to be inclined to the non-pious through the wrong criteria. This is which is why we need to recognise the correct signs of piety through the criteria provided by Nabi ﷺ.
It is narrated by Asma bint Yazid رضي الله عنها that she heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: "Shall I not tell you of the best of you?" They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "The best of you are those who, when they are seen, Allah the Mighty, the Majestic, is remembered." [Ibn Majah]
The quality of a true pious person is that when you see him, you remember Allah. Why is this such? Because when Allah ta'ala loves an individual, undoubtedly that servant also loves Allah. And the individual who loves Allah, his lifelong focus is upon Allah. He obeys Allah and his Rasul ﷺ and he follows the deen correctly.
Why has Allah commanded us to love the people whom He loves? Genuine love for a person brings about imitation. When you truly love a person, you desire to imitate them in every way without any hesitation, without harbouring doubts and creating excuses.
When one spends time in the company of the pious, loving the Sunnah becomes natural and practicing the deen is made easier. People who once never prayed, begin praying tahajjud after spending time in the company of the pious. This is because the effect of companionship always rubs on a person. You can listen to speeches your entire life and the effect may never rub on to you, but a single moment in the company of the Awliyah Allah, is enough to change you and transform your destiny. Many people have attested to this.
Many claim to love the Prophet ﷺ but their actions do not reflect this. If one is true in his claim, then he would be steadfast upon the Sunnah without hesitation and excuses as holding love for him ﷺ demands one to imitate his ways. The principle of love is such that it does not seek what is compulsory and what isn't. Rather, it necessitates complete adherence and submission.
Hadhrat Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله عنه was given the title, "lover of the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ."
Once he was walking on a journey and he passed by a tree or a boulder and he rubbed his body against it and walked on. When asked why he did this, he replied, "once I was travelling with Nabi ﷺ and when he passed through this place, his blessed body touched this area. That's why I'm imitating that act now." This is an example of true love.
Love dictates action not just words and empty claims of love. Allah ta'ala allows words of guidance to reach us so that we can implement as we haven't got much time in this world to keep listening without taking heed. When guidance reaches a person, he should make an intention to practice the deed. This is the etiquette of receiving the Ahadith and instructions of Nabi ﷺ This is the true practice. Thereafter, if he doesn't get the opportunity to fulfil it and death overtakes, then he will still earn its complete reward.
What does it mean to be reminded of Allah upon seeing a person.
When you see him, the passion and yearning for deen is established and the love for the sunnah is ignited within you. So when you develop this yearning, consider him to be a friend of Allah and take guidance and benefit from him and Allah will open doors.
The definition of "remembering Allah" is to be reminded of Allah's instructions and commandments. This is the direct effect of pious company as Allah has placed great impact in the company of His beloveds.
What is the benefit of loving those whom Allah loves?
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: A man came to Nabi ﷺ and said , “O Messenger of Allah, what do you say about a man who loves a people but his deeds do not compare to theirs?” The Prophet ﷺ said, “A person will be with those whom he loves.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
Allah ta'ala has defined this very clearly and even the womenfolk are included in this - those who are present and those who aren't.
The hardest thing we find in our society is not performing prayers,Hajj or Umrah. Rather, what we find it most difficult, is practicing the ways of the Prophet ﷺ.
وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا
"Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger achieves a great success." [33:71]
If anyone practices a deen in which there is no imitation of the sunnah, regardless of what he does, it is not accepted in the eyes of Allah and he won't be successful.
Hadhrat Mawlana Shafi Rahmatullahi Alayh was a great personality in history and he mentioned an event in his life when he went to visit the Rawdah Mubarak. He said, "I used to visit the Rawdah Mubarak but I couldn't dare go close to the blessed Raudah as I didn’t consider myself worthy." So he would convey his Salaam from a distance. He narrates that on one occasion he heard an announcement saying. "Don't worry about the distance because the love does not diminish due to it. In reality the one who implements my sunnah regardless of how far in distance he is, he is the one who is close to me." And then he was commanded infront of the Rawdah to convey this message to the people so he would share this in his lectures.
Hadhrat Mujjadid Alf Thani Rahmatullahi alayh, never travelled to Madinah Shareef, and he was the founder of Naqshbandi Mujaddidi silsilah. But he was not far from Nabi صلي الله عليه وسلم. Rather he spread the blessed Sunnah and was given the title of "Reviver of deen." He revived the ways of the Sunnah when it had become completely abandoned in the land.
Do not live in deception that you will become pious and successful without the sunnah. In reality, everything Nabi ﷺ did is necessary. Why? Because every sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ leads one to Allah.
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ ٱللَّهَ فَٱتَّبِعُونِى يُحْبِبْكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
"Say, (O Muḥammad ﷺ), "If you should love Allāh, then follow me, [so] Allāh will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful." [3:31]
This is a clear announcement and a confirmed path in which we will earn Allah's love Himself- by imitating His Nabi ﷺ.
Similarly, we claim to love our Sheikh greatly, but the student who loves his teacher should imitate the style of his teacher. He should obey his instructions and advices, otherwise it is hypocrisy.
May Allah ta'ala enable us to implement.