Think of a person that you may have fallen in love with or are already in love with. Then answer Yes or No to the following questions to determine if your love is real.
1. Does your heart race every time you hear his/her name?
2. Do you feel at peace every time you are around him/her?
3. Do you love learning everything about him/her? Do you spend hours stalking their Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter?
4. Do you sometimes feel restless or lose sleep just thinking about him/her?
5. Do you do whatever you can to impress him/her? For example, do you dress a certain way just for him/her?
6. Do you find the words he/she says charming and eloquent? 7. Do you love spending time with him/her?
8. Do you not mind giving up some things you love such as hanging out with your friends for him/her?
9. Do you try to learn new skills just for him/her?
10. Do you think about your future and see him/her in it?
11. Do you spend countless hours trying to get to know the person?
Count all of your responses, and if you answered more Yes’s than No’s, then congratulations, you have fallen and/or are in love.
Now, I want you to go back through the list and instead of thinking of a person, think of Allah (SWT). Again count all of your responses. Do you see any differences?
A lot of times, we say that we love Allah (SWT) more than anything in this dunya, but do we ever stop to think about the strength of our love for him? Our love for our Creator should be endless, which is why we need to constantly work to strengthen this love. To help you build your relationship with Allah (SWT), just go through the list, and see where you need improvements. Here are some examples.
1. If your heart does not tremble when hearing about Allah (SWT), maybe you can spend more time reading or listening to the Qur’an.
2. If you constantly worry and aren’t at peace, try to remind yourself that this world is only temporary, and these worries will not last.
3. Rather than spending hours on Facebook, spend those hours on Youtube watching videos on the miracles of the Qur’an or try memorizing the 99 names of Allah (SWT) and their meanings.
4. If you do not lose sleep, then maybe try waking up on time for Fajr prayer. If you already do so, maybe stay awake before or after Fajr and make dhikr.
5. Maybe you can set weekly goals to help you impress Allah (SWT).
6. Maybe spend more time reciting Qur’an to see its eloquence and beauty.
7. If you do not make enough time to build your relationship, maybe make a weekly schedule where you leave an hour a day to study Islam.
8. Maybe try to set small goals to help you get rid of bad habits. If you smoke, for example, maybe try to smoke a bit less every day. If you tend to raise your voice every time you are mad, maybe learn a new method that helps you cope with anger.
9. Maybe you can try to learn a new skill. For example, learn to understand Arabic and the meanings behind the prayers you recite.
10. Spend more time reflecting about the afterlife. By simply reminding yourself about the afterlife, you will remind yourself that this world is temporary and that we are here to love and worship our Creator.
11. In order to love someone, you need to know the person. Take a moment to really ask yourself this question: Do you spend countless hours getting to know Allah (SWT)? If you put in the effort to understand Allah (SWT), whether it is through his prophets, books, or names, that love will eventually grow.
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) loved many things. He loved his wife, his daughters, his companions, his people. But what defined him as a Muslim was that his love for Allah was above anything else. I pray that our love for Allah (SWT) continues to increase, and I pray that we can all build our relationship with our Creator. Ameen.
“I once had a thousand desires,
But in my one desire to know
you, All else melted away.”
-Rumi
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