Mahabbah — “He loves them and they love Him.” The love runs both ways, and it is the fuel of the entire spiritual life. Everything else leads to it or flows from it.
Allah ﷻ says: “He loves them and they love Him.” (Quran 5:54). The love runs in both directions. Allah ﷻ loves — not as a distant metaphor or an abstract attribute disconnected from experience, but as a real quality of the relationship between the Creator and His servant, stated plainly in His Book. And the response the verse calls for — love for Allah ﷻ in return — is the highest orientation the human heart can take. Mahabbah — love, and specifically the love of Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ — is the fuel of the entire spiritual life. Every other act of devotion either leads toward it or flows out of it. Without it, worship becomes mechanical duty; with it, worship becomes the natural expression of the heart’s deepest attachment.
It is worth noting a principle the scholars are careful to preserve: the love of Allah ﷻ is always joined to the love of His Messenger ﷺ. The two are not rivals but a single orientation, because the Quran makes love of the Prophet ﷺ the very proof and pathway of love for Allah ﷻ: “Say: if you love Allah ﷻ, then follow me, and Allah ﷻ will love you” (3:31). Wherever the love of Allah ﷻ is spoken of, the love of His Messenger ﷺ is bound up with it.
What Genuine Love for Allah ﷻ Looks Like
Love is easy to claim and harder to verify, and Ibn al-Qayyim ؒ, in his great works on the heart, gave practical signs by which a person can measure whether their love for Allah ﷻ is real. Among them: following the Prophet ﷺ willingly and gladly rather than grudgingly; preferring what Allah ﷻ loves over one’s own desires, even when they conflict; the continual remembrance of the Beloved, so that the tongue and heart return to Him naturally; finding sweetness and delight in worship rather than experiencing it only as obligation; being more distressed by one’s sins than by any worldly loss; the heart remaining occupied with Allah ﷻ even in the midst of ordinary affairs; loving those who love Allah ﷻ and keeping distance from what opposes Him; and feeling genuine grief when a time of worship passes unused.
These are not abstract ideals floating out of reach. They are practical markers a person can hold themselves against honestly. Do I follow the Sunnah gladly or resentfully? When my desire and what Allah ﷻ loves collide, which wins? Does missing a prayer trouble me more or less than missing an opportunity for worldly gain? The signs are diagnostic, and the point of them is not to induce despair in the one who falls short, but to show the direction of travel and where the work lies.
How to Build It
The most important truth about mahabbah is that it is not merely a feeling that either strikes or does not; it can be built through action. The hadith qudsi gives the fundamental path: “My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary acts until I love him” (Bukhari 6502) — the obligatory acts performed fully, then the voluntary offered consistently, and divine love is the result. Love grows through proximity, and proximity is built through practice. Ibn al-Qayyim ؒ, in a celebrated passage, listed the causes that generate and increase love for Allah ﷻ.
Recite the Quran with reflection. Not merely reading the words, but pondering their meaning as a letter from the Beloved — this is among the surest ways the heart is drawn to Him.
Draw near through voluntary worship after the obligatory. The extra prayers, fasts, and charity offered after the duties are fulfilled are, by the hadith qudsi, the very means by which divine love is attained.
Keep the tongue and heart in constant dhikr. “Whoever loves a thing remembers it often.” Continuous remembrance is both a sign of love and a cause that deepens it.
Prefer what Allah ﷻ loves when desires conflict. Every time a person chooses what Allah ﷻ loves over their own competing desire, the love is strengthened by the choice.
Learn His names and attributes, and witness His gifts. Knowing who Allah ﷻ is — His mercy, generosity, and wisdom — and noticing His countless favours in one’s own life naturally turns the heart toward Him in love and gratitude.
Break the heart before Him, and be alone with Him at night. Humility before Allah ﷻ, and the solitude of the night prayer when the world is asleep, are among the most powerful builders of intimate love.
Keep the company of those who love Him. Sitting with people whose hearts are turned to Allah ﷻ transfers something of their state and rekindles one’s own love.
The Fruit: The Sweetness of Iman
What does all this produce? The Prophet ﷺ named the fruit directly: “There are three qualities whoever possesses will taste the sweetness of faith: that Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ are more beloved to him than anything else; that he loves a person only for the sake of Allah ﷻ; and that he would hate to return to disbelief as he would hate to be thrown into the fire.” (Bukhari 16, Muslim 43). The sweetness of iman — halawat al-iman — is the quality of lived faith that feels like comfort, joy, and rest rather than obligation and burden. It is what genuine love for Allah ﷻ feels like from the inside: worship experienced not as a weight to be carried but as a delight to be sought.
This is the answer to anyone whose faith feels dry, dutiful, or heavy. The dryness is not a sign that something is permanently wrong; it is usually a sign that the love has not yet been built up through the practices that generate it. You cannot manufacture the sweetness of iman directly by wishing for it — but you can do the things that produce the love from which it flows. Recite the Quran reflectively. Add the voluntary worship. Keep the dhikr. Choose Allah ﷻ when desires pull the other way. The sweetness follows the love, and the love follows the practice.
“He loves them and they love Him.” The love runs both ways, and it is the fuel of everything. You cannot force the sweetness of iman into being by longing for it — but you can do what builds the love that produces it. Start with the Quran, read as a letter from the Beloved. Add the night prayer. Keep the dhikr constant. The love grows through proximity, and proximity is built, one practice at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is mahabbah in Islam?
Mahabbah is love — specifically the love of Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ as the highest orientation of the human heart. The Quran describes a mutual love: “He loves them and they love Him” (5:54). It is the fuel of the spiritual life; every act of devotion leads toward it or flows from it. Its fruit is the sweetness of faith — worship experienced as delight rather than burden (Bukhari 16).
How do you increase love for Allah ﷻ?
Ibn al-Qayyim ؒ listed causes including: reciting the Quran with reflection, drawing near through voluntary worship after the obligatory, constant dhikr, preferring what Allah ﷻ loves when desires conflict, learning His names and attributes, witnessing His gifts, humbling the heart before Him, the night prayer in solitude, and keeping the company of those who love Him. The hadith qudsi (Bukhari 6502) gives the core path: obligatory acts fully, voluntary acts consistently.
What are the signs of loving Allah ﷻ?
Ibn al-Qayyim ؒ named practical signs: following the Prophet ﷺ gladly, preferring what Allah ﷻ loves over one’s desires, constant remembrance of Him, finding sweetness in worship, being more distressed by sin than worldly loss, loving those who love Him, and grieving over wasted times of worship. These are diagnostic markers a person can honestly measure themselves against — pointing the direction of travel, not inducing despair.
What is the sweetness of iman?
Halawat al-iman — the sweetness of faith — is the quality of lived faith that feels like comfort, joy, and rest rather than obligation. The Prophet ﷺ named three things that bring it: that Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ are more beloved than anything else, loving others only for Allah’s ﷻ sake, and hating to return to disbelief as one would hate the fire (Bukhari 16, Muslim 43). It is the fruit of genuine mahabbah.
Why does my faith feel dry or dutiful?
Dryness in faith is usually a sign that love has not yet been built up through the practices that generate it — not that something is permanently wrong. You cannot manufacture the sweetness of iman by wishing for it, but you can do the things that produce the love from which it flows: reflective Quran, voluntary worship, constant dhikr, and choosing Allah ﷻ when desires pull the other way. The sweetness follows the love.