Does God Love me?

Question: How can we be so sure that Allah loves us? Does Allah love every living being, or why would He love us?

Answer: We are certain of Allah's love because there are verses and authentic hadiths on this matter. Therefore, anyone who believes in the Quran as the word of Allah and in the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as the messenger of Allah believes in Allah's compassion for all His servants and His love for each servant, even if the degrees of love may vary depending on the conditions.

If you notice, in our responses, we use the concepts of "Allah's compassion and mercy" rather than the concept of "Allah's love." Although the terms "vudd" and "hubb," which mean love for Allah, are mentioned in the Quran and hadiths, we try to use the word "love" less because:

i) Young people can misunderstand this concept,

ii) Due to some unfounded Sufi stories, the meaning of this word has become complicated.

Allah's love and compassion for His servants have different degrees. Considering that this topic can be confusing for people, we would like to clarify it a bit:

Allah has a mercy that encompasses all His servants, including living and non-living, believers and unbelievers, angels, and demons. This love is so inclusive that even if Satan were to repent today, Allah would be pleased. Don't be surprised; we only conveyed an expression from the hadiths. Some other hadiths on the subject are as follows:

"Any one of you, when he loses his camel in a desert, where food and water are scarce, and he takes it up in a high place and suddenly hears it, is so happy that he cries out in joy, he then catches it by the halter and brings it along till he gets into a place where there is water and green pasture. The man is like that. If he says, 'Allah, forgive me,' his Lord says, 'My servant has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. So I have forgiven my servant (his sins).'" (Sahih al-Bukhari)

After a battle, a woman among the defeated was desperately searching for her child. She would run to any child she saw, hug them, look into their faces to see if it was her child, and, upon realizing it wasn't, would sigh and continue searching for her child. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) asked, "Would this woman ever throw her child into the fire?" They replied, "No, by Allah, if she is able not to." The Prophet then said, "Allah is more merciful to His servants than this woman to her child." (Sahih al-Bukhari)

So, what makes Allah love His servants more?

1-)Allah has a more special love for those who enter the circle of Islam, increase their faith, and strive to fulfill His commandments and avoid prohibitions.

2-)Whether they believe or not, Allah has a different kind of love for all people who possess good manners, kindness towards others, doing good to other humans and animals, speaking sweetly, being polite, loyal, generous – in other words, those who have good moral character.

3-)There is a unique closeness for those who deepen their worship, are sensitive in their obligations, diligent in their voluntary acts of worship, and persistent in supplication and prayer – those who strive to be the best "servant" they can be.

4-)Those who receive the most special love and support from Allah are those who engage in the mission of teaching and introducing Allah, His Messenger, the Quran, and the religion – those who strive in jihad or propagation. They are mentioned in the Quran and hadiths with qualifications such as "the best among people," "guaranteed Allah's help," "Allah's merciful hand is with them," "angels spread their wings for their paths."

5-)Of course, the most beloved servant of Allah is Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), who demonstrated the pinnacle of worship, good manners, and propagation. Allah loves him so much that He guarantees in the Quran that those who follow him will be loved directly.

In conclusion, prayer is the shortest way for a person to communicate directly with Allah and is the soul's conversation with Allah. Giving the necessary importance to this worship will be extremely beneficial for believers.