Somebody asked Saidina Ali RA: "How
much was the Sahabah's love for Nabi SAW."
He replied: "By Allah! To us Nabi
SAW was dearer than our money, our children and our mothers, and was
more valuable than a drink of cold water at the time of severest
thirst."
There is no make belief
in Saidina Ali's RA statement. As a matter of fact, the Sahabah
reached this state because of the perfection of their Iman. It had to
be so bacause Allah SWT has written in the Qur’aan-e-Kareem;
"Say! If your fathers and your
sons and your brothers and your wives and your tribe and the wealth
you have earned and the goods, for which you fear that there will be
no sale, and your houses you desire, are dearer to you than Allah and
His messenger and striving in His way, then wait till Allah brings
His command to pass. Allah guides not the sinful ones." (S9
: V 24).
This verse warns against
anything else becoming more attractive than the love of Allah and
that of Nabi SAW. Anas RA and Abu Hurairah RA reported that Nabi SAW
once said: "None of you can be a Mu'min until his love for me is
more than his love for his parents, children and all the people of
the world."
Salawat and Salam Upon you My beloved Prophet. |
Ulama say that the love mentioned in
this Hadith and others of its kind is the voluntary love and not
natural love. However, if it is taken to mean the natural love, then
the word Mu'min will stand for the Iman of the highest degree, for
instance like that of Sahabah . Anas RA says that he heard Nabi SAW
saying, "There are three things which, when found in a person,
will cause him to taste the sweetness of real Iman. These are:
1.When Allah SWT and His Nabi
SAW are dearer to him than anything else in this world.
- When his love for anyone is solely for the pleasure of Allah SWT , and
- When turning to 'Kufr' is as hateful to him as being flung into the fire."