Love (hubb)

“And He has placed love(mawaddah) and compassion(rahmah) between you”

ar-rum (30:21)

introduction:

THE OXFORD DICTIONARY defines love as “a strong feeling of affection and sexual attraction for someone “. the word ‘love’ originates from an old English word of German origin lufu and is derived from an IndoEuropean root shared by sanskrit word lubhyati (desires),the latin libet(pleasing) and libido(desire).

there are many types of love, for exmaple love of Allah,love of family,friends,religion,spouses,children and material objects.

In classical Arabic,the three main words for love are hubb,mawaddah and mahabbah

HUBB:

Ibn Manzur said ,hubb is the opposite of hatred.Hubb means affection (widad) and attatchment(mahabbah).

Ghazi said “Etymologically the root of the word hubb is the word habb(seed), thus evoking a seed that falls on the ground,sprouts, then bringing forth a beautiful new plant”.Allah makes this clear in the Quran “The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing”

al-baqarah 2:261

MAWADDAH:

Ibn Manzur and az Zabidi said “Wudd comes from the root mawaddah ….and it is named after muwaddah which means love”

MAHABBAH:

Ar Raghib writes “love means the desire for what you know or deem to be good;and it has three aspects: love for pleasure,such as man’s love for a woman,as in “they give food,despite their love for it,to the poor and orphans and captives” al-insan (76:8), love for benefit, such as one’s love for something that benefits one,as in “and [He will give you] other things you love”as-Saf (61:13), and love for virtue,such as the love that knowledgeable people have for one another becasue of the knowledge itself.

importance of love:

everyone says love hurts , but that is not true.

lonliness hurts,rejection hurts,losing someone hurts,envy hurts.everyone get these things confused with love ,but in reality love is the only thing in this world that covers up all pain and makes someone feel wonderful again.

love is the only thing in this world that doesn’t hurt.when a man truly loves a woman,she becomes his weakness, when a woman truly loves a man ,he becomes her strength.

what is true love?

malcolm x said about islamic concept of love

“islam is the religion that gives both husband and wife a true understanding of what love is.the western ‘love’ concept,you take it apart,it really is lust.but love transcends just the physical.love is disposition, behaviour, attitude, thoughts, likes,dislikes- these things make a beautiful woman,a beautiful wife.this is the true beauty that never fades.you find in your western civilization that when a man’s wife physical beauty fails,she loses her attraction.but islam teaches us to look into the woman and teaches her to look into us.”

Does Allah tests humans with love

even though love for other human beings is not forbidden in and of itself,Allah can test us with love to test our obedience to and love for Him.as a believer,the love of Allah should be first and foremost,followed by the love of His final messenger pbuh. ‘uncondionla love’,which is often spoken about nowdays .should be reserved for Allah alone,as only He deserves to be loved unconditionally,to which Quranic verse alludes

“Say, [O Muhammad], “If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihad in His cause, then wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.”

at tawbah 9:24

original source: A taste of Honey by Habeeb Akande