Frasat Ahmad, Missionary, USA
Do you feel that Allah is distant from you; that your prayers aren’t being answered? Perhaps it is because you are doing something that is utterly loathsome in Allah’s eyes that is creating a barrier between you and Allah.
If so, now is the time to locate those weaknesses and shortcomings that may be obstacles in your path to obtaining His love.
Fortunately, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IIra has pinpointed these weaknesses for us and explained why Allah hates them so much.
In his own words, here are ten habits that hinder your relationship with Allah. (Taken from Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’sra speech, entitled Ta‘alluq billah, delivered on 28 December 1952 at Jalsa Salana Rabwah).
1. Arrogance
“Allah the Almighty states in the Holy Quran:
اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یُحِبُّ مَنۡ کَانَ مُخۡتَالًا فَخُوۡرَا
“‘Surely, Allah loves not the proud and the boastful.’ (Surah al-Nisa, Ch.4: V.37)
“… Proud is he who considers himself so lofty as to think he is safe from all affliction and harm … If one embraces arrogance in his heart and he then remembers Allah’s greatness, then can he remain arrogant thereafter? Can one truly hold his head high while standing before a king? Even a soldier stands with such civility and respect before an ordinary police superintendent that it seems as if he has no tongue in his mouth. Thus, how can one love Allah if he does not hold any regard for Allah’s greatness? … Hence, Allah the Almighty does not love the one who is proud, nor can such a person love Allah the Almighty. (Ta‘alluq Billah, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 23, pp. 175)
2. Boastfulness
“Boastful is the one who believes that he bears such virtues that others do not have and then taunts others berating them of their lack of the intrinsic worth he believes he possesses. “Boastfulness results in man rejecting and denying the favours that Allah has conferred upon him, as he claims that that his achievements are due to his own personal effort and merit. Whosoever actually believes this denies Allah’s Beauty and Allah the Almighty does not love such a person.” (Ibid., p. 176)
3. Transgression
Allah the Almighty also does not like the one who has the habit of exceeding the limits in his acts. He states:
اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یُحِبُّ الۡمُعۡتَدِیۡنَ
“‘Surely, Allah loves not the transgressors.’ (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.191)
“… Often times, when someone commits a mistake, then they are being scolded, fined or made to sit in the mosque to perform the remembrance of Allah the Almighty, as a penalty. But those who do not have the habit of remaining within their limits are not satisfied with this. They ask, ‘What kind of punishment is this to pay a fine of 4 annas?’ Their purpose is to make us place a saw at their head, burn their bones and crush them upon a slab and then throw their ashes into filth and waste and place a marker on their grave, abusing them and their forefathers. Still, they do not stop here. When they reach the Hereafter, Allah should put them into hellfire and punish him in such a way that has never been given to anyone. Even though Allah the Almighty is extremely Merciful and Noble, He does not love those who transgress, nor can the transgressor love Allah the Almighty.” (Ta‘alluq Billah, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 23, pp. 176-177)
4. Dishonesty
“The one who is perfidious, meaning that they have perfidiousness in their nature, cannot be loved by Allah the Almighty. He states:
اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یُحِبُّ مَنۡ کَانَ خَوَّانًا اَثِیۡمًا
“‘Surely, Allah loves not one who is perfidious and a great sinner.’ (Surah al-Nisa, Ch.4: V.108)
“… Even the slightest iota of perfidiousness cannot be tolerated when it comes to love. The one who is extremely perfidious is incapable of loving someone because they cannot maintain relationships. To believe that such a person can love Allah the Almighty or that Allah can love them is completely irrational.” (Ta‘alluq Billah, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 23, pp. 177)
5. Drowning in sin
“In the same manner, one who is a sinner, meaning that they completely incline towards sin, cannot be loved by Allah the Almighty. The state of such a sinner is akin to a big lawbreaker. The one who has a habit of breaking the laws of this world will inevitably break the laws of Allah the Almighty in the same manner … Whosoever thinks, ‘What hindrance lies in my breaking this law or that law?’ will also proceed to break the laws of Allah the Almighty and will remain bereft of obeying them.” (Ibid.)
6. Taking delight in temporary pleasures
“The one who exults, meaning that the one who feels complete delight in temporary pleasures also cannot be loved by Allah the Almighty. Allah states:
اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یُحِبُّ الۡفَرِحِیۡنَ
“‘Surely, Allah loves not those who exult.’ (Surah al-Qasas, Ch.28: V.77)
“Allah the Almighty can never manifest His love upon the one who rejoices in small and petty matters … It is, of course, true that even small successes are due to Allah’s grace and it is also true that we have been taught to thank Allah for every joy and favour. But why should man become so lethargic and content at such small successes that his heart becomes undesirous of achieving great achievements? He should strive to shatter the stars in the sky. He should make his goals ever so lofty, so much so that his objectives look small to him and he realises that he needs to fly more higher … But one who exults over small triumphs can never declare the lofty objectives as his goal. There is no doubt that whenever Allah the Almighty confers His Favour upon a believer, the believer will declare:
اَلْحَمْدُلِلّٰہِ
[Meaning ‘All praise belongs to Allah’]
“But he also states that for this Favour:
اَلْحَمْدُلِلّٰہِ
[Meaning ‘All praise belongs to Allah’]
“‘But my destination still lies quite far away.’ Then the believer is conferred another divine favour and again states:
اَلْحَمْدُلِلّٰہِ
[Meaning that ‘All praise belongs to Allah’]
“‘I thank You, O Allah, for this Favour You have conferred upon me, but I want to attain You. These small matters are not my destination’. In this way, the believer progresses forward step by step and ultimately, he attains Allah the Almighty.” (Ta‘alluq Billah, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 23, pp. 180-181)
7. Spreading disorder
Allah the Almighty states:
اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یُحِبُّ الۡمُفۡسِدِیۡنَ
“‘Verily Allah loves not those who make mischief.’ (Surah al-Qasas, Ch.28: V.78)
“The truth is that Allah the Almighty is the Creator and Sustainer of all creation. How can the Creator and Sustainer of His creation love the one who attempts to make mischief and disorder amongst His creation? A mother can never love anyone who hates her child. Since all of creation belongs to Allah the Almighty, then it is quite apparent that Allah the Almighty can never love anyone who creates mischief and incites conflict amongst the people.” (Ta‘alluq Billah, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 23, pp. 181-182)
8. Ungratefulness
“The one who is ungrateful cannot love Allah the Almighty, nor can Allah the Almighty love him, for beneficence is a means of love. If one is not grateful, it means that they are unable to see beneficence. One who is unable to see beneficence is unable to love Allah the Almighty because the foremost door to Allah’s love is His beneficence. He states:
اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یُحِبُّ کُلَّ خَوَّانٍ کَفُوۡرٍ
[Meaning that, Surely, Allah loves not anyone who is perfidious or ungrateful.’ (Surah al-Hajj, Ch.22: V.39)]
“Perfidious has been mentioned above. Ungrateful is the one who witnesses Allah’s favour and still does not inculcate gratefulness within themselves, as if the recognition of beneficence does not exist within them. And what can one attain who does not behold Allah’s beneficence and states, ‘What have I received?’ Even if Allah the Almighty grants His love to him, this person will state, ‘I have not been given anything.’ In another place in the Holy Quran, Allah the Almighty states:
لَئِنۡ شَکَرۡتُمۡ لَاَزِیۡدَنَّکُمۡ
[Meaning, ‘If you are grateful, I will, surely, bestow more favours on you.’ (Surah Ibrahim, Ch.14: V.8)]
“[In other words] ‘I will increase My favours upon you according to the extent of gratefulness you show and if you will show ungratefulness, I will decrease My favours upon you accordingly.” (Ta‘alluq Billah, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 23, pp. 183)
9. Exceeding your bounds
“Allah the Almighty declares:
اِنَّہٗ لَا یُحِبُّ الۡمُسۡرِفِیۡنَ
“‘Surely, Allah loves not those who exceed the bounds.’ (Surah al-An‘am, Ch.6: V.142)
“The one who exceeds the bounds prefers their own selves and the pleasures of his nafs above the troubles and comforts of others. Who would like the person who dislikes spending in the way of Allah’s servants and would rather spend uselessly on his own self?
“Thus, if we do not use our wealth, knowledge, respect and fame to help those people for whom Allah the Almighty grants us this wealth, knowledge, respect and fame and rather engrossed in the pleasures of our nafs alone, then what hope can we have that our Allah will love us?” (Ta‘alluq Billah, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 23, pp. 183-184)
10. Injustice
“Allah the Almighty declares:
وَ اللّٰہُ لَا یُحِبُّ الظّٰلِمِیۡنَ
‘And Allah loves not the unjust.’ (Surah Al-e-Imran, Ch.3: V.141)
“Injustice and love cannot exist in unison. He who is unjust, loves his own self the most and he who loves his own self the most, cannot love others. Besides this, it is utterly impossible that one loves Allah the Almighty, while at the same time be unjust to Allah’s servants. One must also remember that love is an emotion related to gentleness, while injustice is an emotion related to harshness. Love requires one to sacrifice their own possessions, while injustice requires one to sacrifice the possessions of others. Hence, these are two contradictory emotions. Thus, the one who is unjust can neither love Allah the Almighty, nor can Allah the Almighty love them.” (Ta‘alluq Billah, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 23, pp. 184-185)