I was listening to a khutba by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf entitled “Love Has Conditions (Part 1)” and thought I’d share bits of it in case you haven’t heard it (it’s available for free in the Multimedia - Audio section of zaytuna.org).

There are many people who claim to love Allah Ta’ala but saying you love and actually loving are two completely different things. In light of this, the following two points were mentioned and an excellent example was provided for each.

  1. True love is unrelenting. William Shakespeare wrote:
    Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no, it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; (Sonnet #116) 
    2. <li>The lover is obedient to the beloved:
    There was a woman whom a man loved very much. This woman said to the man: "Tell me about the one who loves me. Don't detract and don't embellish, just tell me the truth."

    The man, who was a poet, gave her the following reply: “His state is such that if he thought he would die from thirst and you told him not to drink, he wouldn’t drink.”

And finally, here’s something I was inspired to write after those amazing examples above:

Love is like the root of a tree, firmly planted. It is not affected by the lush leaves of warm summer days nor the barren branches of cold winter nights.

May Allah make us among those who are obedient to Him and among those who love Him and His Messenger Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace).