A Heart that Loves Allah

Imam Ali (S) said:

الْقَلْبُ الْمُحِبُّ لِلَّهِ يُحِبُّ كَثِيراً النَّصَبَ لِلَّهِ وَ الْقَلْبُ اللَّاهِي عَنِ اللَّهِ يُحِبُّ الرَّاحَةَ فَلَا تَظُنَّ يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ أَنَّكَ تُدْرِكُ رِفْعَةَ الْبِرِّ بِغَيْرِ مَشَقَّةٍ فَإِنَّ الْحَقَّ ثَقِيلٌ مُرٌّ وَ الْبَاطِلَ خَفِيفٌ حُلْوٌ وَنِي

مسعود بن عيسى‌ ورام بن أبي فراس‌.  تنبیه الخواطر و نزهة النواظر.  مكتبه فقيه‌، قم، 1410 هـ.ق، ج.2 ص.87، عن زید بن علی عن ابیه (الامام زین العابدین (ص).

“A heart that loves  Allah will love tiredness and hardship in the way of Allah and a heart which is unaware of Allah loves comfort. Hence, O Mankind! Do not think that you will attain the high status of virtue without hardship for the truth (weighs) heavily (on one’s soul) and is bitter, and falsehood is easy and sweat…”

Mas’oud b. Isa Warram b, Abi Farras.  Tanbih ul-Khawaatir va Nuzhahu l-Nawadhir.  Faqih Library, Qom, 1989, v.2, p.87, narrated by Zaid ibn Ali from Imam Zayn ul-Abideen (S).

Commentary by Haj Sheikh Hamed Soltanian:

The truth is bitter and hard in the sense that it is more difficult to deal with. However, it is much simpler to just lie or accept what is false.  But those who have attained a certain level of piety then the difficulty of the truth and practicing their faith is sweet and simple for them.

In general living a pious life in this world is difficult and requires effort. It is much simpler and easier to do the wrong and easy thing.  But once one realises the truth it becomes sweet and simple for them. Especially when one knows that in the afterlife his difficulties will be turned into eternal bliss whereas those who have taken the easy route of vice and falsehood will receive eternal damnation.

Even in this world one will eventually taste the sweetness of faith even when going through difficulty because of it. Another narration which is Hadith Qudsi explains that virtuous acts are bitter to a sick soul just as sweet food tastes bitter to a sick body.  Hence, just as when the body is purified of its diseases it will taste the sweetness of food, also when a soul is purified from its diseases then the sweetness of virtuous acts become apparent.

But most importantly, a heart that loves Allah will prefer Allah to anything else even if that means going through hardship.  One who is in love with someone cannot be without them.  Even if the one who loves is in the best of situations among riches and comfort and enjoyable surroundings he/she will be in hardship and will be aversive to that situation without his/her beloved.  However, he/she even though in hardship will enjoy the company of his/her beloved and would rather be in hardship with his/her beloved than without hardship and away from his/her beloved.  Hence, Prophet Ibrahim (AS) would rather be in fire as long as he is close to Allah and therefore Allah made that fire into a garden for him.  Imam Ali (S) in the Prayer (Duaa) of Kumayl states: “So if you subject me to punishments with your enemies and gather me with the people [deserving] of your wrath and separate me from those who love you and those who are your chosen people, then my God, my Master, my Protector, my Lord, even if I patiently endure your punishment, how can I endure separation from you?”