The word · The heart
المَحَبَّة
Mahabbah
Love of Allah, measured less by what it feels like and more by what it follows.
Also written · Mahabba · Muhabbah · Mohabbat · Mahabbat · Hubb · Hubb Allah · Love of Allah · Loving Allah · Divine love · Ishq · Ashq
The meaning
What Mahabbah means in Islam
The Qur'an says those who believe are strongest in love of Allah (Qur'an 2:165), and gives the test plainly: if you love Allah, follow the Messenger, and Allah will love you (Qur'an 3:31). Its signs are usually listed as preferring what He loves over what you want, ease in remembering Him, and love for the people who love Him. Sufi writers dwell on this station at length, but it is not a Sufi invention. It is in the verse.
Evidence · Qur’an · Stated directly in the Qur’an
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- TaqwaAn alert, careful awareness of Allah that keeps a person away from what harms them.التَّقْوَى
- DhikrRemembrance of Allah, in set phrases and in the wider habit of not forgetting Him.الذِّكْر
- TasawwufThe Islamic tradition of inner purification, called Sufism in English, and read very differently by different scholars.التَّصَوُّف
- ShukrGratitude that shows: knowing the gift, saying so, and using it as its Giver would like.الشُّكْر
More from The heart
- 'AfwPardon: dropping a wrong you are owed, without the other person having to earn it.العَفْو
- GhaflahHeedlessness: not the denial of the truth, but the habit of never getting round to it.الغَفْلَة
- IstiqamahStaying straight: keeping to the path steadily, over years, without dramatic swings.الاسْتِقَامَة
- MuraqabahLiving with the awareness that Allah sees you, at the moment you are acting.المُرَاقَبَة
- RuqyaReciting Qur'an and prophetic supplications over a sick or afflicted person as treatment.الرُّقْيَة
- TabarrukSeeking blessing through a person, place or object, which scholars permit narrowly and dispute widely.التَّبَرُّك