The question that must be answered is: Is Allah a God of love? In other words, does He love all people regardless of who they are? Are all His deeds motivated, or initiated by love? Here one must bear in mind that it is possible for a God of love to command that certain people are killed, not because of hate or lack of love, but because He knows everything. This can happen when the true God, is omniscient, and knows that people are totally depraved, that they will never repent, and will only work against His plan for the salvation of humankind. His command, in such cases, is not in order to subject people to Him or to force them to worship Him, but to prevent them from ruining His specific plan for the redemption of man.
According to the Quran
When reading the Quran, it appears that Allah’s love is not for all people, but exclusively given only to those who deserve it. It is evident from the following quotations, from the Quran, who qualifies for Allah’s love:
Surah 2:190: “for Allah loves not transgressors.” (Ali, 2000:24)
If a god does not love transgressors, what reason is there for him to care for them at all? Are all people not transgressing at least at some point in their lives; that is if they do not do it on a more regular basis? Who will then qualify for the love of Allah?
Surah 2:195: “For Allah loves those who do good.” (Ali, 2000:25)
It seems that, if you do good you can reckon on Allah's love for you, but if you transgress there is no more love for you. This means one of two things: either Allah's love is very uncertain and changeable or Muslims have the ability not to transgress at all.
Surah 2:222: “Truly, Allah loveth those who turn to Him, and loveth those who have a care for cleanness.” (Pickthall, 1997:25)
Surah 5:13: “for Allah loves those who are kind.”
Here, the word 'kind' must have a limited meaning. As illustrated under the explanation of Zakat above, charity towards Muslims, including Muslim interests like Jihad seems to be the real meaning of kindness in Islam.
Surah 6:141: “for Allah loves not the wasters.” (Ali, 2000:115)
It appear, from the context of this quotation, that the reference to ‘wasters’ concerns those who have an abundance of food and fruit, and then waste them in some way. This is most certainly a wrong attitude, but is that sufficient reason to forfeit God's love?
Surah 7:55: “Lo! He (Allah) loveth not the transgressors.” (Pickthall, 1997:106)
The nature of the transgressions in this case is not clear.
Surah 3:31: “If you do love Allah, follow me (Mohammed): Allah will (then) love you and forgive you your sins.” (Ali, 2000:42)
Allah requires no propitiation. If you love him and follow Mohammed, you are pardoned and forgiven.
Surah 4:107: “And plead not on behalf of (people) who deceive themselves. Lo! Allah loveth not one who is treacherous and sinful.” (Pickthall, 1997:65)
According to the context of this quotation, ‘treacherous' means apostasy, but sin is never defined in the Quran, which means that nobody knows what sinful means. What is clear from this quotation, as with the others cited, is that Allah loves only certain people who deserve his love, and that he does not love all people. There is no clear indication in the Quran that Allah loves all people.
According to the Hadith
In the tables of content of the four volumes of the Al-Hadis, as well as in the nine volumes of the Hadith compiled by Al-Bukhari, a multitude of subjects are discussed, but no mention is made of the love of Allah. In Al-Hadis, more than 250 pages are dedicated to the virtues of the Prophet Mohammed under headings like: “The greatest legislator"; "The greatest hero and military commander"; "The greatest charitable man"; "A great teacher of health and hygiene”, etc. There are also headings such as: “Sneezing and Yawning"; "Combing and Hair dressing"; "Eye-Paint"; "Jihad (Holy War)"; "Sexual Intercourse"; "Polygamy”. The heading closest to the love of Allah in the Al-Hadis is: “Love and hatred for (on behalf of) Allah.”
Under this heading, one reads in Al-Hadis (Karim, 1998:4:273(Vol.1):506) the following:
“The Holy Prophet said: The action dearest to the Almighty Allah is love for Allah’s sake and hate for Allah’s sake.”
It is not clear what the prophet meant, although it gives one a sense of the nature of Allah’s love. The compiler (Karim, 1998:4:273(Vol.1):501) explains what this means under the sub-heading, Hate for cause of Allah:
“If a Muslim loves the teachings of Islam and its great teacher, he cannot but love those who follow those teachings and also love Allah and His Apostle. On the other hand, it is natural with him to hate those who reject the teachings of Islam and do not obey the commandments of Allah and His Apostle.”
Karim leaves no doubt that Allah expects all Muslims to hate those who reject Islam as a religion, and that includes all non-Muslims. Karim also claims that Muslims cannot but love each other. It has already been shown that Muslims frequently fight and kill each other, which means that they do not always love each other as they should, according to Karim. He further writes about the people who reject Islam and thus should, be hated by Muslims: “They are the worst people in the eye of Islam.” He then translates Surah 8:55 in the Quran as follows: “Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve.” (Ali 2000:146) renders it like this: “For the worst of all living creatures in the sight of Allah are those who reject him.” While Pickthall (1997:124) renders it: “Lo! The worst of beasts in Allah’s sight are the ungrateful who will not believe.” Therefore, in the view of Islam, it is no wonder that such 'vile people' should be hated. Always keep in mind that all these people who are to be hated, are those who reject Islam as a religion. This might include you who read this, if you are not a Muslim.
He continues about this ‘justified’ hatred on behalf of Allah, (Karim, 1998:4:273(Vol.1):501):
“Intensity of hate is greatest in case of a polytheist, greater in case of people of the Book (Christians and Jews), and great in the case of Muslim innovators and great sinners.”
In the case of ordinary sinners, the minimum requirement for the extent of this hatred is great, but it is greater in the case of Christians and Jews. Muslims often accuse Christians of polytheism, because they believe in the Tri-Unity of God. This carries the greatest degree of hatred.
There is another indication in the Hadith that Allah’s love is partial, in Al-Hadis (Karim, 1998:4:265(Vol.1):503):
”the Messenger of Allah (Mohammed) said: When Allah loves a man, He calls Gabriel and says: I love so and so, so love him. Then he announces in heaven and says: Allah loves so and so, so love him. Then the inmates of heaven love him.”
According to this, Allah’s love is an achievement and in agreement with all the above citations from the Quran and Hadith. It is, therefore, reasonable to conclude that Allah only loves those who love and obey him, especially those who fight for him. This will become even more obvious in the more detailed discussion of Jihad (Islam’s holy war), later in this book.
What is the God of the Bible's attitude towards humankind in general?