al-Hubb fi Allah
- Author died
- 1445 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Mughnī
al-Hubb fi Allah (Love for the Sake of Allah) is a treatise on Islamic creed and ethics by the Saudi scholar Abd al-Karim ibn Salih al-Humayd (d. 1445 AH / 2023 CE), focusing on the theological duty of loving and hating for the sake of God.
Composition and Publication
The work was completed by Abd al-Karim al-Humayd in 1412 AH (1991/1992 CE). Its first edition was published in Riyadh by Maktabat al-Mughni in 1413 AH / 1992 CE.
Content and Themes
The treatise expounds upon the doctrine of love and hatred for the sake of God (al-hubb fi Allah wa-l-bughd fi Allah), treating it as the bedrock of worship and religious loyalty. Al-Humayd opens by stating that God created humanity with an innate disposition (fitrah) directed toward loving, seeking, and willing Him alone, and that divine revelations were revealed to complete and refine this innate inclination.
The author argues that true love for God naturally requires conforming to what God loves and hating what He hates. Consequently, love for the sake of God cannot be sound without hatred for the sake of God, just as the declaration of faith combines negation before affirmation; allegiance (wala') is thus inseparable from disavowal (bara').
A significant portion of the work critiques contemporary attitudes regarding social interactions and morality. Al-Humayd argues that many contemporaries misinterpret good character (husn al-khuluq) as universal tolerance and amiability toward transgressors, which he characterizes as compromise (mudahanah) and a trick of Satan to suppress righteous anger for God's sake. He also addresses the Sunni theological principle that a sinful Muslim may combine grounds for both love and hatred according to their level of obedience and disobedience—contrasting this with the Kharijite position—while emphasizing that this principle does not negate exhibiting religious disapproval and anger toward sins.
The treatise concludes with an analysis of religious boycotting and abandonment (al-hajr), emphasizing the necessity of shunning open sinners and practitioners of religious innovation (ahl al-bida'), refusing to initiate greetings to them or socialize with them until they repent.
Sources and Method
Al-Humayd structures his treatise around Quranic verses and prophetic traditions, supplemented by quotations from early Muslim figures and later scholars. Among the sources and authorities cited in the work are:
- Ibn al-Qayyim, including quotations from his Miftah Dar al-Sa'adah and Hidayat al-Tariq ('Uddat al-Sabirin).
- Ibn Taymiyyah, citing his legal and theological fatwas.
- Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan's commentary in Fath al-Majid.
- Muhammad al-Saffarini's Ghidha' al-Albab.
- Early authorities and traditionists, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Sufyan al-Thawri, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, and Sulayman ibn Sahman.
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