We Offer You Our Love
When a man discovers God as his Creator and Sustainer, the Giver of all blessings, it is only natural to be filled with love and devotion for Him.
There is a verse in the second chapter of the Quran (AI-Baqarah) which reads thus:
Yet some set up equals with God and adore them with the adoration due to God, but those who believe love God most. If only the wrongdoers could see—as they will see when they face the punishment—that all power belongs to God and that God is severe in punishment. (2:165)
Man is forced by his very nature and the circumstances in which he finds himself on earth to seek some external source of dependence. Unable to rely on his scant inner resources, he seeks a prop in life—one who will compensate for his shortcomings. To take another person or thing to oneself in this way is to worship it. Feelings of adoration and devotion are then directed towards one’s object of worship, for to worship something is to love it above all things.
Since God is not visible in this world, man, wanting to see something before he believes it—usually stands as one who can be seen in the place that should be allotted to God alone. Usually, charismatic leaders occupy this spot, “greats” in the sight of men, who have captured the popular imagination. Such leaders are accorded the adulation that should be accorded to God alone. Faced with an inner vacancy, a yawning gap in his soul that had to be filled, man should have turned to God for replenishment instead of other men.
Love is the greatest thing man has to offer anyone. How can man not love God when he sees that all sublime qualities come together in His majestic Being; when he realizes that whatever he owns is His divine gift; when he observes the world of nature and is filled with wonderment at the beauty and perfection of the Maker of such a magnificent work of art? Such is God, and when a man discovers one like Him, it is only natural to be filled with love and devotion for Him.
Man has nothing more significant to give anyone than love. Hence, it is not possible that he discovers God—in all His perfection—and then offers something less than love. Therefore, neither is any offer less than love acceptable to God nor is it proper for a man to offer his Lord anything less than pure, true love.
