Page 58 - Those Who Exhaust All Their Pleasures In This Life

56 THOSE WHO EXHAUST ALL THEIR PLEASURES IN THIS LIFE

points. The more open is an individual’s mind and con-
science, the stronger his ability to love. But the only factor
that can give him this ability is his faith and fear of Allah.
Therefore, a person is able to experience love according to
the measure of his faith and fear of Allah; and to that
extent, he may take pleasure in it.
In the same way, in order for him to love another, that
person must have qualities that can be loved – and again,
these qualities arise from faith and the fear of Allah. The
deeper an individual’s faith in Allah, and the more he fears
Allah, the more lovable qualities he possesses. This is
because the one who fears Allah has a good moral charac-
ter; and along with the fear of Allah develop mercy, toler-
ance, reliability, courage, self-sacrifice, intelligence and
good conscience. All these qualities naturally create a
deep and strong sense of love in the heart of anyone who
sees with the eyes of faith. But if these conditions, faith
and fear of Allah, are absent – that is, if the basis of love is
absent – then no one can experience true love.
The basic source of the love that believers feel for oth-
ers is their love of Allah. The knowledge that Allah creates
the joy that comes from their heart-felt love for others, as
a manifestation of Himself, gives that love its depth. But
since the love of unbelievers is founded on their expecta-
tion of gain, they can never truly experience love. They only
love those who are useful to them, make them comforta-
ble, and do for them what they consider to be favors. But
such love rests on crumbling foundations and can never
become sincere and heart-felt love. In reality, they love