The Heart of Islam, The Principle of Creation
Divine love, both in the sense of loving God and being loved by God, is at the heart of Islam. Many of today's Muslims and non-Muslims widely misunderstand or underestimate this truth about Islam. Most may even find it shocking that divine love is the ultimate reason for all creation according to the orthodox opinion in Islam. Out of ignorance or malice, both of which abound in regard to Islam in the modern world, it is often alleged that the Shari'ah or Shari'ah-minded Islam is dry, and rule-based, and emphasizes mechanical obedience to a wrathful, stern and distant God. There is no more truth in this allegation than in the medieval Church propaganda that Muslims worship a moon-god. Muslim's own neglect of the requirements of our faith and of our tradition only helps the myth. This article therefore seeks to discuss the concept of divine love in two ways, by showing its centrality in the Qur'an and the Prophetic teachings, and by showing a glimpse of our rich tradition that has abundantly pondered over the question, meaning and implication of divine love.