When Does the Love of Allah Save a Person From Punishment?

Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah
have mercy on him) said regarding this matter:

There are four kinds of
love, which we must differentiate between, and those who go astray do so
because they do not make this distinction. The first of them is love of
Allah, but this alone is not sufficient to save a person from the punishment
of Allah and to earn him His reward. The Mushrikeen (idolaters), worshippers
of the cross, Jews and others all love Allah. The second is love of that
which Allah loves. This is what brings a person into Islam and out of
disbelief. The most beloved of people to Allah is the one who is most
correct and most devoted in this kind of love. The third kind is love for
the sake of Allah, which is one of the essentials of loving that which Allah
loves. A person’s love of that which Allah loves cannot be complete until he
also loves for the sake of Allah. The fourth is love for something alongside
Allah, and this love has to do with shirk (paganism). Everyone who loves
things alongside Allah but not for the sake of Allah has taken that thing as
a rival to Allah. This is the love of the Mushrikeen (pagan). There remains
a fifth kind of love which has nothing to do with our topic; this is the
natural love which is a person’s inclination towards that which suits his
nature, such as the love of a thirsty person for water or of a hungry person
for food, or the love of sleep, or of one’s wife and children. There is
nothing wrong with this unless it distracts a person from remembering Allah
and keeps him from loving Him. Allah says (interpretation of the meanings):

“O you who believe! Let
not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of
Allah” [63:9]

“Men whom neither trade
nor sale (business) diverts from the remembrance of Allah” [24:37]

(Al-Jawaab al-Kaafi,
1/134)

And he said (may Allah
have mercy on him):

The difference between
loving for the sake of Allah and loving something alongside Allah is one of
the most important distinctions. Everyone needs to make this distinction and
is indeed obliged to do so. Loving for the sake of Allah is a sign of the
perfection of faith, but loving something alongside Allah is the essence of
shirk (paganism). The difference between them is that a person’s love for
the sake of Allah is connected to his love of Allah; if this love becomes
strong in his heart, this love dictates that he will love that which Allah
loves. If he loves that which his Lord loves and he loves those who are the
friends of Allah, this is love for the sake of Allah. So he loves His
Messengers, Prophets, angels and close friends because Allah loves them, and
he hates those who hate them because Allah hates those people. The sign of
the love and hatred for the sake of Allah is that his hatred for the one
whom Allah hates will not turn into love merely because that person treats
him kindly, does him a service or meets some need he has; and his love for
those whom Allah loves will not turn to hatred simply because that person
does something that upsets or hurts him, whether it is done by mistake or
deliberately, in obedience to Allah or because the person feels that he has
a duty to do it for some reason, or because the person is a wrongdoer who
may yet give up his wrongdoing and repent. The entire religion revolves
around four principles: love and hatred, and stemming from them, action and
abstinence. The person whose love and hatred, action and abstinence, are all
for the sake of Allah, has perfected his faith so that when he loves, he
loves for the sake of Allah, when he hates, he hates for the sake of Allah,
when he does something, he does it for the sake of Allah, and when he
abstains from something, he abstains for the sake of Allah. To the extent
that he is lacking in these four categories, he is lacking in faith and
commitment to religion. This is in contrast to the love of things alongside
Allah, which is of two types. One is diametrically opposed to the principle
of Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) and is shirk; the other is opposed to
perfection of sincerity and love towards Allah, but does not put a person
beyond the pale of Islam.

The first kind is like the
love of the Mushrikeen for their idols and gods. Allah says (interpretation
of the meaning):

“And of mankind are some
who take (for worship) others besides Allah as rivals (to Allah). They love
them as they love Allah” [2:165]

These Mushrikeen love
their idols and gods alongside Allah as they love Allah. This love and
devotion is accompanied by fear, hope, worship and supplication. This love
is pure Shirk which Allah does not forgive. Faith cannot be perfected unless
a person regards these idols as enemies and hates them intensely, and hates
the people who worship them, and regards them as enemies and strives against
them. This is the message with which Allah sent all His Messengers and
revealed all His Books. He created Hell for the people of shirk who love
these rivals, and He created Paradise for those who strive against them and
take them as enemies for His sake and to earn His Pleasure. Anybody who
worships anything from the vicinity of the Throne to the lowest depths of
the earth and takes a god and a supporter besides Allah and associates other
beings in worship with Him, will be disowned by the object of his worship
when he is most in need of it [i.e., on the Day of Judgement].

The second kind is love
for the things which Allah has made attractive to people, such as women,
children, gold, silver, branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled
land. People love them with a kind of desire, like the love of the hungry
person for food and the thirsty person for water. This love is of three
kinds. If a person loves them for the sake of Allah and as a means of
obeying Allah, he will be rewarded for that; it will be counted as a part of
love for the sake of Allah and a means of reaching Him, and he will still
find enjoyment in them. This is how the best of creation [i.e. the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)] was, to whom women and perfume
were made dear in this world, and his love for them helped him to love Allah
more and to convey His Message and fulfil His commands. If a person loves
them because they suit his nature and his own desires, but he does not give
them preference over that which Allah loves and is pleased with, and he gets
them because of his natural inclination, then they come under the heading of
things which are permissible, and he will not be punished for that, but his
love of Allah and for the sake of Allah will be lacking somewhat. If his
sole purpose in life is to get these things, and he gives priority to that
over that which Allah loves and is pleased with, then he is wronging himself
and following his own desires.

The first is the love of
al-Saabiqoon (those who are foremost in Islam); the second is the love of
al-muqtasidoon (those who are average) and the third is the love of al-zaalimoon
(the wrongdoers).

Al-Rooh by Ibn al-Qayyim,
1/254.

May Allah bless our
Prophet Muhammad.