Ashraf Schneider – Love of God – Part 1

			Assalamu alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh, Peace, blessings and mercy be upon you all. Welcome
back to my page. In this latest series of videos, we'll be exploring the notion of God's love. What
love is how God expects us to show our love of Him, and how he in turn shows us his love in our
daily lives. Let's get right into it. Have you ever wondered what exactly love is? Take a moment to
think about it. It is not easy to define, is it? A poet once wrote that when the pain is put to
paper and writes about love, it breaks into when we try to express our love, we find it very hard to
find the right word. The expressions we use do not fully encompass what is burning deep inside our
		

			hearts. This may explain why we associate love with actions and not just words, we embrace each
other, by our loved ones gifts and kiss our children. Love is truly a powerful, unique and
irresistible feeling. Many people love others because of what they have done for them. For example,
people love their parents because of what they have done for them. They cared, nurtured and provided
for us. This leads to feelings of gratitude and love. From this, we can see that love certainly in
part, stems from a deep and profound feeling of gratitude. It is that feeling that it makes us want
to reciprocate and return the favor. We can also love someone not because they have done something
		

			for us, but rather because the very nature is such that it makes us love them. For example, we may
love an inspirational historical figure. Although we may not be direct beneficiaries of something
they did. They're very qualities such as bravery, generosity, and creativity makes us love them. So
what about God's love? Sadly, we know that in this life, you can love someone that has lost love for
you or never loved you in the first place. Right? We call that unrequited love, and many a breakup
valid has been written about the phenomenon. This kind of unrequited or unreturned love can be
extremely painful. But there is one love that is not like that at all, in love that is totally
		

			unique. That love is the love of God. God wants us to seek His love and gives it freely. One of
God's names is the most loving. He is the source of all love. His love is greater than any worldly
love we have ever experienced. This should instill in us a deep yearning for his love, as this is
the greatest gift that anyone can ever receive. God's love is a source of Eternal tranquility, peace
and eternal bliss in the hereafter. The Quran tells us in chapter 13, verse 28, that those who have
faith is hard find peace in the remembrance of God. Truly, it is in the remembrance of God, that
hearts find peace. God's love for us transcends all others. According to Prophet Muhammad, peace and
		

			blessings be upon him. God is more affectionate to his servant than a mother to her children. Think
about the self sacrificing and selfless, unconditional love of a mother. Now just try to comprehend
that God's love for us is even bigger than that. God is the epitome of love. And all you have to do
to experience a peace in your heart that surpasses all understanding is have faith. For then your
heart will find peace in the remembrance of God and His love for you. God's love is eternal in He
invites us all to accept it, but in order to fully embrace that love, and for that acceptance to be
meaningful, it has to be reciprocal, right? Otherwise, it's unrequited love. So you have to love God
		

			in return and loving him means striving to follow the path to salvation, that God has sent His
prophets to show us. Love is expressed in actions. Someone who loves you will show you their love. A
clear sign that you love God is that you make him the only one that you worship in his land.
Specifically, worship is a comprehensive term that refers to knowing God, loving God, obeying and
submitting to him and singling out all actions for him alone. It is both an active and passive
pursuit, making it a way of life rather than any singular action. Anything good that we do, can be
an act of worship. Whether that is praising God, being good to our parents and family, reflecting on
		

			experiencing or celebrating nature, giving charity, fasting, smiling at a stranger searching for
cures to known ailments, or even thinking good thoughts about God, or forgiving people their
mistakes. All of these can be considered acts of worship, if they are done for the sake or service,
or in remembrance or awareness of God. The Koran chapter two verses 163 265 tells us Your God is the
One God there is no God except in the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy in the creation
		

			Have the heavens and the earth in the alternation of the night and the day in the ships that sail
the seas with goods for people in the water that God sends down from the sky to give life to the
earth, when it has become barren, scattering all kinds of creatures over it. In the changing of the
winds and clouds that Grundy pointed courses between the sky and the earth. There are signs in all
these for those who use their minds. Even so, there are some who choose to worship others beside God
as rivals to him, loving them with the love that is due to God. But the believers have a greater
love for God. Knowing the vast extent of God's generosity and mercy will make us grateful servants,
		

			with gratitude comes love. And as we get closer to God, he also comes closer to us, you will feel
the presence of His mercy and forgiveness and experience the reality of His love. Because when you
remember God, he remembers you. Thus the servant loves his Lord, and the Lord loves his servant.
According to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. God the Most High said, I am as my
servants expects I am. I'm with him when he mentions me, if he mentioned me to himself, I mentioned
him to myself. And if he mentioned me in an assembly, I mentioned him in an assembly greater than
it. If he draws near to me, a hands leg, I draw near to Him and arms. When he comes to me walking, I
		

			will come to him running in Islam. To live a life of worship of God also means that we accept that
nothing whatsoever shares in God's creative power and ability, and that we affirm that His names and
attributes are unique to him. All acts of worship are for and directed to him alone. All praise is
for him, and he alone should be called upon when we need help. As it says in the Quran, chapter one,
verses two to seven, Praise belongs to God, Lord of the woods, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of
Mercy, Master of the Day of Judgment, It is You we worship, It is You we ask for help guide us to
the straight path, the path of those you have blessed, those who incur no anger, and who have not
		

			gone astray. God's names and attributes, thus have no deficiency or flaw. He has no sons or
daughters, and neither does he have a father or mother. He was never born, and he will never die. He
is unique and nothing like his creation, or like anything we can imagine. He is transcendent and
maximally perfect. As it says in the Quran, chapter 112 verses 124 Say, He is God, the One God the
Eternal, he begat no one, nor was he begotten, no one is comparable to him. So how do we go about
showing God our love, as we've established, the key is in living a life of worship and remembrance
of God. The greatest sign of our love is in what we do, not in what we say. Loving God is not just
		

			the statement, it is proven and expressed in how we act and who we become. worshiping God in mind,
body and spirit, as opposed to just in speech is then the highest expression of our love for Him.
And there are three main reasons that should compel us all to worship our Lord with all our heart,
soul, strength and mind. We'll be further discussing these three main reasons in part two of this
video series, which will be released shortly. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my viewers,
as always, for your kind words and comments, and your engagement with my content. If you have any
questions about any of the content I've shared with you today, I look forward to connecting with you
		

			in the comment section. Alternatively, you're always welcome to send me a DM via my page. If you'd
like to be one of the first to see part two of this series. Make sure to subscribe to my page and to
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publish the next video. Until next time to Zakah locker