بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The Sweetness of Iman (حَلاوةُ الإيمانِ Halaawatul Iman); the Heartbeat of the Leadership of Peoples
(Translated)
https://www.alwaie.org/archives/article/20250
Al Waie Magazine Issue No. 477
Fortieth Year, Shawwal 1447 AH corresponding to April 2026 CE
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (saw) said,
«ثَلاثٌ مَن كُنَّ فيه وجَدَ حَلاوةَ الإيمانِ: مَن كان اللهُ ورَسولُه أحَبَّ إليه ممَّا سِواهما، ومَن أحَبَّ عَبدًا لا يُحِبُّه إلَّا للهِ عزَّ وجلَّ، ومَن يَكرَهُ أن يَعودَ في الكُفرِ بَعدَ إذ أنقَذَه اللهُ منه كما يَكرَهُ أن يُلقى في النَّارِ»
“There are three qualities, whoever possesses them will find the sweetness of Iman: that Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than anything else; that he loves a servant only for the sake of Allah; and that he hates to return to disbelief after Allah has saved him, just as he hates to be thrown into the Fire.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhari].
Imam An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his Sharh ( شرحHadith explanation), (هَذَا حَدِيثٌ عَظِيمٌ أَصْلٌ مِنْ أُصُولِ الْإِسْلَامِ قَالَ الْعُلَمَاءُ رَحِمَهُمُ اللَّهُ مَعْنَى حَلَاوَةَ الْإِيمَانِ اسْتِلْذَاذُ الطاعات وتحمل المشقات في رضى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَرَسُولِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَإِيثَارُ ذَلِكَ عَلَى عَرَضِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَحَبَّةِ الْعَبْدِ رَبَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى بِفِعْلِ طَاعَتِهِ وَتَرْكِ مُخَالَفَتِهِ وَكَذَلِكَ مَحَبَّةُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ) “This great hadith is a fundamental from within the fundamentals of Islam. The ulema have said that the meaning of the sweetness of Iman is finding pleasure in acts of obedience and enduring hardships for the sake of pleasing Allah, the Exalted, and His Messenger (saw), preferring this to worldly gain, and loving one’s Lord, the Glorified and Exalted, by obeying Him and refraining from disobeying Him, as well as loving the Messenger of Allah (saw).”
Qadi Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said (هَذَا الْحَدِيث بِمَعْنَى الْحَدِيث الْمُتَقَدِّم ( ذَاقَ طَعْم الْإِيمَان مَنْ رَضِيَ بِاَللَّهِ رَبًّا ، وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا ، وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَسُولًا ) وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ لَا يَصِحُّ الْمَحَبَّة لِلَّهِ وَرَسُوله صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَقِيقَة وَحُبُّ الْآدَمِيِّ فِي اللَّه وَرَسُوله صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَكَرَاهَة الرُّجُوع إِلَى الْكُفْر إِلَّا لِمَنْ قَوَّى بِالْإِيمَانِ يَقِينَهُ ، وَاطْمَأَنَّتْ بِهِ نَفْسه ، وَانْشَرَحَ لَهُ صَدْره ، وَخَالَطَ لَحْمه وَدَمه . وَهَذَا هُوَ الَّذِي وَجَدَ حَلَاوَته) “He who is content with Allah as his Lord, with Islam as his Deen, and with Muhammad (saw) as his Messenger has tasted the sweetness of Iman. This is because true love for Allah and His Messenger (saw) and aversion to returning to kufr (disbelief) are only valid for one whose certainty in Iman is strong, whose soul is at peace with it, whose heart is filled with it, and whose very being is mingled with it. This is the one who has found its sweetness.” He also said, (وَالْحُبُّ فِي اللَّه مِنْ ثَمَرَات حُبّ اللَّه) “Love for the sake of Allah is one of the fruits of loving Allah.”
Qari Badr al-Din al-Ayni said, (وَقَالَ بَعضهم الْمحبَّة مواطأة الْقلب على مَا يُرْضِي الرب سُبْحَانَهُ، فيحب مَا أحبَّ وَيكرهُ مَا يكره) “Some of the ulema said that love is the heart’s alignment with what pleases the Lord, the Exalted, so that it loves what He loves and hates what He hates.”
Concisely, the essence of love is inclination towards what pleases the one who is loved. This inclination may be towards what a person finds pleasing and agreeable, such as a beautiful appearance, voice, food, and the like. It may also be for inner meanings, such as loving the righteous, the ulema, and people of virtue in general. It may be for the kindness shown to one, and for protecting one from harm and misfortune. All these meanings are found in the Prophet Muhammad (saw), for he combined outward and inward beauty, perfect majestic qualities, and possessed all kinds of virtues. Allah (swt) bestowed His favor upon all Muslims by guiding them to the straight path, ensuring the continuity of blessings, and protecting them from Hellfire. Some ulema have suggested that this is conceivable in relation to Allah (swt), for all goodness originates from Him. Malik and others have stated that, (الْمَحَبَّةُ فِي اللَّهِ مِنْ وَاجِبَاتِ الْإِسْلَامِ) “Love for the sake of Allah is from amongst the Shariah obligations in Islam.”
This is regarding the meaning of the hadith. As for its connection to the current political reality of the Islamic Ummah, when the Prophet (saw) says that «اللهُ ورَسولُه أحَبَّ إليه ممَّا سِواهما» “Allah (swt) and His Messenger be more beloved to him than anything else,” he is speaking of a profound emotion residing in even the corners of niches of the heart, accompanied by a profound emotional transformation that sweeps away all rivals.
This love is the central focus to which all senses are drawn. There is no allegiance to any leader, no sanctity granted to any man-made constitution, and no submission to the dictates of the world’s leading power in the balance of ideological politics. This love is for the absolute sovereignty of Shariah Law. This is the moment when the believer sees that international laws and capitalist systems are nothing but modern idols worshipped instead of Allah (swt).
The sweetness of Iman here lies in that spiritual pride that makes one refuse to bow down to anyone other than the Creator, Allah (swt), believing that the ideology of Islam is not merely rituals such as Salah, Qiyam, Tahajjud, and Dua, but instead the commitment to the governance of the Shariah of Allah (swt) in matters of ruling, economics and the social system, as well as all other aspects of life. Only those whom Allah (swt) has commanded to be obeyed are to be obeyed on earth, and through this commitment, one’s love for Allah (swt) and His Messenger is embodied.
The Prophet (saw) saying that,
«اللهُ ورَسولُه أحَبَّ إليه ممَّا سِواهما» “Allah (swt) and His Messenger be more beloved to him than anything else,” is the foundation and essence of caring for the affairs of the Ummah. In the understanding of the ideology of Islam, love is complete submission, and it necessitates outright rejection of all systems that exclude the Shariah Law of Allah (swt).
Whoever has tasted the sweetness of this love cannot accept legislative sovereignty for the people in democracy, nor the sanctity of the man-made constitution.
It is a Dawah to shatter the “political idols” erected by the colonialists in our lands, and a declaration that loyalty is due only to the Ummah’s civilizational project embodied in the Second Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided Caliphate), which will raise the Kalimah of Allah (swt) as the highest and reduce the matter of the disbelievers to its lowest.
As for the Prophet (saw) saying,
«ومَن أحَبَّ عَبدًا لا يُحِبُّه إلَّا للهِ عزَّ وجلَّ» “He loves a servant only for the sake of Allah.”, this is the ticking time bomb that threatens the foundations of the deformed nation-state. It is the bond that above the boundaries of geography, blood, and language to forge the Ummah into one. When you love your brother for the sake of Allah (swt), you refuse to let your racial identity hinder your support for him, and you refuse to let any “national interest” justify abandoning him.
This is the sweetness of the Ummah as one body, where if one part suffers in Gaza or Syria, the whole body responds with fever and sleeplessness. It is a revolution against the idolatrous nationalism that has fragmented the Ummah, and a revival of the spirit of an Ummah that recognizes only the banner of “La Illaha Illa Allah” (There is no god but Allah).
This discourse weaves threads of light connecting the heart of a Muslim in Pakistan with the heart of his brother in Sudan, transcending those artificial nationalistic borders drawn by the colonialist with our blood.
As for the Prophet (saw) saying, «ومَن يَكرَهُ أن يَعودَ في الكُفرِ بَعدَ إذ أنقَذَه اللهُ منه كما يَكرَهُ أن يُلقى في النَّار» “He hates to return to disbelief after Allah has saved him, just as he hates to be thrown into the Fire.” This is the emotional separation between the light of Islam and the darkness of man-made systems. It is a declaration of no return to the age of darkness and subservience. It is a powerful portrayal of those who have tasted the sweetness of honor through Islam and are then expected to return to the confine of Western subservience. Kufr (Disbelief) here is not merely a denial of the Creator, but rather the tyrannical system that shackles Ummah with debt, humiliating agreements, and a sham democracy.
The believer who has assimilated within the thought of revival (نهضة nahdah) sees the civil state or secularism as a fire that burns the Ummah’s identity and devours its future. Therefore, his steadfastness upon ideology, his rejection of political compromises, and his refusal to accept half-measures are an escape from the fire.
The sweetness of Iman here lies in the certainty of the truthful that living in the hardship of the struggle against falsehood is more beautiful and purer than indulging in deceptive bliss under the shadow of systems of disbelief.
Under the weight of the fierce colonialist onslaught led by corrupt capitalism, and at a time when international systems are employing all their tools to subdue the Ummah and subject it to the law of the jungle and the legislation of man-made laws, the words of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) emerge as a solid intellectual foundation for the process of radical change. The sweetness of Iman is not a devotional ritual isolated from the reality of the conflict, but rather the revolutionary engine that liberates humanity from the bondage of Western systems, and returns it to the authority of divine revelation. This love is what makes the blood of Muslims in Gaza, Syria, Kashmir, and Turkestan one blood. It is the bond that rejects artificial nationalistic borders and considers them a colonialist crime.
The sweetness of Iman here lies in rejecting narrow-sighted nationalism and working tirelessly to unify the Muslim World under one banner, the Rayah banner of Al-Uqab, so that Muslims become a formidable international power that the disbelieving colonialist will fear.
Whoever loves Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw) more than anything else cannot accept the international legitimacy that granted the Jewish entity a right to the land of the destination of the Isra' (the Night Journey).
The sweetness of Iman necessitates rejecting the resolutions of the United Nations and its Security Council and adhering to the Shariah Law of Allah (swt) which mandates the tahrir (تحرير liberation) every inch of Palestine through the mobilization of armies, not through begging the international community, which is the root of the problem. It is the absolute sovereignty of divine revelation over the dictates of the White House.
The sweetness of Iman lies in the bond of belief that unifies the Ummah of Islam as one body. Love for the sake of Allah (swt) necessitates the dismantling of the Sykes-Picot nationalistic borders that protect the Jewish entity. Supporting Gaza and Baytul-Maqdis is not merely a matter of humanitarian solidarity, but a Shariah obligation that compels the People of Military Power and Protection (أهل القوة والمنعة Ahl ul-Quwwah wal Man’ah) in Muslim lands to overthrow the Ruwaibadah (lowly insignificant rulers) who prevent armies from marching to liberate Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.
This brotherhood negates security coordination with the usurping Jewish occupiers, and revives jihad to liberate the land and its people.
The sweetness of Iman imposes the bond of Aqeedah-based brotherhood above nationalistic military considerations. Love for the sake of Allah (swt) requires soldiers in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia to see the Muslims of Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar (Burma), and Syria as brothers in blood and Iman, deserving of immediate support.
A believer serving in the military must hate remaining within the international order of disbelief, and subservience to it, as much as he would hate being thrown into the fire. Adherence to the ideology of Islam here means liberation from Western hegemony, and a refusal to allow armies to serve as guardians of colonialist interests, and instruments of oppression against peoples, under the guise of counterterrorism.
The sweetness of Iman compels the People of Military Power and Protection to reject this humiliation and to work towards a radical transformation that removes the legitimacy of the current regimes, and places power in the hands of a guardian Imam who is fought behind and protected by.
Palestine today does not await a feeble Arab summit or a deceptive international resolution, but instead awaits an Ummah whose sons have tasted the sweetness of Iman, thus readily sacrificing their blood for the sake of Allah (swt) and liberating themselves from the bondage of the capitalist international order.
The struggle today is between the doctrine of liberation (تحرير tahrir) and the doctrine of submission.
Let belief in the Khilafah be the compass, the love of a Muslim for his fellow Muslim for the sake of Allah (swt) be the fuel, and hatred for the systems of disbelief be the driving force. When we consider the state of the Muslim World today, we realize that its crisis lies not in a lack of weapons or manpower, but instead in a combat doctrine shackled by regimes that are bound by the chains of subservience to colonialist powers. It is here that the discourse on the sweetness of Iman becomes the covenant for radical change within the military barracks, and the impetus for mobilizing the troops towards their ultimate goal.
The colonialists have succeeded in making the Muslim soldier see his fellow Muslim as an enemy simply because he wears the military uniform of a neighboring country, while simultaneously viewing joint military exercises with America and France as a security necessity!
In secular military science, the soldier reveres orders, even if they are treasonous, and pledges allegiance to the regime, even if it is tyrannical. However, the Islamic Aqeedah (doctrine) dictates that the commands of Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw) must be more beloved to the officer and the soldier than anything else. These commands are above the orders of the supreme military commander, if they contradict the Shariah Law of Islam, and above the interests of the regime that guards the nationalistic borders of the Jewish entity. True military doctrine is that which makes the soldier realize that obeying the ignorant and unworthy by disobeying the Creator, Allah (swt), is utter ruin, and that true loyalty lies in supporting the Deen of Allah (swt) and raising His Kalimah as the highest. This is embodied today in granting military support (نصرة nussrah) for the establishment of the Khilafah, which leads armies toward epic battles, not mere miliary parades and displays.
The continued dependence of armies on American aid, Western training, and humiliating security agreements is nothing but a fire that consumes the soldier's dignity and Deen. The sweetness of Iman, in the awareness of the Dawah Carrier, is the power that transforms weakness into strength and disunity into unity.
It is not a feeling that ends with the conclusion of Salah, but instead a way of living that rejects the notion that the Ummah of the Noble Quran should be subservient to capitalist powers, or a stage for the competitive conflicts between disbelieving nations. When the shebaab, the young men and women, of the Ummah taste this sweetness of Iman, the thrones of injustice will become less significant to them than a spider’s web, and the rocks of defeated pragmatic political realism will crumble beneath the firm feet of ideology. This sweetness of Iman paves the way for the dawn of the Khilafah, where Islam will once again lead humanity, and Iman will transform from a pulse in hearts into justice that fills the earth, and a power that shatters the shackles of the arrogant.
An Ummah whose very heart is imbued with the truth of this message is an invincible Ummah. The sweetness of Iman is the sustenance that empowers the sincere to confront the tyranny of the oppressors.
Let your Iman fuel your political action, let your love for Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw) be a guiding light in the darkness of confusion, and let your hatred for the systems of disbelief be the impetus for eradicating them from their roots.
The dawn of the Khilafah will not break through UN resolutions, but through hearts that have tasted the sweetness of Iman, sold themselves to Allah (swt), and pledged to establish His Deen. And that is not difficult for Allah (swt).