What Is the Relationship Between the Scale of Deeds and Love, and How Can We Perform Deeds with Affection?
To explore the relationship between the scale of deeds and love, we must first examine the place of love within the system of creation and within our own lives. It is fascinating to know that love and affection form the very foundation of the entire system of creation—and that we, too, have come to this world in order to fall in love and to live lovingly. In other words, the sole secret to have a healthy birth into the Hereafter lies in becoming a lover.
“O Zahid the lover of the true Beloved be if not, one day, the world’s work endeth
And from the workshop of existence the world the picture of thy purpose unread unattained, thou shall die [1]”
Thus, the relationship between the scale of deeds and love is a direct and profound one. But what kind of love are we referring to? What is this love that serves as the key to our bliss? We human beings possess beloveds across all dimensions of our existence—inanimate, vegetative, animalistic, intellective, and supra-rational- and it is natural that living in this world involves attraction to all these beloveds. However, the love that we are discussing here—the love that leads us to the very purpose of our creation—is love for the Beloved of the human dimension.
As we know, the human dimension—or the heart—is the eternal and true dimension of our existence. It comes from God and ultimately returns to Him. In the Hereafter, our only true asset is a sound heart. In other words, in the hereafter nothing will benefit us except a sound heart. A sound heart is one whose only deity and beloved is Allah [2]. In fact, the statement “There is no deity but Allah” belongs exclusively to the human dimension of our existence. Undoubtedly, one whose human dimension has not yet reached maturity cannot truly love Allah or declare this monotheistic statement with sincerity—just as someone who has not reached sexual maturity cannot understand love for or marriage with the opposite sex. Therefore, attaining the status of a true human being means realizing the truth of “There is no deity but Allah.” And it is precisely for this reason that no prophet before Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him and his family) brought a message equivalent to “There is no deity but Allah” for humanity [3].
Now, considering that in our worldly life we encounter a variety of beloveds, the mere expression of love for God is not enough to attain a sound heart. Rather, Allah must always be prioritized as our True Beloved above all others. His pleasure must guide our choices and decisions, otherwise, our heart will be unsound, and the scale of our deeds will be light. The crucial point in the relationship between the scale of deeds and love is that love for Allah inherently leads to love for the Household of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them), and striving (jihād) in the cause of Allah.
The Relationship between the Scale of Deeds and Love for the Ahl al-Bayt (Peace be upon them) and Striving in the Cause of Allah
We human beings, bound as we are by the limitations of the material world, have no direct access to the Infinite and Absolute Perfection. In order to comprehend such Perfection, develop love for Him, and acquire human assets, we are in need of a guide and a role model. The Ahl al-Bayt (Peace be upon them) are the perfect human beings and the highest manifestation of Allah. In other words, they are the most similar created beings to Allah and encompass all divine attributes. Moreover, they have been appointed by Almighty Allah as Imams and leaders to guide us, making them the best role models for us. For this reason, love for the Ahl al-Bayt(Peace be upon them) and obedience to them are indispensable requirements for acquiring a sound heart and a heavy scale of deeds.
Striving (jihād) in the cause of God means to fight against everything that stands in the way of connecting with the Beloved of our human dimension—Allah Himself. Therefore, love for jihād, like love for the Ahl al-Bayt(Peace be upon them), is essential for the weightiness of our scale and our eternal bliss. As Allah states in the Holy Quran, if love for Allah, the Ahl al-Bayt(Peace be upon them), and striving in His causee are not placed above all other beloveds, then we are indeed among fasiqs and the deviated [4]. Thus, only someone who has prioritized their beloveds and the true meaning of “There is no deity but Allah” flows through every dimension of their life has reached the human status.
In truth, we are meant to choose, of our own free will, to love Allah in this world, despite the presence of numerous lower beloveds. We must seek those other beloveds only under the shadow of divine love and employ them as means to draw closer to Allah, since all of them have been placed at our disposal merely as tools for attaining the ultimate purpose. Whoever embraces this love and discovers this life-giving secret will not only experience happiness and inner peace unmatched by any other love, but will also be granted a healthy birth into the Hereafter, with a heavy scale of deeds—this is true bliss in both this world and the Hereafter.
Therefore, regarding the relationship between the scale of deeds and love, we can say that the beloveds that preoccupy our lives directly affect whether our scale of deeds will weigh heavily or lightly on the Day of Judgment.
As discussed in this lesson, the relationship between the scale of deeds and love is a direct one: The greater love for Allah in our hearts, the heavier our scale of deeds will be because our only true asset in the Hereafter is a sound heart, and a sound heart is one whose sole beloved is Allah. This love for Allah necessarily entails love for the Household of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them) and striving in the cause of Allah. Therefore, regarding the scale of deeds and love, we must conclude that attaining the human status and a heavy scale on the Day of Judgment requires that we prioritize our beloveds—placing Allah, the Ahl al-Bayt (Peace be upon them), and striving in His cause above all else, so that they govern all other beloveds.
References
[1]. Hafez, Divan Hafez, Ghazal 435.
[2]. “La ilaha illa Allah: There is no deity but Allah”
[3]. Muhammad ibn Ali al-Saduq, Al-Tawhid, trans. Seyed Ali Reza Rizvi, Book 2, Chapter 1, Hadith 1.
[4]. Quran, 9:24