To love someone for the sake of Allah

To love someone for the sake of Allah is a grand act for which much
merit and many rewards have been promised.

"To love for the sake of Allah" means loving someone, not for worldly
gain, but because he/she is more religious and pious or busy in serving
Muslims and Islam, or because loving him or her is commanded by Allah;
like loving parents.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

"Allah shall ask on the Day of Judgment; ' Where are those who loved for
the sake of my greatness? Today when there is no shade, I shall have
them in my shade.'" [Sahih Muslim]

Allah (swt) says in the Qur'an:

"The Believers are but a single brotherhood."[49:10]

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

"There are three things, that whoever attains, will find the
sweetness of faith: If Allah and his messenger are dearer to him than
anyone else; if he loves a person solely for the sake of Allah; and if
he would hate to return to disbelief (kufr) after Allah has rescued him
from it, as much as he would hate to be thrown into fire."[Agreed upon]

Having love for Allah's pious and good bondsmen is actually an outcome
of one's love for Allah, so it earns the same rewards and merits as the
latter.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was asked:

"When shall come the Day of Judgment?" Our Prophet (pbuh) asked him :
"What preparation have you made for the Day?" The man said,
"Nothing, but I have love for Allah and for his messenger." The Prophet
(pbuh) said: "You shall be (on that Day) with whom you love."

The above saying (hadith) has been quoted by Anas. He said that these
words of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) pleased us as nothing had ever
done. He added: "I have great love for the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) - may
he be eternally blessed - and with Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allah be
pleased with them, and because of this love, I shall be in their
company, even though my deeds are not equal to theirs." [Sahih Bukhari]

Allah has commanded Muslims to love one another, to take one another as
friends and brothers and care and help each other, Allah (swt) says in
the Qur'an:

(And hold fast by the covenant of Allah all together and be not
disunited, and remember the favor of Allah on you when you were enemies,
then He united your hearts so by His favor you became brethren; and you
were on the brink of a pit of fire, then He saved you from it, thus does
Allah make clear to you His communications that you may follow the right
way.)[3:103]

Our love for each other for the sake of Allah implies a willingness to
sacrifice our needs for the sake of our fellow Muslims' needs in a
manner that far outweighs normal sacrifice for the sake of friendship.
This pure love is crucial to maintaining Muslims' faith, if Muslims
don't have strong relations with each other, their faith will
automatically decrease.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

"The relationship between believers is like a wall, parts of which
support other parts."[Muslim]

The concept of love for the sake of Allah doesn't recognize nor
permit "friendship" between men and women that is outside of
marriage and familial bonds. However, Muslims wives and husbands shouldl
love each other for the sake of Allah, their children will love them and
love each other for the sake of Allah. This will sure result in strong
family relations and a healthy Muslim community.

A Muslim should not forsake or abandon his brother, Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) said:

"There should be no breaking off of ties, no turning away from one
another, no hating one another. Be brothers, as Allah has commanded
you."[Muslim]

Also Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) advised Muslims to show their love for one
another, he said:

"If a man loves his brother in faith, he should tell him that he
loves him."[Abu Dawud]

There are so many sayings of our Prophet (pbuh) showing that having love
for someone for the sake of Allah is an act of great merit, which grants
one the opportunity of doing good in this world and being in exalted
company in the Hereafter.

Hence, one should love good people for the sake of Allah and with the
intent of becoming good oneself and earning Allah's pleasure.