Yuhibbunahum Kahubbillah Wallazina Amanuu Ashaddu Hubban Lillah -al-baqarah 165- Site

Allah does not leave us to guess how to love Him. He sent Muhammad ﷺ as the living embodiment of divine love. Allah says in Surah Aal-Imran (3:31): "Say, [O Muhammad], 'If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you.'" The litmus test of your love for Allah is your adherence to the Sunnah in small things (eating, sleeping, speaking) and big things (charity, justice, prayer).

To understand the warning, we must first understand the term Andaad (أنداد). Literally, it means "equals," "opponents," or "rivals." In the pre-Islamic era of Jahiliyyah, this referred literally to statues and deities. However, classical and contemporary scholars (including Ibn Kathir, Al-Tabari, and modern exegetes) argue that Andaad can be anything a person elevates to a status that rivals their devotion to Allah. Allah does not leave us to guess how to love Him

These "rivals" are not always idols of stone. They can be: The verse describes these people as those who

The verse describes these people as those who love these rivals "ka-hubbillah" (as they should love Allah). This is the crux of the error: They have taken a finite, created thing and poured into it an infinite, uncreated love. wallażīna āmanū asyaddu ḥubban lillah...

Wa minan-nasi man yattakhidzu min dunillahi andādan yuhibbūnahum kaḥubbillah, wallażīna āmanū asyaddu ḥubban lillah...