Is Disbelieving in Love Considered Disbelief?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
Some people don’t believe in love because they were betrayed or rejected. Is this sinful or related to kufr?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
Disbelieving in love is not disbelief. That said, it is likely that the person has lost faith in the idea of love or the possibility of achieving love. Disbelieving categorically in love as a reality is problematic. This is because love is not only mentioned in the Quran but encouraged as the highest level of religious achievement.
Love in the Qur’an and Hadith
Allah Most High says, “Still there are some who take others as Allah’s equal—they love them as they should love Allah—but the [true] believers love Allah even more. If only the wrongdoers could see the [horrible] punishment [awaiting them], they would certainly realize that all power belongs to Allah and that Allah is indeed severe in punishment.” [Quran, 2:165]
Also, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “None of you truly believe until I am more beloved to them than his father, children, and all of humankind.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
This Type of Rejection Is Unlikely
For someone to reject a feeling like love is like rejecting the presence of daylight. For this reason, it is highly unlikely that this person disbelieves in the idea of love.
Rather, they may have lost confidence in the attainability of love or a particular manifestation of love (like the love between spouses or love at first sight).
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
