This Is Love

This Is Love is a powerful, spiritually enriching book that guides believers to understand love from an Islamic worldview — love for Allah, love for His Messenger ﷺ, and love for His creation — in a way that reflects mercy, sincerity, and true faith. Authored by Dr. Ali Albarghouthi, the book spans approximately 484 pages, offering a comprehensive treatment of love’s meaning, purpose, and realization according to the Qur’an and Sunnah. 

In a time when many equate love with sentiment, desire, or fleeting emotion — often divorced from spiritual grounding — this book redirects the reader to the Source of all love: Allah ﷻ. It collects and explains forty authentic ḥadīths that illustrate how believers are commanded to love Allah, His Messenger ﷺ, and the bonds of brotherhood, compassion, and justice among people. Through these Prophetic teachings, the reader is reminded that Islam is not just a code of laws but a religion of mercy, compassion, and deep, purposeful love. 

This Is Love does more than quote pious texts — it analyzes misconceptions widespread in contemporary discourse: the idea that love is subjective, relative, or solely emotional; the pursuit of “soul-mates” or worldly attachments as substitutes for spiritual connection; or the depiction of Islam as cold and legalistic. It explains how true love, according to Islam, is rooted in knowledge (ʿilm), submission (islām), gratitude (shukr), and remembrance of Allah (dhikr) — values that lead to inner peace, firm faith, and wholesome relationships. 

Importantly, the book addresses the full scope of love: love of Allah and His Messenger as the highest aim; love for family, community, and humanity within the limits of Shariʿah; and a balanced detachment from worldly attachments that can corrupt the heart. It emphasizes that love should lead to obedience, moral integrity, and concern for others — not to heedlessness, excess, or distorted desires. In short, This Is Love presents Islam as the true “handbook of love,” offering clarity and hope for seekers who yearn for meaningful connection, spiritual fulfillment, and righteous companionship.

Whether you are a new Muslim, a struggling soul seeking direction, or someone tired of deceptive worldly definitions of love, this book stands as a guide to rediscovering divine love, human compassion, and lasting spiritual purpose. It is both timeless and timely: a healing balm for hearts in an age of confusion, alienation, and emotional brokenness.

All of us are looking for love. We carry enough pain, frustration, and doubt in us to crush us. And only the comforting embrace of love can save us. We look around and see a world embroiled in so much greed, racism, inequality, and cynicism. We have become increasingly suspicious of one another, more intolerant, and crueler. We need change. Many sing the praises of love and tout it as the answer. But they do not tell us what love is, what to love, or how to love it. Each imagines it and lives it differently. Which one is right? Which path should we follow?

No one understands love better than the One who created it. He knows how much we need it and how it can be nurtured. He sent His Books and Prophets to teach us what love is, so we can love Him and each other. And He warned us against distorted and toxic love. Islam is the handbook of love. It is the best, fastest, and most comprehensive way to do it.

This book presents the Islamic message of love through forty hadiths on loving Allah, His Prophet, and His creation. It explains the indispensability of divine love in human existence, the centrality of love in Islam, and the means to attain and spread love on earth. It also clarifies common misunderstandings about love in Islam, affirming that Islam is the religion of love par excellence.