6 Attributes the Loving God does NOT Love

 6 Attributes the Loving God does NOT Love July 11, 2021

My last post was about the attributes God loves. But does God love everyone regardless of what they do? In part 2 of the conversation, I will address the attributes God does not love. I would keep my opinion to myself as I will be quoting from the Qur’an itself- considered the literal word of God by Muslims.

Before we delve into who, or what, God does not love, it is critically important to keep a few things in mind, as they relate to God’s Mercy and Kindness. This will put the topic of today’s article in perspective.

The most commonly repeatedly attributes of God mentioned in the Qur’an are Ar Rahman and Ar Rahim– the Most Kind and the Most Merciful. The Qur’an is full of reminders of God’s mercy and His forgiveness. The following verse says it all.

 Say: “O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. 39:53

 

The exegetists differ in their opinion if this was revealed in reference to a particular group of Muslims or a larger group or the entire humanity. Many do believe it is addressed to all ‘servants’ and all humans are considered His servants.

We tend to forget that in Islam, one of the biggest sins is to lose hope in God’s Mercy!

 And whoever does evil or acts unjustly to his soul, then asks forgiveness of Allah, he shall find Allah Forgiving, Merciful. 4:110

‘Acting unjustly to his own soul’ or ‘transgressed against their souls’ refer to the fact that if we do wrong, we are hurting ourselves and acting against our own (long term) interest.

There are other passages that clearly state that everyone will be rewarded for even an atom’s worth of good deed. Some of the ’99 Names of God’ refer to His forgiveness and love are noted here:

Al-Wadud: The Loving One

Al-Ghaffar: The Forgiving

Al-Ghafur: The Forgiver and the Hider of Faults

Al-Afu: The Forgiver- this refers to forgiving as in ‘rubbing off’ or in deletion of sins as if they never occurred!

Al-Rau’f: The Clement (Lenient)/Kind

 

Like the Qur’an, the Old Testament is also sometimes viewed as a bearer of a wrathful God, ready to set everything ablaze. Following passage addresses both His loving Kindness, as well applying His Justice to punish the guilty.

Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and truth; who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”  Exodus 34:6-7

 

The Gospels make reference to forgiveness on numerous occasions and add another element- to forgive each other so God can forgive us- something that is part of the revered ‘Lord’s prayers’ as taught in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4

….and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Luke 11:4 and Matthew 6:12

 

With that background, let’s see what are the attributes and what kind of people are disliked by the All-loving, the Most Kind and the Most Merciful God. Once again, as I did on my post on Allah Loves These 8 Attributes, I will quote the verses with no, or very little commentary. This is by no means an all-inclusive list. Each of these verses end with “God does not love….”, except 4:148 that actually starts with that phrase.

  1. The arrogant, the boastful

 And serve Allah and do not associate any thing with Him and be good to the parents and to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the neighbor of (your) kin and the alien neighbor, and the companion in a journey and the wayfarer and those whom your right hands possess; surely Allah does not love him who is proud, boastful; The Qur’an 4:36
So that you may not grieve for what has escaped you, nor be exultant at what He has given you; and God does not love any arrogant boaster. The Qur’an 57:23

  1. Public defamation or hurtful speeches

Allah does not love the public utterance of hurtful speech unless (it be) by one to whom injustice has been done; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing. The Qur’an 4:148

  1. The transgressors/exceeding the limits

O you who believe! do not forbid (yourselves) the good things which God has made lawful for you and do not exceed the limits; surely God does not love those who exceed the limits. The Qur’an 5:87

Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God does not love the transgressors.. The Qur’an 2:190

 

  1. The mischief maker

And when he turns back, he runs along in the land that he may cause mischief in it and destroy the crops and the stock, and Allah does not love mischief-making. The Qur’an 2:205

 

  1. The wasteful, the extravagant

And He it is Who produces gardens (of vine), trellised and untrellised, and palms and seed-produce of which the fruits are of various sorts, and olives and pomegranates, like and unlike; eat of its fruit when it bears fruit, and pay the due of it on the day of its reaping, and do not act extravagantly (waste not by excess); surely He does not love the extravagant. The Qur’an 6:141

O Children of Adam! wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters. The Qur’an 7:31

 

  1. The treacherous:

And do not plead on behalf of those who act unfaithfully to their souls; surely Allah does not love him who is treacherous, sinful; The Qur’an 4:107

However, as noted elsewhere in the Qur’an and two of the verses above (39:53 and 4:110), God is All-forgiving  and will forgive our sins out of His Mercy, when we repent and turn back to Him.

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