عن أنس وأبي هريرة رضي الله عنهما مرفوعاً: «لا يُؤْمِنُ أحدُكم حتى أَكُونَ أَحَبَّ إليه مِن وَلَدِه، ووالِدِه، والناس أجمعين».
[صحيح] - [حديث أنس -رضي الله عنه-: متفق عليه. حديث أبي هريرة -رضي الله عنه-: رواه البخاري]
المزيــد ...

Anas and Abu Hurayrah, (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "None of you will attain perfect faith until I am more beloved to him than his child, his parent, and all people."
Sahih/Authentic. - [Al-Bukhari]

Explanation

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs us in this Hadīth that the faith of any Muslim is not complete and he will not attain the type of faith that will admit him into Paradise without punishment until he gives the love of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) precedence over the love of his children, parents and all people. This is because the love of the Messenger of Allah means the love of Allah, since the Messenger is the one conveying from Allah and the one who guides people to the religion of Allah. Love of Allah and His Messenger is not valid except by obeying the commands of Shariah and abandoning its prohibitions, and not by reciting poems, holding celebrations, or composing songs in this regard.

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Benefits from the Hadith

  1. It indicates the obligation to love the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and giving his love precedence over love for any other created being.
  2. Deeds are part of Imān. This is deduced from the fact that love is a deed of the heart, and faith is negated for the one to whom the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was not dearer than all that was mentioned.
  3. The negation of faith does not entail being out of the fold of Islam.
  4. True faith will inevitably show its effects on the person.
  5. It indicates the obligation to place one’s love for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) ahead of his love for himself, his children, parents and all people.
  6. One should ransom the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) by his soul and wealth, for his love should take precedence over one’s love for himself and wealth.
  7. One should support the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and sacrifice his self, wealth, and full strength for this cause, since this is entailed by the perfection of his love for him. This is the reason why some people of knowledge say as they commented on Allah’ saying: {Indeed, the one who hates you is truly cut off [from all goodness].}: “Being cut off also applies to those who hate his Shariah, as they are devoid of all goodness.”
  8. Love inspired by compassion, honoring, or veneration is permissible based on his saying: “dearer to him than his child and parent...” Thus, he affirmed the presence of love, which is a normal feeling that none can deny.
  9. The words of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) should come first before the words of anyone whatsoever, because loving him more than anyone entails that his words should be prioritized over everyone, including yourself.