Does Allah Love Unbelievers?
One of Allah’s 99 Names is al-Waddud , “the
Loving.” Allah is called al-Waddud twice in the
Qur’an . In 11:90, the prophet Shu’aib tells the
people of Midian, “Ask pardon, then, from your
Lord, then turn to Him; verily, my Lord is
merciful, loving!” Likewise, in 85:12-16 we read:
Lo! the punishment of thy Lord is stern.
Lo! He it is Who produceth, then
reproduceth, and He is the Forgiving, the
Loving, Lord of the Throne of Glory, Doer
of what He will.
Nevertheless, other passages in the Qur’an
qualify Allah’s love significantly. While Allah is
said to love those who do good deeds (2:195),
those who are pure (2:222), those who are
righteous (9:7), and those who fight in his
cause (61:4), the Qur’an is equally clear that
Allah has no love for transgressors (2:190),
ungrateful sinners (2:276), the unjust (3:57), or
the proud (4:36). Even more significantly, the
Qur’an states that Allah does not love non-
Muslims:
Qur’an 3:31-32 —Say [O Muhammad]: If
you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will
love you and forgive you your faults, and
Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Say: Obey
Allah and the Apostle; but if they turn
back, then surely Allah does not love the
unbelievers .
Qur’an 30:43-45 —Then turn thy face
straight to the right religion before there
come from Allah the day which cannot
be averted; on that day they shall
become separated. Whoever disbelieves,
he shall be responsible for his disbelief,
and whoever does good, they prepare
(good) for their own souls, that He may
reward those who believe and do good
out of His grace; surely He does not love
the unbelievers .
Notice that 3:31-32 makes Allah’s love
contingent on whether a person believes in
Muhammad . This is similar to what we find in
19:46, which declares: “Lo! those who believe
and do good works, the Beneficent will appoint
for them love.”
Hence, although Allah is called “the Loving,” the
Qur’an only means by this that Allah will love
people once they believe in him and obey his
prophet. The god of Islam has no love for
sinners and unbelievers.
Interestingly, the “Love me first and I’ll love you
back” kind of love exhibited by Allah in the
Qur’an is condemned by Jesus in Matthew
5:43-48:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You
shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ But I say to you, love your
enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, so that you may be sons
of your Father who is in heaven; for He
causes His sun to rise on the evil and
the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous. For if you
love those who love you, what reward do
you have? Do not even the tax collectors
do the same? If you greet only your
brothers, what more are you doing than
others? Do not even the Gentiles do the
same? Therefore you are to be perfect,
as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
For more on the god of Islam, visit our “Allah”
page. For more on Allah's love in the Qur'an, read Farid Mahally's excellent article
One of Allah’s 99 Names is al-Waddud , “the
Loving.” Allah is called al-Waddud twice in the
Qur’an . In 11:90, the prophet Shu’aib tells the
people of Midian, “Ask pardon, then, from your
Lord, then turn to Him; verily, my Lord is
merciful, loving!” Likewise, in 85:12-16 we read:
Lo! the punishment of thy Lord is stern.
Lo! He it is Who produceth, then
reproduceth, and He is the Forgiving, the
Loving, Lord of the Throne of Glory, Doer
of what He will.
Nevertheless, other passages in the Qur’an
qualify Allah’s love significantly. While Allah is
said to love those who do good deeds (2:195),
those who are pure (2:222), those who are
righteous (9:7), and those who fight in his
cause (61:4), the Qur’an is equally clear that
Allah has no love for transgressors (2:190),
ungrateful sinners (2:276), the unjust (3:57), or
the proud (4:36). Even more significantly, the
Qur’an states that Allah does not love non-
Muslims:
Qur’an 3:31-32 —Say [O Muhammad]: If
you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will
love you and forgive you your faults, and
Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Say: Obey
Allah and the Apostle; but if they turn
back, then surely Allah does not love the
unbelievers .
Qur’an 30:43-45 —Then turn thy face
straight to the right religion before there
come from Allah the day which cannot
be averted; on that day they shall
become separated. Whoever disbelieves,
he shall be responsible for his disbelief,
and whoever does good, they prepare
(good) for their own souls, that He may
reward those who believe and do good
out of His grace; surely He does not love
the unbelievers .
Notice that 3:31-32 makes Allah’s love
contingent on whether a person believes in
Muhammad . This is similar to what we find in
19:46, which declares: “Lo! those who believe
and do good works, the Beneficent will appoint
for them love.”
Hence, although Allah is called “the Loving,” the
Qur’an only means by this that Allah will love
people once they believe in him and obey his
prophet. The god of Islam has no love for
sinners and unbelievers.
Interestingly, the “Love me first and I’ll love you
back” kind of love exhibited by Allah in the
Qur’an is condemned by Jesus in Matthew
5:43-48:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You
shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ But I say to you, love your
enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, so that you may be sons
of your Father who is in heaven; for He
causes His sun to rise on the evil and
the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous. For if you
love those who love you, what reward do
you have? Do not even the tax collectors
do the same? If you greet only your
brothers, what more are you doing than
others? Do not even the Gentiles do the
same? Therefore you are to be perfect,
as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
For more on the god of Islam, visit our “Allah”
page. For more on Allah's love in the Qur'an, read Farid Mahally's excellent article
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