عَنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ مُصْعَبٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ جَعْفَرَ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ عَلَیْہِمَا السَّلَامُ يَقُولُ مَنْ اَحَبَّنَا لِلهِ وَ اَحَبَّ مُحِبَّنَا لَا لِغَرَضِ دُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا مِنْهُ وَ عَادَى عَدُوَّنَا لَا لِاِحْنَةٍ كَانَتْ بَيْنَهُ وَ بَيْنَهُ ثُمَّ جَاءَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ مِثْلُ رَمْلِ عَالِجٍ وَ زَبَدِ الْبَحْرِ غَفَرَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى لَهٗ
Al-Husain Ibn Mus’ab reports, “I heard (Imam) Ja’far Ibn Muhammad (peace be on him) say,
‘Whoever loves us for (the sake of) Allah and loves our lover not for any worldly motive by which he benefits and bears enmity against our enemies not on account of some malice between him and him (the enemy), thereafter, he comes on the Day of Judgment while bearing sins equal to sand particles of a vast desert and foam of the ocean, Allah the High will forgive him’.”
Notes:
1. There are several such traditions which speak about the importance of loving Allah, His emissaries and their friends. Likewise, they speak about the significance of hating the enemies of Allah, His emissaries and their friends (i.e. enemies of Allah’s friends). In fact, when a narrator asked an infallible Imam (peace be on him) about the importance of love and hatred in religion, he (peace be on him) replied, ‘Is religion anything but love and hatred?’ (Tafseer al-Furaat, p. 428 under the verse of Surah al-Hujuraat)
2. Does this and other such traditions give a license to a person to sin and do whatever he wants? Certainly not. True Islam (viz. Shiaism) is a religion based on wisdom and logic. Hence, when it talks about love, it means real love based on actions and not mere lip service. Imams (peace be on them) have declared in no uncertain terms, “Whoever is obedient to Allah, he is our follower and whoever is disobedient to Allah, he is our enemy.”
3. Verses and traditions that talk about Allah forgiving all the sins are indicative of Allah’s all-encompassing mercy and compassion that encompasses the entire creation. One must never despair of His clemency regardless of the magnitude of his transgressions.
4. An imperative prerequisite for receiving divine forgiveness is the correctness of one’s beliefs concerning divine monotheism, divine justice, Prophethood, Imamate and the Day of Resurrection.
5. In the above tradition, an important condition is included: Love and enmity should not be on personal gains or hatred/malice. It should be sincerely in the way of Allah and the Ahle Bait (peace be on them).
References:
1. Al-Amaali of al-Shaikh al-Toosi (r.a.), p. 156, 6th Majlis, H. 259 / 11
2. Irshaad al-Qoloob, vol. 2, p. 253
3. Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 27, p. 54, H. 7