What Does It Truly Mean to Love Someone Fī-d-Dunyā wal-Ākhirah?
It is not a question to be answered lightly. It is not the kind of love that flutters and fades. No, this love is weighty: sacred. It is a question that must sit on the heart like a guest who intends to stay a while.
To love someone fī-d-dunyā wal-ākhirah is to say: “I want good for you, not just in this life, but when the ground swallows us and the deeds speak louder than our tongues. I want to walk with you through this fleeting world, and I want to reunite with you when all the veils are lifted, and nothing remains but truth.”
This kind of love does not settle for momentary pleasure or shallow companionship; It is a love that fears Allah more than it fears loneliness; It is a love that restrains the hand, guards the tongue, lowers the gaze not out of coldness, but out of honour; Because it knows that the One who sees all is worth more than any stolen moment.
To love someone in the Dunya and the Ākhirah is to love them with purpose. To say: “I will not lead you to the fire; I will not pull you away from your Lord; I will be your mirror, your shelter, your reminder to a better you.” And when they forget, you remind; and when you forget, they carry you back. Together, you climb, you fall, you rise, but you never stop facing Allah.
> “And those who say, ‘Our Lord, grant us from among our spouses and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous.’”
(Sūrah al-Furqān, 25:74)
This is the love that lives in sujūd. It is whispered in duʿāʾ long before it is spoken out loud. You ask Allah for them in secret. You plead: "Yā Rabb, if this person is good for me in my Dunya and Ākhirah, then write them for me and if not, then distance my heart from what You know and let me be content with what You decree and grant both of us the best."
The Prophet ﷺ said:
> “A person will be with whom he loves.”
(Bukhārī, Muslim)
So ask yourself: if I claim to love this person, do I love them enough to want them in Jannah? Do I love them enough to correct them kindly, to wait patiently, to remind them gently, to be with them in love and hope when things go south, to protect their honour in their absence and guide them in their presence? Do I love them enough to put Allāh first, even if that means letting go? Because love fī-d-dunyā wal-ākhirah is not selfish; It is not rushed; it is not reckless— it is a love that is mindful, measured, and rooted in īmān; a love that may not always be loud, but loyal; it may not always be poetic, but it is pure; it may even be one-sided.
Yes, it is possible to love someone fī sabīlillāh and never have them love you back. But even then, you honour that love with dignity. You leave it in Allah’s Hands, trusting that He sees what you do not.
Because loving someone fī-d-dunyā wal-ākhirah is not about possessing them; it’s about wishing for them what you wish for yourself: salvation, light in the grave; shade on the Day of Heat, reunion at the fountain of the Prophet ﷺ; and a seat in Jannah near ar-Raḥmān.
So the next time you say it, “I love you for Dunya and Ākhirah”, know what you’re saying. Feel the weight of it; live up to it; and pray that the One who placed that love in your heart purifies it, protects it, or replaces it with what is better.
For in the end, love is only beautiful… when it leads you Home.
May Allah grant us hearts that love for His sake, relationships that bring us closer to Him, and reunions in gardens where sorrow will never touch us again.
Āmīn.
JazakumuLLahu khayran. A very beautiful piece.