That They May Love Him

  

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismi llāhi l-raḥmāni l-raḥīmi

لِيُحِبُّونَهُ

Liyuḥibbūnahu

"That They May Love Him"

Reflections on the Qaṣīdah Liyuḥibbūnahu

There are poems that are carefully preserved in manuscripts, and there are poems that live upon the tongues of lovers.

They travel from gathering to gathering, from one generation to another, carried not by ink alone but by voices softened through longing. Their words may vary slightly from one land to another, yet their heart remains unchanged.

The qaṣīdah Liyuḥibbūnahu belongs to this second family.

It has long been recited in gatherings of remembrance across Yemen, the Ḥijāz, East Africa, and Southeast Asia. As with many devotional poems transmitted orally, slight differences have appeared in wording and pronunciation over the centuries. Some expressions survive only as they were heard, producing spellings that no longer correspond neatly to Classical Arabic. This is not unusual. Oral traditions often preserve devotion more faithfully than orthography.

The enduring beauty of the poem lies elsewhere.

It asks a remarkably simple question:

What does it mean to love the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?

The answer unfolds, not through abstract theology, but through images that have nourished Muslim hearts for centuries.

The lovers remain at his door.

They never abandon him.

They seek nearness through him.

They remember him continually.

They walk in his footsteps.

They become known by his character.

Love, in this poem, is not merely an emotion. It becomes a way of being.

Standing at His Door

The opening verses declare:

لِيُحِبُّونَهُ
دَائِمًا عَلَى بَابِهِ
مَا يُجَافُونَهُ
لِلْوَصْلِ طُلَّابُهُ

That they may love him; ever standing at his door, they never turn away from him, for they are seekers of nearness.

The image of "his door" appears frequently throughout the literature of Islamic devotion.

No believer imagines that the physical door of Madinah is the destination. Rather, the "door" represents entrance into the Prophetic way itself.

It is the door of mercy.

The door of guidance.

The door through which hearts are educated.

To remain at his door is to refuse every other measure of success except closeness to Allah through following His Messenger ﷺ.

The great scholars often reminded us that every sincere seeker eventually discovers that knowledge alone is insufficient. One must acquire adab.

And the greatest school of adab remains the life of the Prophet ﷺ.

Love Expressed Through Following

One of the later verses captures this beautifully:

وَلِيَسِيرُونَ قَامُوا بِآدَابِهِ
وَشَرْعَهُ يُقِيمُونَ لِلْمُصْطَفَى أَحْبَابُهُ

His beloved followers uphold his noble manners and establish his Sacred Law.

This pairing is profound.

The poem does not separate outward practice from inward beauty.

The Sharīʿah without beautiful character becomes harsh.

Character without revealed guidance loses its compass.

The lovers preserve both.

One may recite thousands of blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, yet if patience, generosity, humility, mercy, truthfulness, and gentleness fail to grow within the soul, something essential has been missed.

The measure of love is resemblance.

Why Remember Him Constantly?

The qaṣīdah repeatedly returns to remembrance.

This is deeply rooted in the Prophetic tradition.

The tongue shapes the heart.

What we repeatedly remember gradually becomes what we love.

What we love eventually becomes what we imitate.

And what we imitate slowly becomes our character.

This explains why generations of Muslims filled their mornings, evenings, journeys, gatherings, and moments of solitude with abundant ṣalawāt.

Not because Allah needs our praise.

Nor because the Messenger ﷺ gains honour through our words.

Rather, because we do.

Each blessing softens the heart.

Each remembrance reorients the soul.

Each mention renews a forgotten covenant.

The Language of Devotional Poetry

Some modern readers encounter lines describing the Prophet ﷺ as the light of creation, or portraying the sun and moon receiving their radiance through him, and immediately ask whether such expressions should be understood literally.

Classical Muslim poets never intended them to function as scientific descriptions.

They belong to the long tradition of madīḥ—devotional praise—which speaks through metaphor, beauty, reverence, and spiritual symbolism.

The Qur'an itself describes the Messenger ﷺ as "a radiant lamp" (sirājan munīrā). Muslim poets simply unfolded the spiritual implications of that image.

Poetry has its own language.

It seeks not to define, but to awaken.

The Beauty of an Oral Tradition

An interesting feature of this qaṣīdah is that no universally accepted written version appears to exist.

Different reciters sing slightly different words.

Some lines preserve regional pronunciations.

Others have accumulated small transcription errors over generations.

This should not surprise us.

Much of the Islamic scholarly tradition was oral long before it became textual.

Children memorised the Qur'an before they could write.

Students memorised ḥadīth before books became widespread.

Poetry was carried in the chest before it was preserved upon the page.

When oral traditions cross languages—from Arabic into Malay, Javanese, Swahili, or Urdu—small phonetic changes naturally emerge.

The task of scholarship is not merely to correct spelling.

It is to recover meaning while respecting the devotion that carried the words across centuries.

Education Begins with Love

Perhaps this is the greatest lesson of Liyuḥibbūnahu.

Education in Islam has never begun with information.

It begins with attachment.

A child first learns to love.

Then to imitate.

Then to understand.

Only afterwards does knowledge become deeply rooted.

This is why the earliest generations taught love of the Prophet ﷺ before many other sciences.

Not sentimentality.

Formation.

When the heart loves rightly, learning acquires direction.

Character acquires beauty.

Knowledge acquires purpose.

Without love, education becomes accumulation.

With love, education becomes transformation.

That They May Love Him

The poem ends as it began.

An invitation.

Not merely to admire the Messenger ﷺ from a distance.

Nor only to study his biography.

But to remember him until remembrance becomes familiarity.

To follow him until following becomes habit.

To imitate him until imitation becomes character.

And finally,

to love him until that love quietly reshapes everything else we love.

Perhaps that is why generations continued singing this simple refrain:

لِيُحِبُّونَهُ

That they may love him.

For in the end, every lesson of the Prophetic way begins there—and every journey of spiritual formation returns there. 

1

Full Qasidah:

يَا نَبِيُّ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ
يَا حَبِيبُ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ
صَلَوَاتُ اللهِ عَلَيْكَ
يَا رَسُولُ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ

Transliteration

Yā Nabiyyu, salāmun ʿalayka
Yā Rasūlu, salāmun ʿalayka
Yā Ḥabību, salāmun ʿalayka
Ṣalawātu Allāhi ʿalayka

Sung transliteration

Yā Nabī salām ʿalayka
Yā Rasūl salām ʿalayka
Yā Ḥabīb salām ʿalayka
Ṣalawātullāh ʿalayka

Translation

O Prophet, peace be upon you.
O Messenger, peace be upon you.
O Beloved, peace be upon you.
May the blessings of Allah be upon you.

لِيُحِبُّونَهُ

دَائِم عَلَى بَابِهِ

مَا يُجَافُونَهُ

لِلْوَصْلِ طُلَّابُهُ

Sung transliteration

Illī yiḥibbūnah

Dāyim ʿalā bābah

Mā yijāfūnah

Lil-waṣl ṭullābah

Translation

That they may love him.
Ever standing at his door,
they never turn away from him,
for they are seekers of nearness to him.

Explanation

The opening portrays sincere lovers who remain constantly at the Prophet's ﷺ door—not physically, but spiritually. "His door" is a traditional metaphor for seeking his intercession, guidance, and noble example. The final line means that those who seek true union (waṣl) remain attached to him.

2

Arabic

الْكَرِيمُ لَا حَاشَا مَا رَدَّهُمْ
عَمَّهُمْ بِالْخَيْرِ وَتَمَّمَ قَصْدَهُمْ

Sung Transliteration

Al-karīm lā ḥāshā mā raddahum

ʿAmmahum bil-khayr wa tammam qaṣdahum

Translation

The Generous One would never turn them away.
He enveloped them in goodness and fulfilled their hopes.

Explanation

"Al-Karīm" may refer directly to Allah—the Most Generous—or, in devotional poetry, to the Prophet ﷺ as the most generous of creation, whose generosity is bestowed by Allah. Both meanings coexist in traditional madīḥ.

3

Arabic

هَلْ يَا تُرَى أَهْلُ الْكَرَمِ وَالْجُودِ يَنْسَوْنَهُ؟
لِيُحِبُّونَهُ

Sung Transliteration

Hal yā turā ahl al-karam wal-jūd yinsawnah?

Illī yiḥibbūnah

Translation

Can it ever be imagined that the people of generosity and bounty would forget him?
That they may love him.

Explanation

The rhetorical question teaches that true people of generosity never neglect remembering the Prophet ﷺ.

4

Arabic

النُّورُ بِعُيُونِهِ

وَالْكَوْنُ بِأَسْبَابَه

الْخَلْقُ مِنْ دُونِهِ

آدَمُ وَأَصْحَابُهُ

Sung Transliteration

An-nūr bi-ʿuyūnah

Wal-kawn bi-asbābah

Al-khalq min dūnah

Ādam wa aṣḥābuh

Translation

Light shines through his eyes.
The whole universe exists through his means.
All creation stands beneath his rank—
Adam and those who came after him.

Explanation

The intended meaning is that the entire created universe is beneath his lofty rank and is connected through his light and means.

5

Arabic

الْقَمَرُ وَالشَّمْسُ مِنْهُ ضِيْهُم
حَازَ كُلَّ الْفَضْلِ قَبْلَهُمْ وَبَعْدَهُمْ

Transliteration

Al-gamar wash-shams minhu ḍīhum

Ḥāzi kull al-faḍl gabla wa baʿdahum

Translation

The moon and the sun receive their radiance through him.
He possesses every excellence before them and after them.

Explanation

This is devotional hyperbole (madīḥ) common in Islamic poetry. It echoes the Prophetic description as Sirājan Munīrā ("an illuminating lamp") and emphasizes his spiritual precedence rather than physical causation.

6

Arabic

النَّاسُ يَوْمَ الْفَصْلِ لِلرَّحْمٰنِ يَرْجُونَهُ
لِيُحِبُّونَهُ

Transliteration

An-nās yawm al-fasl li-r-Raḥmān yarjūnah

Illī yiḥibbūnah

Translation

On the Day of Divine Judgment, people long for him before the Most Merciful—
that they may love him.

Explanation

This refers to the Prophet's ﷺ intercession (ash-shafāʿah al-kubrā) on the Day of Resurrection.

7

Arabic

لِيَسِيرُونَ قَامُوا بِآدَابِهِ

شَرْعَهُ يُقِيمُونَ لِلْمُصْطَفَى أَحْبَابُهُ

Transliteration

ī yisīrūn qāmaū b-ādābah

sharʿah yuqīmūn lil-Muṣṭafā aḥbābah

Translation

In order to walk his path,
his beloved followers uphold his noble manners and his Sacred Law.

Explanation

Love for the Prophet ﷺ is shown through both adab (beautiful character) and Sharīʿah (faithful practice).

8

Arabic

فِي الْوَرَى وَاللّٰهِ لَا مَا مِثْلُهُمْ

مَنْ يُرِيَدِ الْقُرْبَ يَسْلُكْ دَرْبَهُمْ

Sung Transliteration

Fil-warā wallāhi  lā mā mithluhum
Man yurid al-qurba yasluk darbuhum

Translation

By Allah, among all creation, no—there are none like them.
Whoever seeks nearness should follow their path.

Explanation

"Them" refers to the Prophet ﷺ and his righteous inheritors—his Companions, Family, and the people who faithfully preserve his way. In formal written Arabic, one might expect:

لَا مِثْلَ لَهُمْ

lā mithla lahum

But the sung oral form لَا مَا مِثْلُهُمْ has its own devotional rhythm and should be preserved here.

9

Arabic

مَنْ تَقَرَّبَ مِنْهُمْ مَرَّةً يَضُمُّونَهُ

لِيُحِبُّونَهُ

Sung Transliteration

 Fil-warā wallāh lā mā mithluhum

Man yirid al-qurb yisluk darbahum

Translation

Whoever draws near to them even once,
they embrace him—
that they may love him.

Explanation

The imagery reflects the welcoming nature of the righteous, who receive sincere seekers with mercy and affection.

10

Arabic

قُلُوبٌ مَفْتُونَةٌ

وَأَرْوَاحٌ مُنْذَابَةٌ

Sung Transliteration

Qulūbun maftūnatun
Wa arwāḥun mundhābah

Translation

Hearts captivated with love,
and souls melted in longing.

Explanation

The expression "souls melted" is a classical Sufi metaphor for complete love and surrender.

11

Arabic

فِي نَظْرَةِ عُيُونِهِ

وَرَمْشِهِ وَأَهْدَابِهِ

Sung Transliteration

Fī naẓrati ʿuyūnihi
Wa ramshihi wa ahdābihi

Translation

Within the gaze of his eyes,
his eyelashes and every delicate beauty.

Explanation

This is a traditional poetic description of the Prophet's ﷺ physical beauty (Shamāʾil literature). It should not be read literally but as devotional praise.

12

Arabic

صَيَّرُوا ذِكْرَ الْمُكَرَّمِ وِرْدَهُمْ

بِهِ رَقَوْا لِأَعْلَى مَرَاتِبِ مَجْدِهِمْ

Sung Transliteration

Ṣayyarū dhikra al-Mukarrami wirdahum
Bihi raqaw li-aʿlā marātibi majdihim

Translation

They made remembrance of the Honoured One their daily wird;
through it, they rose to the highest stations of their honour.

Explanation

Regular ṣalawāt and remembrance of the Prophet ﷺ are presented as means of spiritual refinement.

Arabic

أَكْثِرُوا ذِكْرَ النَّبِيِّ يَا مَنْ يُحِبُّونَه
لِيُحِبُّونَهُ

Sung Transliteration

Akthirū dhikra an-Nabiyyi yā man yuḥibbūnahu
Liyuḥibbūnahu

Translation

Increase your remembrance of the Prophet, O lovers of him,
that you may love him ever more.

Explanation

The poem concludes with a practical invitation: abundant remembrance of the Prophet ﷺ deepens love for him. This reflects the Prophetic teaching that one's heart becomes attached to what one's tongue frequently remembers.

Notes on the Text

Several expressions are not standard Arabic spellings and likely reflect dialectal pronunciation or transcription by ear. I have reconstructed them into grammatically correct Arabic while preserving the intended meaning.

For a critical edition, the ideal next step would be to locate an authoritative recording or manuscript from the Hadrami or Ḥijāzī tradition from which this qaṣīdah originates. That would allow every line to be established with confidence while preserving the original poetic meter and rhyme.

You can listening to the first rendering that I heard during my college years, here: