Does Allah love everyone?

People ask whether Allah loves everyone when they are afraid He might not love them. The Quran and the Sunnah answer with great tenderness. Allah loves the creation He made. He calls Himself al-Wadūd (الودود), the Loving, His mercy embraces all things, and the Prophet ﷺ taught that Allah is more merciful to His servants than a mother to her own child.

What does the Quran say about Allah’s love?

Among the names Allah gives Himself in the Quran is al-Wadūd, from the root w-d-d, which means warm, steady affection:

وَهُوَ ٱلۡغَفُورُ ٱلۡوَدُودُ

“And He is the All-Forgiving, the Loving.”

Quran 85:14

The prophet Shuʿayb (peace be upon him) told his people, “Ask forgiveness of your Lord and turn back to Him; my Lord is Merciful, Loving” (11:90). The two names stand side by side: the One who forgives is the One who loves.

The Quran also describes a love that flows both ways between Allah and His servants:

يُحِبُّهُمۡ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ

“He loves them, and they love Him.”

Quran 5:54

And it promises that for those who believe and do good, “the All-Merciful will place love” (19:96).

What does al-Wadūd mean?

Imam al-Ghazali (d. 1111) wrote a whole book on the divine names, al-Maqṣad al-Asnā. There he explains al-Wadūd as the One who wills good for all creatures, and who therefore favors them and praises them. His love, al-Ghazali adds, is entirely for the good of those He loves: Allah gains nothing from it, and needs nothing from us. He then draws the lesson for the believer: to share in this name is to want good for every creature as you want it for yourself.

Al-Ghazali also devoted a book of his Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn to love and longing for Allah (Kitāb al-Maḥabba wa-l-Shawq), and taught that love of Allah is the highest of all the stations of the heart.

How much does Allah love His servants?

The Prophet ﷺ gave his Companions a picture they never forgot. Among a group of captives brought to Medina was a woman who had lost her baby. She searched everywhere, and when she found the child she held it to her and nursed it. The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Do you think this woman would throw her child into a fire?” They said no, never, if she could help it. He said:

«اللَّهُ أَرْحَمُ بِعِبَادِهِ مِنْ هَذِهِ بِوَلَدِهَا»

“Allah is more merciful to His servants than this woman is to her child.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 5999

In a hadith qudsī, Allah describes how eagerly He meets anyone who comes toward Him:

«وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ بِشِبْرٍ تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ ذِرَاعًا تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعًا، وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً»

“If he draws near to Me by a hand-span, I draw near to him by an arm’s length. If he draws near to Me by an arm’s length, I draw near to him by the span of open arms. And if he comes to Me walking, I come to him running.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 7405

Does Allah love people who sin?

The Quran does say that Allah does not love wrongdoers (3:57), the arrogant (16:23), or those who spread corruption (5:64). Read closely, these verses name deeds and dispositions: injustice, pride, destruction. They describe what Allah rejects, and they invite every person to leave it.

The Quran also says: “Allah loves those who keep turning back to Him” (2:222). The word is al-tawwābīn (التوابين), an intensive form: people who turn back over and over, which means people who keep falling. Allah’s love is promised to the ones who stumble and return, and not only to those who never stumble. See Does Allah forgive all sins?

Some theologians distinguish Allah’s general mercy, which reaches every creature, from a special love reserved for the righteous. This is a recognized way of speaking, and even on this view Allah’s mercy covers every human being, and His love remains open to anyone who turns toward Him.

Does Allah love non-Muslims?

“We have honored the children of Adam” (17:70), says the Quran, with no exception. Every human being carries the breath Allah breathed into Adam (peace be upon him), and His mercy “embraces all things” (Quran 7:156). Al-Ghazali’s explanation of al-Wadūd, the One who wills good for all creatures, includes your neighbors and colleagues of every faith. For their fate in the next life, see Do non-Muslims go to hell?.

Does Allah love me?

If you are asking this because you feel unworthy, because of a sin, because of who you are, or because a community made you feel unwanted, know that the One who made you knows you completely and still calls you “My servant.” Gay and transgender Muslims who have been told otherwise will find the wider answer in Is being gay haram?. If the feeling of being unloved is heavy and does not lift, speak to someone: Is depression a lack of faith? explains why seeking help is part of faith.

The Prophet ﷺ said that when Allah loves a servant, He calls Jibrīl and tells him to love that person; Jibrīl loves him and announces it to the people of heaven, who love him too, and then acceptance is placed for him on the earth (Sahih al-Bukhari 3209). For more on the One who loves you, see Who is Allah?.

A closing duʿāʾ

Among the prayers the Prophet ﷺ taught his Companions is a request for love itself:

«أَسْأَلُكَ حُبَّكَ وَحُبَّ مَنْ يُحِبُّكَ وَحُبَّ عَمَلٍ يُقَرِّبُ إِلَى حُبِّكَ»

“I ask You for Your love, the love of those who love You, and the love of every deed that brings me nearer to Your love.”

Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhi 3235, graded sahih by al-Albani