Allah: A God Who Demands Love but Does Not Love

By Dr. Maxwell Shimba

Shimba Theological Institute

Introduction

The question of divine love distinguishes the Christian God revealed in Jesus Christ from the Allah of Islam. While Christianity teaches that God is the initiator of love—choosing, pursuing, and redeeming humanity—Islam presents a deity who demands obedience and love without first expressing divine affection toward His followers. The contrast between these two theological frameworks is not merely semantic but reveals the heart of Christian revelation versus the transactional nature of Islamic piety.

The Christian God: The God Who Loves and Chooses

Christianity declares that God is love (1 John 4:8), a statement not found in the Qur’an about Allah. Jesus Christ confirms this truth in John 15:16: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you…” God’s initiative demonstrates His sovereignty and His intimate relational nature. In Christian theology, love flows from God to humanity first: “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Thus, Christian faith is grounded in the divine revelation of a God who is not dependent upon human affection but generously bestows His love upon creation.

Through Christ, God is made known personally. The Incarnation (John 1:14) is the ultimate demonstration of divine love—a God who enters history, suffers, and redeems. This personal knowledge of God through Jesus is the cornerstone of Christian faith. Believers know whom they love because He first revealed Himself.

The Islamic Allah: A God in Need of Love

In contrast, the Qur’an depicts Allah as transcendent, unknowable, and detached. Nowhere does the Qur’an say “Allah is love.” Instead, Allah is portrayed as merciful or compassionate (Qur’an 1:1–2), but mercy in Islam is conditional upon human obedience and submission. Allah does not seek a covenantal relationship based on love but demands servitude and devotion.

Muslim theologians acknowledge this relational gap. Al-Ghazali, in his Ihya Ulum al-Din, described love for Allah as rooted in fear and hope, not intimacy. The believer cannot truly “know” Allah in a personal sense; instead, they know His commands and attributes. Thus, the love Muslims claim to have for Allah is an abstract loyalty rather than a personal, relational affection.

If Allah requires Muslims to love him without first revealing himself in love, then Allah is, paradoxically, dependent on human devotion for affirmation. This dependency undermines divine sovereignty. A God who does not love but demands love is not truly God but rather a projection of human-centered religiosity.

Knowing God Through Christ Versus Not Knowing Allah

Christianity affirms that true knowledge of God is possible and relational. Jesus declares: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Through Christ, God’s character—love, justice, mercy—is revealed concretely. Christians do not love an unknown deity but the God who revealed Himself in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.

By contrast, Muslims cannot know Allah in this way. The Qur’an emphasizes Allah’s absolute otherness (Qur’an 42:11), creating an impassable gulf between deity and humanity. Love in Islam thus becomes blind submission without relational grounding. The absence of divine self-revelation in love leaves Muslims attempting to love a God they cannot know.

Conclusion

The contrast between the God of the Bible and the Allah of the Qur’an is striking. The Christian God loves first, chooses, and establishes a relationship of intimacy with His people through Christ. The Islamic Allah, however, does not love in return but demands love and submission, making him dependent on human devotion for validation.

If love requires mutuality and revelation, then Allah cannot be God, for He fails to demonstrate the very nature of divine love. Only in Jesus Christ is the true God known, loved, and revealed to humanity.

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References

• The Holy Bible, New International Version.

• The Qur’an.

• Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid. Ihya Ulum al-Din (Revival of the Religious Sciences).

• Lewis, C. S. The Four Loves. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1960.

• Stott, John. Basic Christianity. Downers Grove: IVP, 2008.

• Carson, D. A. The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. Wheaton: Crossway, 2000.

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