Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
The claim that Allah تعالى loves everyone and dislikes no one is incorrect. Allah has affirmed for Himself love, dislike, pleasure, and anger, and He has informed us about people whom He loves and people whom He does not love. A sinful believer may be loved from one perspective and disliked from another: he may be loved because of his faith and obedience, while being disliked because of his sin. Therefore, love and dislike do not necessarily have to apply to a person in every respect.
Love and dislike are among the attributes that Allah تعالى affirmed for Himself. It is not permissible to deny them on the grounds that they are attributes found in created beings. The fact that the Creator and creation share the same basic term does not mean that they are identical in reality or manner.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿Indeed, Allah loves those who constantly repent and loves those who purify themselves﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 222].
And He سبحانه says:
﴿Indeed, Allah loves the righteous﴾ [Aal ‘Imran: 76].
And He says:
﴿And Allah loves the doers of good﴾ [Aal ‘Imran: 134].
And He says:
﴿Indeed, Allah loves those who rely upon Him﴾ [Aal ‘Imran: 159].
And He says:
﴿Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly﴾ [Al-Ma’idah: 42].
Conversely, He سبحانه has informed us about people whom He does not love. He says:
﴿And Allah does not love every disbelieving sinner﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 276].
And He says:
﴿Indeed, Allah does not love the disbelievers﴾ [Aal ‘Imran: 32].
And He says:
﴿And Allah does not love the wrongdoers﴾ [Aal ‘Imran: 57].
And He says:
﴿Indeed, He does not love the arrogant﴾ [An-Nahl: 23].
And He says:
﴿And do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 190].
These texts clearly demonstrate that Allah تعالى loves some people and does not love others, and that His love is not equally extended to all creation.
It is authentically reported from Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“When Allah loves a servant, He calls Jibril and says: Indeed, I love so-and-so, so love him...”
The Prophet ﷺ then mentioned that the inhabitants of the heavens love him and that acceptance is placed for him on earth.
Conversely, he ﷺ said:
“And when He dislikes a servant, He calls Jibril and says: Indeed, I dislike so-and-so, so dislike him...”
Narrated by Muslim (2637).
It is also authentically reported from ‘Aishah رضي الله عنها that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“The most disliked of men to Allah is the one who is intensely argumentative.”
Narrated by Al-Bukhari (2457) and Muslim (2668).
He ﷺ also said:
“Indeed, Allah dislikes the obscene and vulgar person.”
Narrated by At-Tirmidhi (2002), and authenticated by Al-Albani.
Therefore, it is not correct to claim that dislike cannot be attributed to Allah تعالى. Rather, it is established in both the Qur’an and Sunnah.
This matter requires clarification.
A sinful believer may be loved in one respect and disliked in another.
He is loved because of his faith, his affirmation of Allah’s Oneness, and the acts of obedience and goodness that he possesses, while he is disliked because of his sin and the violations he commits.
A believer who combines obedience with sin is therefore not the same as a righteous believer who remains steadfast in obedience. Allah تعالى says:
﴿Or should We make those who believe and do righteous deeds like those who spread corruption on earth? Or should We make the righteous like the wicked?﴾ [Sad: 28].
And He سبحانه says:
﴿Or do those who commit evil deeds think that We will make them like those who believe and do righteous deeds, making their life and death the same? Evil is what they judge﴾ [Al-Jathiyah: 21].
Thus, a sinful believer should not be judged to be loved in every respect, just as he should not be judged to be disliked in every respect as long as the foundation of faith remains with him.
Among Allah’s mercy toward His servants is that He loves their repentance and their return to Him.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿Indeed, Allah loves those who constantly repent﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 222].
When a servant commits a sin and then repents and turns back to Allah, he becomes one of those whom Allah تعالى loves.
This demonstrates the error of treating Allah’s love as an unconditional description applying to every person, without considering their faith, obedience, and disobedience.
It is not correct to say that Allah تعالى loves everyone and dislikes no one. Allah has affirmed for Himself love and dislike, and He has informed us about those whom He loves and those whom He does not love.
Allah تعالى does not love the disbeliever, while the righteous believer is loved by Allah according to the faith, piety, and obedience that he possesses.
As for the sinful believer, he is loved because of his faith and obedience, and disliked because of his sin. Therefore, the obedient and pious believer is not equal before Allah to the negligent and sinful believer.
Allah تعالى also loves the repentance of His servants and their return to Him, and He calls them to repent and turn back to Him.
And Allah knows best.