Perhaps when we speak of shirk in love, the first thing that may come to mind is
one’s love of his family more than they love Allah, his wealth more than Allah, the
beauties of this world and perhaps one’s status in the dunya more than Allah. Indeed, if this is your idea of what shirk in love means, then you’re surely correct. Shirk in love is, committed not only against Allah, but against ourselves. For when we put others before Allah and allocate them the love that is deserve by only him, then surely we have truly wronged ourselves for He is in no need of our love, but we, as humans are in need of his love and mercy.
In order to protect ourselves, we must first understand that there are four types of love:
FOUR TYPES OF LOVE
TO LOVE ALLAH ALONE
LOVING THAT WHICH ALLAH LOVES
LOVING FOR THE SAKE OF ALLAH
LOVING SOMETHING ALONGSIDE ALLAH
Having said this, perhaps some might say, “Well, I love Allah, I believe in him, and
He’s always in my heart”. This is the first type of love mentioned.