Love for this statement “La ilaha illallah” means:

1.     To love Allah (عز و جل ) and His Messenger Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم ), more than anything else.
2.     To love what Allah (عز و جل ) and His Messenger Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) love.
3.     To hate or dislike what Allah (عز و جل ) and His Messenger Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) hate or dislike in all matters that are related to the religion.

The evidence for love is the saying of Allah (عز و جل ):

“And of mankind are some who take others (for worship) besides Allah as rivals (to Allah). They love them as they love Allah. But those who believe love Allah more.” [Al-Baqarah 2:165]

And:

“O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him;

humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allah, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers...” [Al-Maidah 5:54]
It is narrated from Anas (رضي الله عنه ) that: “The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) said: “Whoever possesses the following three qualities will attain the sweetness of faith:

• Allah and His Messenger are dearer to him than anything else.
• To love a person for nothing except the sake of Allah.
• To hate to revert to disbelief (kufr), having been saved from it by Allah, as he hates being thrown into Hell-Fire”. [Reported by Muslim]

As for the meaning of His(الله عز و جل )’s, saying: “But those who believe love Allah more (than anything else)…”
There is evidence in this ayah as to the forbiddance of one type of major shirk (association). That is the shirk of apportioning love equally between Allah(عز و جل ) and those they consider as His equals, as practised by the disbelievers.

The meaning of the sweetness of faith (Iman), is to take delight in the acts of obedience to Allah, to bear the hardships in seeking the pleasure of Allah (the Majestic, the Exalted) and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) and to prefer that to the materialistic goods of this world. It is also out of the love the worshipper has for His Lord (Praise and Glory be to Him) and love for the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) that leads him to be obedient to Him and stops him from being disobedient to Him.

When the love of Allah (عز و جل ) enters the heart, one hates the opposite. By the light of this love, the beauty of Islam and the evils of ignorance and infidelity are uncovered. And this is the one who will be with those he loved as reported in the Sahih hadith that Anas (رضي الله عنه ) narrated that a man asked the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم ):
“When will the Hour be? “He (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) asked: “What have you prepared for it?” The man replied: “I have not prepared a lot for it by way of prayers, fasting or charity but I love Allah and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم ). The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) said: “You will be with those y