IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE MOST MERCIFUL
We lead our lives in this world solely to please Allah. Remember that one day, all of us has an appointment with Allah. ONLY when Allah is pleased with us would we be shown His Mercy and ONLY with His Mercy will we be able to enter Paradise.
Aisha reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Follow the right course, be devoted, and give glad tidings. Verily, none of you will enter Paradise by his deeds alone.” They said, “Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet said, “Not even me, unless Allah grants me His mercy. Know that the most beloved deed to Allah is that which is done regularly, even if it is small.” Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6467, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2818
Entering Paradise is the ultimate prize that we aim for in this life. This transient life is so full of trials and deceptions which are able to trap many people. Their purpose of life has been changed due to their inability to hold on or even to understand to the real purpose of life. Our purpose of life has clearly been set in these verses of the Qur’an:
وَما خَلَقتُ الجِنَّ وَالإِنسَ إِلّا لِيَعبُدونِ
“And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).” 51: 56
الَّذي خَلَقَ المَوتَ وَالحَياةَ لِيَبلُوَكُم أَيُّكُم أَحسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ العَزيزُ الغَفورُ
“Who has created death and life, that He may test you which of you is best in deed. And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving;” 67: 2
إِنّا جَعَلنا ما عَلَى الأَرضِ زينَةً لَها لِنَبلُوَهُم أَيُّهُم أَحسَنُ عَمَلًا
“Verily! We have made that which is on earth as an adornment for it, in order that We may test them (mankind) as to which of them are best in deeds.” 18: 7
Therefore we simply cannot lead a life simply to please ourselves and to please our nafs. We have to be extremely grateful to Allah for Providing us with all the means in order to seek His Guidance and seek His Pleasure:
Surely after putting in efforts during Ramadan, during our various acts of worship such as praying, or when we do things to seek His Pleasure such as helping our brothers and sisters who need our help – we must wonder –
SIGNS THAT ALLAH IS PLEASED WITH US
In Qur’an surah 16 verse 97
مَن عَمِلَ صالِحًا مِن ذَكَرٍ أَو أُنثىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤمِنٌ فَلَنُحيِيَنَّهُ حَياةً طَيِّبَةً ۖ وَلَنَجزِيَنَّهُم أَجرَهُم بِأَحسَنِ ما كانوا يَعمَلونَ
“Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter).”
Imam at-Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted the views of the scholars concerning what is meant by the good life. Those views are as follows:
Out of these views – which do not contradict one another – he (may Allah have mercy on him) chose the second one, then he said:
The most likely of these views to be correct is the view of those who said that this is to be interpreted as meaning: We will grant him a good life by means of contentment. What that means is that whomever Allah makes content with what He has allocated to him of provision (rizq), he will not exhaust himself in pursuit of worldly gains, or toil too much for that purpose, and he will not be troubled by striving hard to pursue what he has missed out on of worldly pleasures and to attain that which he may never be able to attain …
With regard to the view that was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas, that what is referred to is halaal provision, it is possible that what he meant was what we have mentioned concerning that, and that Allah, may He be exalted, will make him content in this world with what He has granted him of halal provision, even if it is little, so he will not aspire to acquire a lot of provision if it is from haraam sources. It does not mean that He will grant him a great deal of provision from halaal sources. That is because in the case of most of those who strive hard for the sake of Allah, may He be exalted, by doing righteous deeds, we do not see them being granted a great deal of provision in this world from halaal sources; rather we find that they usually have a harder life rather than a life of ease and abundance.
Tafseer at-Tabari (17/291-292).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The most enjoyable and pleasurable life of all is that of those who love Allah and find comfort in remembrance of Him. Their life is the good life in the true sense, and there is no life that is better, more enjoyable and more blessed than that. It is the good life that is mentioned in the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life” [an-Nahl 16:97]. That does not mean the kind of life that both believers and disbelievers, righteous and evildoers, may share in terms of good food, good drink, good clothing and physical pleasure. Rather the enemies of Allah may have much more of that than His close friends, but He – may He be glorified – has guaranteed to those who do righteous deeds that He will give them a good life, and His promise is true, for He does not break His promise. What life could be better than the life of one who has all his worries and concerns reduced to a single worry and concern, which is to please Allah, so his mind and thoughts are not scattered; rather he is totally focused on Allah and his aims and thoughts, rather than being scattered in all directions, are completely focused on Allah. Hence remembrance of Allah (dhikr), loving Him, longing to meet Him and finding comfort in being close to Him, become the dearest of matters to him and dominate his thoughts. All his concerns, aims and thoughts – even passing thoughts – are focused on that goal. …
Al-Jawaab al-Kaafi (p. 129, 130).
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “If Allah wills good for someone, He afflicts him with trials.” al-Bukhārī 5321
Anas narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“When Allah wants good for his slave, He hastens his punishment in the world. And when He wants bad for His slave, He withholds his sins from him until he appears before Him on the Day of Judgement.”
And with this (same) chain, (it was reported) from the Prophet (ﷺ) who said: “Indeed greater reward comes with greater trial. And indeed, when Allah loves a people He subjects them to trials, so whoever is content, then for him is pleasure, and whoever is discontent, then for him is wrath.” (Tarmidhi 2396)
For calamities to befall the believer is better than punishments being stored up for him in the Hereafter. How can it be otherwise when he is raised in status and his bad deeds are erased thereby? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Allaah wills good for His slave, He hastens his punishment in this world, and when He wills bad for His slave, He withholds his sins until he comes with them on the Day of Resurrection.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2396; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.
The scholars have explained that the one from whom calamities and trials are withheld is the hypocrite, for Allaah withholds [his punishment] in this world, so as to bring him with all his sins on the Day of Resurrection.
Allah says in Qur’an surah 3 verse 31
قُل إِن كُنتُم تُحِبّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعوني يُحبِبكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغفِر لَكُم ذُنوبَكُم ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفورٌ رَحيمٌ
“Say (O Muhammad to mankind): If you (really) love Allah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’aan and the Sunnah/prophetic teachings), Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”
Allah has mentioned these qualities in a single verse, in which He says in Qur’an surah 5 verse 54
يُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا مَن يَرتَدَّ مِنكُم عَن دينِهِ فَسَوفَ يَأتِي اللَّهُ بِقَومٍ يُحِبُّهُم وَيُحِبّونَهُ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى المُؤمِنينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الكافِرينَ يُجاهِدونَ في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ وَلا يَخافونَ لَومَةَ لائِمٍ ۚ ذٰلِكَ فَضلُ اللَّهِ يُؤتيهِ مَن يَشاءُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ واسِعٌ عَليمٌ
“O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allaah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting/striving in the way of Allaah, and never fear of the blame of the blamers”
In this verse Allah describes the attributes of those whom He loves, the first of which is: humility and not being arrogant towards the Muslims, and being stern towards the kaafirs/disbelievers, and not humbling or humiliating oneself before them. They (the ones whom Allaah loves) strive for the sake of Allaah, against the Shaytaan, the kuffaar/disbelievers, the hypocrites and the evildoers, and they strive against their own selves (jihad al-nafs). They do not fear the blame of any blamer, because so long as they are following the commands of their religion, he will not care about anyone who mocks him or blames him.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (RadhiyAllahu ‘anhu) who said: The Messenger of Allah (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said,
“Verily Allah (Glorified may he be) has said: ‘Whosoever shows enmity to a wali (friend) of Mine, then I have declared war against him. And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to me with nafil (supererogatory) deeds until I Love him. When I Love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge.’ ”
[Reported by Bukhari]
Supererogatory acts of worship include naafil prayers, charity, ‘Umrah, fasting.
Ibn Rajab said, “Whomsoever Allah loves, will be given love for Allah, being obedient to Him, and busying himself in His remembrance and servitude, and this will draw him closer to Allah”
These attributes were mentioned in a single hadeeth (narration) in which the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) narrated that his Lord said: “My love is guaranteed for two who love one another for My sake; My love is guaranteed for two who visit one another for My sake; My love is guaranteed for two who help one another (financially) for My sake; My love is guaranteed to for two who uphold ties with one another for My sake.”
Narrated by Ahmad, and 4/236 and 5/236; al-Tanaasuh by Ibn Hibbaan, 3/338; the two ahaadeeth were classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, 3019, 3020, 3021.
What is meant by “two who visit one another for My sake” is that they only visit one another for the sake of Allaah, seeking thereby His pleasure for their loving one another for His sake or cooperating in worshipping Him.
From al-Muntaqa Sharh al-Muwatta’, hadeeth 1779.
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If Allah loves you, do not ask about the good that you will attain and the virtue that you will acquire… it is sufficient for you to know that you are the beloved of Allaah. The great fruits of the love of Allaah for His slave are as follows:
1 – People will love him and he will be accepted on earth, as it says in the hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari (3209): “When Allaah loves a slave, He says to Jibreel, ‘I love so-and-so, so love him,’ so Jibreel loves him and then calls out to the people of heaven, ‘Allaah loves so-and-so, so love him,’ and the people of heaven love him, and then acceptance is placed in the Earth for him.”
2 – What Allaah has mentioned in the hadeeth qudsi of the great virtues of those whom He loves. It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6502.
This hadeeth qudsi includes a number of benefits of Allaah’s love for His slave:
(i) “I am his hearing with which he hears” i.e., he does not listen to anything but that which Allaah loves.
(ii) “his seeing with which he sees” i.e., he does not see anything but that which Allaah loves.
(iii) “his hand with which he strikes” i.e., he does not do anything with his hand but that which Allaah loves.
(iv) “and his foot with which he walks” i.e., he does not go towards anything but that which Allaah loves.
(v) “Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him” i.e., his du’aa’s (supplications) are heard and his requests are granted.
(vi) “and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it” i.e., he is protected by Allaah from all things…
We ask Allaah to help us to please Him.
LASTLY
Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was abused and humiliated in Ta’if. He was patient and made a beautiful du’a:
Dua of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Ta’if
To You, my Lord,
I complain of my weakness,
lack of support and the humiliation I am made to receive.
Most Compassionate and Merciful!
You are the Lord of the weak,
and you are my Lord.
To whom do You leave me?
To a distant person who receives me with hostility?
Or to an enemy You have given power over me?
As long as you are not displeased with me,
I do not care what I face.
I would, however,
be much happier with Your mercy.
I seek refuge in the light of Your face by which
all darkness is dispelled and both this life and the life to come
are put in their right course against incurring your wrath
or being the subject of your anger.
To You I submit,
until I earn Your pleasure.
Everything is powerless without your support.
In the midst of being humiliated by the children in Ta’if and even after he was injured by the stones that were thrown at him, our beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) exercised restraint and patience – preferring to seek the pleasure of Allah.
Many examples were given by Allah. How far are we able to emulate him (peace be upon him) and place Allah and seeking His Pleasure as our most important priority in life, than seeking the pleasure of the people?
So for example, when some people did nasty things to us, do we do the same nasty thing to them or do we exercise patience?
وَلا تَستَوِي الحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ۚ ادفَع بِالَّتي هِيَ أَحسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذي بَينَكَ وَبَينَهُ عَداوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَميمٌ
وَما يُلَقّاها إِلَّا الَّذينَ صَبَروا وَما يُلَقّاها إِلّا ذو حَظٍّ عَظيمٍ
“The good deed and the evil deed cannot be equal. Repel (the evil) with one which is better (i.e. Allah ordered the faithful believers to be patient at the time of anger, and to excuse those who treat them badly), then verily! he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend.
But none is granted it (the above quality) except those who are patient, and none is granted it except the owner of the great portion (of the happiness in the Hereafter i.e. Paradise and in this world of a high moral character).” 41: 34-35
So if we wish for Allah’s Pleasure and Mercy, we should forgive and move on with our life instead of trying to plan some form of revenge against the person who wronged us. The ultimate prize of this patience is Allah’s Mercy and Paradise.
The same thing how Allah taught us about Prophet Yusuf (AS) in surah Yusuf – how despite what he had been through starting from the attempted murder that was made by his 10 brothers, Yusuf (AS) eventually was not angry with his brothers but he blamed shaytan in Surah 12 verse 100. He even praised Allah for being so good to him despite the fact that he was thrown in the well, sold into slavery and wha out into prison.
“And he raised his parents to the throne and they fell down before him prostrate. And he said: “O my father! This is the interpretation of my dream aforetime! My Lord has made it come true! He was indeed good to me, when He took me out of the prison, and brought you (all here) out of the bedouin-life, after Shaitan (Satan) had sown enmity between me and my brothers. Certainly, my Lord is the Most Courteous and Kind unto whom He will. Truly He! Only He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.” 12: 100
Lastly, we have been taught to appreciate Allah’s Blessings no matter how small, in the story of Prophet Ibrahim and his son’s wives:
“After Ishmael’s mother had died, Abraham came after Ishmael’s marriage in order to see his family that he had left before, but he did not find Ishmael there. When he asked Ishmael’s wife about him, she replied: ‘He has gone in search of our livelihood.’ Then he asked her about their way of living and their condition, and she replied: ‘We are living in misery; we are living in hardship and destitution,’ complaining to him. He said, ‘When your husband returns, convey my salutation to him and tell him to change the threshold of the gate (of his house).’
“When Ishmael came, he seemed to have felt something unusual, so he asked his wife: ‘Has anyone visited you?’ She replied: Yes, an old man of such-and-such description came and asked me about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our state of living, and I told him that we were living in a hardship and poverty.’ On that Ishmael said: ‘Did he advise you anything?’ She replied: Yes, he told me to convey his salutation to you and to tell you to change the threshold of your gate.’ Ishmael said: ‘It was my father, and he has ordered me to divorce you. Go back to your family.’ So, Ishmael divorced her and married another woman from among them (i.e. Jurhum).
‘Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished and called on them again but did not find Ishmael. So he came to Ishmael’s wife and asked her about Ishmael. She said: ‘He has gone in search of our livelihood.’ Abraham asked her: ‘How are you getting on?’ asking her about their sustenance and living. She replied: ‘We are prosperous and well-off (i.e. we have everything in abundance).’ Then she thanked Allah. Abraham said: ‘What kind of food do you eat?’ She said: ‘Meat.’ He said: ‘What do you drink?’ She said: ‘Water.’ He said: ‘0 Allah! Bless their meat and water.”‘
The Prophet added: “At that time they did not have grain, and if they had had grain, he would have also invoked Allah to bless it. If somebody has only these two things as his sustenance, his health and disposition will be badly affected, unless he lives in Mecca.”
The Prophet continued: ‘Then Abraham said to Ishmael’s wife: ‘When your husband comes, give my regards to him and tell him that he should keep firm the threshold of his gate.’ When Ishmael came back, he asked his wife: ‘Did anyone call on you?’ She replied: Yes, a good-looking old man came to me,’ so she praised him and added: ‘He asked about you and I informed him, and he asked about our livelihood and I told him that we were in a good condition.’ Ishmael asked her: ‘Did he give you any piece of advice?’ She said: Yes, he told me to give his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of your gate.’ On that Ishmael said: ‘It was my father, and you are the threshold (of the gate). He has ordered me to keep you with me.’
May Allah Guide us to Increase our ability to seek His Pleasure and Love.
