His." (Surat az-Zumar: 11)
Once having grasped the extent of Allah's infinite might, to forget
His existence and remain heedless is merely to delude oneself. What
Allahdemands from human beings is that they seek to earn His good
pleasure as their sole priority in life.
Since it is Allah Who created man, provided him his sustenance and all
other such blessings, and Who promised him eternallife in the , it
would be an act of ingratitude for man to seek the pleasure of others,
or the gratification of his own self, as his primary aim. The
punishment for such ungratefulness is eternal hellfire.
There are two choices a man can make; he can either found his life on
Allah's good pleasure, and thus earn the reward of His Paradise, or
choose thepath that leads to Hell. A third option is not available for
him. This is clearly expressed in the following verse:
Who is better: someone who founds his building on fear of Allah and
His good pleasure, or someone who founds his building on the brinkof a
crumbling precipice so that it collapses with him into the Fire of
Hell? Allah does not love wrongdoers. (Surat at-Tawba: 109)
Those values praised in the Qur'an are those founded on purely that
which achieves Allah's pleasure. For example, self-sacrifice, which is
pleasing to Allah, is valid only if the person does notexpect anything
for it in return, but rather only to attain Allah's good pleasure. It
is related in the Qur'an that believers conduct themselves correctly
only to seek Allah's countenance:
They give food, despite their love for it, to the poor and orphans and
captives: "We feed you only out of desire for theFace of Allah. We do
not want any repayment from you or any thanks." (Surat al-Insan: 8-9)
Allah's Messenger, the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) also stated in ahadith that Allah's Pleasure must always be
held above man's pleasure:
Whoever seeks Allah's Pleasure at the expense ofmen's displeasure,
will winAllah's Pleasure and Allah will cause men to be pleased with
him. And whoever seeks to please men at the expense of Allah's
Displeasure, will win the Displeasure of Allah and Allah will cause
men to be displeased withhim. (narrated by Ibn Hibban in his Saheeh)
The greatest honor and gratification man can ever attain is Allah's
good pleasure. Allah makes His servants pleased with Himthrough the
multitude of blessings He bestows on them. In a verse of the Qur'an,
the reward for believers who are pleased with Allah, and with whom
Allah is pleased, is related as follows:
Their reward is with their Lord: Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing
under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever and ever. Allah is
pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. That is for those who
fear their Lord. (Surat al-Bayyina: 8)
Allah's good pleasure is not only earned solely by performing certain
acts of worship at definite times. Allah's good pleasure is also
earned by conducting oneself correctly throughout one's lifetime. The
following verse informs us that a believer's entire life must be
oriented towards a single goal:
Say: "My prayer and my rites, my living and my dying, are for Allah
alone, the Lord of all the worlds." (Surat al-An'am:162)
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