Being well-pleased with Allah:

 Dear brother, we are still tackling an issue that is closely related to the series of "Ways of Access and Signs of Acceptance", and it is "Being Well-pleased with Allah". Allah says:

﴾Allah Well-Pleased with them, and they with Him﴿

[Al-Baiyyinah, 8]

 Imam Junaid, may Allah have mercy on his soul, said, "Being well-pleased (with Allah) is knowledge itself". When you know Allah's Wisdom, Mercy and Justice you will be pleased with Him. Also, when your pleasure is based on the deep belief that whatever happens is due to Allah's Will, and whatever Allah wills absolutely happens, because it does not befit Allah's Lordship to have something happened in His Kingdom without His Will. His Will means that He allows it to happen; He may allow something but not order it to happen, and He may allow something to happen, but He is not pleased with it.

Evil in life is for the benefit of the absolute goodness:

 Dear brother, whatever happens, Allah wills it to happen, and whatever Allah wills must come to pass, and you should know that Allah's Will manifests the absolute Wisdom which leads to the absolute goodness. You should keep in mind that there isn't absolute evil in the universe, because it contradicts the Existence of Allah, so evil is partial. When someone goes under the knife and is anesthetized in order to undergo an appendectomy, this is but partial evil, which is for the sake of his own safety and survival. Hence, evil on earth is at the service of the absolute goodness, and this delicate concept is deduced from the following Ayah:

﴾As for man, when his Lord tries him by giving him honour and gifts, then he says (puffed up): "My Lord has honoured me."* But when He tries him, by straitening his means of life, he says: "My Lord has humiliated me!"﴿

[Al-Fajr, 15-16]

  When Allah grants someone uncountable blessings, he mistakenly thinks that Allah honors him, and when Allah withdraws these blessings form him for profound Wisdom, he wrongly assumes that Allah humiliates him. The Divine Response (to such assumptions) goes as follows:

﴾Nay!﴿

[Al-Fajr, 17]

 Nay is a word that is used for negation and deterring (it is stronger than 'No'.) If someone asks you, "Are you hungry?" You say, "No, I am not."If someone else asks you, "Are you a thief?" You will answer him as a man who has exalted conducts, "Nay!" asserting the fact that you will never ever steal anything or encourage other people to steal. The linguists of the Arabic language explained many form of negating sentences using words which are similar to 'Nay'. Allah says:

﴾Nay!﴿

 The meaning is mentioned in the following Hadith:

((O My slaves, My Bestowal is not honoring and My Withdrawal is not deprivation, for My Bestowal might be a trial and My Deprivation might be a treatment.))

[Mentioned in the relic]

Man's fortunes in life are defined according to the way he uses them:

 Is money a grace? The answer is yes and no. It is considered a grace if it is gained in lawful ways and spent in Halal ways, but if it is gained from Haram sources and spent on sins, it is an affliction. Is good health a grace or an affliction? If your good health helps you obey Allah, it is a grace, but if it is used in sinning and disobeying Allah, it is an affliction. Is the wife a grace or an affliction? If she helps you act upon Allah's Order to gain the Hereafter, she is a grace, but if she puts pressure on you and makes you sin, she is an affliction. The same goes for all fortunes in life, for they are trials and they are defined according to the way you use them. Hence, the interpretation of the Ayah is very delicate:

﴾ As for man, when his Lord tries﴿

 This means that Allah tests him with money:

﴾by giving him honour and gifts, then he says﴿

 Listen what he says:

﴾"My Lord has honoured me."﴿

﴾But when He tries him,﴿

 Allah puts him to the test of impoverishing him:

﴾by straitening his means of life, he says: "My Lord has humiliated me!"﴿

 The Divine Response is:

﴾Nay!﴿

 Hence all your fortunes in life, both the ones you are granted, and the ones that are withdrawn from you, are crucial tests, whether you like it or not. You are tested through you are granted and things that are withdrawn from you, you are tested through situations you are in and situations you are not in, you are tested through the money which is given to you and through the one you lose, you are tested through being healthy and through being sick and you are tested through being beautiful or through being ugly. In fact, whatever positive or negative thing you have is a Divine Test. Thus, you should know beyond doubt that you are in an abode of trial (life):

((O people, this worldly life is a place of crookedness and is not a place of straightforwardness. It is a place of grief and is not a place of joy. Whoever recognizes this will not feel joy at [the achievement of] some hope or feel grief at wretchedness. Allah has meant for the worldly life to be a place of trial, and has meant for the Hereafter to be a place of ramification. Hence, He has made the adversity of the worldly life a reason for the reward in the Hereafter, and He has made the reward of the Hereafter a compensation for the adversity of the worldly life. He takes to give and afflicts to reward.))

[Kanz Al-Ummal, by Ibn Umar]

The true satisfaction is manifested in being given and being deprived:

  Being well-pleased means that you should be pleased with Allah when you are granted from His Blessings and when you are deprived of them, when He makes you strong and when He makes you weak, when He makes you rich and when He impoverishes you and when He grants you long life and when He grants you short one. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((The Almighty Allah protects his believing slave as the shepherd protects his sheep from destructive pastures.))

[Shu'ab Al-Iman by Huzaifah]

 You will be considered well-pleased with Allah only when you deeply believe that the Almighty Allah withdraws a grace from you, due to profound Wisdom, whether this Wisdom is revealed to you or not. In fact, you won't be considered as well-pleased with Allah unless owning graces will be to you on equal footing with being deprived of them. One of the most beautiful Prophetic supplications is the following:

((O Allah, whatever you have provided me from what I love, then make it strength for me for that which you love. O Allah, whatever you have withheld from what I love, then make it a time for rest in that which you love.))

[At-Tirmizi, by Abdullah Ibn Yazid Al-Khatmi]

 When this believer is given money, he makes Du'a to Allah by saying, "O Lord, whatever you have provided me from what I love, then make it strength for me for that which you love", and if money is withdrawn from him, he says, "O Lord, make the time that I am granted because of the withdrawal of money my means to draw closer to you."

The believer is grateful to Allah in adversity and prosperity:

 Dear brother:

((while the Prophet, peace be upon him, was sitting with his Companions he laughed, and then He, peace be upon him, said, "Will you not ask me what makes me?" They said, "O Messenger of Allah, what makes you laugh?" He, peace be upon him, said, "How wondrous is the matter of a believer, there is good in all his affairs, and this is only for the believer. If something good happens to him and he is grateful, then this is good for him, and if a calamity befalls him and he is patient, then this is also good for him".))

[Muslim, by Suhaib Ar-Roomi]

 This is one of the believer's characteristics; he is grateful in prosperity and patient in adversity. When things happen the way he wishes, he says, "All praise be to Allah", and when things are better than what he expects, he says, "All praise be to Allah". Common people usually say wonderful words, "All praise be to Allah Who is the only One to be praised for adversity."

((Aisha reported: When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, saw something he liked he would say, "All praise is due to Allah by whose favor good deeds are accomplished." When the Prophet, peace be upon him, saw something he disliked, he would say, "All praise is due to Allah in every circumstance.))

[Ibn Majah, by Aishah the Mother of Believers]

 The believer is always grateful and thankful. One of the notable scholars was once asked, "When does man reach the level of being well-pleased". Let me before I tell you what he said remind you that in a previous meeting we discussed the subtle difference between one's level and one's status. One's level is constant and acquired, whereas his status is casual and awarded. Sometimes man is well-pleased in certain circumstances, in a particular place and with specific people. However, being truly well-pleased is a level that one acquires and maintains continuously. This notable scholar answered that question by saying, "Man is considered well-pleased with the Almighty Allah when he applies four rules as follows: When he says, , 'O Lord if You grant me from Your Blessings, I am pleased, if You withdraw from me I am pleased, if You forsake me I worship You and if You call me I respond to You'."

When the Wisdom is known man's worship becomes less valuable:

 Dear brother, this concept is very delicate: Obeying Allah's Order the Wisdom of which is revealed to you, and becoming slack in obeying the one the Wisdom of which is not revealed to you, means that you are not worshipping Allah, but rather you are worshipping yourself. Hence, whoever obeys properly the Divine Commands that bring benefit to him, but he hesitates in obeying other Ones is worshipping himself, not Allah. By the way, the clearer the Wisdom of a Divine Command is, the improper your obedience will be, and the hazier the Wisdom of a Command is, the worthier the obedience of it will be. Take for example our Master Ibrahim, peace be upon him, his obedience to Allah is the worthiest in man's history:

﴾"O my son! I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you (offer you in sacrifice to Allah)﴿

[As-Saffaat, 102]

 There are reasonable matters and unreasonable ones. Allah ordered Ibrahim, peace be upon him, to slaughter his own son, who was a Prophet, peace be upon him, and who submitted himself to Allah, (this order seems unreasonable):

﴾He said: "O my father! Do that which you are commanded﴿

[As-Saffaat, 102]

  The Wisdom behind this command is totally unclear:

﴾ Then, when they had both submitted themselves (to the Will of Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (or on the side of his forehead for slaughtering)* And We called out to him: "O Abraham!* You have fulfilled the dream (vision)!" ﴿

[As-Saffaat, 103-105]

﴾ And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice ﴿

[As-Saffaat, 107]

 Hence, when the Wisdom behind the Divine Command is clear, obeying it will have less value and vice versa. In order to clarify this point, consider the son who obeys his father when he asks him to brush his teeth. The benefit of this order is very clear to the son; it is to keep his teeth healthy. Thus, whenever this father orders his son to do something which is for his own advantage, the son will promptly obey his father. Actually he does these orders, because he benefits from them, but when this son obeys his father who asks him not to eat although he is very hungry, and the food he is presented is the most delicious one, his obedience is at the highest level. The son does not know the reason behind such an order, but he knows very well that he is endeared to his father, and that all the food is presented to him, so he obeys his father out of respect to him. This is what makes him in the highest level of closeness to his father. Similarly, when you obey Allah's Command although the Wisdom behind it is not clear to you, you are considered His true worshipper, but if you apply only the Commands the Wisdom of which is clear to you, you are worshipping yourself, not Allah. Some scholars said, "Being a Divine Command is enough reason to be obeyed."

Being a Divine Command is enough reason to be obeyed:

 I am deeply impressed by the words of a Native American scholar who was guided by Allah to Islam. This man met a scholar from Damascus, and during that meeting, they discussed the Shari'ah ruling on eating pork. The Syrian scholar, may Allah reward him, spent a lot of time explaining to the American scholar the harmful effects of pork supporting his argument with rigorous evidences and deep analysis, but after he finished with it, the America scholar smiled and said, "It was enough to say that Allah forbids eating pork."
When an excellent doctor, who is board certified, asks you to stop adding salt to your food, you may not ask him why you should do that, right? You will say, "This is what the doctor told me". In some cases if the doctor tells his patient to sell his house which cost him lots of money and time to decorate it luxuriously, he will sell it justifying that by saying, "Well, the doctor said, it is harmful to me." Notice how the patient obeys the order of an ordinary person who is a human being just like him, but how about the Orders of the One and the Dayyan (Allah the Judge)? This is why some scholars said, "Being a Divine Command is enough reason to be obeyed." This is how the believer should react to the Divine Orders. When you apply Islam, you will reap its fruits, but when you analyze the rulings, argue with other people like a philosopher and look for the Wisdom behind the Divine Command in order to persuade people, you become an Islamic missioner. Unlike the missioner, the worshipper is the one who reaps the fruits of the religion by applying its commands.

 There is a rule that says "Making use of something doesn't entail knowing everything about it". For instance, an illiterate man who buys an air conditioner can get the cool air by just pushing the on-button on the remote control, just like the one who has a PhD. in air conditioners. Thus, making use of the air conditioner has nothing to do with understanding its mechanism. Much in the same line, Islam is applied by the illiterate, the educated, the one who knows the Wisdom (behind the Divine Commands) and the one who doesn't. All of them will reap the fruits of applying it even if they don't understand the Wisdom of the Divine Command, and in this case, they are considered worshippers. As for those who can comprehend the Divine Wisdom of Allah's Orders, they can spread the word of Islam by convincing people of this religion, and so they become Islamic missioners.

Man's sincerity and patience are tested in order to be blessed if they are true:

 Dear brother, Allah is Almighty, and Almighty means that when you ask Him for something, you won't get it right away, because your sincerity should be tested before getting what you wish. Allah says:

﴾Whoever hopes for the Meeting with Allah, then Allah's Term is surely coming﴿

[Al-Ankabut, 5]

﴾As for those who strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will surely guide them to Our Paths (i.e. Allah's Religion - Islamic Monotheism).﴿

[Al-Ankabut, 69]

 You should never think that being admitted to Paradise is that simple. Asking for Paradise without striving in that cause is but a sin. The Almighty Allah tests your faithfulness, your forbearing, your insistence and your endeavoring, and after proving to be sincere in your quest, Allah will bestow His Blessings upon you.

Whoever doesn't realize the Wisdom behind adversity should remain patient:

 Dear brother, Allah says:

﴾So wait patiently (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) for the Decision of your Lord﴿

[At-Tur, 48]

 When does man remain patient? When the Wisdom behind whatever calamity befalls him is concealed. Let me clarify this point by giving you this example. When the dentist tells an adult patient that his heart can't tolerate anesthesia, and so his tooth will be pulled without it, the patient should bear the unbearable pain. What helps him endure the pain? It is the explanation given by his dentist and being a prudent adult, but if such an explanation (which presents the Wisdom in this case) is not given, , one should remain patient.

  Let me give another example, if someone makes his money from unlawful ways, Allah will destroy his money, but if an upright man who makes money from lawful ways loses his money, he should remain patient. Allah says:

﴾So wait patiently (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) for the Decision of your Lord﴿

 The believer is addressed in the Ayat in which the Prophet PBUH is addressed:

 The following Ayah deeply touches man:

﴾So wait patiently (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) for the Decision of your Lord for verily, you are under Our Eyes﴿

[At-Tur, 48]

 I believe that every Ayah in which the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is addressed, the believer is addressed in it too, depending on his faith and sincerity. Hence, when Allah says to the Prophet, peace be upon him:

﴾you are under Our Eyes﴿

 This means, "O sincere devoted believer, when things do not happen as you wish, you should know that you are under Our Eyes." This is due to the Divine Wisdom.

﴾So wait patiently (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) for the Decision of your Lord for verily, you are under Our Eyes﴿

 Hence, every believer is addressed in the Ayaht, in which the Prophet, peace be upon him, addressed:

﴾And glorify the Praises of your Lord when you get up from sleep* And in the night-time, also glorify His Praises, and at the setting of the stars.﴿

[At-Tur, 48-49]

 Dear brother, it is narrated in some As7adeth Qudsiyah:

((Son of Adam, do not be helpless in performing four rak'at for Me at the beginning of the day: I will supply what you need till the end of it.))

[Abu Dawood, by Na'eem Ibn Hamar]

 Believe me, and I am not exaggerating, whoever offers Fajr Salah in Masjid, leaving his cozy bed and walking all the way from his house to the Masjid, will be under Allah's Protection and Care till the evening:

((Son of Adam, do not be helpless in performing four rak'at for Me at the beginning of the day: I will supply what you need till the end of it.))

[Abu Dawood, by Na'eem Ibn Hamar]

 "You are under Our Eyes" on the very day when you offer Fajr in Masjid; you are under Allah's Protection, Prosperity and Care. How wonderful it is to be like that!

((Whoever performs Salat Al-Fajr (the dawn prayer) in congregation is under the Protection of Allah.))

[At-Tabarani, by Abi Bakrah]

(("Whoever prays 'Isha prayer in congregation, it is as if he spends half of the night standing (in prayer and worship), and whoever prays Fajr prayer in congregation, it is as if he spends the whole night standing (in prayer and worship)".))

[Muslim, Abu Dawood, At-Tirmizi and Malik, by Uthman Ibn Affan]

Feeling sad over adversities does not contradict being pleased with Allah:

 Dear brother, I would like to draw your attention to an extremely important point. Feeling sad over the calamities which befall man never nullifies being well-pleased with Allah:

((When Ibrahim, the son of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, died, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, wept. The one who was consoling him, either Abu Bakr or 'Umar, said to him: 'You are indeed the best of those who glorify Allah with what is due to him.' The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: 'The eye weeps and the heart grieves, but we do not say anything that angers the Lord. Were it not that death is something that inevitably comes to all, and that the latter will surely join the former, then we would have been more than we are, verily we grieve for you))

[Ibn Majah, by Asma' Bint Yazid]

 This reaction is normal, for calamities cause pain. When man is in pain because of a disaster, this doesn't mean that he is not well-pleased with Allah, and so there is no contradiction between pain and being well-pleased with the Almighty Allah.

Man's heroism lies in reacting properly to the calamity that befalls him:

 By the way dear brother, heroism doesn't lie in getting over adversities, Allah says:

﴾ for sure We are ever putting (men) to the test. ﴿

[Al-Mu'minun, 30]

 Heroism lies in reacting properly to adversities, not in getting over them, for man never gets over adversities, because he is in an abode of trials (life):

﴾ for sure We are ever putting (men) to the test. ﴿

 Imam Ash-Shafi'i was asked, "Should we ask Allah to test us or to make us firmly established in our religion?" He answered, "You will never be firmly established unless you are tested."Thus, Allah decrees that we are tested, so heroism doesn't lie in getting over adversities, but rather it lies in reacting to them properly.

 Al-Husain (the son of Ali), may Allah be pleased with both of them, was told that Aba Dhar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say, "Poverty is endeared to me more than richness, and sickness is endeared to me more than health", to which Al-Husain said, "May Allah have mercy on the soul of Abi Dhar, as for me I say, 'He, who puts his trust in Allah 's choices, will never wish anything other than what Allah chooses for him'."

Contentment with the worst Qada' is the highest rank of certainty:

 Allah the All-Knowing, the All-Wise and the Ever-Affluent wants you to draw closer to him by spending money (on the needy and the poor), so you thank Allah for being rich, and if Allah decrees that you are poor, He wants you to draw closer to him by being patient when you are aflicted with poverty. Therefore, if you are rich or poor, you should be satisfied, and the same goes for strength and power. Allah grants you power to use it in obeying Allah, and if you are weak, then you should keep well-pleased with His Decree. Whatever happens to you and whatever you are grnated, such as beauty, uglness, good health and ilness should keep you well-pleased with Allah. Some scholars said, "Being well-pleased with the calamity that is about to befall you manifests your strong will to be well-pleased with the Almighty Allah, but being well-pleased after it befalls you, is the true satisfaction." This means that being pleased with the adversities is the highest rank of certainty.

 Hence, he, who puts his trust in his money, will go astray, he, who puts his trust in his power, will be humiliated and he, who puts his trust in Allah, will neither get astray nor be humiliated. Our Master Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "All goodness lies in being well-pleased with Allah, and if you couldn't reach that level, then be patient". This means that man either remains patient or well-pleased (when calamities befall him), but being pleased is a higher level than patience:

((If Allah wants to do good to somebody, He afflicts him with trials, so if he remains patient, He favors him over sh3er, if he is grateful to Him, He draws him closer to Him.))

 Some scholars said, "Being well-pleased with Allah has three types, being pleased with the fortunes granted to you, and this is what common people do, being well-pleased with Qada' and Qadar, and this is what special people do, but being well-pleased with Allah Alone and never being pleased with anything or anyone else is what the most special people do."