Is Allah Pleased with Me?
A Muslims life should revolve around obedience to Allah because that is one of the ways for gaining Allah’s Blessings, because for a Muslim Allah has told us that Islam is our chosen religion and our guide.
This point is emphasized often in the Quran and Sunnah. Allah says in the Quran that he has chosen Islam as our religion which will be our guide through life: “This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” (Quran 5:3)
When a true believer follows the dictates of Allah, He is pleased with our belief and for our acts of obedience and we can be sure of being given the Heavenly rewards: Allah says: “Their reward with their Lord is gardens of perpetuity beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein for ever; Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him; that is for those who fear their Lord.” (Quran 98: 8).
As oft repeated, for a Muslim Islam is not only a ‘religion’ but a complete way of life. Therefore it is incumbent on a believer to ensure that we follow, obey and act upon what the Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) have outlined for us. We have been given guidance in all our dealings, be they inner thoughts and feelings or our outward behaviour and actions in this world. Thus living a life in complete obedience is the overarching principle that will decide if Allah is pleased or displeased with us. It goes without saying that works (our actions) alone are not sufficient to earn Allah’s pleasure. They need to be accompanied by sincere belief and faith in Allah.
Every religion or faith requires us to live a life that is in line with the teachings as laid down in their religious books, beliefs and teachings; we therefore have to follow the commands and guidance if we are to remain true in faith. When we do that we will be among those who will be in the ‘good books’ of our Creator, because, Allah is pleased with the soul that is firm on faith. Such a soul will be addressed in the Hereafter by the words: “(To the righteous soul will be said): O soul in complete rest and satisfaction, you come back to your Lord – well pleased (yourself) and well-pleasing unto Him. You enter then among My devotees, yes you enter My Heaven.” (Quran 89: 27 – 30)
Once every year Muslims spend the month of Ramadan (of fasting), as a result of which, our hearts, minds and actions are in line with and closer to our Lord. This month helps us build an even closer connection with our Creator because the nature of the fast helps open the doors of consciousness and spirituality that lead us to following the path of piety and righteousness. However, two important questions come up in our minds after that month has passed: Did I do enough during the month?
How can I sustain my religious behaviour and actions and piousness for the rest of the year after Ramadan? We need to constantly remind ourselves so as to boost our motivation because during that month we were faithful with high levels of spirituality and energy in our prayers and worship.
What usually happens is that we have returned to our daily routines we need to consciously reignite and infuse that spirit that we had during that holy month by re-establishing that close link with our Creator. Each and every one of us has been gifted with wisdom and intelligence we therefore have the power within us to start on the journey towards transformation and change. Once we reignite our intention towards that change we will find Divine assistance. ‘…..of those who have faith; from the depths of darkness, he will lead them into light’. (Quran 2: 257)
How do I ensure that I live a life that Allah is pleased with me?
Each one of us has been blessed with a precious gift, the mind. But He also granted moral and spiritual guidance through His Prophets and Messengers. We have to learn how develop and master our minds so that we can embrace Allah's guidance in all situations in our daily lives. Mankind has truly been Blessed, because Allah gave us many sources of guidance, among them are:
Our Five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, all these guide us in our life and help us a great deal. We also have reasoning: It is a precious gift of Allah. He gave human beings reason but with it comes the condition of responsibilities. Our powers of reason and thinking should guide us in finding the right direction.
Intuition / instinct / sixth sense: Sometime we know things and have a ‘gut feel’ and are thus guided by our instincts without using senses or reason. Many a time when we do things we have that gut feel that it is ‘wrong’ what we are doing. That is our inbred instinct or sixth sense that tells us that what we are doing is against our teachings, practices and beliefs. That should be the turning point for our actions.
Divine Revelations through the Holy Scriptures: Despite being blessed with our senses, our reason, and our intuitions or instincts, these are not sufficient sources to guide us. We need divine revelation and Allah's guidance because that is the real guidance for us. The Quran is the foundation of every Muslim and the decrees, guidance and commands of Allah are there for us to follow: "Say: 'The Guidance of Allah; that is the (true) Guidance. Were you to follow their desire of others after the knowledge which has reached you, then you would find neither Protector nor Helper against Allah." (Quran 2:120)
We also need Prophetic guidance. For every believer this is the supreme and perfect source of guidance. Allah gave to humanity and sent His message through His Prophets over time; I am not talking about the self – proclaimed ‘prophets’ that we hear of daily. Here we mean the real ‘Quranic and Biblical’ prophets. They are the true guidance that the Almighty sent for us.
He sent His chosen Prophets to help us and give us the right path that we have to follow to learn more about Divine teachings and guidance: ‘All who obey Allah and the Messenger are in the company of those on whom is the Grace of Allah – of the Prophets who teach, the sincere, the righteous….what a beautiful fellowship’. (Quran 4: 69). And: "You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah." (33:21)
Therefore for a Muslim it is imperative to live a life that is in line with the edicts of the Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). As such our obedience to Allah is one of the main ways for gaining Allah's pleasure, while disobedience to Him will leave us being subject to His wrath. Only if we lead such a conscious life then we will be assured of trying to tread the right path. Once we are truthful to ourselves we will be on the path to salvation.
“Allah will say: This is the day when their truth shall benefit the truthful ones; they shall have gardens beneath which rivers flow to abide therein for ever: Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Allah; this is the mighty achievement.” (Quran 5: 119)
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