Is God Happy with Us?
04/04/2013
When thinking about whether God is happy with us, we need to avoid any indications we may get from our feelings, incidents in our life, etc. Rather, we need to rely on more reliable evidences.
There are two reliable ways to see if some one is happy with us: Asking the person directly, or understanding what makes the person happy and then see whether we are fulfilling the criteria. In the case of the Almighty obviously we do not expect Him to answer us directly in this world, however the latter method is perfectly available to us.
God has made this clear in the Qur'an. We can see, based on the Qur'an, those attributes that God likes or dislikes. In the Qur'an there are verses that say God likes something ( ... الله يحب) and there are verses that say God does not like something ( ... الله لا يحب). If we list these we can then get a picture of what makes God happy and what makes God unhappy:
According to the Qur'an, God likes:
- Righteous people (examples, as given in the Qur'an, are those who are giving for charity, controlling anger, forgive people and stay firm in the path of God), 2:195, 3:134, 3:148, 5:13, 5:93.
- Spiritual and physical cleansing, 2:222, 9:108.
- Pious (Muttaqin), 3:76, 9:4, 9:7.
- Those who have patience, 3:146.
- Those who trust God, 3:159.
- Those who have fairness in dealing with others, 5:42, 49:9, 60:8.
- Those who follow the Prophet's (pbuh) guidance, 3:31.
- Those who fight in the path of God (61:4) (1)
According to the Qur'an God does not like:
- Transgressors against God and His limits, 2:190, 5:87, 7:55.
- Creating disorder (Fasad) in the land, 2:205, 5:64, 28:77.
- Betraying and being ungrateful to God by using what God gives in a way that God does not like, 2:276, 22:38.
- Being a Kafir (one who realises the truth yet arrogantly rejects it), 3:32, 30:45.
- Oppressors to one’s own soul or to other people, 3:57, 3:140, 42:40.
- Those who betray others and violate rights of others 2:276, 4:107, 8:58.
- Those who say harsh words (unless uttered as an objection by one who is oppressed), 4:148.
- Extravagant people, 6:141, 7:31.
- Arrogantly exultant people, 28:76.
- Self-conceited boaster, 31:18, 57:23.
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So if we want to see if God is happy with us, we need to review the above lists, if our personality and attitude is closer to the first list then hopefully that is an indication that God likes us and is happy with us. The closer we get to the attributes mentioned in the first list, the more chances that God is happy with us.
In order to fully appreciate the above lists, a quick look at the items listed show that the attributes mentioned are broadly of three categories:
- The person's relationship with his/her Creator
- The person's relationship with his/her own soul
- The person's relationship with others
When I look at the above two lists and the above three categories and try to summarize them, I cannot help but to think of a single word, that is, Piety (Taqwa). I think the person who is aware of God's presence and has reasonably established in his heart that God is with him and is watching him will develop a protecting shield in his soul that always keeps him from doing evil and prompts him to do good. The good result of such degree of piety will become evident in one's relationship with his/her creator, with his/her own soul and with others.
This is what the Qur'an refers to as Taqwa (with Piety being my preferred translation). In other words, I could answer your question in only one sentence:
"God's happiness with you directly and positively relates to the degree of Taqwa (piety) you have".
The Almighty says:
... إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاكُم ...
"... The most honorable among you in the sight of God is the most pious among you ..."
(49:13)
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Footnote:
1. This refers to Jihad. Since there are many misconceptions and misuses of this term it is important to understand what the purpose and the conditions of Jihad in Islam are. Please refer to the videos related to the concept of Jihad on this website and one of my previous answers: Jihad in the Modern World.
------------------
When thinking about whether God is happy with us, we need to avoid any indications we may get from our feelings, incidents in our life, etc. Rather, we need to rely on more reliable evidences.
There are two reliable ways to see if some one is happy with us: Asking the person directly, or understanding what makes the person happy and then see whether we are fulfilling the criteria. In the case of the Almighty obviously we do not expect Him to answer us directly in this world, however the latter method is perfectly available to us.
God has made this clear in the Qur'an. We can see, based on the Qur'an, those attributes that God likes or dislikes. In the Qur'an there are verses that say God likes something ( ... الله يحب) and there are verses that say God does not like something ( ... الله لا يحب). If we list these we can then get a picture of what makes God happy and what makes God unhappy:
According to the Qur'an, God likes:
- Righteous people (examples, as given in the Qur'an, are those who are giving for charity, controlling anger, forgive people and stay firm in the path of God), 2:195, 3:134, 3:148, 5:13, 5:93.
- Spiritual and physical cleansing, 2:222, 9:108.
- Pious (Muttaqin), 3:76, 9:4, 9:7.
- Those who have patience, 3:146.
- Those who trust God, 3:159.
- Those who have fairness in dealing with others, 5:42, 49:9, 60:8.
- Those who follow the Prophet's (pbuh) guidance, 3:31.
- Those who fight in the path of God (61:4) (1)
According to the Qur'an God does not like:
- Transgressors against God and His limits, 2:190, 5:87, 7:55.
- Creating disorder (Fasad) in the land, 2:205, 5:64, 28:77.
- Betraying and being ungrateful to God by using what God gives in a way that God does not like, 2:276, 22:38.
- Being a Kafir (one who realises the truth yet arrogantly rejects it), 3:32, 30:45.
- Oppressors to one’s own soul or to other people, 3:57, 3:140, 42:40.
- Those who betray others and violate rights of others 2:276, 4:107, 8:58.
- Those who say harsh words (unless uttered as an objection by one who is oppressed), 4:148.
- Extravagant people, 6:141, 7:31.
- Arrogantly exultant people, 28:76.
- Self-conceited boaster, 31:18, 57:23.
***********
So if we want to see if God is happy with us, we need to review the above lists, if our personality and attitude is closer to the first list then hopefully that is an indication that God likes us and is happy with us. The closer we get to the attributes mentioned in the first list, the more chances that God is happy with us.
In order to fully appreciate the above lists, a quick look at the items listed show that the attributes mentioned are broadly of three categories:
- The person's relationship with his/her Creator
- The person's relationship with his/her own soul
- The person's relationship with others
When I look at the above two lists and the above three categories and try to summarize them, I cannot help but to think of a single word, that is, Piety (Taqwa). I think the person who is aware of God's presence and has reasonably established in his heart that God is with him and is watching him will develop a protecting shield in his soul that always keeps him from doing evil and prompts him to do good. The good result of such degree of piety will become evident in one's relationship with his/her creator, with his/her own soul and with others.
This is what the Qur'an refers to as Taqwa (with Piety being my preferred translation). In other words, I could answer your question in only one sentence:
"God's happiness with you directly and positively relates to the degree of Taqwa (piety) you have".
The Almighty says:
... إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاكُم ...
"... The most honorable among you in the sight of God is the most pious among you ..."
(49:13)
------------------
Footnote:
1. This refers to Jihad. Since there are many misconceptions and misuses of this term it is important to understand what the purpose and the conditions of Jihad in Islam are. Please refer to the videos related to the concept of Jihad on this website and one of my previous answers: Jihad in the Modern World.
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