My son, one goal: pleasing God

As life's train nears its final station, one feels compelled to examine the luggage carried for the journey's end, waiting with anticipation for that new life where we will find lasting rest and true settlement. But to reach your destination, you must know the road, its landmarks, and its laws—so you don't lose your way or miss your ultimate goal.

Here I pause to reflect on the words of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him):

“By God, the worldly life compared to the Hereafter is like what one of you dips his finger into the sea; let him see what he brings back.” (Sahih Muslim)

Now that gray hairs have covered me, I sincerely ask God to fulfill what our Prophet (peace be upon him) promised in the hadith reported by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and al- Bayhaqi from 'Amr ibn 'Abasa (hasan):

“Whoever grows a gray hair in Islam, it will be light for him on the Day of Judgment.”

At this point, my dear child, I offer you the advice of the one who loves you. Know that you are not my only child—even if you carry my name and resemble me. My words are meant for all your siblings and your entire generation.

After all, you have been tested by hardship, scattered by distance, and faced with enemies eager to devour or terrify you, to rob you of your peace.

You are God's destined force for change—our hope for a better tomorrow. If you were wasted in vain, we could not defend our faith or our honor.

So do not lose hope while under God's care. Yet never feel safe from temptation—even in the presence of scholars or acetics, or dazzled by those with status.

That is why I offer you these words of heartfelt counseling. May they shorten your path, guide you through the darkest nights—for dawn is near, and I see it beneath your very steps.

Our Ultimate Goal: God's Pleasure

Know, my son, that seeking God's pleasure is our ultimate purpose and the final destination of our journey in this worldly life. Never make it your concern to please anyone above Him. Whatever leads to God's approval will serve as your provision on the path, an inexhaustible treasure granted by Him, and His companionship will surround you—rescuing you from danger and guiding you safely to the shores of His forgiveness, His perfect protection, and the clouds of His mercy.

Reflect on the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

"A servant continues to seek God's pleasure. God says: 'O Gabriel, My servant so-and-so is seeking to please Me—My pleasure is upon him.' Gabriel then says: 'May God's mercy be upon so-and-so.' The bearers of the Throne say it, those around them say it, and the inhabitants of the seven heavens say it. Then it descends to the earth."
(Al-Muʿjam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani, with a sound chain)

God's pleasure is greater than Paradise itself and all it contains—for His pleasure is an attribute of God, while Paradise is His creation. As He says:

"And the pleasure of God is greater."
[Qur'an 9:72]

The highest level of spiritual excellence is to earn God's pleasure, which in turn is the reward for the servant's own acceptance of God's decree, His worthiness, and the teachings of His religion. For indeed, reward matches the nature of the deed.

The path to God is clear and well-lit. It is the same path the earliest generations followed, about whom the Lord of Glory said:

"The foremost, the first among the Muhajirun and the Ansar, and those who follow them in excellence—God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him."
[Qur'an 9:100]

These are the truly blessed—the companions of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) and all who follow them in goodness until the Day of Judgment.

Landmarks on the Path to God's Pleasure

Know, my beloved son, that God's pleasure has a path. Whoever follows it will be saved. And whoever strays in heedlessness will be lost—until he wakes and returns to it.

And know, my son, that whoever relies on others for guidance will be lost. The first steps on the path to God's pleasure are these:

1. Knowledge
Hatim al-Asamm said:

"Whoever wakes in the morning upright in four things will live in the pleasure of God: trust in God, reliance on Him, sincerity, and knowledge. Everything is completed by knowledge."
(From Ṭabaqāt al-Ṣūfiyya by al-Sulamī)
Seek knowledge of God's religion and the guidance of His Prophet (peace be upon him).

2. Lofty Aspiration in Seeking God's Pleasure
Al-Junayd (may God have mercy on him) said:

"A person's worth is measured by his aspiration. If his aspiration is for this world, his worth is nothing. If it is for the Hereafter, his worth is Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth. But if it is God's pleasure, then no created thing can measure his worth—only God's approval."
God Almighty says:
"And God's pleasure is greater."
[Qur'an 9:72]

Abu al-Tayyib al-Shirazi said:

"I once asked Abu Bakr al-Ṭamastani, as he was parting from me: 'Advise me.' He replied: 'Aspiration—aspiration!'"
(From Al-Futuwwa by al-Sulamī)

3. Patience and Perseverance
Be steadfast in seeking God's pleasure, overcoming your own desires. ʿUbayd Allah ibn Shamīt said he heard his father say:

"God's friends chose His pleasure over their own desires. Even when their desires were a severe trial for them, they forced themselves again and again to seek God's approval—and so they succeeded and prospered."
(From Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ)

"If you don't choose God's pleasure alone over all you desire, you are not truly patient."
(Jamāl al-Qaffī, Inbāh al-Ruwāt)

4. Recognize the Nature of this World
Know, my son, that this world is a place of trials and a crucible of testing. Patience and contentment with God's decree—after exhausting all means to address hardship—are your path to earning God's pleasure.

Anas reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"The greatest reward comes with the greatest trial. When God loves a people, He tests them. Whoever is content will have His pleasure, and whoever is displeased will have His displeasure."
(Hasan – Shuʿab al-īmān and Al-Sunnah by al-Baghawī)

5. Honor Your Parents' Approval (in what is not disobedience to God)
ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (may God be pleased with them both) said the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:

"The Lord's pleasure is in the parents' pleasure, and His displeasure is in their displeasure."
(Ṣaḥīḥ – reported by al-Tirmidhī, al-Ḥākim, al-Ṭabarānī, and al-Bazzār)

6. Do Not Seek God's Anger to Please People

ʿĀʾishah (may God be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:

"Whoever seeks God's pleasure despite people's anger, God will protect him from people's harm. But whoever seeks people's pleasure at the cost of God's anger, God will leave him to the people."
(Ṣaḥīḥ – reported by al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Ḥibbān)

Imam al-Shāfiʿī (may God have mercy on him) said:

"Pleasing people is an unattainable goal. Focus on what will truly benefit you, hold to it, and leave aside anything else."
(From Ibn Taymiyyah's Fatāwā, 3/232)

7. Be Eager for God's Pleasure
ʿAbdullah said: my father told us, ʿAbd al-Razzāq told us, Bakkār said: I heard Wahb say:

"God Almighty said to the Children of Israel: 'If I am obeyed, I am pleased. If I am pleased, I bless—and there is no limit to My blessing. But if I am disobeyed, I am angered. When I am angered, I curse—and My curse can reach the seventh generation.'"
(From Al-Zuhd by Aḥmad)

8. Strive to Be Energetic in Seeking His Pleasure
Al-Farrāʾ said:

"I heard Ibn ʿAliyān asked: 'What is the sign of God's pleasure with a servant?' He replied: 'His energy in acts of obedience, and his heaviness in acts of disobedience.'"
(From Ṭabaqāt al-Ṣūfiyya, p. 315)

9. Beware of Being Deceived by Your Acts of Obedience
The sign of God's pleasure with you is your dissatisfaction with yourself. The sign of an accepted deed is to see it as small and insignificant in your heart—even the gnostic asks God's forgiveness after acts of devotion.

The Messenger of God (peace be upon him), when he completed the prayer, would seek forgiveness three times.

Whoever witnesses his duty to God, the true measure of his deeds, and the flaws of his own soul will inevitably find himself asking God's forgiveness and belittling and humbling his own actions.
(From Madārij al-Sālikīn)

10. Know This:

"Whoever is content with his Lord, God is content with him. In fact, a servant's contentment with God is itself a result of God's pleasure with him. It is surrounded by two kinds of God's approval: one beforehand that leads him to be content with God, and one afterward that is the fruit of God's pleasure with him. Contentment is the greatest gateway to God, the paradise of this world, the comfort of the gnostics, the life of the lovers of God, the delight of the worshippers, and the coolness of the eyes of those longing for Him."

11. One of the Greatest Ways to Attain Contentment:

Adhere to whatever God has made a means to His pleasure—for it will inevitably lead you to the station of contentment.

Someone asked Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh (may God have mercy on him):

"When does a servant reach the station of contentment?"
He replied:
"When he trains himself on four principles in his relationship with his Lord: 'If You give me, I accept. If You withhold, I am content. If You leave me, I worship You. If You call me, I answer.'"

Al-Junayd (may God have mercy on him) said:

"Contentment is the sound knowledge that settles in the heart. When the heart truly experiences this knowledge, it leads to contentment."

My Son:
Part of seeking God's pleasure is simply searching for its landmarks. Even if I have not described them all to you, leave aside what is past. Roll up your sleeves and cast yourself into the embrace of His decree. Be clear-sighted.

This is my first and most important advice to you: that I might have opened for you the door of goodness for you to enter. Do not forget me in your prayers in a moment of God's pleasure. May you find in my counsel a light for your path.