٥. عَنْ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ:
«ثَلاَثٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ وَجَدَ حَلاَوَةَ الْاِيمَانِ: مَنْ كَانَ اللّٰهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِمَّا سِوَاهُمَا وَمَنْ أَحَبَّ عَبْدًا لَا يُحِبُّهُ إِلَّا لِلّٰهِ وَمَنْ يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يَعُودَ فِي الْكُفْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ أَنْقَذَهُ اللّٰهُ كَمَا يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يُلْقَى فِي النَّارِ».
5. Anas narrated that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:
“Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness (delight) of faith: 1. The one to whom Allah and His Apostle becomes dearer than anything else. 2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah’s sake. 3. Who hates to revert to Atheism (disbelief) as he hates to be thrown into the fire.” (Bukhari, Iman, 14; Ikrah, 1; Adab, 42; Muslim, Iman, 67. Also see Tirmidhi, Iman, 10/2624)
٦. عَنْ عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ بْنِ مُعَاوِيَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:
«ثَلاَثٌ مَنْ فَعَلَهُنَّ فَقَدْ طَعِمَ طَعْمَ الْإِيمَانِ: مَنْ عَبَدَ اللّٰهَ وَحْدَهُ وَأَنَّهُ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَأَعْطَى زَكَاةَ مَالِهِ طَيِّبَةً بِهَا نَفْسُهُ رَافِدَةً عَلَيْهِ كُلَّ عَامٍ وَلَا يُعْطِي الْهَرِمَةَ وَلَا الدَّرِنَةَ وَلَا الْمَرِيضَةَ وَلَا الشَّرَطَ اللَّئِيمَةَ وَلٰكِنْ مِنْ وَسَطِ أَمْوَالِكُمْ فَإِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَمْ يَسْأَلْكُمْ خَيْرَهُ وَلَمْ يَأْمُرْكُمْ بِشَرِّهِ».
6. Abdullah b. Mu’awiyah reported the Prophet (pbuh) as saying:
“There are three things that he who performs them will feel the taste of faith (These are): To worship Allah alone and to believe in that there is no god but Allah; and to pay zakat willingly out of his property every year. Not to choose the aged animals, nor animals suffering from itch or ailing to give as alms, but to choose animals of medium quality, for Allah did not demand from you the best of your animals, nor did He command you to give the animals of worst quality.”(Abu Dawud, Kitab al-Zakat, 5/1582)
٧. عَنِ الْعَبَّاسِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ:
«ذَاقَ طَعْمَ الْإِيمَانِ مَنْ رَضِيَ بِاللّٰهِ رَبًّا وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولاً».
7. It is narrated on the authority of Abbas b. Abdulmuttalib that he heard the Messenger of Allah saying:
“He relished the flavor of faith (Iman) who became the book of faith pleased with Allah as Lord, with al-Islam as the code of life and with Muhammad as the Messenger (of Allah).” (Muslim, Iman (Faith), 56; Tirmidhi, Iman, 10/2623; Ahmad, I, 208)
٨. عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:
«اَلنَّظْرَةُ سَهْمٌ مِنْ سِهَامِ إبْلِيسَ مَسْمُومَةٌ فَمَنْ تَرَكَهَا مِنْ خَوْفِ اللّٰهِ أَثَابَهُ -جَلَّ وَعَزَّ- إِيمَانًا يَجِدُ حَلَاوَتَهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ».
8. Hudhaifa (r.a.) narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) saying:
“Looking at haram is one of the poisoned arrows of demon. Whoever quits that out of fear from Allah, Allah the Almighty bestows him/her a delightful faith.” (Hakim, IV, 349/7875; Haythami, VIII, 63)
٩. عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ… قَالَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:
«جَدِّدُوا إِيمَانَكُمْ» قِيلَ:
«يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ وَكَيْفَ نُجَدِّدُ إِيمَانَنَا؟» قَالَ:
«أَكْثِرُوا مِنْ قَوْلِ (لَا إِلٰهَ إِلاَّ اللّٰهُ)».
9. Narrated from Abu Huraira (r.a.):
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Renew your faith!”
Companions of Prophet Muhammad asked:
“O the Messenger of Allah, how can we renew our faith?”
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) answered:
“Say the phrase of ‘La ilaha Illallah’ a lot.” (Ahmad, II, 359; Hakim, IV, 285/7657)
Explanations:
The value of Islam and faith is unquestionable. However, there are levels of them as well. While some people try to perform their duties at a minimum level, others try to perform more than what is required in the best way with sincerity, love, and excitement. Such believers are the ones who feel the delight of Islam and faith in their hearts. Their hearts are satisfied and their faith has got stronger. They take great pleasure and delight from their good deeds. They willingly fulfill all the commands of Allah and His Messenger with love. For the sake of Islam they do not hold back from difficulties. They place the content of Allah and His Messenger before everything else. They do not exchange their religion for worldly benefits. They think of the Hereafter before thinking of this world.
Their excitement primarily comes from their love for Allah and His Messenger more than for their mothers, fathers, children, all humanity, wealth, and even their own lives. As a matter of fact when the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked even for a small thing, his Companions, who were at the peak of this excitement, used to respond saying “O Messenger of Allah! My mother, my father, and my life be sacrificed for you”. In fact, this is the kind of love preferred by Allah the Almighty.
It is stated in the Qur’an:
“Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which you fear a decline: or the dwellings in which you delight are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger, or the striving in His cause; then wait until Allah brings about His decision: and Allah guides not the rebellious.” (Al-Tawbah; 9:24)
When a person loves Allah and His Messenger, he loves the things related to them as well, for the lover loves everything about his love. When he feels such love deep inside his heart, doing things for his love becomes easier. The good deeds that make us earn the consent of Allah and His Messenger turn into pleasures and are performed with delight. Other creatures that are loved now become loved only because of Allah. The hatred and anger is now felt only for the sake of Allah. Everything in this world gets measured in terms of earning the consent of Allah.
Muslims who feel the delight of faith consider everything that would take them away from Allah and His Messenger more burning and painful than fire. They become fully aware that having faith leads one to Paradise and disbelief leads to Hell. Hence, they strongly stay away from things that take them away from religion and Allah’s consent. They spend all their efforts to quit all the sins and being unawareness. As a matter of fact, every sin means getting a step further away from Paradise. As sins increase, the distance between paradise and the man becomes impassable …
Every believer who realizes these facts holds on tight to the acts that bring him closer to Allah and His Messenger. He becomes sensitive about his worships. With excitement he fulfills his worships such as praying five times a day or fasting which are considered difficult by some. Especially, every year he pays his zakat (almsgiving), which is the hardest act of worship upon our carnal selves. He pays it feeling significance of this worship and thanking the poor. He would not feel any hardship from this; in contrast, he feels contentment. This state makes the believer a traveler to bliss in both worlds with his zakat, alms, and other donations.
As it can be understood from our second hadith, a believer who wants to feel the delight of having faith should not act reluctant when giving zakat. It is best if he enthusiastically gives from the best of his wealth, for it is stated in the following verse that
“By no means shall you attain righteousness unless you give (freely) of that which you love; and whatever you give, of a truth Allah knows it well.” (Al-i-Imran; 3:92)
If one cannot do this, one should at least give out of his wealth’s medium quality instead of the worst part of it. As in everything, a believer should act with piety and deep comprehension and should not put his family in a financially difficult position by spending his money unwisely.
Since a believer sees this world as the field of the hereafter, he must fulfill all of his deeds for the sake of Allah and should realize that this world is temporary and very short. When one has this consciousness, some acts that seem hard to others become very easy for him. By forgiving people, he would not confront with anyone even he is right, he would not act under the control of his desires and do mischievous tricks even under very difficult conditions.
Abdullah b. Mas’ud (r.a.) said that:
“Whoever has the following three characteristics has the delight of faith:
Avoiding confrontation even he is right, not lying even if it is a joke, and knowing that the things that Allah wished for him will surely happen to him and the things that Allah did not wish for him will never happen to him.” (Haythami, I, 55. Also see. Ahmad, V, 317)
A believer, who feels the delight of faith in his heart due to his love for Allah, Islam, and His Messenger, would never have a fancy for foreign views, ideas, and ideologies. He does not get carried away with the temporary and worldly winds blowing from right and left. That is because, he knows that his faith is superior to all the other faiths and he lives with confidence and peace that comes from knowing that. His soul is tranquil and his heart is full of love. For this reason, he is not pleased with any view or opinion other than Islam. He practices his faith with no shame, and does not pay attention to anyone’s criticism and blaming on this matter.
Even if someone who reaches this level of faith sometimes may act wrong by falling into heedlessness, he immediately pulls himself together and realizes what it takes to be contented from Allah, Islam, and the Prophet and does that. The following incident is a good example of this:
Once Umar (r.a.) came to the Prophet with some pages from Torah in his hands and said:
“O Messenger of Allah! These are some pages from Torah. I got them from a friend of mine who is a member of the Sons of Zuraik.”
The color of Prophet’s face has suddenly changed. Upon that Abdullah b. Zaid (r.a.) said to Umar:
“Did Allah make you lose your mind? Don’t you see how the face of the Messenger of Allah has changed?”
Umar, who understood his mistake, said:
“We are contented with Allah as our Lord, Islam as our religion, Muhammad (pbuh) as our prophet, and Qur’an as our guide.”
Upon that, the Messenger of Allah became happy, his sorrow disappeared, and then he said the following:
“I swear to Allah, in whose Hand my soul is, if Moses (pbuh) were with you and you were to leave me and to follow him, you would make a grave mistake. Because you are my destiny among the peoples of the prophets and I am your destiny among the prophets.” (Haythami, I, 174)
What a great destiny! It is so great that we are unable to thank for it properly.
The main characteristics of those believers who experienced the delight of faith are mentioned in the chapter al-Anfal as follows:
“For, Believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts, and when they hear His signs rehearsed, find their faith strengthened, and put (all) their trust in their Lord; Who establish regular prayers and spend (freely) out of the gifts We have given them for sustenance.” (Al-Anfal; 8:2-3)
Some other characteristics of those servants who experienced serenity and tranquility are listed in chapter al-Furqan as:
“And the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, “Peace!”; Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord prostrate and standing.” (Al-Furqan; 25:63-64)
“Those who, when they are admonished with the Signs of their Lord, droop not down at them as if they were deaf or blind.” (Al-Furqan; 25:73)
One of the most important conditions of experiencing the delight of faith is turning away from sins. Allah blesses the hearts of those believers who know how to stay away from sins that may seem sweet and nice but in reality are nothing but poison and dirt with such a faith that they experience its indescribable delight in their hearts while they are still in this world. Thus, they would not only protect themselves from the poisonous arrows of devil, but also earn spiritual rewards and beautify and strengthen their faith.
In one of his sayings on this subject, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Whoever notices a beautiful woman and turns his eyes away, Allah blesses him with the spiritual rewards of an act of worship of which gives delight that he feelsin his heart.” (Ahmad, V, 264; Haythami, VIII, 63)
The following hadith showing Allah’s mercy to His servants contains the good news for believers who avoid sins:
“Whoever intends to do an evil deed and does not do it. Allah blesses him with the reward of a good deed.” (Bukhari, Riqaq, 31; Muslim, Iman, 207, 259. Also see Bukhari, Tawhid 35; Tirmidhi, Tafsir, 6/3073)
After a Muslim experiences the delight of faith by avoiding sins, continuing his worships, and attaining piety, now he must exert effort to preserve and develop his faith. As the Messenger of Allah advised, this can be possible, apart from the obligatory acts of worship, by performing supererogatory acts of worship, serving in the way of Allah and reciting His names and attributes and remembering Him. As a matter of fact, in our fifth hadith, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) advises to renew and strengthen our faith by saying “La ilahe illallah.” In the Hereafter, thanks to the intercession of the Prophet (pbuh), the happiest ones will be the ones who sincerely say “La ilahe illallah.” (Bukhari, Ilm, 33; Riqaq, 51)
The heart of those who can reflect Kalima al-Tawhid (La ilahe illallah) in every aspect of their lives will be blessed with closeness to Allah the Almighty.
According to the sayings of the Prophet, the fundamental conditions to reach the delight of faith are affection, compliance, and submission. When we carefully examine them, we can realize that these are also the fundamentals upon which our religion is based. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) expressed this as:
“Polytheism is less noticeable than the movements of a black ant in the darkness of a night on the hill of Safa. The least form of polytheism is to love something that is cruel and hating something that is just. Is religion something other than love and hate? As a matter of fact, Allah the Almighty says:
“Say: “If you do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you and your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Al-i-Imran; 3:31), (Hakim, II, 319/3148)
Therefore, in order to experience the delight of faith, one must be careful about whom he loves and hates. In order to reach salvation, a Muslim must know where to use his love and hate. What a nice servanthood it is to love the things that Allah loves and hate the things that Allah hates.
When approached from this angle, for example, it is gravely dangerous and harmful to the heart to have interest in and compliment to a disbeliever because of his human nature to ignore his disbelief and unfaithfulness. When we act in this way, the outcome can turn into approval of the state of the unbeliever and exaltation of his reputation; whereas, without faith, other qualifications have no value whatsoever.
For example, a non-believer may have some qualifications and abilities and therefore may have fulfilled some worldly achievements. He can be an intellectual or a great hero. When we talk about him/her saying “apart from his faith, if we were to speak justly, he is a great hero”, hearts may incline towards him/her. This may demean the importance of having faith in the eyes of people and may cause them to be influenced by the wrong behaviors of that disbeliever.
On the other hand, in order to experience the delight of faith, the seeds of faith must spring in our hearts. Drawing our attention to this, Allah the Almighty says:
“…Allah has endeared the Faith to you, and has made it beautiful in your hearts, and He has made hateful to you Unbelief, wickedness, and rebellion: such indeed are those who walk in righteousness.” (Al-Hujurat; 49:7)
As it can be understood from the verse, having knowledge is not enough for having faith and for experiencing its delight. Indeed, Allah gives some of the scholars of the sons of Israel as an example and compares them to a “donkey which carries huge tomes.” (Al-Jumah; 62:5)
So, one must engrave the knowledge into his heart and shape his acts accordingly. For this in turn training of the heart is a must. At the same time, the heart must be directed towards supreme virtues. When the heart reaches such a state, Allah the Almighty teaches him the things that cannot be learned from the lines of books.
In order for a desire to turn into actions and behaviors, one should have love in addition to having knowledge. For this reason, love is the source of religion and the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked for the delight of faith from Allah the Almighty saying:
“O Allah! Make us love the faith, and beautify our hearts with faith. Show us disbelief, sin, and disobedience as evils. Make us among those who have found the truth!” (Ahmad, III, 424)
In the Age of Bliss (Age of Prophet Muhammad), faith and love were merged and rooted in the hearts of the Companions. In this way, they became the best generation of all generations, a golden generation. The friends of Allah who have followed their footsteps felt the delight of faith in their hearts, too. Indeed, Junaid Baghdadi said:
“For the pious people, the joy of praying at night is more delightful than the entertainment of ignorant people.”
Ibrahim b. Atham said:
“I swear to God, we are in such a delight that if kings knew about it, they would declare war on us to get it from us.”
In summary, in order to experience the delight of faith, one must feel love properly and correctly. This is one of the fundamental principles of Islam.
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B. DELIGHTFULNESS OF FAITH
٥. عَنْ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ:
«ثَلاَثٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ وَجَدَ حَلاَوَةَ الْاِيمَانِ: مَنْ كَانَ اللّٰهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِمَّا سِوَاهُمَا وَمَنْ أَحَبَّ عَبْدًا لَا يُحِبُّهُ إِلَّا لِلّٰهِ وَمَنْ يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يَعُودَ فِي الْكُفْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ أَنْقَذَهُ اللّٰهُ كَمَا يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يُلْقَى فِي النَّارِ».
5. Anas narrated that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:
“Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness (delight) of faith: 1. The one to whom Allah and His Apostle becomes dearer than anything else. 2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah’s sake. 3. Who hates to revert to Atheism (disbelief) as he hates to be thrown into the fire.” (Bukhari, Iman, 14; Ikrah, 1; Adab, 42; Muslim, Iman, 67. Also see Tirmidhi, Iman, 10/2624)
٦. عَنْ عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ بْنِ مُعَاوِيَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:
«ثَلاَثٌ مَنْ فَعَلَهُنَّ فَقَدْ طَعِمَ طَعْمَ الْإِيمَانِ: مَنْ عَبَدَ اللّٰهَ وَحْدَهُ وَأَنَّهُ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَأَعْطَى زَكَاةَ مَالِهِ طَيِّبَةً بِهَا نَفْسُهُ رَافِدَةً عَلَيْهِ كُلَّ عَامٍ وَلَا يُعْطِي الْهَرِمَةَ وَلَا الدَّرِنَةَ وَلَا الْمَرِيضَةَ وَلَا الشَّرَطَ اللَّئِيمَةَ وَلٰكِنْ مِنْ وَسَطِ أَمْوَالِكُمْ فَإِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَمْ يَسْأَلْكُمْ خَيْرَهُ وَلَمْ يَأْمُرْكُمْ بِشَرِّهِ».
6. Abdullah b. Mu’awiyah reported the Prophet (pbuh) as saying:
“There are three things that he who performs them will feel the taste of faith (These are): To worship Allah alone and to believe in that there is no god but Allah; and to pay zakat willingly out of his property every year. Not to choose the aged animals, nor animals suffering from itch or ailing to give as alms, but to choose animals of medium quality, for Allah did not demand from you the best of your animals, nor did He command you to give the animals of worst quality.”(Abu Dawud, Kitab al-Zakat, 5/1582)
٧. عَنِ الْعَبَّاسِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ:
«ذَاقَ طَعْمَ الْإِيمَانِ مَنْ رَضِيَ بِاللّٰهِ رَبًّا وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولاً».
7. It is narrated on the authority of Abbas b. Abdulmuttalib that he heard the Messenger of Allah saying:
“He relished the flavor of faith (Iman) who became the book of faith pleased with Allah as Lord, with al-Islam as the code of life and with Muhammad as the Messenger (of Allah).” (Muslim, Iman (Faith), 56; Tirmidhi, Iman, 10/2623; Ahmad, I, 208)
٨. عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:
«اَلنَّظْرَةُ سَهْمٌ مِنْ سِهَامِ إبْلِيسَ مَسْمُومَةٌ فَمَنْ تَرَكَهَا مِنْ خَوْفِ اللّٰهِ أَثَابَهُ -جَلَّ وَعَزَّ- إِيمَانًا يَجِدُ حَلَاوَتَهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ».
8. Hudhaifa (r.a.) narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) saying:
“Looking at haram is one of the poisoned arrows of demon. Whoever quits that out of fear from Allah, Allah the Almighty bestows him/her a delightful faith.” (Hakim, IV, 349/7875; Haythami, VIII, 63)
٩. عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ… قَالَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:
«جَدِّدُوا إِيمَانَكُمْ» قِيلَ:
«يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ وَكَيْفَ نُجَدِّدُ إِيمَانَنَا؟» قَالَ:
«أَكْثِرُوا مِنْ قَوْلِ (لَا إِلٰهَ إِلاَّ اللّٰهُ)».
9. Narrated from Abu Huraira (r.a.):
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Renew your faith!”
Companions of Prophet Muhammad asked:
“O the Messenger of Allah, how can we renew our faith?”
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) answered:
“Say the phrase of ‘La ilaha Illallah’ a lot.” (Ahmad, II, 359; Hakim, IV, 285/7657)
Explanations:
The value of Islam and faith is unquestionable. However, there are levels of them as well. While some people try to perform their duties at a minimum level, others try to perform more than what is required in the best way with sincerity, love, and excitement. Such believers are the ones who feel the delight of Islam and faith in their hearts. Their hearts are satisfied and their faith has got stronger. They take great pleasure and delight from their good deeds. They willingly fulfill all the commands of Allah and His Messenger with love. For the sake of Islam they do not hold back from difficulties. They place the content of Allah and His Messenger before everything else. They do not exchange their religion for worldly benefits. They think of the Hereafter before thinking of this world.
Their excitement primarily comes from their love for Allah and His Messenger more than for their mothers, fathers, children, all humanity, wealth, and even their own lives. As a matter of fact when the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked even for a small thing, his Companions, who were at the peak of this excitement, used to respond saying “O Messenger of Allah! My mother, my father, and my life be sacrificed for you”. In fact, this is the kind of love preferred by Allah the Almighty.
It is stated in the Qur’an:
“Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which you fear a decline: or the dwellings in which you delight are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger, or the striving in His cause; then wait until Allah brings about His decision: and Allah guides not the rebellious.” (Al-Tawbah; 9:24)
When a person loves Allah and His Messenger, he loves the things related to them as well, for the lover loves everything about his love. When he feels such love deep inside his heart, doing things for his love becomes easier. The good deeds that make us earn the consent of Allah and His Messenger turn into pleasures and are performed with delight. Other creatures that are loved now become loved only because of Allah. The hatred and anger is now felt only for the sake of Allah. Everything in this world gets measured in terms of earning the consent of Allah.
Muslims who feel the delight of faith consider everything that would take them away from Allah and His Messenger more burning and painful than fire. They become fully aware that having faith leads one to Paradise and disbelief leads to Hell. Hence, they strongly stay away from things that take them away from religion and Allah’s consent. They spend all their efforts to quit all the sins and being unawareness. As a matter of fact, every sin means getting a step further away from Paradise. As sins increase, the distance between paradise and the man becomes impassable …
Every believer who realizes these facts holds on tight to the acts that bring him closer to Allah and His Messenger. He becomes sensitive about his worships. With excitement he fulfills his worships such as praying five times a day or fasting which are considered difficult by some. Especially, every year he pays his zakat (almsgiving), which is the hardest act of worship upon our carnal selves. He pays it feeling significance of this worship and thanking the poor. He would not feel any hardship from this; in contrast, he feels contentment. This state makes the believer a traveler to bliss in both worlds with his zakat, alms, and other donations.
As it can be understood from our second hadith, a believer who wants to feel the delight of having faith should not act reluctant when giving zakat. It is best if he enthusiastically gives from the best of his wealth, for it is stated in the following verse that
“By no means shall you attain righteousness unless you give (freely) of that which you love; and whatever you give, of a truth Allah knows it well.” (Al-i-Imran; 3:92)
If one cannot do this, one should at least give out of his wealth’s medium quality instead of the worst part of it. As in everything, a believer should act with piety and deep comprehension and should not put his family in a financially difficult position by spending his money unwisely.
Since a believer sees this world as the field of the hereafter, he must fulfill all of his deeds for the sake of Allah and should realize that this world is temporary and very short. When one has this consciousness, some acts that seem hard to others become very easy for him. By forgiving people, he would not confront with anyone even he is right, he would not act under the control of his desires and do mischievous tricks even under very difficult conditions.
Abdullah b. Mas’ud (r.a.) said that:
“Whoever has the following three characteristics has the delight of faith:
Avoiding confrontation even he is right, not lying even if it is a joke, and knowing that the things that Allah wished for him will surely happen to him and the things that Allah did not wish for him will never happen to him.” (Haythami, I, 55. Also see. Ahmad, V, 317)
A believer, who feels the delight of faith in his heart due to his love for Allah, Islam, and His Messenger, would never have a fancy for foreign views, ideas, and ideologies. He does not get carried away with the temporary and worldly winds blowing from right and left. That is because, he knows that his faith is superior to all the other faiths and he lives with confidence and peace that comes from knowing that. His soul is tranquil and his heart is full of love. For this reason, he is not pleased with any view or opinion other than Islam. He practices his faith with no shame, and does not pay attention to anyone’s criticism and blaming on this matter.
Even if someone who reaches this level of faith sometimes may act wrong by falling into heedlessness, he immediately pulls himself together and realizes what it takes to be contented from Allah, Islam, and the Prophet and does that. The following incident is a good example of this:
Once Umar (r.a.) came to the Prophet with some pages from Torah in his hands and said:
“O Messenger of Allah! These are some pages from Torah. I got them from a friend of mine who is a member of the Sons of Zuraik.”
The color of Prophet’s face has suddenly changed. Upon that Abdullah b. Zaid (r.a.) said to Umar:
“Did Allah make you lose your mind? Don’t you see how the face of the Messenger of Allah has changed?”
Umar, who understood his mistake, said:
“We are contented with Allah as our Lord, Islam as our religion, Muhammad (pbuh) as our prophet, and Qur’an as our guide.”
Upon that, the Messenger of Allah became happy, his sorrow disappeared, and then he said the following:
“I swear to Allah, in whose Hand my soul is, if Moses (pbuh) were with you and you were to leave me and to follow him, you would make a grave mistake. Because you are my destiny among the peoples of the prophets and I am your destiny among the prophets.” (Haythami, I, 174)
What a great destiny! It is so great that we are unable to thank for it properly.
The main characteristics of those believers who experienced the delight of faith are mentioned in the chapter al-Anfal as follows:
“For, Believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts, and when they hear His signs rehearsed, find their faith strengthened, and put (all) their trust in their Lord; Who establish regular prayers and spend (freely) out of the gifts We have given them for sustenance.” (Al-Anfal; 8:2-3)
Some other characteristics of those servants who experienced serenity and tranquility are listed in chapter al-Furqan as:
“And the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, “Peace!”; Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord prostrate and standing.” (Al-Furqan; 25:63-64)
“Those who, when they are admonished with the Signs of their Lord, droop not down at them as if they were deaf or blind.” (Al-Furqan; 25:73)
One of the most important conditions of experiencing the delight of faith is turning away from sins. Allah blesses the hearts of those believers who know how to stay away from sins that may seem sweet and nice but in reality are nothing but poison and dirt with such a faith that they experience its indescribable delight in their hearts while they are still in this world. Thus, they would not only protect themselves from the poisonous arrows of devil, but also earn spiritual rewards and beautify and strengthen their faith.
In one of his sayings on this subject, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Whoever notices a beautiful woman and turns his eyes away, Allah blesses him with the spiritual rewards of an act of worship of which gives delight that he feelsin his heart.” (Ahmad, V, 264; Haythami, VIII, 63)
The following hadith showing Allah’s mercy to His servants contains the good news for believers who avoid sins:
“Whoever intends to do an evil deed and does not do it. Allah blesses him with the reward of a good deed.” (Bukhari, Riqaq, 31; Muslim, Iman, 207, 259. Also see Bukhari, Tawhid 35; Tirmidhi, Tafsir, 6/3073)
After a Muslim experiences the delight of faith by avoiding sins, continuing his worships, and attaining piety, now he must exert effort to preserve and develop his faith. As the Messenger of Allah advised, this can be possible, apart from the obligatory acts of worship, by performing supererogatory acts of worship, serving in the way of Allah and reciting His names and attributes and remembering Him. As a matter of fact, in our fifth hadith, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) advises to renew and strengthen our faith by saying “La ilahe illallah.” In the Hereafter, thanks to the intercession of the Prophet (pbuh), the happiest ones will be the ones who sincerely say “La ilahe illallah.” (Bukhari, Ilm, 33; Riqaq, 51)
The heart of those who can reflect Kalima al-Tawhid (La ilahe illallah) in every aspect of their lives will be blessed with closeness to Allah the Almighty.
According to the sayings of the Prophet, the fundamental conditions to reach the delight of faith are affection, compliance, and submission. When we carefully examine them, we can realize that these are also the fundamentals upon which our religion is based. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) expressed this as:
“Polytheism is less noticeable than the movements of a black ant in the darkness of a night on the hill of Safa. The least form of polytheism is to love something that is cruel and hating something that is just. Is religion something other than love and hate? As a matter of fact, Allah the Almighty says:
“Say: “If you do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you and your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Al-i-Imran; 3:31), (Hakim, II, 319/3148)
Therefore, in order to experience the delight of faith, one must be careful about whom he loves and hates. In order to reach salvation, a Muslim must know where to use his love and hate. What a nice servanthood it is to love the things that Allah loves and hate the things that Allah hates.
When approached from this angle, for example, it is gravely dangerous and harmful to the heart to have interest in and compliment to a disbeliever because of his human nature to ignore his disbelief and unfaithfulness. When we act in this way, the outcome can turn into approval of the state of the unbeliever and exaltation of his reputation; whereas, without faith, other qualifications have no value whatsoever.
For example, a non-believer may have some qualifications and abilities and therefore may have fulfilled some worldly achievements. He can be an intellectual or a great hero. When we talk about him/her saying “apart from his faith, if we were to speak justly, he is a great hero”, hearts may incline towards him/her. This may demean the importance of having faith in the eyes of people and may cause them to be influenced by the wrong behaviors of that disbeliever.
On the other hand, in order to experience the delight of faith, the seeds of faith must spring in our hearts. Drawing our attention to this, Allah the Almighty says:
“…Allah has endeared the Faith to you, and has made it beautiful in your hearts, and He has made hateful to you Unbelief, wickedness, and rebellion: such indeed are those who walk in righteousness.” (Al-Hujurat; 49:7)
As it can be understood from the verse, having knowledge is not enough for having faith and for experiencing its delight. Indeed, Allah gives some of the scholars of the sons of Israel as an example and compares them to a “donkey which carries huge tomes.” (Al-Jumah; 62:5)
So, one must engrave the knowledge into his heart and shape his acts accordingly. For this in turn training of the heart is a must. At the same time, the heart must be directed towards supreme virtues. When the heart reaches such a state, Allah the Almighty teaches him the things that cannot be learned from the lines of books.
In order for a desire to turn into actions and behaviors, one should have love in addition to having knowledge. For this reason, love is the source of religion and the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked for the delight of faith from Allah the Almighty saying:
“O Allah! Make us love the faith, and beautify our hearts with faith. Show us disbelief, sin, and disobedience as evils. Make us among those who have found the truth!” (Ahmad, III, 424)
In the Age of Bliss (Age of Prophet Muhammad), faith and love were merged and rooted in the hearts of the Companions. In this way, they became the best generation of all generations, a golden generation. The friends of Allah who have followed their footsteps felt the delight of faith in their hearts, too. Indeed, Junaid Baghdadi said:
“For the pious people, the joy of praying at night is more delightful than the entertainment of ignorant people.”
Ibrahim b. Atham said:
“I swear to God, we are in such a delight that if kings knew about it, they would declare war on us to get it from us.”
In summary, in order to experience the delight of faith, one must feel love properly and correctly. This is one of the fundamental principles of Islam.
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