God’s Pleasure, Man’s Pleasure

GOD’S PLEASURE, MAN’S PLEASURE Depending on what one’s inner state, intention (niyyah) is while doing anything, actions can either be seeking the pleasure of God or seeking the pleasure of man. The former have their seats reserved in Paradise, while the latter have a place reserved in the eternal dustbin. T he Quran and Hadith have, in many ways, emphasized that regarding the Hereafter, only those actions hold value in which the spirit of seeking the pleasure of God is present. (57:27) Any action which is devoid of this spirit is not going to be of any value in the tally of deeds in the Hereafter. God does not reach a verdict just by seeing an individual’s outward acts. He decides by looking into the inward states, or the state of the heart of the person concerned.This is called ‘intention’ or ‘Niyah’ in the Shariah. In this respect, there are two kinds of human actions. One is that which has been done by seeking the pleasure of God, and the other is that which has been done by seeking the pleasure of man.