Action, Attribute, and Essence Pleasing to God

In the Resurrection there are three stations: Hell; Paradise; the station of divine pleasure: “while in the Hereafter there is a severe punishment and forgiveness from Allah and His pleasure.”(377) Just as people in this world are three groups: the companions of the left hand (aṣḥāb al-mashʾama); the companions of the right hand (aṣḥāb al-maymana); and those brought near (muqarrabūn). The first group’s actions are inauspicious (mashʾūm) and ugly and sinful, and they will go to Hell. The second group’s actions are auspicious (maymūn) through performing obligations and recommended acts and avoiding the forbidden and reprehensible, and they will go to Paradise. But those brought near both enter Paradise and reach the station of divine pleasure. They are two groups: some are those with whom God is pleased because of their actions or even their attributes: “and if you give thanks He approves that for you”;(378) “and approves of his word.”(379) And others are saints (awliyāʾ) among the people of divine pleasure whose essential nature (jawhar dhātishān) is God-pleasing: “Allah is pleased with them.”(380)

Explanation: Sometimes someone is content with acting according to the apparent religious obligations and is pleasing to God; and sometimes, in addition to acting according to the apparent, they also adopt divine morals (akhlāq) and become pleasing to God at the level of attribute (waṣf) as well; and sometimes, in addition to this, the essence of religion penetrates into the substance of their being (jawhar dhāt) and the substance of their being also becomes pleasing to God, just as righteousness (ṣalāḥ) is sometimes at the level of action: “Those who have faith and do righteous deeds”;(381) “Whoever acts righteously” (382) - many believers are like this; that is, they are among those who “do righteous deeds” (ʿamilū l-ṣāliḥāt) but not among the righteous (ṣāliḥān); and sometimes, beyond action, righteousness reaches the level of attribute or higher than that, to the station of essence, and the person’s essence becomes such that sin and contrary actions are not issued from them.

Such a person is among the righteous (ṣāliḥān), as He said about Abraham: “and in the Hereafter he will indeed be among the righteous.”(383) Also the Prophet said: “My guardian is indeed Allah who sent down the Book, and He takes care of the righteous”;(384) meaning I am now among the righteous and under God’s guardianship (wilāya), and He is the guardian and caretaker of my affairs.

Divine acceptance (qabūl) is also sometimes at the level of action, sometimes at the station of attribute, and sometimes at the level of essence. Acceptance at the level of action and attribute is like God accepting the deeds of the Godwary (muttaqīn): “Allah accepts only from the Godwary”,(385) and since the attribute of God-wariness (taqwā) is also a criterion for reward, it too is pleasing and acceptable to God; but acceptance of the substance of essence is another stage and concerns special saints (awliyāʾ) like Mary: “Thereupon her Lord accepted her with a gracious acceptance, and made her grow up in a worthy fashion.”(386)

The conclusion is that the station of divine pleasure (riḍwān) is sometimes within the bounds of human action and attribute, and sometimes the substance of their essence becomes the object of divine pleasure, and the verse under discussion speaks of this very thing - that the substance of essence of some people is pleasing to God: “Allah is pleased with them”, just as those who are supported by the divine spirit and are purely God’s party are like this: “For such, He has written faith into their hearts and strengthened them with a spirit from Him. He will admit them into gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them [forever], Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him. They are Allah’s confederates.”(387)

Divine pleasure is greater than other blessings: “Yet Allah’s pleasure is greater [than all these].”(388)

If someone’s substance of essence becomes pleasing to God and reaches the station of divine pleasure (riḍwān), they become great (kabīr) and greater (akbar) than others, just as the Commander of the Faithful Ali said: “God has no sign that is greater than me”,(389) so he is the greatest sign (āyat kubrā) of the Truth.

The keeper and key-holder of Paradise is the angel “Riḍwān”,(390) therefore if someone’s substance of essence has reached the station of divine pleasure (riḍwān), they will become the keeper and key-holder of Paradise, because the substance of their essence, due to attaining the station of divine pleasure (riḍwān), is higher than the substance of essence of other humans and angels, just as one who attains the level of divine pleasure at the station of action or attribute has actions and attributes that are superior and greater than the actions and attributes of others.