and, having sought Allah’s choice through istikharah (the prayer for guidance) and knowing that one of the son of Adam’s greatest felicities is to ask Allah to choose for him and to be content with whatever share Allah assigns him, he will have resigned himself to that which is truly best for him.
In an authentic report ʿAlī (d. 40 AH) said: “Allah issues the decree; whoever is pleased attains His good pleasure, and whoever is displeased receives displeasure.” In this ḥadith both riḍā (contentment) and istikharah are mentioned: contentment comes after the decree, while istikharah precedes it. Combining the two is more perfect than merely displaying contentment or patience; hence contentment is cited in the earlier narration and patience in this one. If the decree, when accompanied by patience, is good for a person, how much better must it be when accompanied by contentment.
For this reason the ḥadith states: “The truly stricken one is he who is deprived of reward.” Al-Shāfiʿī relates in his Musnad that when the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) passed away, they heard a voice proclaiming, “O House of the Messenger of Allah, in Allah there is consolation for every calamity, recompense for every loss, and attainment for every missed opportunity; so put your trust in Allah and pin your hopes on Him, for the stricken one is he who has been denied reward.”
Thus we were never commanded to indulge in a kind of grief that clashes with contentment, for it brings no benefit and may even cause harm, although a person is excused so long as his grief is not accompanied by anything Allah detests. Weeping over the deceased out of mercy is praiseworthy and recommended, and it does not conflict with contentment—unlike weeping because of the personal benefit one has lost through the deceased. That is the meaning of the Prophet’s words when he wept for the dead and said, “This is a mercy that Allah has placed in the hearts of His servants; Allah is merciful only to His merciful servants.” Such tears differ from those shed by someone who cries for his own loss rather than out of mercy for the deceased.
When al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ’s son died, he laughed and said, “I saw that Allah had decreed, and I wanted to be pleased with what Allah had decreed.” His response was commendable compared with those who fall into lamentation. Even more perfect, however, is to combine mercy for the deceased with contentment over the decree and praise of Allah, as the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) did.
The Exalted says: “…then he became of those who believe and who counsel one another to perseverance and counsel one another to mercy” (Sūrat al-Balad 90:17). Here Allah mentions mutual exhortation to both patience and mercy. People fall into four categories: some show patience but are harsh; some are merciful yet panic; some combine harshness and panic; and the praiseworthy believer is the one who is patient with whatever befalls him and merciful toward people.
A number of authors have observed that contentment with Allah is one of the offshoots of loving Him. This holds true for the first viewpoint, in which one is content with Allah because He deserves it in Himself, the servant having turned his attention away from any personal share. The second viewpoint, by contrast, is to be content because one knows that whatever has been decreed is in his own best interest. Love is directed to Allah Himself, whereas contentment is directed to His decree.
To elaborate on those scholars’ remarks: love of Allah is of two kinds—love of His Essence and love of what flows from Him in the way of beneficence. Praise is likewise of two kinds: praise for what Allah deserves in and of Himself and praise for His generosity toward His servant. Both kinds apply to contentment just as they do to love. As for being content with Allah, with His religion, and with His Messenger, that is part of