“You are responsible only for yourself.”
“Allah does not burden a soul beyond what He has given it.”
That is, even when a command imposes a burden, it does not exceed a person’s capacity. This does not mean that He calls the whole of the divine law a burdensome obligation, when most of it brings delight to the eyes, joy to the hearts, pleasure to the souls and perfect bliss. This comes through seeking the Face of Allah, turning back to Him, remembering Him and turning one’s face towards Him. He is the true God in whom hearts find tranquillity, and nothing else can ever take His place in this regard.
Allah, Most High, says:
“So worship Him and be steadfast in His worship. Do you know of any equal to Him?”
This, then, is one foundation.
(The second foundation:
Bliss in the Hereafter likewise includes looking upon Him. It is not as some speculative theologians and others claim: that bliss and pleasure come only through created things, such as food, drink, marital intimacy and the like. Rather, their complete pleasure and bliss lie in their enjoyment of the Creator, glorified and exalted is He, as expressed in the transmitted supplication:
“O Allah, I ask You for the pleasure of looking upon Your Face and the longing to meet You, without harmful adversity or a trial that leads astray.”
This was narrated by al-Nasāʾī and others. In Sahīh Muslim and elsewhere, Suhayb narrated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, a caller will announce: ‘O people of Paradise, Allah has made you a promise which He wishes to fulfil for you.’ They will say: ‘What is it? Has He not brightened our faces, admitted us to Paradise and protected us from the Fire?’” He said: “Then the veil will be lifted, and they will look upon Him, glorified is He. He will have given them nothing dearer to them than looking upon Him. This is the additional reward.”
The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, thus explained that, despite their full enjoyment of what Allah has given them in Paradise, He will have given them nothing dearer to them than looking upon Him. It is dearer to them precisely because the bliss and pleasure they experience through it are greater than those they experience through anything else. For pleasure follows awareness of what one loves: the dearer something is to a person, the more pleasurable attaining it becomes, and the greater his enjoyment of it.