Whoever, then, misses out on these ten means has only himself to blame, as Allah Most High says in what His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, relates from Him:
“O My servants, it is only your deeds that I record for you and then recompense you for in full. Whoever finds good should praise Allah, and whoever finds otherwise should blame no one but himself.”
If, then, the believer knows that the decree is good for him when he is steadfastly patient and grateful—or if he has asked Allah to choose what is best for him and knows that part of a person’s happiness lies in asking Allah to choose for him and being content with what Allah has allotted him—then he is content with what is good for him. In an authentic hadith, ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“Allah issues His decree: whoever is content will receive pleasure, and whoever is displeased will receive displeasure.”
This hadith thus concerns contentment and asking Allah to choose what is best: contentment comes after the decree, whereas asking Allah to choose comes before it. This is more complete than adversity accompanied by patience. Hence, contentment is mentioned in the former report and patience in the latter.
If the decree is good for him when accompanied by patience, how much more so when accompanied by contentment! For this reason, the hadith states:
“The truly afflicted person is the one deprived of reward.”
This occurs in the report narrated by al-Shāfiʿī in his Musnad:
“When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died, they heard someone saying: ‘O household of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace! In Allah there is consolation for every affliction, a replacement for all that perishes, and compensation for all that is lost. So place your trust in Allah and your hope in Him, for the truly afflicted person is the one deprived of reward.’”
For this reason, grief that is incompatible with contentment has never been commanded. Besides being of no benefit, it may even be harmful. Nevertheless, it is pardoned so long as it is not accompanied by anything Allah dislikes.