From the moment a Muslim has faith, he has already made the decision to spend every moment of his life to earn Allah’s good pleasure. From that moment on, he displays a great spiritual zeal and effort in the material and spiritual sense. However, as an inherent inclination, a Muslim never feels his faith to be at a desired level, for until his last breath he has the opportunity to deepen his faith at every moment of his life. For this reason every day, every hour, every moment, he must once again make the intention in his heart to deepen his faith, refresh it and be committed to spending every moment of his life in engaging in good deeds deserving Allah’s consent.
At this very moment, as we are reading this article, we can accordingly renew our intention. From this very moment, we can intend to spend our time, use our opportunities, and put our spiritual and physical power into use in a much more conscious, attentive and sincere manner. We can assess every opportunity of fulfilling any act of worship with great zeal. We can observe every opportunity by which we can earn Allah’s good pleasure and race towards the good deeds. Without thinking, “I have already made auspicious deeds, this is sufficient for today,” or “Compared to others around me I make much greater effort, and in any event, I am better than them”, we can make progress.
What is mentioned here is a very different and distinctive state of mind. No doubt a Muslim spends his every moment in compliance with the morality of the Qur’an. However the demeanor of a person who makes a conscious and decisive decision on this subject is very much different, for the conscience of a person with such an intent is very sensitive. He is keenly interested in what is happening around him. He is more vigilant towards arduous works than anyone else. He is the one that speaks the best words. He is more kind, conciliatory and positive than everyone else. He is full of love and compassion. He notices the needs of people before anyone else and meets them. He always employs an appeasing and peaceful style. He has a very different , positive mood that everyone notices right away. All these are the positive attributes “making an intention once again” grants a person. The goal of a believer who assumes this morality is to be among the “the most beloved servants of Allah.” For this reason, once he fully adopts this morality, he once again intends to be more sincere, more sensitive towards Allah’s good pleasure, and more scrupulous; this deepens his morality even more. This continues until the end of his life; he never finds his efforts and auspicious deeds to be sufficient. Consequently his faith, morality, personality and attitudes progress continuously and ultimately attains perfection.
In the Qur’an Allah informs us about the character of Muslims with such character as follows:
Such people are truly racing towards good things, and they are the first to reach them.(Surat al-Muminun, 61)
But as for those who have faith and do right actions, We will not let the wage of good-doers go to waste.(Surat al-Kahf, 30)
