Divine Perfection
and
Struggling Belief
by Sh. G. F. Haddad
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim
Q1. Does Allah do any good to us by creating us?
A1. Yes, nothing but good from Him
{Who has done everything He has created to perfection}.
Q2. Can I say Why did Allah create me?
A2. Yes, but you must reply to yourself: for worship,
{And I did not create jinn and humankind except to worship Me}. Then it takes a lifetime to understand true worship.
Q3. What is the relationship between humans and Allah? If a human is the slave than shouldn't he have the choice to like or dislike Allah?
A3. Our bond to our Creator is a slavery defined by immense honor dictating gratitude.
{Truly We have honored human beings} {So thank Me and do not be ungrateful}.
Q4. What, really, in a human being, takes him to hell or paradise, keeping in mind the issue of Saʿeed and Shaqi, guideness and misguideness being from Allah, humans' genetic characters which can be a hurdle in practicing and accepting Islam?
A4.
{If We had so wished We would have made every single soul well-guided} except that Allah tests us so that the merit of our acts of guidance or misguidance can be credited for or against ourselves and so that our giving thanks for His guidance becomes more meaningful
{so that He tests you to show who does the best deeds, and He is the All-Glorious and Most Forgiving}. As for one's final destination, its clue is the works he or she does, for "Everyone has been facilitated for that for which he (or she) was created."
Q5. What is the state of someone that decided that he has reached the truth of Islam but didn't accept it?
A6. The state of someone that "decided that he has reached the truth of islam but didn't accept it" is blind delusion and utter perdition, from which we seek refuge in Allah Most High.
Q6. Can someone accept Islam knowing that he has no other way to escape from hell and not accept it out of love to Allah?
A6. Doesn't everyone accept Islam primarily for the reason you give, fear of Hell or hope for Paradise? Love for Allah is so rare that it might as well not exist.
�� Maʿruf al-Karkhi reportedly said: "Whoever acts in order to receive a reward, he is one of the traders, and whoever acts out of fear of the fire or aspiring to Paradise, he is one of the slaves, and whoever acts for the sake of Allah, he is one of the free men, and this is the highest rank."
�� Rabiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya has even stronger words to that effect.
It is our hope that our Islam that is rightly based on fear of Hell and hope for Paradise will mature into an Islam that is even more rightly based on love for Allah Most High and pure gratitude and worship of Him for Him alone, toward which we pray that He first grant us love of His Prophet and all His Friends among the Believers.
GF Haddad
