Divine Contentment
Gold loses nothing by entering the furnace, save it’s impurities
Contentment is a flower that does not grow in every garden; it teaches a man how, in the midst of want, to be satisfied. You would think it were excellent if I could prescribe a receipt or antidote against poverty, but behold, here is that which is more excellent, for a man to want, and yet have enough, this alone contentment of spirit does bring. When a person says ‘God willing’, he is trusting in God and content with his decree. This is a reminder to be thankful and content with what God has planned for you. Contentment is a remedy against all our trouble, an alleviation to all our burdens; it is the cure of care. Contentment, though it be not properly a grace (it is rather a disposition of mind,) yet in it there is a happy temperature and mixture of all the graces: it is a most precious compound, which is made up of faith, patience, meekness, humility, and other virtues.
These days, we are frequently bombarded day and night with images of what we could have or what we might desire. Advertising and media have become tools of modern capitalism, tempting and luring us—under the guise of shrewd business models—into desiring more.
Yet God clearly reminds and teaches us that one should labour more for a quiet heart than for a full estate; for abundance without peace is but a golden misery, whereas contentment in a low condition is a hidden treasure.
One should not think that the soul shall be cured by outward enlargements, for disquiet does not arise so much from the scantiness of one’s portion as from the unsatisfied appetite of the heart. The world can no more fill the soul than a painted fire can warm the body.
Allah, exalted is He, says:
“Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.”
— Quran, Surah ar-Ra’d, Chapter 13, The Thunder, Verse 28
And Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib said:
“Contentment is a wealth that never perishes.”
A believer should therefore reckon that the person who is truly rich is the one whose desires are moderated, not merely the one whose possessions are multiplied. For the covetous man is poor amidst all his abundance, like one dying of thirst beside a river because the fever within him drinks faster than the water without can satisfy.
The life of this world is a banquet spread for a moment and removed in an hour. One should not set the heart too deeply upon that which fades like grass beneath the sun. Riches take wings, beauty withers, strength decays, and the applause of men vanishes like smoke carried upon the wind. Allah says:
“Know that the life of this world is but play, amusement, adornment, boasting among yourselves, and rivalry in wealth and children…”
— Quran, Surah al-Hadid, Chapter 57, The Iron, Verse 20
This world is but a hotel wherein the traveller lodges for a night. It is a great folly for a traveller to mistake the hotel for his homeland. One should use the world as a staff for the journey, but not lean upon it as though it were an everlasting pillar.
Moreover, one should not murmur against the decree of God when afflictions arise, for the complaint of the creature against the wisdom of his Lord is both blindness and pride. A sick man often quarrels with the physician because he does not understand the virtue of the medicine. Yet the bitterness of the potion may preserve the life of the patient. So too the believer often shrinks from trials which God has sent as a mercy in disguise.
Allah (SWT) says:
“Perhaps you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and perhaps you love a thing while it is bad for you. Allah knows, and you do not know.”
— Quran, Surah al-Baqarah, Chapter 2, The Cow, Verse 216
And the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
“Richness is not having many possessions. Rather, true richness is the richness of the soul.”
Affliction is often the file whereby God polishes the rust from the soul. Gold loses nothing by entering the furnace save its impurities. Thus, many a believer has come forth from suffering more humble, more sincere, and more heaven-minded than before. Prosperity sometimes breeds forgetfulness, but adversity often drives the soul nearer to its Lord.
Allah (SWT) says:
“And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and loss of wealth, lives, and fruits; but give glad tidings to the patient.”
— Quran, Surah al-Baqarah, Chapter 2, The Cow, Verse 155
One should therefore strive for patience—not a dull and senseless patience, but a holy submission whereby the soul quietly lays itself beneath the wisdom of Allah, as a child rests calmly in the arms of its mother, though it does not understand the road upon which it is carried.
Discontentment exceedingly multiplies sorrow. It gnaws away, destroying peace within. Our modern lives, which set material gain and self-recognition above godliness, create an unmortified heart which, like the troubled sea, cannot rest; every wind of providence raises new waves within it. But trust in Allah composes the soul into a holy calm.
Allah says:
“And whoever relies upon Allah — then He is sufficient for him.”
— Quran, Surah at-Talaq, Chapter 65, The Divorce, Verse 3
One should also beware of envy, for envy is the moth of contentment. It is a secret fretting of the heart against the blessings bestowed upon another. The envious man turns his own garden into a wilderness by continually gazing over the wall at his neighbour’s flowers. Allah says:
“Do not extend your eyes toward what We have given some groups of them to enjoy…”
— Quran, Surah Ta-Ha, Chapter 20, Verse 131
One should rather consider how many are beneath oneself instead of always looking upon those above, for such reflection breeds thankfulness.
Gratitude is the sweet flower growing from the root of contentment. A thankful soul can behold mercy even through tears, whereas an ungrateful heart complains in the midst of abundance. Allah says:
“If you are grateful, I will surely increase you.”
— Quran, Surah Ibrahim, Chapter 14, Verse 7
Above all, one should labour to make Allah Himself the portion of the soul. For if the heart possesses the Creator, it need not despair, though many created things are taken away. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib said:
“Whoever busies himself with the remembrance of the Hereafter, worldly calamities become light upon him.”
This indeed is the mystery of holy contentment: when the soul is brought to such a frame that it can quietly resign itself to Allah in every condition—full or empty, honoured or forgotten, healthy or afflicted—believing that the hand which appoints every trial is infinitely wise and infinitely merciful.
Then the heart begins to taste something of that serenity promised in the words of Allah:
“O tranquil soul, return to your Lord, pleased and pleasing.”
— Quran, Surah al-Fajr, Chapter 89, The Dawn, Verse 27–28
Such a soul carries within itself a hidden paradise, for though storms rage without, there remains a holy quietness within, sustained by trust in Allah and hope in His everlasting mercy.