Allah has told us everything we need to know in order to please Him and earn Paradise in His book, the Quran. All we need to do is follow the teachings of the Quran and its explanations and manifestations in the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings.
Among the many things which we can do to please God, there are some which He especially highlights as things He loves and things He doesn’t love. One of the most powerful ways of earning God’s pleasure is to do the things He loves and avoid at all costs the things He hates. Therefore let us look at some of these things.
Things Allah Loves
1- Patience
And Allah loves as-Sabirun (the patient). (3:146)
Patience is a quality needed in every aspect of our lives. It is needed in obeying Allah’s commands and staying away from evil when we’re most tempted. It is needed in adversity, and it is needed in prosperity – in order to control ourselves from indulging in excesses. Therefore, it is a highly praiseworthy quality and one that Allah Himself says that He loves.
2- Justice
For Allah loves those who are fair (and just). (49:9)
Allah Himself is The Just, and He loves those who do justice towards others.
3- Tawakkul
Certainly, Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him). (3:159)
One of Allah’s names is Al Wakeel, and we acknowledge that by putting our trust in Him.
4- Gentleness
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Allah is Gentle and loves gentleness, and He grants reward for it that He does not grant for harshness. (Ibn Majah)
5- Repentance
Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto him in repentance. (2:222)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
If you were not to commit sins, Allah would have swept you out of existence and would have replaced you by another people who have committed sin, and then asked forgiveness from Allah, and He would have granted them pardon. (Muslim)
6- Prayer at its Proper Time
Narrated Al-Walid bin ‘Aizar:
I heard Abi Amr ‘Ash-Shaibani saying:
“The owner of this house, he pointed to Abdullah’s house, said, I asked the Prophet:
“Which deed is loved most by Allah?”
He replied:
To offer prayers at their early (very first) stated times. (Al-Bukhari)
Things Allah Doesn’t Love
1. Extravagance
Islam encourages moderation in every matter.
… Eat of [each of] its fruit when it yields and give its due [zakah] on the day of its harvest. And be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess. (Quran 6:141)
2. Pride and Arrogance
Verily He loves not the arrogant (proud). (16:23)
For Allah loves not any arrogant boaster. (31:18)
The Prophet Muhammad said:
No one who has an atom’s weight of pride in his heart will enter the Garden. (Muslim)
Allah Himself is Al Mutakabbir. Istikbar in human beings is akin to competing with Allah in His attribute. That’s why Allah said in a hadith Qudsi:
Pride is my cloak and majesty is my lower garment, and I shall throw him who view with me regarding one of them into Hell. (Abu Dawud)
3. Transgression
Transgressing the boundaries which God has set for us is harmful for ourselves and others around us.
O you who have believed, do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful to you and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors. (5:87)
4. Injustice (Dhulm)
Dhulm can be done to other people or to our own selves. Transgressing the limits set by God amounts to oppressing ourselves.
But as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, He will give them in full their rewards, and Allah does not like the wrongdoers. (3:57)
5. Obscenity
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Allah hates the profligate and the obscene. (At-Tirmidhi)
This is manifested in the life of the Prophet Muhammad– he never for once used any kind of obscene language or behavior in his whole life.
6. Treachery
God said in the Quran:
And do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves. Indeed, Allah loves not one who is a habitually sinful deceiver. (4:107)
Also:
If you [have reason to] fear from a people betrayal, throw [their treaty] back to them, [putting you] on equal terms. Indeed, Allah does not like traitors. (8:58)
If you look closely at the above examples of things which God loves and doesn’t like, you will notice that all of them are things which are of benefit to us, and harmful to us, respectively.
God loves the best for us and doesn’t like it that we harm ourselves. Thus it is manifest how much He loves us.
Source: https://understandquran.com
(From Discovering Islam archive)