Like or do not like!

One cannot force oneself to like a person or to like something. Similarly, one cannot force oneself to dislike also. It is something that occurs involuntarily in oneself. However, liking something does not mean that we should do it. Similarly, disliking something does not mean that we should neglect it. Allah Ta’ala has given us intelligence to choose between good and bad. Something does not become good by us liking it or desiring it. Similarly, it does not become bad by us disliking it. We may have a liking for something that is not good for us. Likewise, we can feel disgust for something, and yet, it can be very beneficial for us. Allah Ta’ala said:

"... It may be that you dislike something that is good for you and you may like something that is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know." (S 2: V 216)

Thus, there are four types of things:

1. Something that we like and it is also good for us,

2. Something that we like but it is not good for us,

3. Something that we dislike but it is bad for us,

4. Something that we dislike but it is good for us.

In all these, we must just consider the thing that is good for us without taking into consideration whether we like it or dislike it.

In order to know what is good and what is bad, we must see what Allah Ta’ala and His Rasul (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) have said. What Allah Ta’ala and His Rasul (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) have declared as good is good. And what Allah Ta’ala and His Rasul (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) have declared as bad, is bad, however much we may like it.

The main thing is that we must not get carried away by the like and dislike that we have for certain things. We must always act according to the teachings of Allah Ta’ala and His Rasul (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam). By doing this, we will always be engaged in Jihaad without going on the battlefield or without meeting in combat.

[English version of "Content ou pas content !" – Al Jamiat – Vol.3 No.10]