In this short series upon what God hates most, this article will discuss what God hates second most.
Remembering that the means to drawing nearer unto the Divine Presence of Light and Beauty is the purifying and developing of our character and personality, it is essential to know both what God loves and what God hates, dislikes and is displeased with.
By learning what is the root cause for God’s divine displeasure, we can save ourselves from the myriad of sins, errors and manifestations of darkness that lead to both the displeasure of our Creator as well as our own suffering.
And by seeking to awaken and develop within ourselves the noble and blessed characteristics and qualities that God loves and is pleased with, we can ensure both happiness and success for ourselves and others in both this life and the next.
What God Hates Second Most: Stubbornness
The first error of Iblis, or Satan, was to rebel against the order of Allah Almighty as a result of arrogance. Had he then repented, he would have been forgiven. Yet he did not.
Rather than repent, he persisted in arrogance through stubbornness and refused to humble himself before the Presence of the Lord of Heavens and Earth.
As a result of stubbornness, which is but the perpetuation of arrogance, Iblis refused to admit his mistake and to repent. It was at this point that Allah Almighty then banished him from His Divine Presence and described him as the “accursed one.”
Iblis then vowed to mislead humanity, particularly they who were not protected by the light of God’s divine guidance, and the specific means of misguidance he employs is to lead us in following him in error towards what God hates.
The result of following the path of Satan rather than the path of the Prophet ﷺ, which is the path of light, beauty and excellence, is that we will only increase and perpetuate our own failure and suffering in both this life and the next.
Sadly, we now live in a culture of arrogance and narcissism, which is but putting the self first and center in a reality and paradigm in which we are the axis and center of our Universe at the expense of others.
Tragically, this can never lead to happiness and success, for self-centeredness is the root of conflict and competition, and by definition the fundamental barrier and impediment to love.
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
— Rumi (qs)
What God hates most are arrogance and stubbornness, and what is consequently pleasing to Allah Almighty is humility, kindness, gentleness and love.
To both reach to the divine pleasure our Eternal Lord and Sustainer, and to experience peace and prosperity, we must seek to humble ourselves in our lives and in our relationships with others, to be quick to apologize and to repent, and to learn to forgive and to let go.
The reward for such spiritual excellence is nothing other than Paradise and the Divine Presence of the Lord of Light and Beauty.
5 Responses
This series is a great reminder of what we need to chip away from our character. If one is willing to look into the mirror and actually see their flaws there’s a possibility for growth and sustained change.
And it is for this reason that the Messenger ﷺ stated, “One hour of contemplation is more valuable than seventy years of worship.” Thank you for sharing, sister Bayyinah. Best of blessings be with you.
Such a spiritual simplification of Islamic teachings. Lovely.
Thank you sir ,
Jazakum Allah khayr
Salam Ihsan jan,
Great video. Thank you, just a few comments. Besides arrogance and the absolute most hated subject to Allah Subhantallha is SHIRK. Associating partners with Allah.
The most loving character is repentance, shikhir, giving continuous thanks to his abundance of creation, sustenances and mercy. Also calling his merciful names in Zikhir and shikhir with every breath. Attending prayers to stay inline with his mercy, reading the Quran for direct connection with his guidance and so on. As always, appreciate your email reminders brother. Have a wonderful day.