Contentment

Satisfaction is a great blessing that many people do not enjoy, and it is from the gifts of God Almighty to His righteous servants, so if the servant is satisfied with God’s decree and fate for him and His provision, God is satisfied with him and increases His blessings to him, for everything with Him is by His measure. But not everyone enjoys and turns away from that great blessing, for we see many complaining about their condition and not looking at the blessings that are between their hands, so they begin to complain from what God has provided them with, and make their life miserable by themselves and torment themselves over what God has provided them with, so God afflicts them with its consequences, and perhaps the state of satisfaction was the condition of this Saeed. ...

Contentment is one of the most important blessings God has granted us. It makes you feel that you are always in God’s care, and you covet what you do not possess. This, in turn, makes a person good-natured, generous with affection and friendship. The person who is content with God’s blessings upon him and looks at them with a look of contentment and satisfaction cannot ever envy anyone, or harbor malice toward those around him in anything. Consequently, God protects him from the malice of the envious and the spiteful. In addition, it is worship and drawing near to God. ...

In ancient times lived two brothers, Mansūr and Yāsir, and they worked as fishermen. Each had his own boat on which he worked in fishing. Mansūr’s share was the small boat, while Yāsir was fortunate with the larger boat in size. Mansūr was the younger brother, and among his traits was that he was kind-hearted and extremely gentle. He helped the poor, the needy, the elderly, and those in need, presenting them with fish without compensation. As for Yāsir, he was characterized by harshness of heart and wickedness of nature. He was always mocking his brother because he presented fish to the poor and needy without receiving any compensation from them. He often described his brother as foolish for this reason. The affectionate Mansūr would feel pain in his heart after hearing this speech. He would say with compassion toward the poor: “They have no money, so from where can they bring it to eat?” Yāsir heard nothing from his brother except that he was not responsible for them. Mansūr would admonish him that people are brothers by nature and that the poor have rights upon those around them, and this is what our pure religion has commanded us. Yāsir persisted in his position more than before. ...

The lion would not leave his den on this day; he felt fatigue and exhaustion and did not desire, as was his custom every morning, to rise to the forest to fill it with his roaring. The hours passed while he remained stagnant in his place, lazy. Then it occurred to him to resort to the forest doctor, hoping he would find a cure for the weakness that had afflicted him. When the doctor examined him, he told him that his illness was not physical—all his organs were sound and healthy—but he was suffering from a sudden psychological illness and had to try to find happiness and peace of mind. If he knew the path to his happiness, he would be completely cured and return to his former state. ...