Praise be to Allah, and may blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Contentment with Allah’s decree does not mean that a person does not grieve or feel pain when calamity strikes. Rather, it means that he does not object to Allah’s decree or become resentful toward it. Therefore, natural grief does not contradict contentment with Allah’s decree.
Being content with what Allah has decreed for His servant, even when it conflicts with the servant’s desires and inclinations, is one of the higher ranks of faith, and it is higher than mere patience.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“Contentment with the universal and divine decree, which occurs contrary to the servant’s wishes and love, concerning matters that do not suit him and are not within his choice, is recommended. It is one of the stations of the people of faith, and there are two opinions concerning whether it is obligatory.”
Madarij al-Salikin (3/1930–1931).
Patience means that a person restrains himself from forbidden resentment and complaining, even while pain and anxiety may exist in his heart. Contentment, however, is a higher station in which the heart is at peace with Allah’s judgment and does not object to it.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“Patience is obligatory according to the consensus of the scholars, and higher than that is contentment with Allah’s judgment.”
He then explained that there is an opinion that contentment is obligatory, while the correct view is that it is recommended. Higher still is for a servant to thank Allah for the calamity because of what may result from it, such as the expiation of sins, elevation of ranks, and increased supplication and turning back to Allah.
It is not a condition of contentment that a person feel no pain or grief.
A human being naturally feels pain when losing someone he loves and grieves when calamities occur. This is an innate human reaction for which he is not held accountable, so long as it is not accompanied by objection to Allah or resentment toward His decree.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“The internal agitation caused by calamity does not contradict contentment according to rational people by consensus, and this is not included in religious obligation, let alone being a sin.”
Jami‘ al-Masa’il (4/75).
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“It is not a condition of contentment that one does not feel pain and hardship; rather, the condition is that one does not object to the decree or resent it.”
He then explained that experiencing pain and naturally disliking something unpleasant do not contradict contentment with it from another perspective. He gave examples such as a sick person being content to take bitter medicine, a fasting person accepting the pain of hunger and thirst, and a fighter accepting the wounds he suffers in the cause of Allah.
Thus, a person may simultaneously have pain from the perspective of his human nature and contentment with Allah’s decree from the perspective of his faith and submission.
Among the clearest proofs of this is that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, despite being the best of creation and the most complete of them in faith and contentment with Allah, grieved when his son Ibrahim died.
Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
“We entered with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ upon Abu Sayf, the blacksmith, who was the foster father of Ibrahim. ... Ibrahim was breathing his last, and the eyes of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ began to shed tears.”
Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, may Allah be pleased with him, said to him: “Even you, O Messenger of Allah?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“O Ibn Awf, indeed it is mercy.”
Then he said:
“The eye sheds tears, the heart grieves, and we say only what pleases our Lord. Indeed, O Ibrahim, we are grieved by your separation.”
Narrated by al-Bukhari (1303) and Muslim (2315).
This hadith clearly demonstrates that tears of the eyes and grief of the heart do not contradict contentment with Allah, because the Prophet ﷺ combined grief with his statement: “We say only what pleases our Lord.”
What is prohibited is not grief itself, but what may accompany it, such as objection, resentment, or speech contrary to what pleases Allah.
Allah تعالى says:
“And he turned away from them and said, ‘Alas, my grief over Yusuf!’ And his eyes became white from grief, for he was suppressing his sorrow. They said, ‘By Allah, you will not cease remembering Yusuf until you become fatally ill or become among those who perish.’ He said, ‘I only complain of my suffering and grief to Allah, and I know from Allah that which you do not know.’”
[Yusuf 12:84–86]
Yaqub’s grief, peace be upon him, became extremely intense, to the point that his eyes became white from grief. Yet despite this, he did not object to his Lord or resent His decree. Rather, he said:
“I only complain of my suffering and grief to Allah.”
His complaint was directed to Allah, not against Allah.
Ibn al-‘Arabi, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that Yaqub’s grief was a natural grief in his heart and did not cause his tongue to utter anything contrary to the religious law, just as happened with the Prophet ﷺ when Ibrahim died.
A person may therefore grieve and suffer, but he must guard his tongue against resentment and objection and remain content with Allah’s judgment and decree.
A person may dislike a calamity because it is painful to him and wish for it to disappear, while at the same time remaining content with Allah, His judgment, and His decree.
Contentment does not mean that a person loves illness, poverty, the loss of loved ones, or pain simply because they are painful. Rather, it means submitting to Allah’s judgment and not objecting to it.
Therefore, it is permissible and legislated for a Muslim to ask his Lord to remove hardship and lift a calamity. Likewise, Yaqub (peace be upon him) complained of his grief to Allah, and this did not contradict contentment.
The distinction is clear between:
Natural grief and pain: This is not something for which a person is held accountable.
Disliking a calamity because of the pain it contains: This is part of human nature.
Resentment and objection to Allah’s decree: This is what is prohibited.
Contentment with Allah’s judgment while experiencing grief and pain: This is what was combined in the state of Yaqub (peace be upon him) and the Prophet ﷺ.
Yaqub’s grief over his separation from Yusuf does not contradict his contentment with Allah’s decree.
Contentment does not require the absence of grief or pain. Rather, its essence is not objecting to Allah’s judgment and not resenting His decree.
The Prophet ﷺ grieved when his son Ibrahim died and said:
“The eye sheds tears, the heart grieves, and we say only what pleases our Lord.”
Likewise, Yaqub (peace be upon him) grieved over Yusuf until his eyes became white, but he said:
“I only complain of my suffering and grief to Allah.”
Thus, the coexistence of natural grief with contentment with Allah’s decree contains no contradiction. Rather, it is part of complete servitude: the heart grieves and the eyes shed tears, but the servant does not resent his Lord or say anything except what pleases Him.
And Allah knows best.