In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful
We know for sure that Allah alone is the Creator and all other things in this world are His creations. This include all the worlds, known and unknown, and whatever is there in these worlds. Allah’s existence is mandatory (Wajib ul-Wujood) and all other things that exist has possible existence (Mumkin ul-Wujood). The skies, the paradise, the hell and everything is created by Allah alone. Therefore, our basic belief is that Allah has no partners and there is none equal to Him (112:4).
Among all the creations of Allah, we know that Allah created Adam with His hands as mentioned in Qur’an: “Said Allah, “O Iblis! What prevented you from prostrating before one whom I have created with My hands?... (38:75). AllahSWT made humans intellectually the highest of the earthly species, therefore human beings are generally referred to as the noblest of all creatures (Ashraful Makhluqat) because Allah gave them wisdom to think and reflect.
Thus, the people of wisdom use their intellect and set up the right path to achieve their goal, which is the primary objective of their existence. Today, we see the only objective of the mainstream Muslims is to seek Jannah (the Paradise). Of course, Jannah is one of the great blessings of Allah that is bestowed upon who He wills but that is not the primary objective of our existence.
In a famous Hadith Qudsi, the Prophet PBUH said, from what AllahSWT told him directly: “I was a Hidden Treasure (and) I wanted to be known, so I created Creation.”. Thus, the purpose of our creation is to know Allah, to have His Gnosis (Irfan). Those who are not well versed with the teachings of Vilayath have lost their path and they don’t even quest for or set the vision of Allah as their ultimate goal of life. There are Muslims, of course in minority, who believe that seeking Allah’s irfan is the primary objective of human creation. These are saints (Awliya) or people following the Tariqat. In the famous Hadith e Jibraeel, the Prophet SAS was asked “what is Ihsaan? Ihsaan, as explained by the ProphetSAS is to pray as if you are seeing Allah, and if you do not see Him, think that Allah sees you. Today, we get most of the voices about Islam and Imaan, and hardly about Ihsaan. The simple reason being since mainstream Islam does not believe in the vision of Allah (Deedaar-e-Khuda) in this world, it is difficult for them to explain the concept of Ihsaan to the general audience. So, they focus only on Islam and Imaan and direct their masses towards Jannah.
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلاَتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Allah (SWT) says in Qur’an: “Say, ‘Indeed my prayer and my worship, my life and my death are for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. (6:162). Thus, it is clear from the above verse that whatever we do, or we avoid doing; whatever we say or avoid saying; or whatever we see or avoid seeing, our life and our death should be for the sake of Allah alone. Thus, those scholars who are tempting the masses to do good deeds for the sake of Jannah are actually setting up a lower threshold and not directing the seekers toward their ultimate destiny of seeking Allah’s Irfan. In fact, Praying Namaz, fasting, giving charity etc., should be for the love of Allah and not the sake of Jannah. The Paradise is one of the creations of Allah, therefore, seeking creator is more important than seeking His creation. A quote from Hazrath Rabia Basri, a famous saint would further emphasize our view:
“O God! if I worship Thee in fear of Hell, burn me in Hell; and if I worship Thee in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise; but if I worship Thee for Thine own sake, withhold not thine everlasting beauty."
Humans are tested for their actions based on their intentions. Sometimes good deeds would become bad if the intention is not good. Therefore, if we are doing good deeds for the sake of Jannah, it means we are doing something not for the sake of Allah and going against the Qur’anic verse 6:162. Here is what Iqbal has said:
AllahSWT sent Imam MahdiAHS to propagate the teachings of Vilayath or Ihsaan and Imamuna MahdiAHS has said that the vision of Allah (Deedar-e-Khuda) is possible in this world and to achieve it by the grace of Allah is the primary objective of our existence.
It is said that if you were given all the eight paradises, do not be happy and content, go further in seeking the Truth (Allah SWT). He AHS has taught us the practice of Faraiz-e-Vilayath. These teachings will take you to nearness of Allah SWT and ultimately His vision, of course with His blessings only. Those who are seeking Jannah only are setting up a lower threshold and not looking beyond that point. In a famous saying, Mahdi AHS is narrated to have said “Seek Allah from Allah” (Khuda se Khuda ko Maango) This is Mahdaviyat and who can deny these principles?