“Rida means being pleased with God, may He be exalted, and with the clear religion of Islam He has sent; submitting wholeheartedly to every decree of the Almighty; and meeting the trials and hardships one faces with inner calm and reassurance. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed to this horizon of rida in the words: ‘We are pleased with Allah as our Lord, with Islam as our religion, and with Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, as our Prophet.’”¹⁾

“Rida (resignation) means showing no rancor or rebellion against misfortune, and accepting all manifestations of Destiny without complaint and even better peacefully. In other words, one should welcome all things and events, even those normally associated with distress and terror. Another beautiful definition of resignation is having or showing pleased acceptance of God’s treatment whether it seems agreeable or disagreeable to us.

Even though believers must adopt resignation of their free will at the beginning of the spiritual journey, in reality it is a direct gift of God to those whom He loves. For this reason, unlike patience, neither God Almighty nor the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, commanded it; they only recommended it. Although there is a narration attributed to the Prophet Let him who does not endure misfortunes and show resignation to Divine decrees find another Lord for himself the scholars of Traditions did not accept it as an authentic Prophetic Tradition.

Some saints have considered resignation a higher station than reliance and surrender, while others have regarded it, like other states, as a Divine gift or radiance that sometimes appears and then disappears. Still others, like Imam Qushayri, have seen it as connected with or dependent upon the servant’s free will in the beginning, and as a state or condition of the heart in the end. The Tradition: One who is pleased with God as the Lord and Islam as the religion and Muhammad as the Prophet has tasted the delight of belief suggests that a person must exercise his or her free will to obtain resignation in the beginning, although it is a Divine gift in the end.

Being pleased with God’s Divinity means loving and paying due respect to Him, turning to Him in worship and for help, and expecting everything only from Him. Being pleased with His Lordship signifies that we welcome His decrees for us, raise no objection to any misfortune befalling us (no matter how severe), confide in Him only concerning His treatment of us, and are pleased with whatever He does. Being pleased with the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, denotes unconditional surrender to him, preferring his guidance and directions over our personal views, and using all of our faculties to understand not to criticize his actions and words and the Revelations he transmitted. As for being pleased with Islam, it requires, as declared in: He who seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him (3:85) accepting Islam as the ideal set of maxims and norms, and practices them in all the fields of one’s life.”²⁾

“… being pleased with God and loving Him continue eternally, and resignation to His judgment and being pleased with Him is a source of spiritual peace and happiness in both worlds.

This does not mean that those who have obtained resignation and God’s pleasure or approval are free of anxiety, hardship, and suffering, for there remain many annoying and displeasing things along their way. However, champions of resignation regard them as pure mercies, for resignation or God's pleasure changes the ‘poison’ they drink into ‘elixir,’ and the troubles they encounter cause them to fall even deeper in love with the Beloved.”³⁾

“As the greatest rank in God’s sight, resignation or God’s pleasure is a final target that has been sought by the greatest members of humanity, from the glory of creation, upon him be peace and blessings, to all other Prophets, saints, and purified scholars who have passed the final test through sincerity, certainty, reliance, surrender, and confidence. They have surmounted many difficulties and obstacles, and bore many unendurable sufferings and pains.”⁴⁾

“In addition to being the means to innumerable advantages and benefits, solidarity and unity based on sincerity is the strongest shield and point of support against fear, and even death. For when death comes, it takes one soul. A person who strives in true unity with their fellows on the way of God’s good pleasure for the realization of the purposes related to the Hereafter, has as many souls as their brothers and sisters. Therefore, such a person meets death with a smile and says, ‘Even though only one of my souls dies, my other souls will continue to live and cause me to gain as many rewards as they do. So by means of these souls, I will continue to live in respect of reward; I am only dying in respect of sin.’”⁵⁾

“Our duty is to act positively—not negatively. It is to carry out service to faith purely for the sake of God’s good pleasure, and not to interfere in what belongs to God alone. Within this positive service of faith—which results in safeguarding social peace—we are responsible, in the face of every hardship, for patience and gratitude.”⁶⁾

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