The most important goal that guides a believer’s life is, without a doubt, to attain the pleasure of God. In line with this exalted goal, believers strive to make use of every moment of their lives with righteous deeds. For a person who lives by the morality of the Qur’an, doing good, showing self-sacrifice, and engaging in actions that please God are manifestations of a deep consciousness and sincere faith. For this reason, believers are those who compete with one another in doing good, who strive not to miss opportunities, and who continuously make an effort to attain God’s pleasure.
In the Qur’an, this superior morality of the believers is given as glad tidings as follows:
They believe in God and the Last Day, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and compete in doing good. They are among the righteous. (Surah Al ‘Imran, 114)
This verse summarizes the character of believers in the most beautiful way. Believers are not content merely with doing good; at the same time, they make sincere efforts to take the lead in goodness, to do the most they can, and to attain a higher rank in the sight of God. For being a pioneer in righteous deeds and attaining the pleasure of God is the greatest blessing a person can achieve. For this reason, sincere believers strive to carry out good deeds without delay.
Indeed, in the Qur’an, the believers who showed great sacrifice in the early period of Islam are also praised for these qualities. It is stated in the verse as follows:
The forerunners–the first of the Migrants (Muhajirun) and the Supporters (Ansar)–and those who have followed them in doing good: God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. He has prepared Gardens for them with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever and ever. That is the great victory. (Surat at-Tawba, 100)
Satan’s Tactic of Postponement Is a Subtle Trap
When satan cannot directly prevent a person from doing a righteous deed, he resorts to a more subtle method: the tactic of postponement... This method is a very common and effective trap. He distracts the Muslim with suggestions such as “you can do it later,” “rest a little now,” or “you still have time.” In reality, satan’s objective is very clear: to distance a person from the path of God, to cause them to miss the opportunity to perform a good deed, or at the very least, to delay it. For often, a good deed that is postponed may, over time, be forgotten or lose its value.
However, a believer remains highly alert against such suggestions of satan. Because postponing good deeds can, over time, turn into a habit that weakens a person’s sincerity and devotion. A person may sometimes delay or neglect good deeds with thoughts such as “God will forgive anyway.” Yet this attitude may lead gradually to the hardening of the heart and to it becoming insensitive.
For this reason, a believer takes care not to delay righteous actions in order to preserve the sincerity of the heart. For when a person’s heart constantly turns toward God, it remains alive; but when neglected, it may gradually lose its responsiveness.
Goodness is only truly accepted when it is done “consistently” and without delay. God informs that “right actions which are lasting” bring a better reward in His Sight as follows:
Wealth and sons are the embellishment of the life of this world. But, in your Lord’s Sight, right actions which are lasting bring a better reward and are a better basis for hope. (Surat Al-Kahf: 46)
This verse points to an important measure for believers. What is truly valuable is not occasional acts of goodness, but rather those that are continuous, consistent, and sincere. For this reason, a believer’s life is lived with a constant awareness of seeking good and making the most of opportunities.
A Person Should Use His Impulsive Nature for Good
By nature, human beings are impulsive. This reality is stated in the Qur’an as follows:
Man prays for evil just as he prays for good. Man is prone to be impetuous. (Surat al-Isra': 11)
However, a believer knows how to direct this trait correctly. He hastens in doing good; he does not delay acts of goodness and strives to seize opportunities immediately. Yet, when it comes to seeing the results of a good deed, he remains patient and trusting in God. For he knows that everything occurs by God’s decree and that no good deed goes without reward.
Conclusion: For a Believer, the Most Reliable Guide Is the Conscience
The conscience is a very valuable guide within a person through which God inspires what is right. The moment a believer hears the voice of his conscience, he takes action without yielding to the selfishness of the ego or excuses such as fatigue.
The conscience constantly calls a person to goodness and self-sacrifice. A person may sometimes be very tired, busy, or in need of rest. Yet precisely at such moments, an opportunity to perform a good deed may arise. A person with sincere faith does not see this as a burden or difficulty, but rather as a great opportunity presented for the Hereafter. For every good deed performed is a valuable reward preserved in the Sight of God.
This perspective brings deep meaning and blessing to a believer’s life. For true goodness is not merely an act done when one feels like it. Likewise, goodness is not a favor or a matter of personal preference. True goodness is a continuous moral commitment performed because it is commanded by God and aimed at attaining His pleasure, mercy, and Heaven.
For this reason, a believer’s life is shaped by a consciousness that does not delay goodness, that makes use of opportunities, and that listens to the voice of the conscience. Such an understanding of life grants a person peace in this world and becomes a means for eternal reward in the Hereafter. For no good deed done for the sake of God is ever lost; on the contrary, each one finds a valuable reward in His Sight:
It is not devoutness to turn your faces to the East or to the West. Rather, those with true devoutness are those who believe in God and the Last Day, the Angels, the Book and the Prophets, and who, despite their love for it, give away their wealth to their relatives and to orphans and the very poor, and to travelers and beggars and to set servants free, and who perform prayer and give the alms; those who honor their contracts when they make them, and are steadfast in poverty and illness and in battle. Those are the people who are true. They are the people who guard against evil. (Surat al-Baqara; 177)
