Page 284
wa-man ʾarāda l-ʾākhirata wa-saʿā lahā saʿyahā wa-huwa muʾminun fa-ʾulāʾika kāna saʿyuhum mashkūran
Whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it with an endeavour worthy of it, should he be faithful,—the endeavour of such will be well-appreciated.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Isra’ – Verse 19
19. “And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it as he ought to strive, and he is a believer, (as for) these, their striving shall be thanked.”
He who desires for the good of Hereafter and the blessing of Paradise, and struggles along these lines; that is, he who obeys Allah (s.w.t.) and distances himself from the sins while believing in monotheism and the prophetic mission of the prophets, his struggle will be acknowledged and his worship will be acceptable. The verse says:
“And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it as he ought to strive, and he is a believer, (as for) these, their striving shall be thanked.”
Therefore, in order to achieve eternal happiness, there are three conditions pending:
1) Man’s will, that is, the kind of will which relates to the eternal life, and does not appertain to the passing whims, pleasures, blessings and purely material gains and goals.
2) Such a ‘will’ must not be in a weak form and lack in strength in the spheres of thinking and spirit. Contrarily, it must call on all the particles of human existence and set them in motion and employ all his means and struggles to this end.
3) All of these must be coupled with faith; that kind of faith which is constant and steady, for one’s decision and his struggle will yield results only when they have got their roots in correct and proper motives and those kinds of motives can not be anything other than faith to Allah.