Someone wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa and said, “Allah the Exalted has created us. If we do good deeds, then there is a promise of Heaven and if we do evil deeds, we will have to go to Hell.”
The person then asked, “Of what benefit is that for Allah the Exalted?”
Huzooraa, in a letter dated 4 February 2020, gave the following reply:
“The premise of this question is incorrect because Islam does not at all teach that man should do good out of a desire for Heaven or avoid evil out of fear of Hell. Faith that stems from greed or fear is weak.
“The creation must have such a strong relationship with the Creator that is free from any lure of paradise or fear of Hell. On the contrary, even if it is assumed that there is neither Heaven nor Hell, man should not allow the slightest difference in the worship, love and obedience of His Lord.
“Therefore, in the Quran and the ahadith, the relationship between the Creator and the creation is described as follows: Man should adopt the attributes of Allah the Exalted. He should become His true servant and should seek His pleasure in every word and deed.
“The Promised Messiahas has also mentioned this subject on numerous occasions. In one place, he wrote:
“‘Our paradise lies in our God. Our highest delight is in our God, for we have seen Him and found every beauty in Him. This wealth is worth procuring though one might have to lay down one’s life to procure it.’ (Noah’s Ark, p. 35)
“Thus, the relationship between Allah and His servant is that of a lover and a beloved. No lover says to their beloved, ‘I am in love with you because you gave me this much money or such and such a thing.’ Not at all! On the contrary, such love is free from all kinds of greed or avarice.
“As far as the question is concerned as to what benefit there is for Allah the Exalted in these matters, the answer is that there is no benefit for Him in them because He is free from all kinds of benefit or loss. He has given this teaching to man for the benefit of man alone. Thus, He states:
“‘Whoso is grateful, is grateful only [for the good of] his own soul. And whoso is ungrateful, then surely Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.’ (Surah Luqman, Ch. 31: V. 13)
“This question is like asking, ‘What is the benefit for a mother in feeding her child or in giving her baby bitter medicine when her baby is sick?”, or like asking ‘What is the benefit for a teacher in passing a student who studies well and failing a student who does not study?’ Thus, just as there is no benefit or loss for the mother or the teacher in these matters – rather, there is benefit or loss for the child or the student – in the same way, in the case of Allah and His servant, there is no benefit or loss for Allah the Exalted; rather, it is man alone who reaps the benefit of obeying the Divine commands or the loss of disobeying them.”