A Letter to a Dear One — Page 86
86 Letter to a Dear One make a virtuous intention for each action and thus make each action worthy of reward and blessing. For example, everyone eats and drinks and enjoys doing so. Generally speaking people eat to fulfill the requirements of hunger and thirst and to savor the flavors of food and indeed to provide nourishment to the body. If a believer makes an intention to eat and drink because Allah the Almighty has told us that He has created everything for us, to earn our good livelihood, enjoy food, and nourish ourselves and expend our energies in seeking Allah’s pleasure. If this be the intention of a person for partaking food then the pleasure in eating would be enhanced for him, compared to the rest; one would eat food as a matter of course but would be rewarded for it, and the eating and drinking will help one in spiritual development and be the cause to attain God’s nearness. Similarly, if a believer keeps an excellent intention while carrying out all natural requisites, he can spiritually benefit from each action of his life and can, therefore, rapidly progress in attaining nearness to God. Eating and drinking, dressing up, earning a livelihood, making a home, exercise, study, marriage, running a house, children, their training—all of these can be actions of high morals and spirituality. A man provides for his wife and children. Works hard to earn a livelihood to feed his children and to meet their needs. If he carries out all these responsibilities with the intention of pleasing Allah, and because Allah has commanded to provide for one’s family, it will be as if such a person is constantly seeking Allah’s pleasure. This hard work of his will come under piety and will cause him to earn a Divine reward. If he applies the same intention to everything he does, his life would be naturally reformed and none of his actions will be without piety. If a person earns a livelihood with the intention that I have described above then it will be impossible for him to earn his living through any ignoble means, to usurp or deceive someone or take a bribe, etc. His intention will be to be obedient to Allah and to please Him, he will therefore earn his living through means that are preferred by Allah. Similarly, an employee should carry out his duties with the utmost honesty—not to gratify the employer in hope of a reward and a promotion—but to please Allah, for Allah’s Will is for each employee to perform his duty with efficiency and honesty and that each employer is kind and benevolent to the employee. If each person reforms his intention in this manner, the entire benchmark of deeds changes and life becomes totally peaceful and