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With the Quran, may your soul find tranquility through faith, and may it pour upon you the abundance of pleasure and the clouds of forgiveness. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.
Brother, it is not enough to obey Allah; you must also love this obedience. This is an important meaning that often escapes our minds. For obedience to be accepted by Allah, we must present it while loving it.
It is not enough to pay zakat; you must pay it while being happy that you have fulfilled this obligation. It is not enough to wear the correct hijab and jilbab; you must wear it while loving it.
Often, we act in a way that shows we do not love the obedience we present, and thus, this obedience becomes tainted.
I recall a man who asked me, saying: "I gave a painter an amount of money to paint my new house, but the painter cheated me and ran away. Can I count this amount as zakat?" Allah is our helper! This mindset is not how zakat should be performed.
Brothers, when a Muslim girl wants to wear the hijab, knowing its legal conditions, but unfortunately, she rarely finds someone who adheres to these conditions: that it should be loose, thick, not adorned or decorated. Does this evasion of the legal hijab in all ways indicate your love for this obedience?
The one who prays the obligatory prayer at the last moment, rushing through it as if performing physical exercises, does he love the prayer?
Brothers and sisters, the matter is serious as it is related to the acceptance or rejection of obedience.
What is the evidence for this? Allah the Almighty says: {And what prevents their expenditures from being accepted from them but that they have disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger}. This is not present, praise be to Allah, but listen to what comes after, listen to the other obstacles to the acceptance of deeds.
Allah the Almighty says: {And they come to prayer without enthusiasm, and they spend without sincerity}. They perform prayer lazily and without love for it, and they spend zakat reluctantly. Thus, hatred for obedience prevents its acceptance.
Notice, our speech is not about disliking the hardship that accompanies obedience. For example, the sleeper dislikes getting up at dawn, and this does not diminish his faith, but if he gets up, performs ablution, and begins to pray, he loves his prayer and is pleased that he has obeyed his Lord. How different he is from the one who prays lazily, barely remembers Allah in his prayer, and when he finishes, it is as if he has cast a burden off his back.
The one who wears the correct hijab feels sad if some ignorant people comment on her, but she loves the hijab itself, rejoices that she has obeyed her Lord's command, and feels the wisdom of Allah in prescribing it for her. How different she is from the one who dislikes the correct hijab even if no one comments on it, feeling annoyed by it.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, let us ask ourselves every time we present an act of obedience to Allah the Almighty: Do we love this obedience? Our contentment and our fulfillment of Allah's command to the best of our ability will answer for us. And if the answer is otherwise, we will know in other episodes the treatment that makes us love obedience, by the permission of Allah.
And remember that what prevents the acceptance of the deeds of some people is that {They come to prayer without enthusiasm, and they spend without sincerity}. We ask Allah to rectify our hearts and accept our deeds. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.