“Every action, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem to a person, could be a tall ladder to attain the pleasure of God, and the person who has not drawn our attention could be one of God’s special servants.”
This is a new perspective and approach that the divine leaders open up before us. Thus, Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) says:
“Indeed, God has hidden three things in three things:
- His pleasure in obedience and submission to Him. Therefore, do not consider any act of obedience to be small in your eyes, for the ultimate pleasure of God may be hidden in it.
- His anger in disobedience and defiance of Him. Therefore, do not deem any sin, no matter how small, insignificant, for it may carry His final anger.
- His friend (wali) among His servants. Therefore, do not regard any servant of God as small or insignificant, for they may be a wali of God.”
What is the secret that Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) emphasizes so much, stating that no act of obedience should be considered small? The truth is that the pleasure of God is hidden in obedience to Him, and more importantly, the significance and greatness of an action lies in its acceptance by God, not in its quantity or grandeur in our eyes.
The acceptance of an act by God is so important that the prophets and infallible imams, despite their immense faith, fervor, and sincerity in worship, would ask God for the acceptance of their deeds in their supplications.
This is Ibrahim (Abraham), the intimate friend of God, who, when raising the foundations of the Ka’bah with his son Ismail, turns to God and says:
“O our Lord, accept it from us, indeed You are the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” [1]
In addition to all these points, we must never consider any sin as small. Because no matter what the sin or disobedience is, it is disobedience to the commandments of God, and all of them share the same essence: disobedience to the truth and violation of His divine laws. What seems like a small sin to us may in fact be a dangerous path leading to God’s displeasure and ultimate wrath.
However, the entire truth is not limited to obedience and sins. Our treatment of other servants of God is also of great importance. How can one consider their brother insignificant, when God’s special servants are hidden among the people? The key point here is that this noble saying does not refer to the believer specifically, but rather to any servant or creation of God. In other words, when interacting with others, one should not judge based solely on their appearance, and if they do not have an outwardly polished appearance, one should not dismiss them or ignore them.
It seems that the main purpose of this noble hadith is to convey that no act, whether obedience or disobedience, and no person, whether great or small, should ever be regarded as insignificant.
Now, in the ups and downs of life, and in the challenges we face, from what perspective do we view our various tasks and the people around us?
“One must wash their eyes; one must look at things differently.”
Adapted from the book “Chahār Hadīth” by Sayyid Hashim Rasouli Mahallati (with additional explanations).
Footnote:
[1] (Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 127)