Divine Election

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Habib ‘Ali Zayn al-‘Abidin ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Jifri said, “Divine Election, from its outset, is an affair of the unseen.  However, it has hallmarks, and these ultimately rest in one’s heart.  To know if God has Elected one, just as He Chose His Beloved ones, one need only to look towards the heart.  Does the idea of being Divinely Chosen for good works resonate?  Does the heart incline towards those whom God has Chosen?  Is the heart avid in desiring this rank from God?  If these subtle signs or even some of them are discovered, then this is the beginning of the process.  The Arabs say, birds of a feather flock together, so if the heart is moved at the mention of those who have been graced with being Divinely Chosen, then it is a sign that you are one of those people. 

One of the companions came to the Messenger of God (s.a.w.), and said, ‘I travelled through the day and night and I am filled with thirst and my mount is tired and fatigued, and it was just because I wanted to reach you before you leave this world to ask you a question.’ 

The Prophet asked him, ‘What is it that you want to ask me about?’ 

He replied, ‘My question is, what is the sign of those whom God Chooses, and what is the sign of those whom God does not choose?’ 

So, the Prophet (s.a.w.) asked him, ‘In what state did you awake this morning?’ 

Note here that the man asked about divine election and the Prophet (s.a.w.) asked him what his state was.  He replied, ‘I awoke this morning loving goodness, and joyous with any goodness I do, and saddened by any goodness that I missed.’ 

‘Enough,’ said the Prophet (s.a.w.), ‘these are the signs of God in those whom He Chooses.  If He Wanted you for something else, He would have Prepared you for it.’ 

Therefore, you doing the actions which prepare you for being Chosen by God are like a herald to tell your heart that God is Saying to you, ‘Come.’  Possessing a love of those whom God has Chosen is a sign of being Divinely Chosen for the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said, ‘A person is with the one whom they love.’”