Grand Ayatollah Shirazi: Divine Happiness Differs from Human Joy

On Wednesday, the 19th of Rabi’ al-Thani, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sadiq al-Hosseini al-Shirazi led his daily scholarly session in his residence in Qom. As in previous meetings, the Supreme Marja addressed various jurisprudential questions from the attendees.

Regarding the concept of divine satisfaction, Grand Ayatollah Shirazi stated, “God, the Exalted, is not subject to changes and developments, as this is a characteristic of divine majesty that does not pertain to His essence.”

His Eminence elaborated on the meaning of God’s happiness, noting, “When a person feels joy, it is important to understand the reason behind that happiness and what actions they take in response. Similarly, when it is said that God is pleased with something, one must consider the cause of that pleasure and what actions have been taken in relation to it.”

He further emphasized, “The happiness of God is fundamentally different from human happiness. Numerous hadiths mention God’s pleasure and similar concepts, yet all scholars agree that such matters do not pertain to the Divine essence.”