The famous poet Saa’di Shirazi, in his era mentioned that people have messed up the formulae.

ppl think “I worship, therefore I’ll get”, we shave the same problem today, people pray and think “Why does next man have x, y, z despite the fact that I prayed for it & worshipped”.

The formulae isn’t ‘my worship must = material blessings’.

The formulae is that no material blessings can equate to your worship.
The real ajr is entirely metaphysical. Your worship is so precious that God would never trade it off for that which is material...

Saadi says if ﷲ gave us something material in return for our worship, we would be the ones questioning God on the day of judgment as to why he gave us something temporal and material in exchange for something so pure and full of light (our worship).

This is why the Gnostics, be they from the past or even in our times, the likes of Murabit al Haaj (rh) had absolutely nothing of the dunya (lower material world).

What God gave them in return was beyond the dunya.

But then saadi still questioned how we can receive these “material blessings”, the nice houses, cars, etc. As none of these are actually blameworthy.
The key is it’s all about perception. This world & that which is in it is Dunya, but it can become ‘Alam for us if we switch up.

God has not gazed at the dunya since it’s been created, it’s worthless
The same thing that’s worthless becomes precious through our perception if we perceive the blessing to be a blessing in the truer sense
Then it goes from Dunya to Alam, from lowly to a tool to know the Divine.

That same car you’re chasing after, the new phone you have can go from Dunya to Alam. You just have to appreciate and recognise the source of it all, and you’ll be blessed with more and that which is beyond the material it if you show gratitude.

That is the word of ﷲ
14:7

So Saadi says (paraphrasing);

The formulae for the BM is to appreciate the bike, the formulae for a good physique is to appreciate the bad one; it could’ve been worse. The formulae to have a nice relationship is to appreciate the ones you’ve already got.

The formulae isn’t the blame culture, being spiteful of others, or competing with others.

These things will only erode your essence, which was raw metaphysical pure light. We don’t believe in the doctrine of original sin, God wouldn’t order the angles to prostrate to a sinner.

True gratitude isn’t lip service either, it’s a state.

The litmus test for this, is that anyone who’s etched and internalised that state of shukr/gratitude in their very essence… they’ll pass that light on to those around them & make them truly smile & want to be with them.

This is why the companions were in a state of ecstasy when the prophet ﷺ said “you will be with those whom you love (in the afterlife)”

This was confirmation from the blessed tongue of truth that they’d be in felicity forever with the one who radiates that pure state of Shukrﷺ