[3:162-3] Is he who follows God's beatitude like him who is laden with God's anger, whose abode is hell? An evil journey's end! * They are of degrees before God; and God sees what they do.
The one with whom He is well pleased throughout eternity is not equal to the one with whom He is displeased and has abandoned to his states and made him rely on his own actions, oblivious to the witnessing of His favors. Following God's beatitude is in separating oneself from what has been prohibited and embracing that to which one has been commanded. One who divests himself from the prohibited and takes heart in embracing what has been commanded will have followed God's beatitude and will have become deserving of the gardens.
They are of degrees before God: i.e., they are the possessors of degrees in the decree (ḥukm) of God - happy are those who have been brought close and wretched are those who have been kept at a distance.