← Back to The Art of Having Good Expectations of Allah
This content has been automatically translated. View original in Arabic
Subscribe to the channel. This meaning is that Allah the Almighty truly befriends His servants, a meaning we should pause at, for it is a delicate meaning we often overlook. See how Allah the Almighty befriends us while being free of need of us. Is He not named Al-Wadud (The Most Loving)?
Look at His saying, "O you who have believed, remember Allah often. And glorify Him morning and evening. It is He who confers blessing upon you, and His angels [ask Him to do so] that He may bring you out from darknesses into the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful. Their greeting the Day they meet Him will be, 'Peace.' And He has prepared for them a noble reward." (Quran 33:41-44)
Allah the Almighty befriends the believers in these verses by reminding them that He guides them, has mercy on them, and will meet them on the Day of Judgment with a noble reward, expressing His love for them. As if He is saying to them: Since I do all of this for you, do I not deserve your love so that you remember Me often, as a lover remembers their beloved?
Our relationship with Allah the Almighty should not be limited to awaiting worldly or even hereafter bliss. The pleasure of Allah the Almighty must be a goal in itself. We must love Allah and strive for Him to love us, and we must not be able to bear life without this love.
Do you not see that Allah the Almighty often ends verses of commands by stating that He loves those who do such and such? What do we gain from these endings? If we are sincere to Allah the Almighty and truthful in our love for Him, then this ending "Allah loves such and such" should be sufficient to encourage us to carry out the command to obtain this great prize: the love of Allah for us.
See how these endings are repeated in the Quran:
Have you ever paused at these endings before? Have you not felt immense happiness if you are among the people whom Allah the Almighty loves?
If we do not strive to be among those who possess these qualities, if the love of Allah the Almighty is not sufficient for us to be among the righteous, the patient, the pious, the pure, the repentant, the followers of the trustworthy messenger, the reliant, and the fighters in His cause, does that not indicate a dryness in our love for Allah and a lack of concern for His love for us?
On the other hand, you see that Allah the Almighty has forbidden certain things and followed the prohibition by stating that He does not love those who do such and such:
Brother, examine yourself. Whenever you read these verses, do you think in the following way: If Allah does not love me, He will subject me to a trial or deprive me of bliss? Is this all that concerns you? Do you perform a calculation to determine what you will lose of the bliss of this world if Allah dislikes you or does not love you? Is all that concerns you the continuation of bliss and the avoidance of trials?
Have you not felt a sting and pain at the thought that Allah the Almighty does not love you? Is this not something terrifying and a punishment in itself that Allah does not love us? Is this punishment not sufficient to make you strive to avoid injustice, aggression, extravagance, and treachery, because Allah the Almighty does not love those who possess these characteristics? To search your words and deeds and hold yourself accountable, fearing that you may lose the love of Allah for you without realizing it.
Ask yourself these questions to know if you are closer to the character of Rami Al-Jaf or Ghassan, who could not bear to see the frown on his father's face and could not imagine living while feeling the lack of his father's love for him due to his nobility and honor. Do you not see how the small child derives his self-confidence from his parents' love for him? He does not feel stability and tranquility unless his parents express their love for him. If his father says to him, "I do not love you," this threatens his stability, destroys his self-confidence, and gives him a pessimistic view of life.
Are we not the creation of Allah the Almighty? We have no provider or refuge except Him, glory be to Him. If Allah says to you, "I do not love you," does that not frighten you? Does it not make you tremble? Does it not overshadow your life? Does it not threaten your stability and tranquility? Should you not hold yourself accountable for every word or deed that may make you one of those whom Allah the Almighty has mentioned that He does not love?
When your heart absorbs this meaning, the befriending of Allah and that Allah befriends us, "Their Lord gives them good tidings of His mercy and approval and of gardens for them wherein is enduring bliss, abiding therein forever. Indeed, with Allah is a great reward." (Quran 9:21-22)
Contemplate this verse word by word to see how the love of Allah emanates from it: "Their Lord gives them good tidings of His mercy and approval and of gardens for them wherein is enduring bliss, abiding therein forever. Indeed, with Allah is a great reward."
On the other hand, the verses and hadiths that mention types of people whom Allah does not speak to or look at are sufficient punishment that your beloved does not speak to you or look at you if you have a living heart.
Contemplate with me also the hadith narrated by Bukhari that Allah the Almighty says to the people of Paradise, "O people of Paradise," they say, "At your service and happiness, and the good is in your hands," He says, "Are you pleased?" They say, "And what would make us not pleased, O Lord, when You have given us what You have not given to any of Your creation?" He says, "Shall I not give you better than that?" They say, "O Lord, and what is better than that?" He says, "I will bestow upon you My pleasure, and I will never be displeased with you after that." That is, this pleasure that I have bestowed upon you will be eternal and everlasting.
It is difficult for a miser to understand why this is the greatest blessing. As long as the people of Paradise are under a spreading shade, with abundant fruit and houris, what does the pleasure of Allah add to them in his view? But the sincere lover knows that the pleasure of the beloved is the highest aspiration and the ultimate ambition. "Allah has promised the believers and believers, gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein, and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual bliss. Indeed, that is the great attainment." (Quran 9:72)
Reflect with me on His saying, "So remember Me, I will remember you." Our Lord is affectionate towards us and asks us to remember Him, promising us a reward in return. What is this reward? That He, may He be exalted, will remember us. A person with weak emotions does not understand the honor in Allah remembering His servant. The noble person is content with the motivation to repent being the knowledge that it will make the greatest beloved happy: it will make Allah, exalted be He, happy.
There is another beautiful aspect as well: if someone you love gives you a gift, which makes you happier? The gift itself or the affection it shows from the giver? You are happier that the one who gave it to you is expressing their love through it. Therefore, the joy of the people of Paradise is doubled. They are not only happy with what Allah has given them of His favor, but also with the significance of this favor, which indicates Allah's love for them and His pleasure with them. So do not forget to sense this meaning whenever you read the verses and hadiths that speak of favor: "Allah gives them good tidings of their Lord," "Allah has prepared for them," "Allah has promised those who believe," "Allah has given them." Allah's pleasure, which this bliss indicates, is more important than the bliss itself.
Of course, what has been mentioned does not mean that the believer obeys Allah, exalted be He, and worships Him out of love alone, without awaiting reward or fearing punishment. This is an exaggeration that is rejected by the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, such as His saying, "They call upon their Lord in fear and aspiration," and His saying, "They hope for His mercy and fear His punishment." We must love Allah and obey Him and adhere to His command out of fear and hope as well. The intention here is to draw attention to a meaning that is often overlooked and should be celebrated with fear and hope: obeying Allah, exalted be He, out of love for Him and the desire for His love and pleasure with us.
Have you now become convinced that Allah, exalted be He, is affectionate towards us? Have these verses and hadiths stopped you before? Were you eager to reciprocate Allah's affection with affection, or did you become complacent with the blessings from the Bestower? If you have become complacent, do not be surprised when Allah, exalted be He, tests you to remind you to reciprocate His affection with affection. Even if the test is severe, it will not be more severe than the dryness of the soul and the hardness of the heart, which is devoid of tasting Allah's affection and reciprocating this affection with affection. If the trial drives you to this tasting, then you have gained everything and lost nothing, no matter how great your loss may appear.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, there is a very important meaning: Allah, exalted be He, is merciful even in His punishment, merciful and affectionate even in His trial. So the conclusion of this episode is the same as the conclusion of the previous one: Allah, exalted be He, is affectionate towards us, so strive to reciprocate Allah's affection with affection and do not be poor in emotions with your Lord, exalted be He.
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Translation by Nancy Qanqur.