Allah’s Treatment Is According To Ones Expectations (part one)

From Abu Hurairah r.a, narrated that Rasullulah s.a.w has said ; “ Almighty Allah says “I treat my slave (man) according to his expectations from Me and I am with him when he remember Me. If he remember Me in his heart, I remember him in My heart; if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a a better and nobler gathering, (i.e. angles). If he comes closer to Me by one span, I go towards him a cubit’s length, if he comes towards Me by a cubit’s length, I go towards him an arm’s length and if he walks towards Me, I run unto him.’ ”

Note: There are several points elaborated in this Hadith. The first point is that Allah deals with a man according to his expectations from Him. One should therefore always be hopeful of the mercy and benevolence of Almighty Allah and never be despondent of His blessings. Certainly, we are extremely sinful and justly deserve punishment on account of our evil deeds, yet in no case should we feel despondent of the mercy of Allah, as He may perhaps totally forgive us.

“Lo! Allah forgiveth not if a chosharer (partner) be ascribed unto Him and forgiveth all save that to whom He will”

But Almighty Allah may oy may not forgive; that is why the ulama (Islamic Scholar) say that true belief lies in between hope (of forgiveness of Allah) and fear (of His wrath). The Holy Prophet s.a.w, once visited a young sahabah (companion), who was breathing his last and asked him how he was feeling. He replied, “O! Messenger of Allah, I am hopeful of the mercy of Allah, and yet I am afraid of my sins.” Thereupon the Holy Prophets s.a.w said, “When the heart of a believer is filled with these two feelings of hope and fear, Almighty Allah fulfils his hope and saves him from what he is afraid of.”

It is mentioned in one hadith that a believer thinks of his sin, as if he is sitting under huge rock that is threatening to fall on him, while for a transgressor his sin is not more than a fly which is easily scared off, i.e., he takes his sins very lightly. In short, one should be appropriately afraid of one sins and at the same time remain hopeful of Allah’s mercy.

Ma’az r.a died of Plague and in the moments of death agony, he fainted many times whenever he regained consciousness for a moment, he should say, “Oh, Allah! Thou knowest that I loved Thee. By Thy Honour and Glory, Thou knowest this very well.” Just before breathing his last, he said; “O.. death, you are a welcome quest but have come at a time when there is nothing in the house to eat.” Then he said; "O Allah! Thou knowest very well that I always feared Thee, and today, I die hopeful of Thy forgiveness. Oh.. Allah! I enjoyed life, not in digging canals and planting gardens, but in remaining thirsty in the hot weather, in undergoing hardships for the sake of Islam and in taking part in the gatherings engaged in Zikir under the supervision of the ulama.”

Some ulama have written that the fulfillment of expectations promised by Almighty Allah in the aforesaid hadith is in its most general sense. It carries assurance not only in respect of forgiveness but also in respect of prayers, health, wealth and safety. For instance when a person prays to Allah an sincerely believes that Allah shall accept his prayer, then his prayer is actually accepted, but if he has doubt (that his prayer would not be accepted), it is not accepted. Thus, in another hadith is stated that the prayer of a person is granted so long as he does not say that his prayer is not granted. The same is true in the case of all blessings relating to health, prosperity, etc. According to one hadith, if a destitute person discloses his hunger to everybody, he is not relieved of his poverty, but if he shows submission to Gracious Allah, his condition may soon change for the better. However, hoping for the better from Almighty Allah is one thing, and being over-confident of His help and forgiveness is another thing. Almighty Allah has warned us against such an attitude in several verses of the Holy Quran e.g.,

“Let not the deceiver (the satan) beguile you in regard to Allah.”

i.e. one should not be misled by the Devil to commit sins just because Allah is the most Merciful and Forgiver. There is another verse,

“Hath he knowledge of the Unseen, or hath he made a pact with the Beneficent. No, never.”

To be continued…