Getting to know Allah
(October 8, 2021)
Brothers and sisters! There is a well-known Hadith Qudsi* that shows our relationship with Allah (SWT) and some of His Divine attributes.
The Hadith Qudsi under discussion is the following: On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (RA) from the Prophet (SAW) from his Lord (Azza wa jall) Who said:
“O My servants! I have forbidden oppression for Myself, and I have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except those whom I have guided, so seek guidance from Me and I shall guide you. O My servants, all of you are hungry except those whom I have fed, so seek food from Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except those whom I have clothed, so seek clothing from Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you commit sins by day and by night, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness from Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you can neither do Me any harm nor can you do Me any good. O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, and the humans of you and the jinn of you, were all as pious as the most pious heart of any individual amongst you, then this would not increase My Kingdom in anything. O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, and the humans of you and the jinn of you, were all as wicked as the most wicked heart of any individual amongst you, then this would not decrease My Kingdom in anything. O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, and the humans of you and the jinn of you, were all to stand together in one place and ask of Me, and I were to give everyone what he requested, then that would not decrease what I possess, except what is decreased of the ocean when a needle is dipped into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I account for you, and then recompense you for. So let him who finds good praise Allah, and let him who finds other than that blame no one but himself.” This Hadith was related by Imam Muslim, and it has very important lessons for us.
Allah never does zulm on anyone. He never oppresses anyone. He is never unjust to anyone. He never wrongs anyone. There are numerous verses in the Qur’an that allude to this.
وَلَا يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًا
“And Your Lord wrongs no one.” (al-Kahf, 18:49)
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ
“Surely Allah does not wrong anyone by as much as an atom’s weight.” (an-Nisa, 4:40)
وَمَا اللَّهُ يُرِيدُ ظُلْمًا لِّلْعِبَادِ
“Allah never wills any injustice for His creatures.” (Ghafir, 40:31)
وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ
“Your Lord is never unjust to His creatures.” (Fussilat, 41:46)
Allah forbids all forms of injustice. The first and the most extreme form of injustice is al-shirk or associating partners with Allah, for the Qur’an says,
إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ
“Surely, associating partners with Allah is the greatest injustice.”(Luqman, 31:13)
The second form of injustice is being unjust towards oneself by committing sins, and the third form is to be unjust towards others by oppressing them. Injustice leads to Allah’s displeasure and warrants His punishment. Thus, we are admonished never to be unjust. This Hadith also tells us that no one is guided unless he is guided by Allah. Those who sincerely seek guidance and work for it are guided. Allah turns their hearts to His obedience and worship. A prophetic dua teaches us to say,
يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قُلُوبَنَا عَلَى دِينِكَ \ اللَّهُمَّ مُصَرِّفَ الْقُلُوبِ صَرِّفْ قُلُوبَنَا عَلَى طَاعَتِكَ
“O, Turner of the hearts, keep our hearts firm on your religion.” “O Allah, the Turner of the hearts, turn our hearts to your obedience.” It is incumbent upon us to seek Allah’s guidance and help. In Surat al-Fatihah, we say,
اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
“Guide us to the Straight Path.” (al-Fatihah, 1:5-6)
Another thing the Hadith tells us is that sustenance and provisions are from Allah alone. He provides for all His creatures.
وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا
“There is no creature on earth except that its provision is from Allah.” (Hud, 11:6)
In Surat al-Fatihah, we have,
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“Praise be to Allah, the Rabb of the entire universe.” (al-Fatihah, 1:1)
This means that Allah is the Lord and Master; the Sustainer, the Provider, the Supporter, the Nourisher, the Guardian, the Sovereign and the Ruler of the universe. Therefore, we must worship Him alone, and seek help from Him alone. This is what we recite in Surat al-Fatihah,
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
“You alone we worship. You alone we ask for help.
And the statement ” all of you are hungry except those whom I have fed … all of you are naked except those whom I have clothed” is a reminder of our poverty before Allah, and our inability to bring about good for ourselves and to ward off harm from ourselves, except by the help of Allah. When we see the traces of blessings upon ourselves, then we should be grateful to Allah. True gratefulness by the heart is manifested through sincere belief that all the blessings we have—the known and the unknown—our very existence, our life, our body, our physical appearance, and all our abilities and accomplishments are from Allah. The Qur’an says,
وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ
“Whatever blessing you have is from Allah” (al-Nahl, 16:53).
Gratefulness by the body is shown by using one’s limbs, organs, faculties, and abilities for the purpose, for which they were created. Next the Hadith talks about seeking Allah’s forgiveness. Brothers and sisters! Humans are inclined to sin, and none can forgive sins but Allah. So, we must seek Allah’s forgiveness for our sins. The door of repentance is open for all of us at all times. Islam is a practical religion. It acknowledges human weaknesses. We have an ayah in the Qur’an that says,
يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنكُمْ وَخُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ ضَعِيفًا
“Allah desires to lighten your burden, for man was created weak.” (an-Nisa, 4:28)
Allah’s saying “you commit sins by day and by night, and I forgive all sins” implies that no one who has committed a sin should despair of the mercy of Allah, no matter how great that sin may be. There is always room for sincere repentance, and for seeking forgiveness. The Qur’an tells us,
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
“Say: “O My servants who transgressed against themselves, do not despair of Allah’s mercy, for Allah forgives all sins. He is the Forgiver, the Merciful.” (al-Zumar, 39:53)
Seeking Allah’s forgiveness or doing istighfar is one of the ways of being blessed; of having barakah in our lives. With many people, there is no barakah in their lives because they do not do istighfar nor are they grateful to Allah. Remember what Nuh (AS) told his people about the manifold blessings of istighfar. He said,
اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا يُرْسِلِ السَّمَاءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًا وَيُمْدِدْكُم بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَارًا
“Ask forgiveness of your Lord: He is ever forgiving. He will send down abundant rain from the sky for you; He will give you wealth and children; He will provide you with gardens and rivers.” (Nuh, 71:10-12)
Speaking about the mercy of Allah, the Qur’an says,
كَتَبَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَة
“He has made mercy incumbent upon Himself.” (al-An’am, 6:12)
And according to a Hadith Qudsi,
لَمَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْخَلْقَ كَتَبَ فِي كِتَابِهِ ، فَهُوَ عِنْدَهُ فَوْقَ الْعَرْشِ : إِنَّ رَحْمَتِي تَغْلِبُ غَضَبِي
“When Allah created the creation, he pledged upon Himself in his book which is with Him over his throne, certainly, My mercy overcomes My anger.” May Allah cover us with His mercy.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ.
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! As for His saying “if the first of you and the last of you, and the humans of you and the jinn of you” until the end, is an indication that even if all the humans and jin became as pious as the most pious of them, that would not affect or increase the Kingdom of Allah in the least. And even if all the humans and jin became as wicked as the most wicked of them, that would not affect or decrease the Kingdom of Allah in the least. As for His statement “… were all to stand together in one place”, it is an exhortation to the creation to ask Allah in all affairs, and not to feel shy in asking Him, for verily that which is with Allah does not decrease, as His treasures are inexhaustible. As for His statement “except what is decreased of the ocean when a needle is dipped into it” is a metaphor, which simply means that what is with Allah does not diminish at all. At the end of the Hadith, it is mentioned and stressed that everyone will be accountable for their deeds. Whoever finds a good record should be thankful to Allah and praise Him for that. Anyone who finds other than that should not blame anyone else except himself. This is a clear statement that shows that we are responsible for our actions because of the freedom of choice we have to do good or evil.
In conclusion, it may be said that this Hadith shows us the proper relationship between mankind and Allah (SWT). It shows us the many attributes of Allah such as how merciful, forgiving, and powerful He is. It stresses the prohibition of all forms of injustice and oppression. It encourages us to seek help, guidance, and forgiveness from Allah and to rely solely on Him. It highlights Allah’s infinite blessings and bounties, and our need to be His humble and obedient servants. Those who seek Allah’s pleasure are truly successful. May Allah make us among them; ameen.
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*What is a Hadith Qudsi? It is a Hadith, which from the perspective of its meaning, is from Allah (SWT), and from the perspective of its wording, is from the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The Prophet (SAW) would receive the meaning from Allah (SWT) by way of inspiration or dream, and then he would inform his community of this in his own words.
