Brothers and sisters! The topic of today’s khutba is: ‘What does Allah promise to the righteous believers?’ Indeed, Allah promises many good things to the righteous believers. Let us reflect upon only some of these promises that Allah has made to his believing servants.
One of the promises Allah makes is:
لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ
“If you are thankful, I will certainly give you more…” (Ibrahim, 14:7)
Do we thank Allah enough? Do we think about all the free gifts of life – the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat; the faculties of hearing, seeing, and thinking; the muscles and limbs that we use to do any act, and the list goes on. We should thank Allah with our tongues, with our hearts, with our minds, and through our actions by using His blessings for good purposes, and by worshiping and obeying Him. If we do this, we’re surely going to get more. This is Allah’s promise and He does not break His promise.
Another promise Allah makes is:
مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
“Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds.” (an-Nahl, 16:97)
This verse removes the wrong notion that those who adopt a just honest and pious life will be losers in this world. Allah removes this misunderstanding, and explains that righteous attitude and actions not only lead to a happy life in the hereafter, but they also guarantee a pure and happy life in this world. And this is a fact that those people who are sincerely righteous, honest, and fair in their dealings enjoy a much better life in this world. The confidence, honor, and respect that they enjoy because of their good character, is not enjoyed by those who employ illegal and unfair means, and immoral ways to achieve success in this world.
Further, the rank of the righteous believers in the hereafter shall be determined according to their best deeds. In other words, if a person has done both small and great virtues, he will be awarded that high rank which he would merit according to his greatest virtues. Ibn Taymiyyah (Rahimahullah) said: “If the kings knew the happiness and pleasure that we feel in our hearts, they would come and try to take it away from us with the tips of their swords.”
Allah also promises that He responds to those who call upon Him.
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
And your Lord said: Call on me. I will respond to you” (al-Ghafir, 40:60).
The Qur’an and hadith tell us about the extraordinary importance of praying to Allah for all our needs.
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
“When My servants ask you about Me, say that I am near. I respond to the call of one who calls, whenever he calls to Me: let them, then, respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be rightly guided. (al-Baqarah, 2:186)
We should make du’a with great hope and conviction. A hadith tells us: “Pray to Allah with the conviction that you will be answered and know that Allah does not answer a supplication that comes from a careless and inattentive heart.”
Another hadith tells us: “Any Muslim who makes a du’a, provided the du’a contains nothing which is sinful or which involves breaking family ties, Allah will give one of three things: He will quickly grant him what he asked for, or save the reward for him for the hereafter, or turn away from him a similar hardship.” This means that the hardship would have hit him in the absence of that du’a.
Another promise that Allah makes is:
فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ
“So remember Me; I shall remember you. And thank Me, and never be ungrateful.” (al-Baqarah, 2:152)
How can we remember Allah throughout the day without withdrawing from the routine of our daily worldly life? How can we make sure that our personal life, family life, professional life and all other activities continue in full swing, and at the same time, our life as a whole – every moment of it is filled with the remembrance of Allah? This is something that appears to be very difficult, but Alhamdulillah, it is something that can be accomplished if we actually want to do so. Each one of us should say to himself or herself: I am in Allah’s presence, and He is watching me. He is with me wherever I am. The Qur’an says:
وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
“And He is with you wherever you are; He sees all that you do.” (al-Hadid, 57:4).
When the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was asked by a companion about the best method of purifying himself, he replied: “You should always remember that Allah is with you wherever you are.” He also said: “Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him before you.”
Allah also promises that He accepts repentance of those who sincerely repent and turn to him.
أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ الصَّدَقَاتِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
“Do they not know that Allah alone accepts the repentance of His servants and receives their charity, and that Allah alone is the Acceptor of Repentance, Most Merciful?” (At-Tawbah, 9:104)
One of the beautiful names of Allah is: “At-Tawwab,” which means “The Acceptor of Repentance.” Allah accepts repentance of those who sincerely repent and turn to him. The word “Tawwab” gives the sense of “oft-returning,” which means that Allah accepts a person’s repentance again and again. We commit sins and make mistakes. We then repent and He accepts our repentance. Then we again commit sins and make mistakes and we repent. And He again accepts our repentance. He keeps on giving us opportunities to repent and mend our ways.
One of the most beautiful things about repentance and turning to Allah and doing good deeds is that Allah not only wipes the sins off, but also replaces them with good deeds.
مَنْ تَابَ وَآَمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُولَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا
“Those who repent, believe, and do good deeds, Allah will change the evil deeds of such people into good ones. He is most forgiving, most merciful.” (al-Furqan, 25:70)
According to a hadith, “The one who repents from sin is like one who did not sin.” This means that if a person commits a sin, then repents sincerely from it, gives it up, regrets having done it, prays for forgiveness and does not go back to it, Allah will accept his repentance and treat him like one who did not sin.
Allah makes another promise by saying:
وَالَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقًّا وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ قِيلًا
“And those who believe and do good, We will soon admit them into gardens under which rivers flow, to stay there forever. Allah’s promise is true. And whose word is more truthful than Allah’s?” (an-Nisa’, 4:122).
Allah guarantees people with Paradise if they believe and do good deeds. Paradise is the eternal abode we should all be striving for in this world (dunya). Our deeds and actions in this world should bring us closer to Allah and closer to attaining Jannah. If they are not bringing us closer to Allah, then we need to re-evaluate our lives, purify our intentions, make a concerted effort to refrain from sins, and seek Allah’s forgiveness and His mercy. Let us place our trust in Allah and have full faith in His promises and see how our life changes for the better.
وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا
“And put your trust in Allah. Allah is sufficient as a Trustee.” (al-Nisa’, 4:81)
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! There is another promise that Allah (SWT) makes when He says:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ مَنْ أَحْسَنَ عَمَلًا
“As for those who believe and perform good deeds – We do not let the reward of anyone who does a good deed go to waste.” (al-Kahf, 18:30)
Allah promises us that our good deeds will never be wasted. Every single righteous deed will be rewarded, in this world and in the hereafter. In the world, the reward may not be in the form we wanted it to be, but it will be in the form that is best for us, for Allah loves us, and the reward in the hereafter will be far better and much beyond our imagination. True righteous believers always pray to Allah to make them worthy of the promises that He has made to them. They cry out:
رَبَّنَا وَآَتِنَا مَا وَعَدْتَنَا عَلَى رُسُلِكَ وَلَا تُخْزِنَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّكَ لَا تُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ
“Our Lord! Grant us what You have promised to us through Your messengers, and do not humiliate us on the Day of Resurrection. Surely, You never fail to fulfill Your promise.” (Aal ‘Imran, 3:194)
Such people do not doubt the fact that Allah will fulfill His promises. What they do doubt is whether they will be reckoned among those for whom those promises were made. Hence they pray to Allah to make them worthy of His promised rewards.
These are some of the many promises of Allah Almighty to His righteous believers which we can benefit from by following our faith and religious responsibilities submissively.
May Allah bless each one of us with the understanding of the noble deen of Islam; ameen.
