I am as My Servant thinks I am

Transcript of the Khatira delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on Dec 14, 2017

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

Brothers and sisters! In a Hadith Qudsi, mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said,

‏ قَالَ اللَّهُ أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي ‏‏

“Allah said, ‘I am to my slave as he thinks of me.’ Too often, when we read this narration we glide past it without much reflection. In today’s khatira, I want to share with you the explanation of this hadith given by various renowned scholars and a few among the pious ancestors. Some of these explanations are as follows:

1.      This means that Allah is saying, “I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him.”

2.     Expecting the best of Allah is to expect that He will have Mercy on him and relieve him of hardship.

3.      This means that Allah will forgive him if he seeks forgiveness, will accept his repentance if he repents, will answer him if he supplicates, and will suffice him if he asks for something.

4.     This means that one expects, when he supplicates, for his repentance to be accepted, something disgusting to be repelled from him, and his deeds that are performed with their proper conditions to be accepted. This explanation is supported by another hadith which says,

ادْعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَنْتُمْ مُوقِنُونَ بِالإِجَابَةِ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَسْتَجِيبُ دُعَاءً مِنْ قَلْبٍ غَافِلٍ لاَهٍ

“Call upon Allah while being certain of being answered, and know that Allah does

not respond to a supplication from the heart of one heedless and occupied by play.”

Likewise, it is incumbent upon the one who repents, seeks forgiveness, and does good deeds to exert himself in fulfilling his obligations while he is certain that Allah will accept his actions and forgive his sins, as Allah has promised that He will accept any truthful repentance and righteous deeds.

So, whoever performs such a deed and believes and expects that Allah will not accept it and that it will not benefit him, this is despair from the Mercy of Allah, and is from greatest sins. Whoever dies upon this will be delivered to that which he expected.

5.     The one who hopes in Allah should always be optimistic, cautious, and hopeful in Allah’s bounty, expecting the best from Him.

6.     Whenever a crisis comes your way, utilize your good expectations of Allah in order to repel it. This will bring you closer to relief.

7.      It is reported that one of the pious ancestors used to supplicate: “O Allah, I ask you to grant me true reliance on You and good expectations of You.”

8.      Another would say, “By the One besides Who none is worthy of worship, the believer is not given anything good better than his good expectations of Allah, and by the One besides Who none is worthy of worship, no servant of Allah expects good of Allah except that Allah gives him what he expected, since all good is in His Hand.”

9.     The more you have good expectations of your Rabb and hope in Him, the more you will rely on and trust in Him. This is why some explained true reliance and trust to be having good expectations of Allah. In reality, having good expectations of Him leads to relying on and trusting in Him, as it is unthinkable that one can trust in someone that he has bad expectations of or no hope in.  

10.                        As for the believers whose hearts are connected to Allah, whose souls are close to Him, who experience His constant bounty – they do not despair of the Mercy of Allah even if they are surrounded on all sides by disaster and severe hardship. The believer is in the mercy of the shade of his faith, the pleasure of his connection to his Rabb, and the tranquility of his confidence in his Guardian even when he is in the throes of hardship and disaster.

11.                        The believing heart assumes the best of its Rabb, and always expects the best from Him. It expects good from Him in times of ease and times of hardship, and it believes that Allah wants good for him in either situation. The secret of this is that his heart is connected to Allah, and the flow of good from Allah is never cut off. So, whenever the heart is connected to Him, it touches upon this fundamental reality and experiences it in a direct and sweet way.

It is reported that three days before his death, the Prophet (SAW) said,

لاَ يَمُوتَنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلاَّ وَهُوَ يُحْسِنُ بِاللَّهِ الظَّنَّ

“None of you should die except hoping good from Allah.”

And we have the Quranic ayah which fills us with hope.

 قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ 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."(Az-Zumar, 39:53)

Our assuming the best about Allah really means pinning our hopes and expectations on Allah. We know that Allah can be severe in punishment as well as most merciful, but we must hope for His mercy and be confident that if we sincerely repent for our sins and strive to do good we will attain His mercy. We must never despair. We must never see our sins to be too great for Allah's forgiveness.  

Allah says, conveying to us the words of his prophet Yaqub (AS)

وَلَا تَيْأَسُوا مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ إِنَّهُ لَا يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ 

“Never despair of Allah’s mercy. No one despairs of Allah’s mercy except the unbelieving people.”)Yusuf, 12:87]

Let me conclude by saying that we should always have a positive outlook about Allah (SWT), since He will be as His servant thinks of Him. Allah will relate to the person the way the person expects Him to. Allah will never let his good deeds go unrewarded. When the servant beseeches Allah, he believes that his prayer will be answered. When he sincerely repents for a sin, he trusts that Allah will forgive him. When he performs a virtuous deed, he assumes that Allah will accept it from him and reward him for it. All of this is part of assuming the best about Allah. 

رَبَّنَآ إِنَّنَآءَامَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

Our Rabb! We believe in You, forgive us our sins and keep us from the punishment of the Fire. (Aal ‘Imran, 3:16)

رَبَّنَآءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ 

Our Rabb! Grant us good in this world as well as good in the world to come, and

protect us from the punishment of the Fire. (Al-Baqarah, 2:201).

رَبَّنَآءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا

Our Rabb! Grant us Your special mercy and give us right guidance in our affair. (Al-Kahf, 18:10)

رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

Our Rabb! We have wronged our souls: if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we shall be among the losers. (Al-A’raf, 7:23)

رَبَّنَآ أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَاصَبْرًا وَتَوَفَّنَا مُسْلِمِينَ

Our Rabb! Pour patience upon us, and cause us to die in a state of submission to You. (Al-A’raf, 7:126)

رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ

Our Rabb! Forgive me, my parents, and the believers on the Day of Reckoning. (Ibrahim, 14:41)

 رَبَّنَآءَامَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

Our Rabb! We have believed, so forgive us and have mercy on us, for You are the most Merciful. (Al-Mu’minun, 23:109)

رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا

Our Rabb! Grant us joy in our wives and children and make us a model for the righteous. (Al-Furqan, 25:74)

رَبَّنَا عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ

Our Rabb! It is in You that We have put our trust, and it is to You that we turn in utmost sincerity and devotion, and to You is the final return (Al-Mumtahinah, 60:4).

رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنّاَ اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ السَّمِيْعُ الْعَلِيْمُ،

Our Rabb, accept this from us. You are the all-hearing and the all-knowing. (Al-Baqarah, 2:127)

وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَا اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيْمُ

And accept our repentance. You are the One who accepts repentance and You are the most merciful. (Al-Baqarah, 2:128)

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

وَصَلَّ اللهُ عَلَى خيرِ خَلقِهِ مُحمَّدٍ وعَلَى آلِه وأصْحَابِه أجْمَعِين- بِرَحْمَتِكَ يا أرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِين

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