This article is on expecting the best of ALLAH – Our Creator. In a very famous hadeeth of Sahih Bukhari, ALLAH’s messenger Muhammad (Peace be on him) narrated from his Lord ALLAH that he said: “I am as my slave expects me to be” (Bukhari 7405), in other words what this means is whatever we expect from ALLAH – good or bad, worst or best, ALLAH can do that. Even Ibn Hajar (May ALLAH have mercy on him) said: “Meaning, I am able to do whatever he expects I will do.”
In this context, if we expect ALLAH will forgive us when we repent, then he will forgive us, if we expect ALLAH will answer our prayer, when we supplicate to him, he will answer it. So why not expect the best from ALLAH? so what does expecting the best from ALLAH mean?
Commenting on above hadeeth, Imam An-Nawwi (May ALLAH have mercy on him) said: “The scholars say that expecting the best of Allah is that one expects ALLAH will be merciful to him/her and would relieve him/her of hardship s/he is undergoing.”
The benefit of having good expectations & hope from ALLAH is that ALLAH increases our reliance unto him. Even this is my personal experience, the more good we expect from ALLAH, more our trust on him increase, It can’t be otherwise, because, if we trust someone then we expect good from him, it can never happen that we have no trust on someone yet we expect something coming out from them for us.
The sign of someone who relies on ALLAH is that s/he is always optimistic in every situation of life and hopeful in ALLAH’s mercy no matter whatever the situation s/he is put in. Such people in my opinion are fortunate for these are the true believers whose hearts are connected to ALLAH, they do not despair from the mercy of their lord and because of their closeness to ALLAH they expect constant bounty of tranquility even though they are surrounded with hardships.
Although it’s a struggle to be firm in tawakkul on ALLAH amidst the chaos of life. It is a privilege granted to those who rely on none but ALLAH, therefore in hardships and in ease the believer’s heart is at peace knowing “My Lord wants good for me in either of the situation”
Not everyone has this approach, but we definitely can work to develop this. And the best approach to build having good expectations of ALLAH is to strive to increase our Emaan, our reliance on ALLAH and supplicate to ALLAH to grant true reliance and expectation of him, like the Salaf used to pray. (ref. Siyar A’lam an-Nubala’’ (4/325))
Another dua which we should make is:
HasbiALLAHU Laa ilaha Illa huw Alayhi Tawakaltu wa huwa Rabbul Arshil Adheem.
This Dua is prescribed by Prophet Muhammad (Peace & Blessing of ALLAH be upon him) and should be included in the Daily Adhkars and shall be recited 7x in morning and in evening.
Our father & Prophet Ibrahim (May ALLAH’s peace be upon him) said “HasbunaALLAHu wa Naemal Wakeel” when he was about to be thrown in the fire and ALLAH protected him from the scorching fire. And ordered it to cool down to the prefect temperature for Ibrahim. SubhanALLAH, this is the power on relying on ALLAH.
And this is the same dua mentioned in Surah Al Imran, on the day of Uhud, the Muslims recited. AlhamduLILLAH.
There is another example from the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of ALLAH be upon him)
The incident of Hijrah, when him and his companion Abu Bakr As-Sideeq (May ALLAH be pleased with him) took shelter in the cave and the Kuffars reached the cave in their search. Abu Bakr got worried and asked “what if they see us?” to which Prophet Muhammad replied “Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us” and the response from ALLLAH was: “…So Allah sent down His serenity upon the Prophet, supported him with forces you ˹believers˺ did not see…”
SubhanALLAH this is how the help of ALLAH comes when we show our reliance unto him.
Another classic example is of Mother Hajar (May ALLAH have mercy on her), when her husband Prophet Ibrahim took her to Makkah, dropped her and the young child Ismail and started to walk back. After repeatedly asking where is Ibrahim going back leaving them behind and getting no response, she changed the question & asked, is this command from ALLAH? And upon hearing “Yes” from her husband, she replied, “in this case, ALLAH will not abandon us” and we all know, what happened next? He almighty opened the well of ZamZam, settled people around them, arranged food for them and until today. Not just that, what Mother hajar once did was made part of worship for all muslims, millions of muslims do the saiee between the munts safa & Marwa and all the reward will be added to the scale of Hajer. SubhanALLAH.
This is what happens when we put our reliance on ALLAH and expect the best of him.
History is full of such incidents; how righteous people experiences miracles in their lives after they shown their trust in ALLAH.
And these miracles are not just restricted to Prophets and Sahaba but common people like you and me.
People of the cave were normal youth, who relied on ALLAH, and ALLAH made them a sign for the mankind and glorified them in the Quran which will be recited till end of times.
These are the rewards one gets when we put our trust on ALLAH, besides the ultimate reward which is the pleasure of ALLAH.
There are handful of verses and numerous hadeeth on the reliance of ALLAH. Let me share some here:
And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, He will suffice him (at-Talaq; 3)
Certainly no one despairs of Allah’s Mercy except the people who disbelieve (Yusuf; 87)
“Say: ‘O my slaves who have transgressed against themselves! Do not despair of the Mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah Forgives all sins. Truly, He is Forgiving, Merciful.” (az- Zumar; 53)
Hadith Qudsi reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim: “I am as my slave expects Me to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself. And if he remembers Me in a group, I make mention of him in a group better than it. And if he comes near to Me by a handspan, I come near to him by an arm span. And if he comes near to Me by an arm span, I come near to him by the span of an outstretched arm. If he comes to Me walking, I come to him running.
Now we know the secret of having a desired life. If we want to live a life of tranquility & fulfilment, we know what to expect from ALLAH. On the other hand, if our life is full of anxiety, grief, negative emotions etc, we need to revisit our relationship with ALLAH and see what are we expecting from him, are we truly relying on our Rabb or are we having doubts and suspicions in our heart?
With this post I am not saying I am perfect or have attained the key to having reliance on ALLAH and expecting best of him all the time… no, this is not the case, I do have weak moments of faith, where I am tempted to question “Why is this happening with me?” or “when will this end?” or “Why ALLAH isn’t listening” but again it’s the mercy of ALLAH that I falter and I get up, I question my doubts, shut them up, and then push myself to expecting best of ALLAH and instantly my anguished heart turns to a tranquil heart. My chaotic mind returns becomes serene. AlhamduLILLAH
Key is never to give up, repenting for our bad behavior and having best hopes from ALLAH will help us in our journey of true reliance in ALLAH. And you will see that ALLAH will not betray your hopes because he is Ah-Shakoor and never wastes anyone’s efforts.
May ALLAH help us in attaining his pleasure and make us from among those who rely on ALLAH with complete reliance.
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