O MY SERVANTS!
On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifaaree, from the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wasallam
is that among the sayings he relates from His Lord is that He said:
“O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another
O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you.
O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you.
O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you.
O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you.
O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and you will not attain benefitting Me so as to benefit Me.
O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything.
O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything.
O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it.
O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up 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” (Muslim)
******
This most encompassing Hadeeth teaches us many essentials of Deen.
Allah subhaanahu wata’ala calls us “Yaa ‘ibaadee – O My slaves/servants” over and over again. This is a term of love and affection and at the same time it also denotes the need of a slave for his Lord.
‘Abdiyyat (servitude i.e. I am nothing, You, O Allah are everything and I am but your slave) is the highest stage for a Believer. To be an “’abd”, a slave, is the purpose of our creation. To stand, bow and prostrate in salaat, to praise and glorify his Lord, are all acts of a slave. These acts should increase ‘abdiyyat, not fir’awniyyat (to be proud or arrogant). A slave does not have an opinion and a slave is a “nothing”, a “no-one”. He is not proud of his worship as he fears his outcome. ‘Abdiyyat is attained when Ma’rifat (recognition) of Allah subhaanahu wata’ala is attained and the more Ma’rifat, the more ‘Abdiyyat. True slaves of Allah subhaanhu wata’ala see the zaat (Being) of Allah subhaanahu wata’ala and acknowledge that they are nothing, no-one. They do not look at their good deeds. They see everyone as better than them and this is from within. To just say this i.e. I’m hakeer, a faqeer, a laa shai for the purpose of showing others “humbleness” is not ‘Abdiyyat. In fact this is hidden pride.
Allah subhaanahu wata’ala calls us “His” slaves ten times in one Hadeeth and this despite our disobediences to Him. So why do we not become “His” in reality? What’s stopping us loving Him when His love for us is apparent? We should strive to reach the goal of servitude. We should run toward Him.
The first thing mentioned in the Hadeeth is that Allah subhaanahu wata’ala has forbidden “thulm” amongst us. This word has many connotations i.e. oppression, tyranny, hurting others, committing sins etc.
Thereafter He mentions guidance, that all of us are astray except those whom He has guided. Every act of good is from Allah without which we would assuredly be lost and misguided. We should not be proud of Imaan and our good deeds as He has bestowed these blessings only through His bounty. We are not even deserving of these bounties. He owes us nothing. It is we who need Him.
After mentioning guidance He mentions our being fed and clothed. In all this there is a lesson for us i.e. reliance is only on Him, we should turn to and ask only Him. His Kingdom is vast and as He mentions further on in this Hadeeth, even if all the Humans and all the Jinn were to ask of Him and if every request was to be fulfilled, it would not decrease what He has any more than a needle decreases the sea when a needle is put in it. This similitude is used for our comprehension. The truth is that there will be NO decrease in His Kingdom.
Allah subhaanahu wata’ala once again refers to us as “His slaves”, His love for us apparent while He mentions our sinning by day and by night. He promises forgiveness if we ask for it. He wants His sinful slaves to repent.
Thereafter the Hadeeth teaches us that Allah subhaanahu wata’ala is totally independent of His creation. The good which we do is not from our strength and does not benefit Him in any way. Any good which we do is for our benefit and any sins which we commit are to our detriment. W should ascribe all the good to Allah subhaanahu wata’ala and all the evil to our selves.
Explanation regarding “’Abdiyyat” taken from, “Mere Bando”- set of 6 tapes by Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat.
Remaining explanation taken from, “The First, The Last, The men & The Jinn” by Shaykh Riyadhul Haqq.
******
» Posted by ummi taalib on 9th April 2010
0 Comments
|
