"I Am as My Slave Expects Me to Be !"

It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (ra) that the Prophet (saws) said: “Allah, The Exalted, Says, ‘I am as My slave expects Me to be, and I am with him whenever he remembers Me. If he remembers Me to Himself, I remember him to Myself, and if he remembers Me in an assembly, I remember him in a better assembly (i.e., the assembly of angels). If he draws closer to Me by a hand span, I draw closer to him by an arm’s length. If he draws closer to Me by an arm’s length, I draw closer to him by a fathom’s length. And whoever comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.’” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Status of the Hadith:

This is one of the great Ahadith of hope that urge Muslims to have good expectations of Allah and to remember Him abundantly. It also underlines how Allah draws closer to His Slaves whenever they draw closer to Him by means of performing various acts of obedience.

Having Good Expectations of Allah:

The Hadith begins with calling the slave of Allah to have good expectations of his Lord at all times and in all states. In the Hadith, Allah explained that He is as His Slave expects Him to be, meaning that He treats him in accordance with his own expectation of His Lord and does for him what he expects of Him, be it good or bad. If a person has good expectations of Allah and hopes for His Reward, Allah will not fail him nor cause his deeds to be lost. Whenever he supplicates Allah, he expects Allah to answer his supplications. If he commits a sin and repents and seeks forgiveness, he expects Allah to accept his repentance, pardon his fault and forgive his sin. If he performs a good deed, he expects Allah to accept his deed and reward him handsomely. These are all examples of having good expectations of Allah. The Prophet (saws) said: “Supplicate Allah while certain that your supplication will be answered.” [At-Tirmithi]

Thus, a slave of Allah continues to have good expectations of his Lord and aspire to His Reward  in all situations, as the Arab poet Ibn Waheeb said: "I supplicate Allah and, verily, by virtue of having good expectations of Him, it is as if I can see His Answer  to my supplications with my own eyes!”

Having good expectations of Allah is thus among the implications and requirements of Tawheed because it is based on the knowledge of the mercy of Allah, His Might, kindness, omnipotence and true reliance on Him. When a person attains perfect knowledge of these verities, the fruit that this knowledge yields is having good expectations of his Lord.

In the Quraan, Allah dispraises a group of people who had bad expectations of Him, and He underlines that their ill expectations were actually one of the key signs of their hypocrisy and covert wickedness. He Says about the hypocrites when they fled the battlefield and abandoned the Prophet (saws) and his Companions during the battle of Uhud: "…while another faction worried about themselves, thinking of Allah other than the truth – the thought of ignorance..." [3:154] He also Says about the hypocrites and polytheists: "…those who assume about Allah an assumption of evil nature. Upon them is a misfortune of evil nature..." [48:6]

The Hadith urges us to give precedence to having hope in Allah over having fear of Him, because any sane person who receives this invitation from Allah would not willingly choose for himself the expectations that will inflict upon him the promised punishment. Rather, he will choose to have good expectations, which is that Allah will bless him with His Reward, pardon, and forgiveness, and that he will receive the promised recompense (i.e. Allah will treat him in accordance with his good expectations of Him). This is the enjoined hope in Allah (that is required of a Muslim) especially at times of weakness and need for Him like the situation of a dying person. He should have good expectations of Allah more than anyone else with greater reason, and this is why the Prophet (saws) said: “Let none of you die without having good expectations of Allah.” [Muslim]

Therefore, one should strive to perform his duties while believing with certainty that Allah will accept his deeds and forgive him because He promised to do that and He never fails in His Promise. If he expects Allah to turn him down or that his repentance will be of no avail, then this is despair of the mercy of Allah, and it is a major sin. Whoever dies while despairing of His Mercy, Allah will make his bad expectations come true. This is why some versions of the Hadith discussed in this article have the following addition at the end: “…so let him expect of Me whatever he wishes.” [Ahmad - Sahih]

Between Despair and Self-deception:

It is noteworthy that having good expectations of Allah entails good-doing and does not mean at all to give in to idleness, (false) hope for the forgiveness and pardon of Allah or self-deception. Therefore, a slave of Allah should avoid two blameworthy attitudes in this regard: despair of the mercy of Allah, and feeling secure from His Makr (schemes and plans). He should not rely solely on having hope in Allah and having good expectations of Him without duly performing acts of obedience, because this would be foolish, and it also implies feeling safe from His Makr. On the other hand, he should not give predominance to fear of Allah over hope in Him lest it leads him to have bad expectations of his Lord and accordingly fall into despair of His Mercy, and both attitudes are blameworthy. Rather, it is obligatory on him to have good expectations of Allah along with diligently performing acts of obedience. Some of the righteous predecessors used to say: “Your hope for the mercy of the One Whom you disobey indicates disillusion and foolishness!”

Rewards for those Who Remember Allah:

In the Hadith, Allah underlined the virtues of remembering Him and the rewards for those who remember Him. He stated that He is with His Slave whenever he remembers Him. Being “with” Allah is a special kind of “with-ness” that involves having His Protection  and receiving the blessings of steadfastness and success, as indicated in His Saying to Moosa and Haroon: "(Allah) said, Fear not. Indeed, I am with you both; I hear and I see." [20:46]

The best manner to remember Allah is to remember Him with an attentive heart and mind, pondering over the meanings of the Dhikr being recited, and the best form of remembrance is adhering to His Obligations and avoiding His Prohibitions.

The Reward of Drawing Close to Allah:

Allah then underlined the vastness of His Grace and generosity as well as His closeness to His Slave. He stated that the closer His Slave  draws to Him, the closer He draws to him in return. In the Quraan, Allah stated that He is near His Slave: "And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me (by obedience) and believe in Me that they may be (rightly) guided." [2:186] The Prophet (saws) said: “A slave of Allah is nearest to his Lord when he is prostrating to Him, so make abundant supplication (while prostrating).” [Muslim]

The last three sentences in the Hadith, wherein Allah Says: “If he draws closer to Me by a hand span, I draw closer to him by an arm’s length. If he draws closer to Me by an arm’s length, I draw closer to him by a fathom’s length. And whoever comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed,” indicate this great meaning; that the grace of Allah and His Reward are much greater than the good deeds and efforts that His Slave exerts, and therefore He grants His Slave more than what His Slave did for Him. Glorified be Allah! How abundant is His Generosity and how excellent is His Grace !