The Right of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) on His Slaves & the Right of the Slaves on Allah (Blessed & Exalted)

 

The Right of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) on His Slaves

& the Right of the Slaves on Allah (Blessed & Exalted)

 

It behooves us to know the right of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) on us, after He (Glorious & Exalted) granted us guidance to believe in His Oneness and let us know His Supreme Attributes and their Perfection, after He (Glorious & Exalted) bestowed upon us faith in His prophets and messengers, and faith in all they came with and in all they conveyed to us, after He made us a part of the nation of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, which it is the best nation brought forth among people, the nation He (Blessed & Exalted) entrusted with the preservation of His Scripture—the Holy Quran—and the protection of the Sunnah of His prophet (pbuh), and therefore, the protection of His Law and His great religion, Islam.

     

It is also imperative that we know the right of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) upon us so that we can fulfill it, for the purpose of our lives on this earth is to give Allah (Mighty & Majestic) this right.

    

From the Mighty Grace of Allah (Blessed & Exalted), His Bounty and Generosity, is that He made compensation, reward and a goodly payment for those who give Him (Noble & Sublime) His due right, even though Allah (Mighty & Majestic) is God the Creator who is not questioned about anything, while human beings are the slaves, created beings as any others, who will be questioned by Him (Noble & Sublime) about everything, on the Day of Reckoning.

    

The natural state of affairs is that the slaves do not have rights on their master, because no one has any superiority over Him (Noble & Sublime); rather, all Grace and Bounty is from Allah (Blessed & Exalted) upon His creation.

    

To know the right of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) over His slaves, and the right of the slaves over Allah Almighty, we mention that which the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) related to us in this noble hadith, which was narrated by Imam al-Bukhari from the hadith of Mu`adh. Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said, "Oh Mu`adh, do you know the right of Allah over His slaves and what the slaves' right is over Allah?"

     I (Mu`adh) said, "Allah and His messenger know best."

     He (pbuh) said, "Allah's right over His slaves is that they worship Him and associate nothing with Him, and the right of the slaves over Allah is that he who does not associate anything with Him will not be punished." [Related by al-Bukhari]

 

We would like to point out one aspect of the right of Allah Almighty over His slaves, in brief:

 

A.True Monotheism(Tawhid)

From the right of Allah Almighty over His slaves is that they affirm His Oneness, completely:

-Man believes and knows with certainty that Allah (Glorious & Exalted) is the Lord, Who created him and all things, and that He (Glorious & Exalted) is the Maker and Shaper, the All-Powerful, the Sustainer, and so on among the Attributes of His Lordship. Man also knows that there are actions no one does and cannot do, except Allah (Glorious & Exalted). This is called the unity of lordship (tawhid al-rububiyyah).

- Man knows full well that the Lord and Creator (Glorious & Exalted) is the Only One described with all the Attributes of Perfection. He knows that to Him (Glorious & Exalted) belong the Most Beautiful Names and Attributes, and that any reproachable names or attributes cannot be ascribed to Him.

     Man knows full well that the Lord and Creator Alone is worthy of worship, and that nothing should be worshipped beside Him. This is called the unity of divinity (tawhid al-uluhiyyah).

 

B.Worship and Obedience

As the right of Allah Almighty over His slaves is that they affirm His Oneness and not associate anything with Him, it is also His right (Noble & Sublime) over His slaves that they worship Him Alone (Noble & Sublime) and that they obey none but Him.

     They must not associate any partners in their worship of Allah Almighty. They must obey His commands and avoid His prohibitions, seeking thereby His mercy and good pleasure (Blessed & Exalted) upon them and that He remove from them His punishment and torment.