It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam (may Allah exalt his mention), 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 Ahaadith of hope that urge Muslims to have good expectations of Allah, The Exalted, and to remember Him abundantly. It also underlines how Allah, The Exalted, 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, The Exalted, 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 Exalted. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, 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 (translation of meaning):
“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 (Islamic monotheism) 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 Qur’an, Allah, The Exalted, 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, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and his Companions during the Battle of Uhud (what means): {…while another faction worried about themselves, thinking of Allah other than the truth – the thought of ignorance...} [Qur’an 3:154] He also Says about the hypocrites and polytheists (what means): {…those who assume about Allah an assumption of evil nature. Upon them is a misfortune of evil nature...} [Qur’an 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, The Exalted, 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, The Exalted, (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, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Let none of you die without having good expectations of Allah.” [Muslim; as reported from Jaabir, may Allah be pleased with him]
Therefore, one should strive to perform his duties while believing with certainty that Allah, The Exalted, 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 and others with an authentic chain of narration]


Between Despair and Self-deception
It is noteworthy that having good expectations of Allah, The Exalted, 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, The Exalted, 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 (Moses) and Haaroon (Aaron) (which means): {[Allah] said, Fear not. Indeed, I am with you both; I hear and I see.} [Qur’an 20:46]
The best manner to remember Allah, The Exalted, is to remember Him with an attentive heart and mind, pondering over the meanings of the Thikr (expressions of remembrance of Allah) 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, The Exalted, 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 Qur’an, Allah, The Exalted, stated that He is near His Slave, Saying (what means): {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.} [Qur’an 2:186] The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, 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, The Exalted, 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 !


Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/




‘Whoever relieves a believer of some worldly distress...’

It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam (may Allah exalt his mention), said: “Whoever relieves a believer of some worldly distress, Allah will relieve him of some of the distress of the Day of Resurrection. Whoever alleviates the hardship of an insolvent debtor (i.e. grants him respite or writes off his debt), Allah will alleviate his hardship in the worldly life and the Hereafter. Whoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in the worldly life and the Hereafter. Allah continues to help a slave so long as he is helping his fellow brother. Whoever treads a path in quest of knowledge, Allah will direct him to a path leading him easily to Paradise. Whenever a group of people assemble in a House of Allah (mosque) to recite and study the Qur’an, tranquillity will descend upon them, mercy will engulf them, the angels will surround them, and Allah will make mention of them to those (the angels) in His proximity. He who lags behind in good doing (i.e. hindered because of his evil deeds), his noble lineage will be of no avail to him (on the Day of Judgment).” [Muslim]
Islam fosters noble morals, encourages them, holds them in a refined status, and designates great and abundant rewards for adhering to them, as underlined in this Hadith cited in Saheeh Muslim.
In the beginning of his directive, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, urged us to relieve the distress of the believers. There is no doubt that this is a great good deed in the sight of Allah, The Exalted, and is highly appreciated by people. Life is full of hardships and difficulties, and we are destined to face sundry suffering and sorrows in it. Distress may overwhelm a believer so much that his heart and mind would be clouded with confusion and remain unable to find a way out!
At such harsh times, how great it is for a Muslim to hasten to assist his fellow Muslim brother, extend a helping hand to him, and strive to relieve or mitigate his distress. This gracious expression of sympathy has a deep impact on the heart of the distressed person, and therefore it is appropriate that its reward should be that Allah, The Exalted, would relieve the doer of a graver and harsher distress (on the Day of Judgment); which is the distress of standing before Him for reckoning and being held accountable for one’s  deeds, and receiving  the due punishment. How great and generous this reward is!
Among the noble morals is forgiving the debts of insolvent debtors. Islam urges creditors to give respite to insolvent debtors in straitened circumstances until their situation improves. Allah, The Exalted, Says (what means): {And if someone is in hardship, then [let there be] postponement until [a time of] ease.} [Qur’an 2:280] What is even more rewardable is for a creditor to give up some of his rights and forgive part of the debt he is owed. This is evidenced by what was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “A man used to give loans to the people, and he would say to his servant: ‘If the debtor is in hardship, relieve him of the debt so that perhaps Allah may relieve us (i.e. forgive us).’ So when he met Allah (i.e., when he died), Allah relieved him (i.e. forgave him).” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
The Hadith then urges concealing the faults of the Muslims and refraining from finding fault in them and pursuing their mistakes and lapses. This is another example of the refined morals with which our glorious Shari‘ah is adorned. Verily, the infallible person is the one whom Allah grants infallibility. No matter how pious and righteous a Muslim may be, he is still liable to error. He might commit a sin; however, he dislikes his neglect in fulfilling the rights of Allah and hates that people be aware of his error and negligence. So if a Muslim sees or learns of his fellow Muslim’s faults, he should conceal them rather than expose them, without neglecting the duty of offering him sincere advice and reminding him of Allah.
The virtue of such concealing of faults was reported in the Sunnah. It was narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with them, that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Whoever conceals the fault of his Muslim brother, Allah will conceal his fault on the Day of Judgment.” [Ibn Maajah] Meanwhile, pursuing people’s faults is repulsive to the sound human nature as well as forbidden by the Shari‘ah. Stern warnings against it were reported in the Shari‘ah texts. It was narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, once ascended the pulpit and called out with a raised voice: “O you who accepted Islam with his tongue while faith has not reached his heart! Do not harm Muslims, nor disgrace them, nor spy on them to expose their secrets. For indeed whoever pursues his Muslim brother’s faults, Allah will pursue his faults and expose him, even if he were in the depths of his house.” [At-Tirmithi]
Given the high position and refined status of knowledge in Islam, the Hadith emphasised its virtue and significance. It is the path that leads a person to Paradise. Those who devote themselves to knowledge are the guiding beacons that illuminate the way before the Muslim nation and the heirs of the Prophets and Messengers of Allah. Therefore, Allah, The Exalted, honors them with this refined status and high position. It was narrated on the authority of Abu Ad-Dardaa’, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “The angels lower their wings in approval of the seeker of knowledge, and everyone in the heavens and on earth seeks forgiveness for the scholar, even the fish in the sea. The superiority of a scholar over a worshipper is like the superiority of the moon over all other heavenly bodies.” [Ahmad] They are the people of Thikr (remembrance of Allah) and piety; how vast the gap between a knowledgeable and an ignorant person is!
The best field of knowledge to which a Muslim should devote his time is learning the Qur’an and promoting its sciences, as stated in the authentic Hadith that reads: “The best amongst you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.” This superiority is derived from the relatedness of such knowledge to the Speech of Allah, The Exalted; the distinction of a given field of knowledge is commensurate to the distinction of its subject matter.
Now contemplate the rewards that Allah, The Exalted, promised those who assemble in a mosque, reciting the Qur’an and pondering over its meanings. He promised them four things: tranquillity will descend upon them, the divine mercy will engulf them, the noble angels will surround them, and the fourth and greatest reward of all is that Allah will make mention of them to those (the angels) in His proximity and praise them before His angels. If this was the only reward received for reciting Thikr, it would indeed be enough!
However, such great rewards are only earned through diligence and striving, and they have nothing to do with a person’s (social) status and prestige. None should be tempted by his noble descent and status because the sole criterion of superiority between people in the sight of Allah is righteous deeds. There is no consideration for a person’s social status or prestige if he neglects performing good deeds , and this is why Allah, The Exalted, Says (what means): {So when the Horn is blown, no relationship will there be among them that Day, nor will they ask about one another.} [Qur’an 23:101] Even the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, did not avail his uncle Abu Taalib anything before Allah! He, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, underlined this meaning in his comprehensive statement: “He who lags behind in good doing (i.e. hindered because of his evil deeds), his noble lineage will be of no avail to him (on the Day of Judgment).”


Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/


An imploration to Allah to send rain
O people! Hold Allah in reverence and piety and realise fully the grace of Allah upon you by His sending down rain from the sky, then directing it through springs on the earth and preserving it there for you to draw as required. Had it not been for the mercy of Allah, it would have remained on the surface of the earth and would have become contaminated and therefore resulted in pollution, as He says that which means: “And We sent the fertilising winds and sent down water from the sky and given you drink from it. And you are not its retainers.” (Al-Hijr: 22).
Thank Allah, O Muslims, for His grace, and realise your dire need of water, which is the essence of your life and that of your animals, trees and plants. You cannot do without it even for the twinkling of the eye as Allah says that which means: “Say: ‘Have you considered: if your water was to become sunken [into the earth], then who could bring you flowing water?” (Al-Mulk: 30).
O Muslims! You know fully well the harms resulting from the shortage of water and how this adversely affects the crops, fruits and animals. Some people have to resort to keeping underground reservoirs of water due to the shortage of rain. You Muslims are in dire need of rain and none but Allah can send it down to you. Allah alone listens to the distressed soul when it calls on Him, and it is He who relieves its suffering. He, the Exalted, helps the needy, supports the poor and endows His mercy on the weak. Allah alone has power over all things, and He alone has full knowledge of each and everything. When He bestows a bounty, He does so for a wise aim, and when He withholds it, He does so for another wise aim, and He alone is the One Who understands the finest mysteries and is well acquainted with them. 
O Muslims! You must be aware of your neediness for the mercy of your Lord and His support. He alone can relieve you from such distress and none but the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful can save you from your suffering.
O Muslims! You should know that supplication is the essence of worship and that Allah is the Most Generous and the Most Bountiful. If a worshipper raises his hands in supplication, He will surely answer it. Whoever supplicates to Allah sincerely and with firm belief, will never be abandoned; either he will get what he desires, or that better rewards than what he asked for will be reserved for him, or that an evil that was heading his way will be averted from him. 
O Muslims! Upon knowing this, raise your hands in supplication and direct your hearts to your Lord, seeking His Help and Support and hoping for His Grace and Generosity. Start your supplication by repenting sincerely and asking Allah to forgive your sins. 
O Allah! We ask You on account of the fact that we testify that there is nothing worthy of worship but You; You are Allah, the Eternal, the Absolute; He who does not beget, nor is He begotten; and there is none like You. O Allah! You are full of Majesty, Bounty and Honour, and you are the Living, the Self-Subsisting, and the Eternal. We ask You to renovate our hearts and make them alive with Your remembrance. We ask You to reform our inner being by endowing sincerity and Your love, for You are the Living, the Self-Subsisting, and the Eternal. We ask You to reform our external appearance by guiding us to follow Your Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and  to act according to Your legal decrees to the extent that we find in our souls no resistance against Your decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction.
O Allah! We ask forgiveness from you; for You are Oft-Forgiving. O Allah! Send us rain in abundance, and provide us with water and never make us among the disappointed. 
O Allah! Relieve us. O Allah! Relieve us. O Allah! Relieve us. 
O Allah! Make our plants and crops grow, provide our animals with milk, shower us with the blessings of the heavens and provide us with the blessings of the earth. O Allah! Provide us with water and never make us among the disappointed. O Allah! Make it rain of mercy, and not rain of torture, destruction and drowning. 
Muslim brothers! Follow the method of your Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, in this prayer, for he used to wear his gown inside-out in optimism, hoping that Allah will reverse his condition into that of affluence. It is also a symbol that one has changed his inner condition and embraced and adhered to piety instead of sins. After doing so, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, would face the Qiblah, or direction of prayer, and supplicate to Allah. Then, he would call people to repent pointing out that what had afflicted them was nothing but the outcome of their sins and that they should repent to Allah and beg for His forgiveness at all times. (Khutbah by By Sheikh Muhammad al-‘Uthaymeen)