Allah is Virtuous to His Slaves – He is Not Obligated to Being So
Allah, the Exalted, said in Surat Al-Anbiya’:
﴾لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ﴿
This means: [He is not questioned about what He Does, but they will be questioned].
Also, Abu Hurayrah, may Allah accept his deeds said, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah raise his rank said:
﴾اعْلَمُوا أنَّهُ لن يَنْجُوَ أَحَدٌ مِنْكُم بِعَمَلِه﴿
This means: <<Know that no one will achieve safety by the mere virtue of their deeds>>. They responded: “Even you, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied: <<Even I – unless Allah endows me with His mercy and grace>>. Related by Muslim.
Know, O brothers, that the people of truth have agreed that Allah, the Exalted, is in no way obligated to anything, rather, Allah, the Exalted, does whatever He Wills. No one exercises rule over Him and no-one prevents what He decreed. He orders His creations with whatever He Wills. He does whatever He Wills with His Creation, He gives to whomever He Wills and He deprives whomever He Wills.
How often do we see upright Muslims with little financial means and inflicted with lots of hardships, yet they remain steadfast in obedience to Allah! Also, how common is it to see a corrupt person having abundant means and living in luxury. How many are the cases where unjust leaders have inflicted injustice on people and lead them astray. All of this is for a wisdom that Allah, the Most Wise, Knows. No one has the right to object to Allah.
Similarly, no one should object to Allah for the suffering of children or for the slaughtering of animals that Allah has permitted us to benefit from.
Allah does not hope for reward and does not fear punishment. He does not benefit from the obedience of the obedient and is not harmed by the disobedience of the sinners. As for us, our benefit and harm is dependent on our deeds. Whoever obeys Allah benefits himself, and whoever disobeys Allah harms himself and becomes deserving of Allah’s severe punishment. The Hafidh Ibn ^Asakir said in his creed: “Every endowment from Allah is due to His Generosity and every punishment from Him is just”. Allah said in Surat Fussilat:
﴾وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ﴿
This means: [Allah is never unjust to the slaves].
It is not permissible to say Allah is obligated to do such and such, because this would mean that Allah is ruled by another. Indeed, being ruled nullifies Godhood. Imam An-Nawawiyy said in the explanation of Sahih Muslim: “The conviction of Ahlus-Sunnah is that Allah is not obliged to anything, rather this world and the Hereafter are owned by Allah. He does whatever He Wills and He decrees whatever He Wills”. So, if Allah were to punish all the obedient slaves and admit them into Hellfire, He would be just, and if He were to bestow endowments upon the non-believers and admit them into Paradise, He has the right to do so. However, Allah promised, and His Promise is true, that He will not do so. When Allah grants virtues to the obedient and righteous ones and admits them into Paradise, this is due to the Generosity of Allah, the Exalted.
As for the saying of Allah, the Exalted, in Surat An-Nahl
﴾ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ﴿
which means: [Enter Paradise by the deeds you did], it explains that entry into Paradise and the enjoyment therein is due to the deeds. This is from the mercy of Allah and His endowments and is not an obligation upon Him. If one were to ask about the meaning of the Verse:
﴾وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴿
Which means: [And it is indeed upon Us to grant victory to the believers] and the meaning of what was narrated by al-Bukhariyy from the route of Mu^adh, that the Prophet, peace be upon him said:
فَإِنَّ حَقَّ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ أَنْ يَعْبُدُوهُ وَلَا يُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا،
وَحَقَّ الْعِبَادِ عَلَى اللَّهِ أَنْ لَا يُعَذِّبَ مَنْ لَا يُشْرِكُ بِهِ شَيْئًا
Which means: <<Indeed, the right that is due from the slaves to Allah is for them not to associate partners with Him and the right due to the slave from Allah is that He will not punish for eternity, those who do not associate partners to Him>>, the answer is that the Verse and the Hadith and the many similar texts carry the meaning that Allah promised this, and Allah does not abandon His promise.
Nobody has the right to say Allah must do this or Allah obligated Himself to do it. Be warned of such ugly sayings. Allah is not obligated to do anything and He does whatever He Wills.
We ask Allah, the Exalted, to admit us into Paradise by His Mercy and Generosity. Ameen
