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Expecting only from Allah : the path to lasting peace

The Trap of Human Expectations

Expectation from everyone else other than Allah سبحانه و تعالى is something that so many of us in this world are unknowingly a slave to. We tend to expect people’s gratitude and favors in return for our goodness and kindness. And when our expectations are turned down we consider ourselves as a failure and the feeling of emptiness seeps in. We often feel sad or resentful when we’re not thanked enough for the good we’ve done for others. Broken families, fractured relationships, and hearts left in distress, all because gratitude was never shown for the kindness we offered. Is this how we, Muslims should be? Whenever we do a favor to someone, do we expect something in return? Do we feel regret if the amount of return doesn’t equate to the amount of effort we have given? Of course we do, Right?

Seeking Only from Allah سبحانه و تعالى

Allah سبحانه و تعالى says in the Glorious Qur’an
وَلَا تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ. وَلِرَبِّكَ فَٱصْبِرْ

And do not confer favor to acquire more. But for your Lord be patient.

(Surah Al- Muddaththir, Ayah 6-7)

We should never expect anything from anyone except the Almighty, because people have the tendency to hurt us and let us down. Placing our good expectations solely in Allah سبحانه و تعالى is an act of worship and it is the key to true happiness and peace. Having good expectations of Allah سبحانه و تعالى is a noble act of worship that a believer should nurture in his heart at all times and in every stage of life. We must always have good expectations of Him when it comes to receiving guidance, provision (Rizq), every form of help, whether we are hoping for the righteousness of our offspring, the acceptance of our supplications, the forgiveness of our sins, or any matter of our lives.
Ibn Mas‘ood رضي الله عنه said: “By Allah سبحانه و تعالى , a believer is not endowed with a better blessing than having good expectations of Allah سبحانه و تعالى . By Allah سبحانه و تعالى , no person expects good of Him except that He gives him what he expected; for all good lies in His Hand.”

(Ibn Abi Ad-Dunya)

How wonderful it is to have good expectations from Allah سبحانه و تعالى and be certain that our heartbreaks will be healed, our hardships will be relieved, our toil will be succeeded by comfort, our tears will be replaced with smiles, our sickness will be followed by recovery and that after the worldly life comes to an end there will be Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous ones.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي، وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي، فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي، وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلأٍ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلأٍ خَيْرٍ مِنْهُمْ، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ بِشِبْرٍ تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ ذِرَاعًا تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعًا، وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً

Allah says: ‘I am just as My slave thinks I am, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if He remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I remember him in a group that is better than they; and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.

(Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Hadith 7405)

Trusting Allah سبحانه و تعالى in Trials and Supplication

Clinging to false expectations from people or the situation won’t do us any good. Our faith, belief and all our expectations should be from the one who put us under the trials, so as to see who amongst us are the righteous ones. When we supplicate Allah سبحانه و تعالى we should have good expectations from Him that He will accept our supplication, when we give in charity for His sake, we should have good expectations from Him that He will reward us when we give up something for His sake, we should have good expectations from Him that He will compensate us with what is better than what we gave up, when we seek forgiveness, we should have good expectations from Him that He will forgive us and replace our sins with good deeds.
Al-Ma’moon said to Muhammad ibn ‘Abbaad: “I was informed that you show hospitality to all the visitors of Basra!” He responded: “Withholding generosity implies having bad expectations of Allah سبحانه و تعالى .”
Another version of his response reads: “He who has a rich master (i.e. Allah سبحانه و تعالى) can never become poor!”
In times of crisis, affliction, sacrifice, overwhelming fitnah (temptations), misfortune, debt, poverty, sadness, emptiness, and inner chaos, we must place our trust in Allah’s سبحانه و تعالى wisdom and expect from Him alone. And we must remember that sooner or later Allah سبحانه و تعالى will definitely show us the way out of our difficulties.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
مَنْ نَزَلَتْ بِهِ فَاقَةٌ فَأَنْزَلَهَا بِالنَّاسِ لَمْ تُسَدَّ فَاقَتُهُ وَمَنْ نَزَلَتْ بِهِ فَاقَةٌ فَأَنْزَلَهَا بِاللَّهِ فَيُوشِكُ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِرِزْقٍ عَاجِلٍ أَوْ آجِلٍ

Whoever suffers from poverty and he beseeches the people for it, his poverty shall not end. And whoever suffers from poverty and he beseeches Allah for it, Allah will send provisions to him, sooner or later.

(Jami’ at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2326)

Prophetic Examples of Unshakable Trust

The Glorious Qur’an mentions the state of the Prophets and the Messengers when harsh adversities befell them; they had good expectations of their Lord with certitude and trust in His promise. Their actions and their belief were based on firm conviction rather than passing thoughts. An example is the response of Moosa عليه السلام to his people mentioned in Surah Ash Shu’ara,
فَلَمَّا تَرَآءَ الۡجَمۡعٰنِ قَالَ اَصۡحٰبُ مُوۡسٰٓى اِنَّا لَمُدۡرَكُوۡنَ​ۚ

And when the two companies saw one another, the companions of Moosa said, “Indeed, we are to be overtaken!

قَالَ كَلَّا​​ ۚ اِنَّ مَعِىَ رَبِّىۡ سَيَهۡدِيۡنِ ٦٢

[Moosa] said, “No! Indeed, with me is my Lord; He will guide me.

فَاَوۡحَيۡنَاۤ اِلٰى مُوۡسٰٓى اَنِ اضۡرِبْ بِّعَصَاكَ الۡبَحۡرَ​ؕ فَانْفَلَقَ فَكَانَ كُلُّ فِرۡقٍ كَالطَّوۡدِ الۡعَظِيۡمِ​ۚ ٦٣

Then We inspired to Moosa, “Strike with your staff the sea,” and it parted, and each portion was like a great towering mountain.

(Surah Ash Shu’ara, Ayah 61-63)

Another example is what our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had said to Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه when his enemies were standing by the entrance of the cave (where they were hiding):
لَا تَحۡزَنۡ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ مَعَنَا

Do not grieve; indeed, Allah is with us.

فَاَنۡزَلَ اللّٰهُ سَكِيۡنَـتَهٗ عَلَيۡهِ وَاَ يَّدَهٗ بِجُنُوۡدٍ لَّمۡ تَرَوۡهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوا السُّفۡلٰى​ ؕ وَكَلِمَةُ اللّٰهِ هِىَ الۡعُلۡيَا ؕ وَاللّٰهُ عَزِيۡزٌ حَكِيۡمٌ

Then Allah sent down His Sakeenah (calmness, tranquillity, peace) upon him, and strengthened him with forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowermost, while the Word of Allah that became the uppermost; and Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.

(Surah At-Tawbah, Ayah 40)

Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه narrates: I said to the Prophet ﷺ while I was in the Cave. “If any of them should look under his feet, he would see us.”
He ﷺ said,
مَا ظَنُّكَ يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ بِاثْنَيْنِ اللَّهُ ثَالِثُهُمَا

O Abu Bakr! What do you think of two (persons) the third of whom is Allah?

(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith 3653)

The Role of Certainty in Supplication

We must also keep in mind that when a person is devoted to supplication, no matter how harsh the calamities and the hardships are he/she is never overwhelmed by them and is always guided to find ways out of them. His/her affairs are facilitated and all the efforts are blessed with success.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
ادْعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَنْتُمْ مُوقِنُونَ بِالإِجَابَةِ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَسْتَجِيبُ دُعَاءً مِنْ قَلْبٍ غَافِلٍ لاَهٍ

Call upon Allah while being certain of being answered, and know that Allah does not respond to a supplication from the heart of one heedless and occupied by play.

(Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3479)

Lastly, we must always be mindful that a Muslim should be confident in the vastness of the Mercy of Allah سبحانه و تعالى and that He accepts the repentance of His slaves and pardons their bad deeds.
Al-Fudhayl Ibn-al-Iyaad went to Sufyaan Ath-Thawri (may Allah سبحانه و تعالى have mercy upon them) on the Day of ‘Arafah and asked him:
“Who among the people is in the worst condition on this day?”
He answered: “The ones who think that Allah سبحانه و تعالى will not forgive them.”
This is because doubting His Forgiveness constitutes having ill expectations of Allah سبحانه و تعالى, The All-Forgiving, whose vast Mercy encompasses all things.

Conclusion

True peace lies in freeing ourselves from the shackles of human expectations and anchoring our hopes solely in Allah سبحانه و تعالى. By expecting only from Him, we align our hearts with the certainty that He alone controls all outcomes, turning our distress into tranquility and our trials into opportunities for growth and reward. This shift is not just a solution to emptiness; it is a pathway to a lasting, unshakable peace that transcends the fleeting validations of this world.
May Allah سبحانه و تعالى give us the guidance to trust in Him alone and have every form of expectations with Him at all times.

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Shaikh Subhan Madni

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