As-salaamu'Alaykum,
Insha'Allaah this is the first of a few excerpts from the book 'Concise Commentary on the Book of Tawheed' by Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan. The other portions will be in separate thread's depending on their context. This was under the chapter 'Fear of Allah'.
‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated:
I heard the Messenger of Allah
saying,
'If anyone seeks Allah's satisfaction at the expense of people's anger, Allah will be pleased with him and will cause people to be pleased with him. However, if anyone seeks people's satisfaction at the expense of Allah's anger, Allah will be angry with him and will cause people to be angry with him.’
(Related by Ibn Hibban in his Authentic Book)
(Ibn Hibban in Mawarid Az-Zaman (Fountains of the Thirsty) (1541, 1542) and At-Tirmidhi (2416)).
General Meaning of the Hadith
In this hadith, the Prophet shows the way by which one may attain the satisfaction of Allah and people as well as the way by which one may incur the dissatisfaction of Allah and people. Allah always decrees what is good for His creation, and people definitely gain this good, sooner or later.
However, the demands and desires of people may contradict what Allah has ordained for their instant or late benefit, for they do not know the consequences of their deeds and are influenced only by worldly factors.
Hereby, the stance of the true believers becomes distinct from that of the ones whose belief is shaky; a true believer gives priority to Allah's satisfaction over that of people, and thus persists in acting upon Allah's Law not fearing the blame of a critic.
As a result of such a believer's keenness on pleasing Allah, Allah constantly grants him victory over his opponents, as He, Exalted be He says:
...And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out'
(Qur'an: At-Talaq: 2)
However a Muslim of shaky belief prefers seeking the satisfaction of people to seeking that of Allah, and thus seeks fulfilling people's desires even if they are contrary to Allah's directives. In fact, such a person fears people more than he fears Allah. Since this is his objective which motivates his actions, he will be given the contrary of what he willed. Therefore, those who praise him will turn to dispraise him, and those people will avail him nothing before Allah. Hence, that person harms himself and those whom he wants to benefit through disobeying Allah.
Relevance of the Hadith to the Chapter
The hadith indicates the obligation of fearing Allah and making His satisfaction prior to that of the creatures.
Lessons Drawn from the Hadith
It is obligatory to fear Allah and make His satisfaction prior to that of creatures.
The hadith demonstrates the punishment inflicted on whoever prefers people's satisfaction to Allah's satisfaction.
Relying on Allah and trusting Him are obligatory.
The hadith demonstrates the pleasant results of giving preference to Allah's satisfaction, and the bad consequences of giving preference to people's satisfaction.
The servants' hearts are absolutely controlled by Allah.
Insha'Allaah this is the first of a few excerpts from the book 'Concise Commentary on the Book of Tawheed' by Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan. The other portions will be in separate thread's depending on their context. This was under the chapter 'Fear of Allah'.
‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated:
I heard the Messenger of Allah
saying, 'If anyone seeks Allah's satisfaction at the expense of people's anger, Allah will be pleased with him and will cause people to be pleased with him. However, if anyone seeks people's satisfaction at the expense of Allah's anger, Allah will be angry with him and will cause people to be angry with him.’
(Related by Ibn Hibban in his Authentic Book)
(Ibn Hibban in Mawarid Az-Zaman (Fountains of the Thirsty) (1541, 1542) and At-Tirmidhi (2416)).
General Meaning of the Hadith
In this hadith, the Prophet
shows the way by which one may attain the satisfaction of Allah and people as well as the way by which one may incur the dissatisfaction of Allah and people. Allah always decrees what is good for His creation, and people definitely gain this good, sooner or later. However, the demands and desires of people may contradict what Allah has ordained for their instant or late benefit, for they do not know the consequences of their deeds and are influenced only by worldly factors.
Hereby, the stance of the true believers becomes distinct from that of the ones whose belief is shaky; a true believer gives priority to Allah's satisfaction over that of people, and thus persists in acting upon Allah's Law not fearing the blame of a critic.
As a result of such a believer's keenness on pleasing Allah, Allah constantly grants him victory over his opponents, as He, Exalted be He says:
...And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out'
(Qur'an: At-Talaq: 2)
However a Muslim of shaky belief prefers seeking the satisfaction of people to seeking that of Allah, and thus seeks fulfilling people's desires even if they are contrary to Allah's directives. In fact, such a person fears people more than he fears Allah. Since this is his objective which motivates his actions, he will be given the contrary of what he willed. Therefore, those who praise him will turn to dispraise him, and those people will avail him nothing before Allah. Hence, that person harms himself and those whom he wants to benefit through disobeying Allah.
Relevance of the Hadith to the Chapter
The hadith indicates the obligation of fearing Allah and making His satisfaction prior to that of the creatures.
Lessons Drawn from the Hadith
It is obligatory to fear Allah and make His satisfaction prior to that of creatures.
The hadith demonstrates the punishment inflicted on whoever prefers people's satisfaction to Allah's satisfaction.
Relying on Allah and trusting Him are obligatory.
The hadith demonstrates the pleasant results of giving preference to Allah's satisfaction, and the bad consequences of giving preference to people's satisfaction.
The servants' hearts are absolutely controlled by Allah.