11/09/2026
Can we even imagine saying that a human being has a **right over Allah**?
Allah — our Creator, our Sustainer, the King of all kings, the One who owns us and everything that exists. We are completely dependent upon Him, while He is in need of absolutely nothing.
Yet the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ asked Muʿādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه:
**“Do you know what Allah’s right over His servants is, and what the servants’ right over Allah is?”**
He ﷺ then explained:
**“Allah’s right over His servants is that they worship Him and do not associate anything with Him. And the servants’ right over Allah is that He will not punish the one who does not associate anything with Him.”**
— *Sahih al-Bukhari 2856; Sahih Muslim 30*
SubḥānAllāh.
Think deeply about the **Shān, Mercy and Generosity of Allah**.
We did not create this right for ourselves. We could never place an obligation upon Allah. **Allah, out of His own grace and mercy, granted this promise to His servants.**
He created us.
He gave us life.
He provides for us.
He guides us.
Everything we possess already belongs to Him.
And then, when we fulfil the very purpose for which He created us — **to worship Him alone and associate nothing with Him** — Allah, in His immense generosity, gives His servant such an extraordinary promise.
What does Allah gain from our worship? **Nothing.**
What do we gain from worshipping Allah? **Everything.**
This should change the way we think about our relationship with Allah.
Our worship is not a burden Allah has placed upon us because He needs something from us. **We are the ones who need Him.** Our ṣalāh, our tawḥīd, our obedience, our repentance and our surrender are ultimately for our own salvation.
And notice something beautiful: when Muʿādh رضي الله عنه wanted to immediately give people this glad tidings, the Prophet ﷺ told him:
**“Do not give them this good news, lest they rely upon it.”**
Because Allah’s mercy should never make us careless.
It should make us **love Him more.**
Worship Him more.
Thank Him more.
Return to Him more.
And surrender ourselves to Him more completely.
The more we understand who Allah is, the more astonishing this hadith becomes.
**The Creator owes His creation nothing — yet out of His Mercy, He grants His servants a promise and describes it as their right upon Him.**
All He asks from us is:
**Know your Creator. Worship Him alone. Associate nothing with Him. And return to Him.**
**SubḥānAllāh. What a Lord we have.**
May Allah make us people of true Tawḥīd, keep our hearts attached to Him, protect us from shirk in all its forms, forgive our shortcomings, and admit us into Jannah through His mercy.
**Āmīn.**
