The Right of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) on His Slaves & the Right of the Slaves on Allah (Blessed & Exalted)

It behooves us to know the right of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) on us, after He (Glorious &

Exalted) granted us guidance to believe in His Oneness and let us know His Supreme Attributes
and their Perfection, after He (Glorious & Exalted) bestowed upon us faith in His prophets and
messengers, and faith in all they came with and in all they conveyed to us, after He made us a
part of the nation of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,
which it is the best nation brought forth among people, the nation He (Blessed & Exalted)
entrusted with the preservation of His Scripture—the Holy Quran—and the protection of the
Sunnah of His prophet (pbuh), and therefore, the protection of His Law and His great religion,
Islam.
It is also imperative that we know the right of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) upon us so that we
can fulfill it, for the purpose of our lives on this earth is to give Allah (Mighty & Majestic) this
right.
From the Mighty Grace of Allah (Blessed & Exalted), His Bounty and Generosity, is that He
made compensation, reward and a goodly payment for those who give Him (Noble & Sublime)
His due right, even though Allah (Mighty & Majestic) is God the Creator who is not questioned
about anything, while human beings are the slaves, created beings as any others, who will be
questioned by Him (Noble & Sublime) about everything, on the Day of Reckoning.
The natural state of affairs is that the slaves do not have rights on their master, because no
one has any superiority over Him (Noble & Sublime); rather, all Grace and Bounty is from Allah
(Blessed & Exalted) upon His creation.
To know the right of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) over His slaves, and the right of the slaves over
Allah Almighty, we mention that which the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) related to us in this
noble hadith, which was narrated by Imam al-Bukhari from the hadith of Mu`adh. Allah's
Messenger (pbuh) said, "Oh Mu`adh, do you know the right of Allah over His slaves and
what the slaves' right is over Allah?"
I (Mu`adh) said, "Allah and His messenger know best."
He (pbuh) said,

We would like to point out one aspect of the right of Allah Almighty over His slaves, in
brief:
A. True Monotheism (Tawhid)
From the right of Allah Almighty over His slaves is that they affirm His Oneness,
completely:
- Man believes and knows with certainty that Allah (Glorious & Exalted) is the Lord,
Who created him and all things, and that He (Glorious & Exalted) is the Maker and
Shaper, the All-Powerful, the Sustainer, and so on among the Attributes of His
Lordship. Man also knows that there are actions no one does and cannot do, except
Allah (Glorious & Exalted). This is called the unity of lordship (tawhid al-rububiyyah).
- Man knows full well that the Lord and Creator (Glorious & Exalted) is the Only
One described with all the Attributes of Perfection. He knows that to Him
(Glorious & Exalted) belong the Most Beautiful Names and Attributes, and that any
reproachable names or attributes cannot be ascribed to Him.
Man knows full well that the Lord and Creator Alone is worthy of worship, and
that nothing should be worshipped beside Him. This is called the unity of divinity
(tawhid al-uluhiyyah).
B. Worship and Obedience

As the right of Allah Almighty over His slaves is that they affirm His Oneness and not
associate anything with Him, it is also His right (Noble & Sublime) over His slaves that
they worship Him Alone (Noble & Sublime) and that they obey none but Him.
They must not associate any partners in their worship of Allah Almighty. They must
obey His commands and avoid His prohibitions, seeking thereby His mercy and good
pleasure (Blessed & Exalted) upon them and that He remove from them His
punishment and torment.
The Right of the Slaves over Allah Almighty
As we have stated, the natural state of affairs is that the slaves have no right over their Lord,
because no one has any superiority over Him (Noble & Sublime); rather, all Grace, Favor, and
Bounty are from Allah Almighty upon His creation.
A concise summary of the right of the slaves over Allah Most High is what the Messenger
(pbuh) has informed us of and indicated: that Allah (Glorious & Exalted) shall not punish those
who affirm His Oneness in belief and worship, and who do not associate anything with Him
(Noble & Sublime).
Indeed, Allah (Blessed & Exalted) made His gardens of Paradise, His realm of delights, for
His believing, righteous, obedient slaves who are exclusively devoted to Him (Noble & Sublime),
where He will bestow eternal pleasure upon them—pleasure with no end, by the Grace of Allah
(Blessed & Exalted)—where He (Noble & Sublime) will establish His Favor upon them, and
never be angry with them.
We find no better words to describe the Bounty of Allah Almighty than those which the
second Rightly-Guided Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, said, "Bounteous is the blessing of Allah

and good."
And true are the Words of Allah Most High when He said, {Such is the Bounty from Allah,and Allah is Sufficient as All-Knower.}[Al-Nisaa' 4: 70]