9/25/2021 Hadith 24.

Attributes of Allah COMPLETE – Hadith Commentary

Hadith Commentary
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Hadith 24. Attributes of Allah COMPLETE

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On the authority of Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari, of the prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi

wasallam) is that among the sayings he relates from his Lord is that He said:

“O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden
amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray
except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you. O My
servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I
shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so
seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by
day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My
servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and you will not attain
benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. O my servants, were the first of you and the last of
you, the human of you and the jinn of you to become as pious as the most pious heart
of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My
servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of
you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not
decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last
of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a
request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not
decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My
servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for,
so let him who finds good praise Allah, and let him who finds other than that blame
no one but himself.”

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Reported by Muslim

Brief Commentary:

Abu Idris Al-Khawlani who narrated this hadith from Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari used to
drop to his knees out of veneration of Allah when narrating this hadith
This is a hadith qudsi so its meaning came from Allah, but the wording was that of
the prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam)
The difference between a hadith qudsi and the Qur’an is:
The Qur’an was sent down in wording and meaning ,but a hadith qudsi was
sent down only in meaning
The Qur’an is a miracle whereas a hadith qudsi is not considered as one
The Qur’an is accurate in terms of its narration but a hadith qudsi is not
necessarily that. It has different strengths as with all other ahadith; some are
sahih, hasan, weak, etc. so it has not all been preserved
The Qur’an can be read in salah, but a hadith qudsi cannot
The Arabic language is a language of summarisation/simplification, as it aims to
reduce the number of words used so you don’t necessarily hear something repeated
again, but in this hadith, the phrase “O My servants” has been repeated many times
Benefits of repeating “O My servants”:
It reminds the listener of his/her status. They are the slaves of Allah
It reminds them that they are lowly in front of Allah. “‫ ”عبد‬means something
trodden upon
It reminds us of the nature of our relationship with Allah
It makes it stick to our minds and alerts us
We know that what will be said is very important and significant
There is no repetitive hadith like this in the 40 nawawi collection
Ibn Rajab said that oppression is to place things where they should not be placed,
or to punish someone for the wrongdoings of others. From this we know that Allah
is capable of oppression but He chooses not to do it out of His grace and mercy. We
do not fall into the errors of misguided sects who say that Allah cannot commit
oppression as by that we are saying that there is something which Allah cannot do
and have degraded Allah’s abilities
Allah didn’t literally affirm His justice because the mere fact of negating its
opposite (oppression)is its affirmation
The messengers (alayhim assalam)were sent to establish justice and we are here to
establish justice so it is from the major objectives of the shari’ah
When the Muslims went to Persia and were asked what brought them, they replied,
“We have been sent to take the slaves from worshipping the slaves to worshipping
the Lord of the slaves, and from the narrowness of the dunya to the wideness of the
hereafter, and from the oppression of religions to the justice of Islam”
The Muslims had it clear in their minds what their objective is and what they must
do, which is to establish justice
The greatest form of justice is tawheed (giving Allah His oneness) and the greatest
form of oppression is shirk (associating partners with Allah)
Types of oppression:

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Oppression to oneself: This is when you commit sins as you can not harm
Allah so you are only harming yourself. No matter how good a person is, if
they are a non-believer then they are indeed oppressors
Oppression to others: This is what the hadith is referring to, and it is to be
unjust to others
Oppression to animals: The prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) cursed
anyone who mutilates an animal
Oppression can be:
Not forgiven: e.g. shirk. Anyone who commits shirk will not be forgiven if he
does not repent from it before he dies. If he repents before he dies then he
will inshaAllah be forgiven
Forgiven only if you pay back: e.g. borrowing money and not paying it back on
time. You can repent from this but you will only be forgiven if you pay it back
Forgiven: If you sin, Allah may forgive you
The phrases “all of you are astray except for those I have guided” and “all of you are
hungry except for those I have fed” remind us of our need for Allah in this life and
the next
They are linked to each other as one is speaking about spiritual nourishment and
the other about physical nourishment. We need both nourishments (for our soul
and body) to survive
This part of the hadith affirms that man cannot bring good to himself unless if
Allah wills
When Allah speaks about guidance in the Qur’an, He stresses that it lies in His
hands
The prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) was fearful for the Iman of the sahabah,
so how fearful for our Iman should we be?
These phrases do not mean we must then sit down and do nothing and just say it is
up to Allah to guide us and feed us. We must sincerely look for the truth. The
reason why someone is guided is because they are sincerely trying to find the truth
When searching for guidance, we must prevent ourselves from the things that act
as a barrier, otherwise we are not really sincere in our search for the truth
When Salman Al-Farsi was searching for the truth. The first thing he did was
abandon fire worshipping, then he left the evil country/place he was in. He was
sincere and thus guided
Ibn Al-Qayyim said guidance is of four types
‫هداية عامة‬: Knowing what you need for this life e.g. fire burns, how to eat, etc.
(Everyone has this guidance)
‫إرشاد‬: Showing people what is right from wrong (This guidance is merely being
shown right from wrong, and does not necessarily mean the person has acted
upon this guidance)
‫توفيق‬: Guidance placed in the heart of a person (This is solely from Allah)
‫هداية اآلخرة‬: Knowing where your place is in Jannah, who your hoor al-‘ayn are
(This is guidance given to the believers in the hereafter only)
By looking at the four types of guidance, we can see that this hadith is talking
about the third type, which is the guidance placed by Allah in the heart of someone
so that they know the truth and act upon it
Ibn Rajab said this guidance is of two types:

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General: Being guided to Islam and Iman

Detailed: Being guided to having the knowledge of the detailed aspects of
Islam, e.g. knowing true tawheed, knowing the fiqhi rulings, etc
Once we understand this, we know that we must always ask for guidance as we will
never be able to have full guidance in knowing all the detailed aspects of the
religion
By saying, “so seek guidance of me”, we know it is legislated for us to ask Allah for
guidance
Although we may go out and buy food from our money, we must realise that it is
Allah who provided us with this food. This is because it is Allah who provided the
means for us to get the food, and He who decreed the amount of sustenance we get
Knowing this will make someone feel more dependent on Allah and increase his
tawakkul on Him
We are the only species to require clothing. Although we are the most intelligent,
we are the most dependent of the creation
With all the technological advancements, without clothing we will fall ill and die
An additional blessing from Allah is that we can wear clothing with a primary
function of beautification
We should never wear ‫( لباس الشهرة‬garments to show off) as this is something the
prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) forbade us from doing
Being able to wear clothes and adornments is a sign of Allah’s blessings over us,
and so we must not make this blessing into a punishment by rejecting it or
showing off with it as that is haram
There is no harm in wearing the best of clothing as you are actually showing Allah’s
blessings over you, which is good, but the harm comes when they are worn for the
purpose of standing out amongst the people and showing off as if you are better
than them
When Allah spoke about His blessings over us in terms of providing us with
clothing [Surah Al-A’raaf, 7:26], He finished by saying that the best adornment is the
adornment of piety, i.e. the inward adornment, so we should be more concerned
with our inward state over our outward state
We are all sinners so we must all seek forgiveness from Allah
‫( استغفار‬forgiveness) is derived from the word ‫ غفر‬which means to cover up/hide
When asking for forgiveness, we ask Allah to:
Conceal and cover up the sin in this life and the hereafter
Remove the effects of the sin
Protect us from the effects of the sin
The conditions of repentance are:
Regret
Stopping the sin
Intending to never do it again
The prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) used to seek forgiveness from Allah at
least 70 times a day. He was sinless as his sins were forgiven but he did so to teach
us how to seek forgiveness
We don’t just seek forgiveness for the sins we committed, but also for our
shortcoming as we haven’t worshipped Allah as He deserves
It is the first thing we say after finishing salah as we had shortcomings in our salah

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It is the first thing we say when leaving the toilet as we cannot thank Allah enough
for the blessing of relieving ourselves so we seek His forgiveness for that
shortcoming
To benefit someone, it implies that the benefitted is deficient, thus we cannot
benefit Allah as He is ‫( الغني‬The most rich)
When the prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) asked the sahaba about who is
rich, they said he is the one who has money, so he said, “Richness does not lie in
the abundance of worldly goods, but richness is the richness of the soul” (Reported
in Muslim)
Richness means to not need anything. Wealthy people are always looking for
money so cannot be rich, and Allah is the most rich as He is not in need of anything
A believer can be very poor in terms of wealth, but at the same time be very rich as
he doesn’t feel that he needs anything. Junayd said, “If the kings knew what we had
in our hearts, they would fight us for it”
Our good deeds and bad sins have no effect on Allah’s kingdom
A king who has a kingdom has many subjects in the kingdom who are dependent
on him, and the king may feel that these subjects are dependent on him and he is
independent, but in reality, if all of these people leave the kingdom or refuse to
obey the king then he will cease to have a kingdom and cease to be king, so he is in
fact dependent on them
Allah is telling us that His kingdom is different to the kingdoms that we have in the
dunya. We are all subjects in Allah’s kingdom but if we all stop worshipping Him,
or if we all become obedient, then His kingdom remains as it is as He is not
dependent on us
If Allah gave each one of us their requests, then that does not decrease His
kingdom because us and our requests are part of His kingdom so whatever He gives
us will still ultimately belong to Him. Thus when Allah gives us what we ask for, He
is merely moving His possessions around and not losing anything
We cannot possess anything in its absolute form because when we die, we cannot
take it with us, and if Allah wanted to take it at any time, then He can
We should never be attached to anything in this dunya, because whatever we have
here does not belong to us, so just like we should not get attached to things we
borrow and know we have to give back, we should not be attached to things we can
never absolutely possess
Having this feeling will give us comfort and not make us feel at loss when we lose
something we desire because we know we were going to give it back sooner or
later
If we put a needle in the sea and take it out, some water is still left on the needle,
however, this does not mean that Allah’s kingdom has decreased, but because our
minds are weak and can only imagine things that decrease, Allah used this example
The end of the hadith ties everything together in that if we are dependent on Allah,
and He is the one who provides for us, then we will be held accountable for what
we do
Recompensation is of two types:
Get rewards in the dunya and punishment in the hereafter (disbelievers)
Get rewards in the hereafter and punishment in the dunya (believers)

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This doesn’t mean that the believers do not get rewards in this dunya, as Allah can
give us blessings and make things easy for us in the dunya too
The ending establishes that anything good we get is from Allah, and anything bad
is due to our own shortcomings
Many people blame their surroundings for what is happening to them, and always
have someone to blame except themselves
We are rewarded for more than we deserve and punished for what we deserve
It is more stressed to say “SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam” after hearing the prophet’s
name than say “Subhanahu wa ta’ala” after hearing Allah’s name because the
prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) is in need for this, whilst Allah isn’t

Benefits and Action points:

Avoid all forms of oppression, and deal with each one accordingly. If you sin, then
repent. If you take someone’s right then you repent and give their right back,
otherwise your repentance will not save you
Ensure you have not taken anyone’s rights in this dunya as the prophet (sallaAllahu
‘alayhi wasallam) spoke about what will happen on the day of judgement regarding
oppression and said, “Whoever has oppressed his brother then he should seek
forgiveness from him for there will be no dinar nor dirham that will be taken from
him. It will be taken from his good deeds and given to his brother, and if he has no
more good deeds, then it will be taken from his brother’s bad deeds and put on
him” (Bukhari & Muslim)
The prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) also said that there is no veil between
the du’aa of an oppressed person and Allah. So ensure there are no oppressed
people that are oppressed by you as their du’aa will no doubt reach Allah
Do not have an attitude in which you take the rights of your brothers and say they
are easy-going brothers who would not mind
Protect yourself from oppression by:
Humbleness. It is when you realise your weakness and need for Allah
Removing every and hatred
Contemplating on the consequences of oppression in the hereafter
Stay away from the prohibited matters so that you may be guided
Stay away from bad influences and bad surroundings so that you may be guided
Constantly ask Allah for guidance, even if it be for matters related to the dunya as
He has knowledge of those matters too
Never feel that you have full guidance and remember that Allah makes us ask for
guidance from Him in every rak’ah we pray when we read Surah Al-Fatiha so it is an
important thing that we are always in need of
Constantly remember Allah’s blessings over you and realise that the spiritual and
physical nourishment that you received came from Him so thank Him for it
Increase your tawakkul on Allah by contemplating on your need for him

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Acknowledge Allah’s blessing over you by providing you with clothing and do not
make it into a punishment by rejecting this blessing or wearing it in a haram
manner e.g. imitating the kuffar, imitating the opposite gender, showing off, etc
Be more concerned with adorning your inward state
Acknowledge that you are a sinner so constantly seek forgiveness from Allah by
saying ‫ استغفر هللا‬and keeping your tongue moist with these words
Have the reasons mentioned above in your mind when seeking forgiveness from
Allah as that is more effective
Realise that whatever good or bad you do has no effect on Allah and will only
affect yourself. Your constant worship will not benefit Him in the slightest so don’t
feel you have done a favour for Him when doing a righteous deed
Contemplate on the Majesty of Allah and His kingdom
Internalise the fact that everything in this dunya, including the things in your
possession are all owned by Allah so that when you lose any of it, you are not at
sorrow because you know that the rightful owner of it has moved it to wherever He
pleased
Detach yourself from everything in this dunya because none of it belongs to you
and you wouldn’t consider yourself wise if you attached yourself to something you
borrowed from a friend
Whenever you are in a difficult situation, blame yourself for it so that you can find
ways of improving yourself further, and so that you free Allah from any blame.
Never look to someone to blame but yourself
Praise Allah for He rewards you for more than you deserve and only punishes you
for what you deserve, that is if He hasn’t forgiven you yet

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11 thoughts on “Hadith 24. Attributes of

Allah COMPLETE”

Raheel javed
December 31, 2016 at 2:04 pm

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‫السالم عليكم ورحمة هللا وبركاته‬

‫ما شاء هللا‬
Very Nice article. Brother i wondered uf i can translate this commentry in Norwegian
language? We have translated the hadith but could We translate the commentary? ‫جزاك‬
‫ُهللا خيرًا‬

Reply

alnaasiree
December 31, 2016 at 6:01 pm

‫وعليكم السالم ورحمة هللا وبركاته‬

‫وإياكم‬
You are more than welcome to translate this, though I am a mere nobody and it would
be best to translate a reputable scholar’s work.

Reply

Raheel javed
January 4, 2017 at 8:25 am

Thank you Very much, may ‫ هللا ُسْبَح اَنُه َو َتَعاَلٰى‬‎bless you ‫بارك هللا فيك‬
Only one thing i wondered to know is that if someone Ask me Of which scholar did
this work, Who can i refer to?
‫جزاك ُهللا خيرًا‬

alnaasiree
January 4, 2017 at 8:38 am

This is based on a series of classes held by Ustadh Alomgir Ali which were based on
numerous commentaries of the 40 nawawi ahadith, including ‫ جامع العلوم والحكم‬by ‫ابن‬
‫رجب الحنبلي‬

SANI ISAH
July 26, 2019 at 8:17 am

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THIS IS THE COMMENTARY OF HADITH NO 24 OF ANNAWAWI

Reply

TOHEEB
February 17, 2020 at 6:51 pm

Alhamdulillahi for diz

Reply

Ope
December 6, 2020 at 8:58 pm

I love it

Thank you

Reply

Saeed Harun
January 21, 2021 at 11:32 pm

maashaa Allah thiss commentary was very helpful

Reply

Anonymous
January 31, 2021 at 11:34 am

jazakallahu khayran mashallah this was very helpful may allah bless you always
in’shaa’allah

Reply

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Anonymous
July 16, 2021 at 6:18 pm

MASHAALLAH JAZAKALLAHU KHAYRAN

Reply

anonymous
July 16, 2021 at 6:20 pm

JAZAKALLAHU KHAYRAN INDEED IT WAS HELPFUL

Reply

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