There is no greater and more honorable achievement than for a Muslim to receive Allah's honor. Among the highest degrees of divine honor bestowed upon the servants is what Allah honored His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) describing him as a servant when he was elevated to the highest heavens and then to the Sidrat al-Muntaha. Allah the Almighty says, “Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs.” (Al-Isra: 1)

True servitude is the state in which the servant's heart is solely attached to Allah, freeing himself from his own whims and the whispers of Shaitan, and directing his actions exclusively towards Allah. Allah says, “Say, 'Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims.'” (Al-An'am: 162-163) Allah also says, “Say, 'Allah [alone] do I worship, sincere to Him in my religion.'” (Az-Zumar: 14), and: “And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth.” (Al-Bayyina: 5) Whoever perfects his servitude to Allah is granted such grace in this world and such rewards in the Hereafter that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived. Below is an explanation of some of what Allah has prepared in the Hereafter for those who fulfill the right of servitude: ⁽¹⁾

1- Salvation from Clear Loss

Allah says, “Say, 'Allah [alone] do I worship, sincere to Him in my religion. So worship what you will besides Him.' Say, 'Indeed, the losers are the ones who will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection. Unquestionably, that is the manifest loss. They will have canopies of fire above them and below them, canopies. By that Allah threatens His servants. O My servants, then fear Me.'” (Az-Zumar: 14-16) Whoever sincerely worships Allah is saved from loss and punishment, which is a great gain and immense grace.

2- Elevation of Ranks and Forgiveness of Sins

Allah says, “And it is He who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons misdeeds, and He knows what you do.” (Ash-Shura: 25) Muslim reported from Thawban, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), who said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell me about an act for which, if I do it, Allah will admit me to Paradise. He gave no reply. I again asked and he gave no reply. I asked him for the third time, and he said: I asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about that and he said: Make frequent prostrations before Allah, for you will not make one prostration without raising you a degree because of it, and removing a sin from you, because of it.”

3- Changing Sins into Rewards

Allah says, “Except for those who repent, believe, and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” (Al-Furqan: 70)

4- Forgiveness of Sins

Allah says, “[O Muhammad], inform My servants that it is I who am the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (Al-Hijr: 49), and: “Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful'” (Az-Zumar: 53), and: “Worship Allah, fear Him and obey me. Allah will forgive you of your sins.” (Nuh: 3-4)

5- Security from Fear

Allah says, “O My servants, no fear will there be concerning you this Day, nor will you grieve.” (Az-Zukhruf: 68) At-Tirmidhi reported from Anas ibn Malik that the Prophet entered upon a young man while he was dying. So he said: “How do you feel?” He said: “By Allah! O Messenger of Allah! Indeed I hope in Allah and I fear from my sins.” So the Messenger of Allah said: “These two will not be gathered in a worshipper's heart at a time such as this, except that Allah will grant him what he hopes and make him safe from what he fears.”

6- Success

Allah says, “O you who have believed, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord and do good - that you may succeed.” (Al-Hajj: 77)

7- Entry into the Shade of the Throne

Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “Seven (people) will be shaded by Allah by His Shade on the Day of Resurrection when there will be no shade except His Shade. (They will be), a just ruler, a young man who has been brought up in the worship of Allah, a man who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes are then flooded with tears, a man whose heart is attached to mosques (offers his compulsory congregational prayers in the mosque), two men who love each other for Allah's Sake, a man who is called by a charming lady of noble birth to commit illegal sexual intercourse with her, and he says, 'I am afraid of Allah,' and (finally), a man who gives in charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given.”

8- Attaining High Ranks in the Hereafter

Allah says, “Indeed, there was a party of My servants who said, 'Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, and You are the best of the merciful.' But you took them in mockery to the point that they made you forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them. Indeed, I have rewarded them this Day for their patient endurance - that they are the attainers [of success].” (Al-Mu'minun: 109-111) Allah also says about the servants of the Most Merciful: “Those will be awarded the Chamber for what they patiently endured, and they will be received therein with greetings and [words of] peace. Abiding eternally therein. Good is the settlement and residence.” (Al-Furqan: 75-76)

9- Entrance into Paradise, Inheriting It, and Drinking from Its Springs

Allah says, “That is Paradise, which We give as inheritance to those of Our servants who were fearing of Allah.” (Maryam: 63), and: “A spring of which the [righteous] servants of Allah will drink; they will make it gush forth in force [and abundance].” (Al-Insan: 6) In Sunan At-Tirmidhi, it is reported from Mu'adh ibn Jabal that he said: I was with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on a journey. One morning I drew close to him when we were on the move and said: “Inform me, messenger of God, of an act which will cause me to enter paradise and remove me far from hell.” He replied, “You have asked a serious question, but it is easy for the one whom God helps to answer it. Worship God, associate nothing with Him…”

10- Enjoying Bliss with Spouses in Paradise

Allah says, “But not the chosen servants of Allah. Those will have a provision determined - fruits; and they will be honored in gardens of pleasure.” (As-Saffat: 40-43) Allah also says, “O My servants, no fear will there be concerning you this Day, nor will you grieve. [You] who believed in Our verses and were Muslims, enter Paradise, you and your kinds, delighted. Circulated among them will be plates and vessels of gold. And therein is whatever the souls desire and [what] delights the eyes, and you will abide therein eternally.” (Az-Zukhruf: 68-71)

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The Educational Implications of the Concept of Servitude in the Noble Quran: Imad Muhammad Hussein, p. 27.

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