"O Allah! You are my servant and I am Your Lord!"

 Astaghfirullah (May God forgive me)! What a terrible statement! Indeed, if someone deliberately makes such a statement, it would be a grave sin, a blasphemy. Fact of the matter is that Allah is our Lord and we are his servants, and there cannot be an identity or honor for us that is higher than this. God can choose any one, any group, any species to serve him and his cause. But those of us who believe and submit to God have been identified by our Benevolent Rabb (creator, sustainer, nourisher, evolver) as his servants. Then, what is the significance of an otherwise blasphemous statement as mentioned above?

Well, there is a both serious and lighter side to it. The serious side is related to the fact that under extreme and desperate circumstances human beings tend to do extraordinary, exceptional, uncommon - or, put it another way, crazy - things. During moments of shock, suffering, agony, and frustration, we tend to do things that otherwise we generally do not. Quite similarly, at moments of true and profound joy, relief, deliverance, achievement, success, once again, we often lose control of ourselves.

Just look at the reactions people show at extremely profound negative or positive moments. Quite often, this is natural - just like when we cry or moan due to pain or shock, or when we laugh at funny things or show ecstasy at joyous situations.

But, that is human behavior. Happiness and sadness, joy and sorrow, ecstasy and depression - all these are various states of human emotion. What about our Benevolent Rabb - God, who describes himself as ar-Rahmanir Rahim (the Most Kind, the Most Gracious), al-Gafoorur Rahim (the Most Forgiving, the Most Gracious)? Does he care? Is he sensitive? Do we really matter to him?

Developing a proper understanding of this issue requires recognizing an essential dimension of Islam: balance. There are certain verses in the Quran and narrations from the Prophet that seems to give an impression that we hardly matter. "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 be 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. ..." (Forty Hadith Qudsi, #17)

From statements such as the above one might get the feeling that we really are inconsequential to God. But in light of the reality this would be the fitting message for those who with pride and haughtiness deny, reject or ignore the Truth and live according to their whims without recognizing any sense of relationship with or accountability before him. 

Then, there is the other side of the story. We do matter to God, and indeed, a great deal. God did not create us as perfect beings so that we won't commit any mistake, error or sin. We should try our best not to do so. However, if we ever err, the remedy is as simple as a sincere repentance - an act that makes God indescribably delighted. How happy God really can be? Well, who can illustrate it better than his messenger himself?

The Prophet  said: "God is more pleased with the repentance of a servant as he turns towards him for repentance than this that one amongst you is upon the camel in a waterless desert and there is upon (that camel) his provision of food and drink also and it is lost by him, and he having lost all hope (to get that) lies down in the shadow and is disappointed about his camel and there he finds that camel standing before him. He takes hold of his nose string and then out of boundless joy says: O Allah! You are my servant and I am Your Lord. He commits this mistake out of extreme delight." (Sahih Muslim, Vol. #4, #6618)

Notice that God is "more" pleased than this ecstatic servant. Now, do we matter to God? Does he care about us? You can draw your own conclusion. My feeling is that he does. A great deal!

Now what about the blasphemous statement? People who might not appreciate the context of a statement, they might like to have the head of such person committing blasphemy chopped. Those who understand the context might appreciate that loving relationship is not merely guided by rigid laws and rules. Beyond the appropriate and beneficial realm of laws and rules, there is a realm of love and affection, where sincere mistakes can be natural and parties to it understand each other quite well. Just as the Prophet did and clarified it that the person who made that statement did so out of extreme delight. And, God is more ecstatic at our repentance than that person who out of extreme delight made such an otherwise blasphemous statement. What a beautiful illustration of the fact that we do matter to God and he does care!

It is in this context the Hadith "God said, 'I am to my servant as he THINKS of Me'" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 9: #596) needs to be understood. Does this mean that we should not care about fulfilling our role as his servants? Not at all. This is a two-way relationship. God is still the Master of the Day of Judgment! "When my servants asks you concerning me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the calls (da'wah) of every supplicant when he calls on me: Let them also, with a will, listen to my call, and believe in me, that they may walk in the right path."   Quran 2:186

The author, Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq, is Head of Centre for Islamic Finance at Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF).

You can visit his blog at: http://www.globalwebpost.com/farooqm