Allah Replaces What You Leave For His Sake, with Something Better
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said,
إِنَّكَ لَنْ تَدَعَ شَيْئًا لِلهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَّا بَدَّلَكَ اللهُ بِهِ مَا هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنْهُ
“Certainly, you will never leave something for the sake of Allah, the Mighty & Majestic, except that Allah will replace it with something better.”
[Musnad Aḥmad 23074; Al-Silsilah Al-Saheehah, Shaykh Albani: Isnaaduh Saheeh]
I chose this to be the first hadith mentioned in the series, “40 Hadith for the New Muslim” because, as someone who embraced Islam myself 15 years ago, this hadith always stood out as an overall summary of my experience. It also gave me strength and encouragement to make the life changes I needed to make as a new Muslim coming from a non-Muslim background.
When someone embraces Islam they may need to leave many things they were previously accustomed to, and while some new Muslims are zealous and hasty to make whatever sacrifices are required to better practice the religion, others may feel overwhelmed and hesitant. Regardless, it’s important for us all to recognize the reality of this hadith and remember that the promise of Allah is true: anything left for His sake, in proper obedience to Him, will be replaced by Him with something better than what was left. This is how to properly understand the reality of this world, keeping in mind that Allah has ultimate power over all things. Allah says in the Qur’an,
“And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty.) And He will provide for him from (sources) he could never imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things.” [65:2-3]
Everything in Islam returns to the fact that Allah alone is worthy of worship because He alone is perfect in every way and free from every deficiency. He alone has ultimate power over all that exists and nothing happens except by His will. Allah says in the Qur’an,
“And if Allah touches you with harm, there is none who can remove it except Him, and if He intends any good for you, there is none who can repel His Favor which He causes to reach whomsoever of His slaves He wills. And He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” [10:107]
This principle is clearly articulated in the follow hadith when the Prophet ﷺ said,
“Know that even if the nation were to gather together to benefit you with something, they would not benefit you with anything except that which Allah has already written for you, and that if they gather together to harm you with something, they would not be able to harm you with anything except that which Allah has already written for you.” [Saheeh Tirmidhi 2516]
With that said, it’s also important to remember that this life is a test. Just because Allah will replace that which we leave in obedience to Him with something better, does not mean we will not face trials. Allah tells us in the Qur’an,
“Do the people think that they will be left to say, ‘We believe’ and they will not be tested? But We have certainly tested those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars. Whoever should hope for the meeting with Allah - indeed, the term [decreed by] Allah is coming. And He is the Hearing, the Knowing.” [29:2-5]
Therefore it’s important to always keep in mind the reality of this worldly life and how it is a test. A major aspect of life’s tests include making decisions, which is an ability that Allah gave human beings. We can choose to obey Allah and we can choose to disobey Allah. We can choose to continue sinful behavior, and we can choose to leave such behavior to please our Lord. Due to the fact we have this ability to make choices, knowing that Allah will replace what we leave with something better should really help us make the right decisions.
Sometimes we can struggle leaving that which we know is displeasing to Allah because we feel we’ll be at some sort of loss, but if we internalize the aforementioned hadith, we’ll know that we will never ultimately be at loss for leaving something for Allah’s sake because He will certainly replace it with something better than whatever we left.
I’d like to mention three ways that Allah may replace something with that which is better. The first two focus on the life of this world, while the third focuses on the Hereafter:
Allah replaces that which was left, with something better in this world of the same category as what was left. For example, someone leaves a sinful job for the sake of Allah, so Allah replaces it with a better job.
Allah replaces that which was left, with something better in this world of a different category than what was left. For example, someone leaves a sinful job for the sake of Allah, so Allah grants them good health, happiness, contentment, and puts them in a better environment.
Allah replaces that which was left with something better in the Hereafter. This is actually the most important, even though we may be focused on this life.
Allah says in the Qur’an,
“Nay, you prefer the life of this world, while the Hereafter is better and more lasting.” [87:16-17]
A clear example of the superiority of the Hereafter in comparison to this worldly life is shown in the following hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said,
“One who lived the most luxurious and affluent of lives in this world, who will go to Hellfire (in the Hereafter), will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and dipped once in the Fire. Then it will be said, ‘O son of Adam, did you ever see anything good? Did you ever have any pleasure?’
He will say, ‘No, by Allaah, O Lord.’
Then, one who experienced the most most severe of suffering in this world, who will enter Paradise (in the Hereafter), will be brought and dipped once in Paradise, and it will be said to him, ‘O son of Adam, did you ever see anything bad? Did you ever experience any hardship?’
He will say, ‘No, by Allaah, O Lord. I never saw anything bad, and I never experienced any hardship.’” [Muslim 2807]
We see here that even if someone lived the most luxurious life filled with the greatest pleasures of this world, it will not ultimately benefit them whatsoever if the Hellfire is their final abode in the Hereafter. In fact, it will be as if they never experienced those pleasures at all. Likewise, if someone lived the most difficult life filled with the most severe of tribulations in this world, if they enter Paradise in the Hereafter, its pleasures will be so blissful that it will be as if they never experienced any hardship, ever. This is the reality of the eternal Hereafter in comparison to this temporary, worldly life.
May Allah grant us knowledge of these things and guide us to act upon such knowledge, and may He grant us good in this life and in the Hereafter, ameen.