We usually hear this advice: look for people who see the best in you, right?! Ever had that relation with someone who never expected any good from your side no matter what you do?! Well, I did. It’s more than frustrating. It might look simple, but when you live it on a daily basis, it’s destroying.
What you see is what you get, but do you truely see?!
Furthermore, and unexpectedly, people who expect the bad side of us actually get it. I don’t know how it works, but it’s as if their brains translate everything the way they’re expecting it, regardless of how things really are.
We have this Egyptian common old saying:
– And when I said “Good morning!”,
– He replied in a rage screaming voice saying: “Don’t you dare give me a good morning!!!”.
– o.O
On the other hand, some people see the best in us, receive it, and turn a blind eye to our mistakes.
“What you see is what you get” has a different meaning in this position. It means -no matter what’s going on in reality- you’ll get what you’re expecting, cause your eyes are always laid on what you want to see.
What are your expectations from God?
Prophet Muhammad reported that Allah (The Creator of Heavens and Earth), said:
I am to My servant as he thinks of me, and I am with him as he remembers Me.”
The Prophet –PBUH (peace be upon him)- further said:
“By Allah, Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than what one of you would do on finding the lost camel in the waterless desert.”
He -PBUH- continues reporting that Allah said:
When he draws near Me by the span of his hand. I draw near him by the length of a cubit and when he draws near Me by the length of a cubit. I draw near him by the length of a fathom and when he draws near Me walking I draw close to him hurriedly.” [Sahih Muslim]
Your expectations matter the most
Maybe in Christianity and Judaism your expectations towards God have nothing to do with your faith, but in Islam, this is essential; in Quran, God described disbelievers and hypocrites with having bad expectations towards Allah (i.e The Creator of heavens and earth). More than once, disbelievers were described in Quran as “despair” to receive any mercy from God, they don’t expect it no matter what, and this in itself is the “Kufr” (disbelieving) more than any belief else:
… Indeed, no one despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people.” [Qur’an (12:87)]
So, do we just expect whatever from God?
If you think that God is merciful, you may expect that He’ll just give you a nice home and a lovely family, but what if I told you that He’s the Ever-Merciful and that He’s more merciful to people than the mother to her child, what would you expect?
Some prisoners were brought to the Prophet, amongst whom there was a woman who was running searching for her child. When she saw a child among the captives, she took hold of it, pressed it against her belly and gave it a suck.
- The Prophet said: “Do you think this woman would ever throw her child in fire?”
- We said: “By Allah, she would never throw the child in fire.”
- Thereupon the Prophet said:
Allah is more kind to his servants than this woman is to her child”. [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]
For example, if you’re working in a company that you don’t know the average of its salaries, you may ask for a $15/hour, but when you know that it’s a Global company, you may ask for no less than $100/hour.
Expecting without knowledge is nothing.
How to know Him and what to expect?
I always recommend this book for non-Muslims to read to know all about God, with evidence and reference, not by opinions, it’s Fundamentals of Tawheed, “Tawheed” means Pure Monotheism. The book is written by Dr. Bilal Philips, a famous Muslim scholar and a Canadian revert to Islam; he also has many books on the True Religion, and the Oneness of God. Download the book for free from here.
Finally, always think positive about God; no matter what happens, expect the best. We all go through unfortunate events, then we discover they’ve been the best that ever happened to us.
Know God, be patient, and expect good!
