Back to search

Is the saying "You desire, O My servant, and I desire, so if you are content with what I desire, I will give you what you desire" sound, and is it permissible to say it?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The phrase, "You wish, my servant, and I wish, but if you are content with what I wish, I will give you what you wish," is not found in an authenticated narration, and its meaning is not entirely sound. Allah may grant the righteous servant what he desires, or He may withhold it from him as a mercy, as He says: ﴿And perhaps you dislike a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you know not.﴾ (Al-Baqarah 2:216). Part of contentment is for the servant to be content with being deprived of some of his desires. Allah's will prevails over the will of His servants, so nothing occurs except what Allah wills, and what Allah gives to His servants is dependent on His will. For example, the Prophet, peace be upon him, was not given everything he desired, and this indicates that Allah's choice prevails over the choices of His servants. Furthermore, every supplication to Allah is answered, either by fulfilling the request or by averting an equivalent evil, as long as one does not supplicate for a sin or for cutting off ties of kinship.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy