fulfillment

all praise and thanks be to allah, the lord of the worlds. indeed, good reward will be for the pious. peace and blessings be upon our beloved prophet muhammad, the messenger of mercy to all creatures.

fulfillment of covenants is a blessed trait, a great quality and an attribute of honest souls. it is highly regarded and praised among people. it is one of the best human qualities, as people have to cooperate and no cooperation can be achieved unless they fulfill their covenants and stick to them. if it was not obligatory that people fulfill their covenants and promises, hatred and animosity would have prevailed on earth.

what is fulfillment?

fulfillment is to commit to all covenants, promises and duties. almighty allah orders us to fulfill covenants and pledges; he says: “and fulfill the covenant. surely the covenant will be questioned of.” (al-israe: 34) he also says: “and fulfill the covenant of allah when you have covenanted, and do not break the oaths after they have been affirmed. and you have already made allah sponsor over you; surely allah knows whatever (things) you perform.” (al-nahl: 91)

the status of fulfillment:

1- fulfillment is an attribute of allah almighty. indeed, allah fulfills his covenant with his servants. he says: “and who fulfils his covenant (better) than allah!” (at-tawbah: 111)

2- fulfillment is a quality of prophets (peach be upon them). allah praises the prophet ibrahim in the qur’an when he says: “and ibrahîm, (abraham) who constantly fulfilled the message.” (an-najm: 37)

3- fulfillment is a quality of honest believers. allah describes sincere believers as: “among the believers are men who are sincere to what they covenanted with allah. so, of them are (they) who have accomplished their life-time. (i.e., fulfilled their vows by) and of them are (they) who are still waiting, and in no way have they exchanged the least exchanges.”

4- it is the quality of the ones endowed with intellects. allah says in the qur’an: “so, is he who knows that what has been sent down to you from your lord is the truth, like him who is blind? surely only the ones endowed with intellects do remind themselves - who fulfill the covenant of allah and do not break the compact.” (ar-raad: 19-20)

those who fulfill the covenant of allah are blessed with his love and mercy. allah almighty says: “yes indeed, (but) whoever fulfils his covenant and is pious (to allah), then surely allah loves the pious.” (al-imran: 76)

kinds of fulfillment:

1- fulfillment towards allah:

there is a great covenant between man and almighty allah, namely to worship only allah, and not to associate any partners with him in worshiping. almighty allah says: “did i not covenant you, o you seeds (or: sons) of adam, that you should not worship ash-shaytan (satan), surely he is an evident enemy to you. and that you should worship me? this is a straight path.” (ya-sin: 60-61)

2- fulfillment of covenants and compacts:

islam prompts muslims to adhere to their covenants, contracts and compacts. allah says: “o you who have believed, fulfill your contracts.” (al-maidah: 1) muslims have to fulfill the conditions that they agreed upon. in a hadith (narration), the prophet (peace be upon him), said: “muslims should abide by their conditions, except a condition that makes unlawful what is lawful or makes lawful what is unlawful.” (hadith sahih, at-tirmidhi and others)

3- fulfillment of the measure and balance:

the muslim has to fulfill the measure and balance in equity for people. allah says in the qur’an: “and my people, fill up the measuring and the balance with equity and do not depreciate the things of mankind, and do not perpetrate (mischief) in the land as corruptors.” (hud: 85)

4- fulfillment of vows:

muslims fulfill their vows and perform the acts of worship which they have made incumbent upon themselves desiring the nearness of allah. almighty allah says: “they perform their vows, and they fear a day whose evil is spread far and wide.” (al-insan: 7) the vow has to be a good thing; otherwise the person should not fulfill it if it is evil or harmful.

fruits of fulfillment:

1- spread of goodness and virtue.

2- promotion of love and continuity of friendships.

3- exclusion of chaos and building trust.

4- establishing security and psychological stability among people.

5- fulfillment leads to piety. allah says: “yes indeed, (but) whoever fulfils his covenant and is pious (to allah), then surely allah loves the pious.” (al-imran: 76)

how to be fulfilling and dependable?

1- remembering this quality from time to time and ascertaining its importance.

2- remembering that fulfillment of covenants is an honor to every muslim as it is a duty. actually, it is a great humanitarian and moral value.

3- contemplating over the lives of righteous predecessors and their loyalty and fulfillment of covenants.

4- remembering the consequences of betrayal and the bad status of the disloyal person among people.

may allah help us all to what pleases and satisfies him! may allah lead us to the best of manners in terms of word and deed!