What is meant by the Messenger’s (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: “And I am upon your covenant and your promise as long as I am able”?

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Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This is a female listener to the program who sent a set of questions. The listener is Hissa 'Abdullah, from the southern region, Abha. Regarding her educational level, she says: I recall the hadith of Honorable Shaykh about Shaddad ibn Aws (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

(ﷺ) said: “The best manner of asking for forgiveness is to say: “O Allah! You are my Lord. None has the right to be worshipped except You. You created me and I am your servant and I abide by your covenant and promise as best I can

صلى الله عليه وسلم سيد الاستغفار أن يقول العبد اللهم أنت ربي لا إله إلا أنت خلقتني وأنا عبدك وأنا على عهدك ووعدك ما استطعت

Bulugh al-Maram 16:121

I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your blessings upon me, and I admit my sins. So forgive me, for none forgives sins except You.

أعوذ بك من شر ما صنعت أبوء لك بنعمتك علي وأبوء لك بذنبي فاغفر لي إنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت

Sahih al-Bukhari 6306

. She asks: What are the covenant and the promise referred to in this hadith?

Answer:
The covenant is what is between the servant and his Lord; it is the covenant that Allah took from the children of Adam that they worship Him and associate nothing with Him. Allah the Exalted said:

⁽⁶⁰⁾ Did I not enjoin upon you, O children of Adam, that you not worship Satan - [for] indeed, he is to you a clear enemy - ⁽⁶¹⁾ And that you worship [only] Me? This is a straight path.

أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكُمْ يَا بَنِي آدَمَ أَن لَّا تَعْبُدُوا الشَّيْطَانَ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ وَأَنِ اعْبُدُونِي هَٰذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ

[Ya-Sin 36:60-61]

. His saying, the Exalted:

And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified."

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِي آدَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ شَهِدْنَا

[Al-A'raf 7:172]

“so that you do not say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘Indeed, we were heedless of this,’ or say, ‘It was only that our fathers used to associate [others] with Allah before, and we were but a generation after them. Then will You destroy us for what the fabricators did?’”
In the hadith, it is stated that

Allah extracted from the back of Adam his descendants and made them testify concerning themselves, and He took from them the covenant that they worship Him and associate nothing with Him. So the covenant between the servant and his Lord is that he worship Him and associate nothing with Him.

الله استخرج من ظهر آدم ذريتهم وأشهدهم على أنفسهم وأخذ عليهم الميثاق أن يعبدوه ولا يشركوا به شيئا، فالعهد الذي بين العبد وبين ربه أن يعبده وأن لا يشرك به شيئا،

and the servant makes a covenant with his Lord in every prayer when he says:

It is You we worship and You we ask for help.

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

[Al-Fatihah 1:5]

This is a covenant between the servant and his Lord that he will not worship except Him and will not seek help except from Him. It is obligatory for him to fulfill this. The promise that Allah the Exalted promised is that He promised the righteous Paradise, and He promised them pleasure, joy, and good in this world and the Hereafter. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, does not break His promise. Yes.

Source قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 5872- ما المراد بقول الرسول: وأنا على عهدك ووعدك ما استطعت؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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