—and he related the incident: A man was traveling through a desolate wasteland where there was no one in sight—no water, no food, no people. His camel wandered off, that is, it became lost. He searched for it but could not find it, so he went to a tree, lay down beneath it, and waited for death. He had despaired of ever seeing his camel again, and with it he had despaired of his own life, for his food and drink were strapped to the animal. While he was in that state, suddenly his she-camel appeared; its reins had become caught on the very tree under which he was sleeping. How can such happiness be measured? No one can truly picture it except someone who has faced the same plight—for it is a tremendous joy, the joy of life after one had resigned himself to death. Seizing the reins, the man cried out, “Allahumma anta ʿabdī wa-anā rabbuk” (O Allah, You are my servant and I am Your Lord!). He had meant to praise Allah by saying, “Allahumma anta rabbī wa-anā ʿabduk” (O Allah, You are my Lord and I am Your servant), but in the intensity of his delight he misspoke, reversing the words.

From this hadith we learn that Allah rejoices at His servant’s repentance when the servant turns back to Him, and that He loves such repentance—glorified and exalted is He—with a mighty love. This is not because He needs our deeds or our repentance; Allah is utterly independent of us. Rather, it arises from His own generosity. Thus He—exalted is He—rejoices and is angered, dislikes and loves, yet these attributes are nothing like ours, for Allah says, “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing” (al-Shūrā 11). Rather, He is