Thinking Well of Allah

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

حسن الظن بالله

In Sahih Bukhari (Volume 8, Book 73, Number 90, Good Manners and Form Al-Adab),  Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasallam) has reportedly strongly discouraged against thinking ill of others (as narrated Abu Huraira).
"Beware of ill intentions towards others, for it is the worst of falsehood; and do not look for the others' faults and do not spy, and do not be jealous of one another, and do not desert (cut your relation with) one another, and do not hate one another; and O Allah's worshipers! Be brothers"

Looking at the statement  إياكم والظن ، فان الظن أكذب الحديث, when thinking ill of others is the worst kind of thinking, what can we say of "thinking ill of Allah". Any believer will shudder at the idea of falling into such a category. And yet, as we shall see, it is something that we do without realizing the gravity of it.

The scholar Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr (Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah) writes in his Zad Al Ma’ad:

 فأكثر الخلق بل كلهم إلا من شاء الله يظنون بالله غير الحق ظن السوء ؛

 فإن غالب بني آدم يعتقد أنه مبخوس الحق ، ناقص الحظ ، وأنه يستحق فوق ما أعطاه الله ،

 ولسان حاله يقول : ظلمني ربي ومنعني ما أستحق ، ونفسه تشهد عليه لذلك ،

وهو بلسانه ينكره ولا يتجاسر على التصريح به ومن فتش نفسه وتغلغل في معرفة دفائنها وطواياها ،

...........

ولو فتشت من فتشته ، لرأيت عنده تعتباً على القدر وملامة له

، واقتراحاً عليه خلاف ما جرى به ، وأنه ينبغي أن يكون كذا وكذا ، فمستقل ومستكثر ، وفتش نفسك هل أنت سالم من ذلك :

فإن تنـجُ منها تنجُ من ذي عظيمة وإلا فإني لا أخالك ناجياً

“Most people – in fact everybody (barring those protected by Allah) –assume the worst with regards to Allah, and it is certainly far from the truth. Most people believe that they are deprived of what they rightfully deserve, or suffer from bad luck,  or certainly deserve more than what Allah has provided for them.
It is as if they are saying: ‘My Lord has wronged me and deprived me of what I deserve,’ and his soul bears witness to this while his tongue states otherwise, and does not state what is in his/her heart.
.....…So, dig into your own self: are you protected from this? If you are safe from this, you have been protected from something truly terrible. Otherwise, I do not see that you have been saved.”

After reading his statement, I examined myself, and found out that I have more than infrequently wished or wanted my situation to be different from what it is. And I have frequently looked at the condition of the world, and thought that it could be better. And at the same time, I also do believe that Allah knows what is best.  It is these two contradicting feelings that I must reconcile.

If I truly believe in that what Allah does is best, then how can I not be happy in what is my share in this world?

I looked up ( الظن ) in the Qur'an to examine what Allah has revealed to us. What I found truly shocked me. People who think ill of Allah have been rebuked as hypocrites and deniers of truth (for example (Ali Imran, 3:154, Al Fath 48:6). And at the same time,Allah says, conveying to us the words of his prophet Yaqub (alayhissalaam), “Do not despair of Allah’s mercy. No one despairs of Allah’s mercy except the unbelieving people.” (Yusuf, 12:87)

The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasallam) in his parting words of advise, added "None of you should die except while assuming the best about Allah." (Sahîh Muslim (5125), on the authority of Jabir bin Abd Allah al-Ansari ).

عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِىَّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- قَبْلَ وَفَاتِهِ بِثَلاَثٍ يَقُولُ

 لاَ يَمُوتَنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلاَّ وَهُوَ يُحْسِنُ بِاللَّهِ الظَّنَّ

A state of thinking well of Allah is not only a matter of the heart, but also has a direct impact on our deeds.  In the words of Hassan Al Basri (may Allah be pleased with him):

المؤمن أحسنَ الظنّ بربّه فأحسن العملَ ، وإنّ الفاجر أساءَ الظنّ بربّه فأساءَ العمل

"The believer assumes the best about his Lord so he does the best deeds. The sinner assumes the worst about his Lord, so he does evil deeds"

So I remind myself, and my fellow believers, let us introspect and cleanse ourselves from this shortcoming, if we have it, and think well of Allah, and let us ask Him for help and guidance, with the belief that He will accept our supplications. As the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasallam) advised us:

ادْعُوا اللهَ وَأَنْتُمْ مُوقِنُونَ بِالإجَابَةِ

When you beseech Allah in supplication, be convinced that He will answer you." [Sunan al-Tirmidhi (3401)]

In this context, I would like to share a doa' quoted in An-Nasai through Anas Bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that Rasoolullah (salallahu alayhi wasallam) taught to sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah's blessings be upon her):

وعن أنس بن مالك رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لفاطمة رضي الله عنها: ما يمنعك أن تسمعي ما أوصيك به أن تقولي إذا أصبحت وإذا أمسيت: يا حي يا قيوم برحمتك أستغيث، أصلح لي شأني كله ولا تكلني إلى نفسي طرفة عين. رواه النسائي

“O Hayy O Qayyum! I seek assistance from You alone, courtesy of your Mercy; please rectify all my affairs and do not leave me at the mercy of my nafs even for the blink of an eye"