Bukhari
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: Allah the Almighty said: I am as My servant thinks I am …..
It is very important for Muslims to
1. Think Good of Allah and
2. Think good of people they interact with on a daily basis.
Thinking good of Allah SWT
A few things to remember
- Whatever situation you are in right now, remember Allah swt is in control and know that He intends good for you. Have that faith.
- Allah SWT does not wish to make our lives hard for us or punish us.
- Constantly remind ourselves that we are in a state of submission to Allah. Never show anger at the decree of Allah. In difficult situations, never question “why me?”. Have faith and know that Allah always wishes to bring good out of any situation for you. There is always a lesson for us to learn from any difficult situation. There is always a test – of sabr, of shukr. Always remain thankful to Allah.
- He is Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem. No matter what you are going through in life, know that only Allah can help you and bring you out of that difficult situation. During that difficuly we need to try to show sabr and seek His help through prayer.
- When something you wanted does not work for you after you’ve tried everything in your power – have faith that Allah has something better for you.
Thinking good of people
- Always think good of people we are dealing with and make excuses for them. On a number of ocassions, we are presented with situations in our life where we feel let down by others. Perhaps someone did not show up to a meeting, they did not meet your expectations etc. Instead of jumping to conclusions and judging their intentions behind an action or words negatively we need to pause, reflect on what Islam teaches us and then respond. It is possible that that person might have had bad intentions but as a principle we always need to be on caution and not get into a habit of judging people’s intentions. It is a dangerous habit that can have the ability to effect our relationships and our relationship with Allah.
- They are just human – learn to forgive others, dont hold grudges. We need to realize that they are human beings just like us and just like us they are prone to making mistakes. If we want Allah swt to forgive us, we need to learn to forgive others. Do not hold grudges, instead forgive like our role model Prophet SAW did throughout his entire life. One may not realize it but holding grudges consumes a lot of energy that otherwise can be used in better ways.
- Always assume that people have good intentions for you and not the opposite
Conclusion
- As a matter of principle always think positive and good about the intention behind people’s actions.
- Allah wants good for you at all times (practice sabr and shukr)
- It is very easy for us to judge people’s actions based on what is in our mind already about that person or incident. Remember that Allah knows what is in people’s heart(at all times), we don’t.
