How Allāh speaks about being as His slave thinks of Him

﷽ 

Consider how Allāh speaks about being as His slave thinks of Him, then mentions the result of the slave's act of drawing closer to Him the Exalted.

- And consider how Allāh the Most Merciful and Benevolent increases the slave's reward with every step he or she takes to draw closer to Him the Exalted.

This Hadīth clearly demonstrates the importance of Husn-uẓh-Ẓhann billāh, and following that up with the required actions. Imām Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allāh have mercy on him, explains the reality of Husn-uẓh-Ẓhann billāh saying:

وحُسن الظن هو الرجاء، فمَن كان رجاؤُه هادياً إلى الطاعة وزاجراً له عن المعصية؛ فهو رجاءٌ صحيح، ومَن كانت بطالته رجاء، ورجاؤُه بَطالةً وتفريطاً؛ فهو الغرور.

ولو أن رجلاً كانت له أرضٌ يؤمِّل أن يعود عليه مِن مُغِلِّها ما ينفعه، فأهملها ولم يبذرها ولم يحرثها، وحَسَّن ظَنَّه بأنه يأتي مِن مُغِّلِها ما يأتي مِن غير حَرْثٍ وبَذْرٍ وسقيٍ وتعاهدِ الأرض، لَعَدَّهُ الناس مِن أسفه السفهاء.

وقال:

فكذلك مَن حَسُنَ ظنه وقويَ رجاؤه في الفوز بالدرجات العُلا والنعيم المقيم، مِن غير طاعةٍ ولا تقربٍ إلى الله تعالى بامتثال أوامره، واجتناب نواهيه، وبالله التوفيق.

وقد قال تعالى:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا وَجَاهَدُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أُولَئِكَ يَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ? [سورة البقرة – الآية 218]؛

فتأمل كيف جعل رجاءَهُم إتيانهم بهذه الطاعات؟!

"Husn-uẓh-Ẓhann is hope (Ar-Rajā'). So, whoever possesses (the type of ) Ar-Rajā' that guides him to engage in acts of obedience and dissuades him from acts of disobedience, then this is correct (type of) Ar-Rajā'. While whoever possesses (the type of) Ar-Rajā' that consists of idleness and inactivity, that is (to say) his Rajā' consists of lethargy and negligence, then he has been deceived. 

For if a man possesses a piece of land from which he hopes to profit from its fertile soil what will be of benefit to him but he carelessly ignores it; he does not plant seeds in it, nor does he till that soil all the while possessing a positive outlook that fertile [products] shall come to him of the likes of one who actually plants, tills, waters the land, and spends time in its cultivation, he would be counted by the people as the most foolish of fools."

He further stated:

"Such is the case concerning the one who possesses a positive attitude and strong hope regarding success in attaining the highest of stations (in Jannah) and blissful, perpetual enjoyment (therein), without performing acts of obedience, or seeking to gain closeness to Allāh through enacting His orders and refraining from that which He has forbidden. And through Allāh success is achieved. The Most High says:

'Indeed, those who have believed and those who have emigrated and fought in the cause of Allāh, those (are the ones who) hope for the Mercy of Allāh. And Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.’ [ Sūrah Al-Baqarah: 218]

So contemplate the way He has made their hope (attested by) their enacting those acts of obedience!"

📖 Al-Jawāb-ul-Kāfī, pg.52

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📋 We can understand and conclude from this that Husn-uẓh-Ẓhann billāh is the most effective driving force behind the slave's actions.

Its importance can be appreciated by considering the fact that one will only achieve success, by the Grace of Allāh, in proportion with how he or she thinks about Allāh, and in accordance with the efforts one makes to achieve the aim.

The more positive one's thoughts are, the stronger one's hope in achieving success is, the firmer one's resolve and determination ('Azīmat-un-Nafs) will be. This in turn propels the believer into action, enables him to endure the hardships encountered along the way, overcome obstacles in the path, make the required sacrifices, and to  respond to misfortunes and calamities with As-Sabr, bi'idhnillāh.

And here we've come back to the matter of As-Sabr ...

📌 To be continued, Inshā'Allāh

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🗃 Footnotes

1). Sahīh al-Bukhārī 7405

#Taqwā, #SelfAwareness, #Sincerity, #Taubah, #Character, #Attitudes, #SelfControl, #SelfDevelopment, #Trials, #Resilience, #Success

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