Placing Our Hope in Allah: Husn al-Zann Billah

How can someone who runs away from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and makes their nafs their deity, their foremost point of reference and moral compass, have positive assumptions about their Rabb? How can someone who disregards the rights and commands of Allah the Most High, takes His prohibitions lightly, and insists on perpetrating offenses that flout these prohibitions have positive assumptions about Him?

A mumin may live in times and under conditions that make it difficult to follow the commands of Islam. They may be under heavy pressure concerning both apparent and internal aspects of their lives. However, as a requirement of their iman, they should never lose hope in Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and always have positive thoughts about Him. They know well that only the non-believers (kuffar) will lose their hope in Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala).

Various ayahs and hadiths advise muslims to keep their hopes and positive convictions alive and retain their goodwill. The following hadith is one of them.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) reports that our Rabb (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says: “'I am as my slave expects me to be” (Bukhari, 7505) 

Another narration of the hadith is as follows:

“None of you should die but hoping only good from Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.” (Bukhari, Tawhid 15, 35; Muslim, Dhikr wa’d-Dua 2, 19, 21).

By these declarations, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) means, “I will respond accordingly to my subjects’ thoughts and expectations of me.”

Undeniably only a person who has upheld morals, values, and social and cultural norms can have positive convictions and expectations within the social structure they exist as a part of. Therefore, people who have positive thoughts about Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) may only be found among those who abide by His laws and fear the very real danger of being consigned to Hell while still rejoicing at the good news of His mercy. A person with husn al-zann billah will have the unshakable belief that their Rabb will reward them for their goodness, that He will not break His promise, and will accept His servant’s repentance.

As for the person who persists in major sins, zulm (cruelty against oneself and others), and violating Allah’s commands, a harsh coldness falls over their heart, and the vast, barren distance between them and their Rabb continues to grow as their sins, zulm, and haram deny them the warmth of His love. This inhibits them from nurturing positive thoughts about their Rabb, Allah the Exalted.

However, to keep the positive outlook mentioned in the hadith alive, two vital issues need to be taken into account.

First: One should learn the causes and ways of good and evil. An insight (basirah) develops within ourselves because of the truths we have observed in the world, experienced in ourselves and others, and the lessons we have learned about the nations that lived in ancient times.

The most beneficial way in this regard is to engage in contemplation (tafakkur) of the verses of the Qur’an. All the means and methods of good and evil are available in the words of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) in detail and with enlightening explanations. Then comes the sunnah, whichis the secondary revelation, as it is explanatory and complementary to the practices and rules dictated in the Qur’an.

These two sources reveal good and evil and their ways to someone as if they are experiencing them first-hand. Consequently, when a person contemplates the history of nations and how Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has treated the obedient and the rebellious, they may see that this information coincides with what they learned through the Qur’an and the sunnah. As a matter of fact, when we look back on the past decades, centuries, and ages, we see that history is populated with incidents that Allah the Most High has already foretold. The divine signs and miracles observed in the external world reveal that the Qur’an and Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) are true and that Allah the Almighty always fulfills His promise.

Second: One should be cautious against the misdirections of the nafs. This is one of the most important steps because while a servant knows that sin and ghaflah (heedlessness) are among the causes that will prove detrimental to their life in this world and the Hereafter, their nafs would nevertheless deceive them sometimes. It would tempt them to rely on the forgiveness of Allah (jalla jalaluhu), sometimes by making excuses to defer making repentance for their sins, while at other times, by coaxing them into neglecting the fard and focusing on nafilah worship instead. The nafs influences us to use fate as an excuse for complacency and use our peers and friends to justify living a wayward life. It also has a penchant for leading us to mingle with the wrong  people.

The meaning of having husn al-zann

Although this hadith qudsi contains good news, it is also misunderstood by many.

We should keep in mind that a servant who rebels against their master cannot have positive assumptions about their master. Positive thoughts and the callousness created by doing evil can never coexist because the person who transgresses against someone is estranged from the other person to the extent of the evil they do. Therefore, the people who have the most positive assumptions about Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) are those who obey Him the most.

As Hasan al-Basri (rahmatullahi alayh) remarked: “A mumin has positive assumptions about their Rabb and does good deeds. A sinner misunderstands Him and does evil deeds.”

How can someone who runs away from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and makes their nafs their deity, their foremost point of reference and moral compass, have positive assumptions about their Rabb? How can someone who disregards the rights and commands of Allah the Most High, takes His prohibitions lightly, and insists on perpetrating offenses that flout these prohibitions have positive assumptions about Him?

How can someone who is an enemy of Allah’s awliya and a friend of his enemy harbor positive thoughts about Him?

How can someone who does not accept Allah’s attributes of speaking, commanding, forbidding, rewarding, and rendering punishment hold optimistic views about Him? Verily, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) addresses those who believe that His hearing is limited:

“And that was your assumption (zann) which you assumed about your Rabb. It has brought you to ruin, and you have become among the losers.” (Fussilat, 23)

When they assumed that Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) did not know most of what they knew, they were wrong, and these assumptions brought them to ruin. This is also the grim fate of those who deny Allah’s perfect attributes and supreme glory and characterize Him with qualities unworthy of being associated with His divine being. If such a person still thinks that Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) will put them in Jannah, it is either self-deception or the deception of the shaytan.

We must be cautious: How can a servant know full well that they will eventually return to Allah, that He hears their every word, sees their every action, and knows everything secret or evident, that nothing can be hidden from Him, and that they will be brought before Him and questioned for all their actions and yet have hopeful thoughts and positive assumptions about Him despite transgressing against Him, violating His laws, disobeying His commands and drawing His wrath?

This is nothing but a deception of the nafs, a delusion, a futile wish.

Abu Umama (radiyallahu anh) narrates: “I went to Aisha (radiyallahu anha) with Urwah bin Zubayr (radiyallahu anh). Aisha (radiyallahu anha) said:

‘I wish you could have seen Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in his illness! He had six or seven dinars at that time. He ordered me to give them as sadaqah. But my preoccupation with his illness and pain prevented me from doing this. (When he found healing from Allah the Exalted) He asked:

‘Have you donated the six dinars I gave you?’ I replied:

‘No, Wallahi, your pain kept me busy; I couldn't do it.’

He asked for the dinars, and I brought them. He placed them in his palm and said:

‘What is the assumption of a prophet about Allah who reached Him (passed away) with this money?’” (Al-Humaydi, Musnad, 1/301; Ahmed, Musnad, 41/254).

While the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was afraid of passing away and meeting his Rabb still in possession of the six dinars he meant to distribute as a charity, how can the oppressors, who will reach Allah with all kinds of injustice and cruelty, and those who commit major sins in broad daylight think about Allah?

The statement, “We presumed that He would not punish any oppressor or sinner,” contradicts the verses of the Qur’an and the most fundamental principles of religion. Therefore, such conjectural thinking is not a positive presumption but a hollow sentiment.

Ibrahim (alayhissalam) asked his people, “Do you want a false deity other than Allah? So, what is your presumption about the Rabb of all the worlds?” (As-Saffat, 86-87). In other words, he was asking how they thought Allah would respond when they were worshipping someone other than Him? Of course, we do not worship idols as idol worship in all its physical practice is ostensibly all but abandoned throughout most of the world. However, there is nothing to obstruct it from interjecting itself in far more insidious ways, as we may need to be reminded by the verse, “Have you seen those who made the desires of their nafs as deities?” (Al-Furqan, 43).

Anyone who contemplates this point may well know that the meaning of having favorable presumptions about Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is to live in accordance with His orders and prohibitions.

Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) remarked as such:

“The wise person is the one who submits his nafs to Allah’s commands and prepares for the afterlife. A helpless person is a person who follows his nafs’s requests, and then has hopes and expectations from Allah.” (Ibn Majah, Zuhd 31; Tirmidhi, Sifatu’l-qiyamah, 25).

Husn al-zann is meaningful and beneficial only when you reach and use the means of salvation. There is no room for positivity in a situation where one does everything that runs counter to the laws of Allah (jalla jalaluhu), deserving to have the relevant punishment brought to bear on them. Some people may take it further and say, “Husn al-zann billah is still possible even in that case. Allah’s mercy, forgiveness, and generosity are greater than His wrath!”

We say, yes, so they are. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is more exalted, generous, and merciful than what it would take to cleanse the combined stigma of all these damning factors, but His mercy only manifests where it is deserved. This is because Allah also has names such as the Wise (Al-Hakim), the Mighty (Al-Aziz), the Withholder (Al-Qabid), the Retaliator (Al-Muntaqim). If the basis of husn al-zann billah were only Allah’s forgiving attributes and names, then the pious and the sinner, the believer and the infidel, and the friend and the enemy would become equals.

Therefore, it is not the positive and rewarding names and attributes of Allah that will appear to a sinner who has elicited the wrath of Allah, has been gripped by His curse, and has violated his prohibitions without hesitation, but it is His names and attributes that point to his wrath and threats. Divine justice requires this.

Positive thinking will only benefit those who repent, mend their ways, renounce and abandon sins for good, turn to goodness and obedience for the rest of their lives, and then nourish good wishes. This is the true husn al-zann. The former is a deception and a baseless self-consolation.

Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says: “Indeed, those who have believed and those who have emigrated and fought in the cause of Allah - those expect the mercy of Allah. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Al-Baqarah, 218). Allah has mentioned not the lazy and the wicked but the good believers who serve His cause as people who can have optimistic assumptions and hope.

Correct and appropriate assumption

Husn al-zann and hope can only be achieved by fulfilling the conditions required by the wisdom in Allah’s (subhanahu wa ta’ala) religion and in the way He ordains destiny and bestows rewards. First, the servant does as the relevant principles of Islam governing the circumstances of their situation dictate. They then put their trust in their Rabb and foster a benevolent conviction that Allah will direct the situation in a way that will render the hoped-for benefits.

Hoping and wanting something necessitates these three things:

• Loving what you hope for and nurturing a genuine desire for it
• Having a fear of losing it and letting it slip away
• Striving to achieve it as much as possible

A hope that does not include these components can be labeled a groundless delusion, a cheap wish. A hopeful person is also afraid of losing out. Someone traveling on a mountain road trying to get through before the snow buries the path deep beneath its cover and blocks passage walks with good haste for fear of not reaching the destination on time.

Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) states: “He who is afraid (of the pillage of the enemy), sets out in the early part of the night; and he who sets out early, reaches his destination. Beware! The commodity (reward) of Allah is precious. Verily the commodity of Allah is Jannah.” (Tirmidhi, Sifatu’l-qiyamah, 18)

Not only does Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) mention hope as a characteristic of people with good deeds, but He also mentions fear as a staple of their mentality. Thus, it is known that beneficial hope and fear go hand in hand. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says:

“Verily those who live in awe for fear of their Lord.  And those who believe in the verses of their Lord. And those who do not associate any partner to their Lord. And those who dispense their charity with their hearts full of fear, because they will return to their Lord. Those people are accelerating towards the (real) good things, and they are the foremost to attain them.” (Al-Mu’minun, 57-61).

The following hadith was narrated by Aisha (radiyallahu anha) regarding this verse:

“I asked Rasulullah about this verse:

‘Are they people who drink alcohol, commit adultery, and steal?’ He replied:

‘O daughter of Al-Siddiq! No. Rather, they are people who fast, pray, and give sadaqah but fear that they will not be accepted. They are those who compete in benevolence.’” (Ibn Majah, Zuhd 20; Tirmidhi , Tafsir 24)

Allah the Most High has described the people of bliss as doing good deeds in fear and the miserable as doing evil in a false sense of security. We see that the beloved Sahabah were in a serious struggle to rack up good deeds, as well as being in great fear. On the other hand, we are not only careless in our actions but negligent as well, and at the same time, we are untouched by fear and have an unjustified sense of security from punishment.

Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (radiyallahu anh) would hold his tongue and say, “That’s what got me into trouble!” He would cry a lot and say, “Cry. If you can’t cry, pretend to cry.” When he stood up for prayer, his body would turn rigid with the fear of Allah as if it had turned into a piece of wood.

Ali bin Abi Talib (radiyallahu anh) was most afraid of falling into endless ambitions and obeying his nafs. He used to say: “Endless ambition makes one forget the Hereafter and following the desires and passions of the nafs distract one from Allah. Be careful! The world’s time is coming to an end, and the Hereafter is rushing towards us! Both have their followers. Be the follower of the Hereafter, not of the world, for today there are actions without judgment, and tomorrow there is judgment and no chance for action!”

Abu Darda (radiyallahu anh) would say: “The thing I fear most on the day of judgment is the question “O, Abu Darda! You learned a lot, but did you act on your knowledge?” 

He would also say, “If you knew the things you will encounter after death, you would not eat with appetite, drink water, or enter houses to find shade. You would go up to the mountains, beat your chests and cry for yourselves. You would say if only I were a tree that was planted and whose fruit was eaten.”

While reading surah al-Jathiya one night, Tamim al Dari (radiyallahu anh) came to the 21st ayah and kept repeating it crying until the morning: “Do those who have committed evils assume that We will make them like those who believe and do righteous deeds, so as their life and death becomes equal?  How badly they judge!”

Ibn Abi Mulaykah (rahmatullahi alayh) once said: “I met with thirty Companions, and all of them were afraid of their end.”

According to a narration from Hasan al Basri (rahmatullahi alayh): “Only a believer fears Allah, and only a munafiq (hypocrite) would feel safe from His punishment.”

Husn al-zann or wishful thinking

Throughout history, many ignorant and unwary people disobeyed the orders and prohibitions of Allah, relying on His mercy, forgiveness, and generosity. They forgot that His punishment is severe and will not be turned away from the group of sinners. The stories of the destruction of such peoples are told in the Qur’an. Even if we are not immediately smitten and punished in this world, the same threat remains valid for us because the existence of the Hereafter is a given and undeniable. Judgment day and Jannah and Jahannam are all definite realities looming just beyond our mortal horizon.

One who persists in sins but relies on forgiveness is like a stubborn and headstrong brute. Ma’ruf al-Karkhi (quddisa sirruhu) said: “It is disgraceful and folly to hope for the mercy of Allah who you do not obey.”

Hasan al Basri (rahmatullahi alayh) used to say: “Some people were distracted by their delusion of forgiveness and eventually left this world without doing any good deeds. They used to say, ‘We assume good things about our Rabb.’ They were lying. If their thoughts of Him were good, their deeds would also be good!”

A man said to Hasan al Basri:

“What would you think of us listening to the khutbahs of people who scare us until our hearts leap into our mouths?”

He said:

“Wallahi, it is better for you to make friends with those who scare you and end up safe than to be friends with people who make you feel safe and finally end up in fear.”

Today, those who have been caught up in the words of divine love and affection but have turned their backs on Shariah and those who follow them should think about these words carefully.

Someone from the Salafu’s-Salihin said: “There are many people who unknowingly and ignorantly fall into the trap of Allah’s rewards and bounties. Many people are unknowingly, ignorantly, deceived by the fact that Allah continues to provide His protection and care. There are many people who are unknowingly, ignorantly, drunk on, and deceived by the praise of people!”

Thus, we believe that the difference between husn al-zann and delusion has been clarified. Let’s summarize again; if the assumption about Allah leads a person to take up good deeds, it is husn al-zann. If it leads to laziness and indulgence in sins, then it is nothing but deception and empty consolation.

Ali Kaya