Khutbahs
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Think Well of Allah | Khutbah
In this khutbah, Dr. Omar Suleiman talks about what it means to have Husn Al Dhann (think well) of Allah. What are the practical applications and misunderstandings of the concept? When is it most important for us?
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for him. And we bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam is his final messenger. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him. And those that follow in his blessed path until the day of judgment, we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen. Dear brothers and sisters, as we prepare for a janazah today of a young brother of just 26 years from Bosnia, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala have mercy on him and accept him into al-Firdaws al-A'la and make it easy for his family. Allahumma ameen. We constantly read about people that pass away in very unpredictable ways and at very young ages. There was a brother in Canada, some of you may have seen the news, who was shot completely unprovoked in his 40s. I believe brother Shaquille rahimallah was only 47 years old and it made the national news. And he leaves behind a wife and two young daughters. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for them all. Allahumma ameen. You see people at these young ages and I wanted to talk about something that's appropriate to the occasion, but also allows us to have something to grab onto and gives us a concept that shows up so frequently in the sunnah of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, but is so often misapplied and that is this concept of husn adhan billah. To expect well from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. To have good assumptions of your Lord. To expect the best from Him. To think only good thoughts about Him. To never attribute any evil to Him. And to connect yourself to that good expectation in a practical way that allows you to do good deeds every single day that you have in this very short lifetime that you have on this earth. And I begin with a story.
Hayyan Abi Nadr rahimahullah ta'ala, he says that one day I went out of my home to visit Yazid Ibn Al-Aswad rahimahullah while he was ill. So as I was on my way, Hayyan says, as I was on my way to visit Yazid Ibn Al-Aswad, I met another man on the way whose name was Wathila Ibn Al-Asqa. And Wathila was also on his way to visit this man. So these two people are on their way to visit a man who is essentially dying due to his illness. And he said as we entered into the home of Yazid Ibn Al-Aswad, Wathila said to him, Kaifa dhanuka billa? What are you expecting from your Lord? What are you expecting from Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala as you prepare to meet Him? He said, dhani billahi wallahi hasan. He said, I swear by Allah that what I expect from Allah is nothing but good. I have nothing but good expectation of Him. So Wathila said to him, faabshir, then glad tidings to you. Fa inni sam'i'tu rasoolallahi salallahu alayhi wasalam yaqool. For I heard the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam say, qala Allahu azzawajal, ana inda dhanni abdi bi in dhanna khaira wa in dhanna sharra. He said, I heard the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam say that Allah has said, Allah Himself has said, I am what My servant expects of Me. If he expects good, he shall get it, and if he expects bad, he shall get it. If his expectation of Me is going to be good, then what will come to him will be nothing but good. And if his expectation of Me is hardship, then he will get nothing but hardship from Me.
And there is a particular notion here of husn ad-dhan bi-llah, of assuming well of Allah, that you'll start to notice that it's deeply tied to a person's life as it is about to end. The connection between having a good expectation of Allah and death in particular is prominent in these narrations. Even with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam himself, Jabir ibn Abdillah radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, he says that I heard the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam say, qabla mawtihi bi thalatha, just three days before he himself died, before he himself died salallahu alayhi wasalam, la yamutanna ahadukum illa wa huwa yuhsin ad-dhan bi-llah, let not one of you die unless he has good expectations of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Meaning don't let death come to you while you have negative thoughts about Allah, while you have negative thoughts about God. Anas radiyaAllahu anhum says that one time I was with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam as he entered upon a young man who was dying. And as this young man was dying, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said, kaifa tajiduk, how are you? How are you? What is your situation? What are you feeling in these moments? And he said, arjullaha ya rasulullah wa inni akhafu dhunubi, this is the perfect answer. He said, I hope for good things from Allah. I want Allah. I desire Allah. I have hope in Him. I want to meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I expect good things from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. All of these years of reading about ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim, the most compassionate, the most merciful, and this connection to Him. And all of these ayat, all these verses that you pass through about the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the amazing rewards He bestows upon the believers. May Allah make us amongst them. Allahuma ameen. He said, ya rasulullah, arjullaha, I want all that. But at the same time, I'm afraid of my sins.
So I'm caught between these two seemingly contradictory feelings. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam put him to ease and put us to ease by extension by saying, la yajtami'ani fee qalbi abdin fee mithli hadha almawtin illa a'taahu allahu ma yarju wa aamanahu mimma yakhaf. He said, no servant of Allah will have these two feelings combined in their heart in this situation of yours. Meaning as you're about to leave this world. Except that Allah will give him what he hopes and will protect him from what he fears. No person leaves this earth with those two conflicting feelings in their heart. They are conflicting feelings. But they're both necessary feelings. If you relinquish one, then you'll either fall into despair or to destruction. So no person, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said, that's good for you. No person is going to leave this earth with those two conflicting feelings. Except that Allah will give that person what he hopes and will protect that person from what he fears. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiallahu ta'ala anhu said, and the narrations go on and on. He said, waladhi laa ilaha ghayru. He said, I swear by him and by him besides who none is worthy of worship. waladhi laa ilaha ghayru. maa a'ti ya'abdun mu'minun shay'an khayran min husni dhan bi'Allah. No servant of Allah is given a gift that is greater than expecting well from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's actually a gift that Allah bestows upon you that you think good thoughts about your Lord. No one is given anything greater than husni dhan bi'Allah. And he said, that no one has husni dhan in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala illa a'taahu Allah a'zawajal dhanuhu dhalika bi'anna alkhayra fi yadihi.
And no one has these good expectations of Allah except that Allah will give him exactly what he expects of him. Because all good is in the hand of Allah anyway. All good belongs to him anyway. Now let's stop for a moment and let's deconstruct the applications versus the misconceptions for a moment. Because some people apply this concept entirely wrong. In fact in a way that completely betrays the purpose of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam sharing all of these amazing things about it. Clearly it's important. Clearly it's an act of the heart. This is something you have to generate in the heart. Clearly it's an act that requires some good cognitive thoughts about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Actually using your brain and actually thinking good thoughts about Allah. But beyond that, what is the practical application of it and what are some of the misconceptions in regards to it? Number one, you cannot use husni dhan bi'Allah, a good expectation of Allah, as a pretext for disobeying him. You can't use husni dhan in Allah to say I don't need to pray because I think Allah is going to forgive me without praying anyway. I don't need to obey these rules. I don't need to follow this religion. I don't need to do this. I don't need to do that. And someone says to you, you know, maybe it's time for you to wake up. Maybe it's time for you to change your ways. And by the way, all of us in this masjid and beyond have some obvious naqs, some obvious deficiency. Maybe it's important for you to take that next step in your journey. Whether that is a journey in something manifest of the religion, in something that we do, something that we wear, something that we act upon that has an outward manifestation or an internal manifestation, or an obvious matter of the tongue, or something that we deal with.
And a person says, look, Allah is Rahman Rahim. Allah is most merciful. I expect good from Allah. That is one of the most offensive things that you can express towards your Lord. You cannot ignore what he tells you about himself in order to claim his protection. You can't ignore what he tells you about himself. Allah has names. Allah has attributes. So you can't use the ambiguous to overcome the explicit. You can't use what he has told you about himself to say that I know something else about him. This is not what husn adhan in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is. You can't pretend his rules don't exist. You can't pretend the guidelines don't exist. And there is a simple way for you to know whether or not you're misusing this concept of husn adhan in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or not. If you say it, or if you express that good expectation of Allah while you are sinning, as a means of settling yourself in that sin, then that is a false application of it. If you express that I have husn adhan in Allah while you are in the midst of a disobedience, while you are in the midst of a sin, as a means of settling yourself in that sin and becoming complacent with it, that husn adhan in Allah is a false husn adhan in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So then what is it? Al-Qadi Ayyad rahimahu Allah ta'ala, he comments on the hadith, ana inda dhanni abdibeed, that I am what my servant expects of me. He says, ma'naahu bilghufrani lahu idha istaghfarani. That means that with forgiveness towards him, if he seeks my forgiveness, wal-qabool idha taab, and I will accept his repentance if he seeks repentance, wal-ijaba idha da'ani, and I will give him if he calls upon me,
wal-kifaya idha istaghfani, and I will suffice him if he seeks self-sufficiency through me. Notice that in each and every single one of these, there is an active responsibility that you have towards activating that husn adhan in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, towards actually making what you think of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala a reality. So it's not while you're sinning that you say, you know, look, leave me alone, I'm comfortable this way and Allah will forgive me insha'Allah ta'ala, let it go. No, it's, I've really really messed up and I'm seeking to turn the page with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and I'm actually going to make these steps back towards him, and I believe Allah will forgive me, and I believe Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will accept my repentance, no matter how many years I've been away from him, no matter what I've done. That's the husn adhan in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that's that good expectation of Allah. That that brother or that sister that looks back on their life, and we see it all the time, when it comes to the jan'as, when it comes to the funerals, that 60, 70, 80 years old even and says, I haven't been praying my whole life, I haven't been doing these things my whole life, ah, what's the point of even starting now? No, no, husn adhan in Allah, good expectation of Allah is that you start now, and you believe that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will erase the entire past, not because you deserve it, but because his names and attributes warrant it. ana indha dhanna abdi bihi, I am what my servant expects of me. Imam al-Khattabi rahimahu wa ta'ala, he commented on the hadith, la yamutanna ahadukum illa wa huwa yuhsinul dhanna billah, that no one of you should die except with a good assumption of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He said, ya'ni fi husni amalihi, fa man hasuna amaluhu, hasuna dhannu, wa man sa'a amaluhu, sa'a dhannu. He said, literally, husn adhan,
a good expectation of Allah, means that you do good deeds, because you wouldn't do good deeds if you didn't expect that Allah would accept them. And su adhan in Allah, expecting evil of Allah, is evil deeds, because you would not reduce yourself to that unless you felt like there was no hope for you in the hereafter, you didn't really know that it was there in the first place. And so your husn adhan in Allah, your thinking well in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, is equivalent to the good deeds that you do for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And he goes on to say, if he has good assumptions, he will have good deeds. And there are numerous manifestations of this in the Quran. Don't think Allah gives you rules to burden you. yureedullahu an yukhafifa ankum, Allah wishes to lighten your burden. yureedullahu bikumul yusr, Allah wants ease for you. So husn adhan in Allah, a good expectation of Allah is that Allah did not give us random rules and random legislation. Everything that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us is for our own good, to lighten the burden. Don't think that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants to punish you. Sometimes you might get caught up in that, that you know what, I'm doomed, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has certainly destined me for punishment, that's why I can't overcome this. maa yafa'alallahu bi'adhaibikum min shakartum wa amantum. What good does Allah have in punishing you when you are grateful? And when you believe. Don't think Allah does not want to answer your dua. When Allah says, waqala rabbukum waj'ooni astajib lakum, when your Lord says, call upon me, I will answer you. It might not be exactly how you want it, and it might not be in the time frame that you want. But don't think that Allah delays you because Allah likes to see you broken and desperate and getting sad. Allah doesn't like to see that from you. It's for your own good, so don't think bad thoughts of your Lord when you make dua to Him. Don't think that Allah does not want to forgive you, wallahu yuridu an yatubu alaikum.
And Allah says in the Quran, Allah wants to accept your repentance. And that's why, as small and seemingly insignificant as it might be from you, not equivalent to the sins that you have committed, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, it's gone, forget about it. No human being would deal with another human being like that. No human being would deal with another human being like that when you come to that person, and you say, you know, look, I know it's been years and years and years and years, I'm sorry. And the person immediately says, forget about all of it, absolutely no compensation. I won't even mention it to you again. And by the way, you're rewarded for seeking forgiveness. That's husn al-dhan and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's what thinking well of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is. And that's the attitude, because it's an attitude that's from within and that has external consequences. The Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam said, don't you dare let death find you. And you're not in that state of being. Thinking well of Allah, hoping the best from Him, and at the same time, fearing your sins. Not fearing that He can't forgive your sins, but fearing a little bit more of that deficiency so that you can do more for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. There are numerous narrations. One of the things that we find, subhanAllah, there's a narration from Ammar ibn Yusuf rahimahullah. He said, ra'aytu hassan ibn salih fi manami. He said, I saw Hassan ibn salih in a dream. And I saw him in that dream and he was in a good situation. He was clearly in a good situation. And I said, qad kuntu, he said that I was waiting. I was waiting. Mutamannian lidhiqa'iq. I was waiting for the moment to meet you. I thought that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would let me meet you. Famaadaa'indak fatukhbirana bihi. What is it that you have seen in this journey that you've taken that you can advise us with? Qala abshir, he said, glad tidings.
Falam araa mitla husna dhan billahi a'zawajal. He said, glad tidings to you. I have not seen that anything helped me in this journey of mine and got me to this place than thinking well of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That you seek Allah's forgiveness and you know that Allah will forgive you. That you turn your life around and you know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will facilitate you towards a good afterlife. That you call upon him and you know that he answers you. That you come across his legislation and you know that it's for the good of you. That you always think positive thoughts about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you never let shaitan pollute your head and start thinking negative thoughts about him subhanahu wa ta'ala to where you say, what's the point of all this stuff? What's the point of all this stuff? The point is, dear brothers and sisters, that today we bury a 26-year-old man and we don't know which of us is next. And the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam said, don't meet Allah with a negative thought about him. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us amongst those that think only good of him and that are always doing good for him. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to protect us from evil thoughts about him and from evil deeds from ourselves. I say this and ask Allah to protect you and the Muslims. So ask forgiveness, for He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Praise be to Allah and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family and companions. O Allah, forgive the believers and the Muslims, the living and the dead. You are the All-Hearing, the All-Near, the All-Responsible for supplications. O Allah, forgive us and have mercy on us, forgive us and do not punish us. O Allah, we have wronged ourselves and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will not be among the losers. O Allah, You are the Forgiving, You love the Forgiving, so forgive us. O Allah, forgive our parents, O Allah, have mercy on them as You did for our young children. O Allah, make us from our wives and our children, the joy of our eyes. And make us for the righteous, leaders. O Allah, help our oppressed brothers in the east and the west.
O Allah, destroy the oppressors by the oppressors and bring us out of them as brothers. O Allah's servants, may Allah grant you justice, kindness and to give you nearness. And forbid you from immorality, evil and transgression. O Allah, may You remember us, so remember Allah and He will remember you. And be grateful for the blessings that He will increase for you. And the remembrance of Allah is greater. And may Allah know what you do.
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