Be Kind to Allah

By Bahron Ansori, Journalist of MINA

Being kind (husnuzhan) to Allah Ta’ala is an important issue that every Muslim must pay attention to. Shaykh Abdurrahman bin Sa’ad Asy-Syatsri explained the importance of being kind to Allah, among others, as follows.

First, being kind to Allah is proof of faith in Allah Ta’ala’s rububiyah as creator, all-possessing and all-governing. nly Allah has the right to be worshiped, including being kind to Allah is avoiding big and small shirk, sum’ah and riya’ and anything that reduces trust in Allah.

Second, being kind to Allah is a great worship that unites the four great pillars of worship namely, love (mahabbah), exaltation, hope (raja’) and fear (khauf).

Third, being kind to Allah is the perfection of resignation and fourth, being kind to Allah is a good optimism that the Prophet Muhammad Shalallahu alaihi wasallam was amazed by.

Fifth, being kind to Allah is proof of one’s faith in qadha’ and qadar with its four levels, namely, knowledge, writing, creation and masyiah (will).

Ulama’s expression about being kind to Allah

First, Abdullah bin Mas’ud ra, said,

وَالَّذِيْ لَا إِلَهَ غَيْرُهُ مَا أُعْطِيَ عَبْدٌ مُؤْمِنٌ شَيْئاً خَيْراً مِنْ حُسْنِ الظَّنِّ بِاللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَالَّذِيْ لَا إِلَهَ غَيْرُهُ لَا يُحْسِنُ عَبْدٌ بِاللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الظَّنَّ إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ظَنَّهُ؛ ذَلِكَ بِأّنَّ اْلخَيْرَ فِيْ يَدِهِ

“By Allah, who has no one who has the right to be worshiped except Him, there is no gift that a believer can get that is better than being kind to Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla. By Allah, who has no one who has the right to be worshiped except Him, no servant is kind to Allah except Allah will give him what he thinks, because goodness is in Allah’s hands. [narrated by Ibn Abi Dunya in the book Husnuzhan billah]

Second, Imam Hasan Al-Bashri prominent figure of Tabi’in scholars. He said, “Surely a believer when he thinks kindly to his Lord, he will do good. While a hypocrite, he is prejudiced against his Lord, so he does bad deeds.”

Third, Imam Ibnul Qayyim Al-Jauziyyah rh, the great scholar of the Hanbali school of thought in the 8th century H. He said, “Whoever pays close attention to this matter, will surely know that husnuzhan to Allah is doing good itself.

Because what makes a servant’s deeds good, is because he has the suspicion that his Lord will reward and reward his deeds and accept them, so that what encourages him to do good deeds is this good prejudice.

Every time he is good in his prejudice, the better his deeds will be. If this is not the case then husnuzhan which is accompanied by an attitude of liking to follow lust is a weakness.

In general, being kind will lead someone to do a cause of salvation. Meanwhile, if he commits a cause of destruction, it means he has no good prejudice.” (Al-Jawabu Al-Kafi, pp. 13-15 briefly.)

The Form of Husnudzan

First, be kind when fulfilling obedience. From Abu Hurairah ra, he said, “The Prophet Muhammad Shalallahu alaihi wasallam said,

يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ ذَكَرْتُهُ في نَفْسِي وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلأٍ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلأٍ خَيْرٍ مِنْهُمْ وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ بِشِبْرٍ تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ ذِرَاعًا تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعًا وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً – رواه البخاري, رقم 7405 ومسلم , رقم 2675
“Allah Ta’ala said, “I depend on what My servant thinks of Me. I am with him if he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, then I remember him in Myself.

If he remembers Me in a crowd, then I will remember him in a crowd that is better than them. If he comes an inch closer to Me, I will draw closer to him a cubit.

If he draws near to Me a cubit, I will approach him an fathom. If he comes to Me walking, I will come to him running.” [Hadith Qudsi narrated by Al-Bukhari, no. 7405 and Muslim, no. 2675].

It can be noted in this hadith, a very clear relationship between husnuzhan and charity, namely accompanying it by inviting to remember Allah Azza Wa Jalla and draw closer to Him with obedience. Whoever has good prejudice towards Allah Ta’ala should have this good prejudice encourage him to do good deeds in charity.

Abul Abbas Al-Qurtubi rh said, “Another opinion says, the meaning is to think that it will be granted when praying, to think that it is accepted when repenting, to think that it is forgiven when asking for forgiveness, to think that charity is accepted when carrying out it according to the requirements, and to hold fast to the honesty of His promises and the vastness of His Preference.”

What he said was strengthened by the words of the Prophet Muhammad Shalallahu alaihi wasallam, “Pray to Allah when you are sure that your prayer will be answered.” [Hadith narrated by At-Tirmidhi with an authentic sanad].

Second, be kind when experiencing disaster and when approaching death.

From Jabir ra he said, “I heard the Prophet SAW three days before he died saying, “Don’t let one of you die unless he thinks well of Allah.” [HR. Muslims, 2877]

In the book Al-Mausu’ah Al-Fiqhiyyah (Encyclopedia of Jurisprudence), 10/220 it is stated, “A believer is required to have good prejudice towards Allah Ta’ala, and more emphasis is placed on having good prejudice towards Allah when disaster strikes and when he is about to die.”

Al-Hathab said, “It is recommended for those who will die to have good prejudice towards Allah Ta’ala. Having good thoughts about Allah, even though it is highly recommended when you are about to die and when you are sick, a person should always have good thoughts about Allah. ” [Kitab Syarh Muslim, by Imam An Nawawi, 17/10.]

Husnudzan fruit to Allah

Being kind to Allah is the practice of the heart. Therefore, it is good to think that this huznuzhan has the following fruits.

First, his heart becomes peaceful or his despair towards Allah has disappeared. In other words, people who are always kind to Allah will not feel hopeless even though the tests come and go.

Second, Allah will give to those who are kind to Allah, what he thinks of Allah Ta’ala.

Abdullah bin Mas’ud radhiyallahu ‘anhu said, “By Allah there is no one who has the right to be worshiped except Him, no servant is kind to Allah unless Allah will give him what he thinks because goodness is in Allah’s hands.” [HR. Ibn Abi Dunya in the book Huznuzhan billah]

Third, being kind to Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla strengthens the heart in doing good deeds. People who are kind to Allah, then their hearts become strong to always want to do good deeds.

Fourth, husnuzhan to Allah will be the cause of husnul khatimah (good end of death) while prejudice (suuzhan) to Allah is the cause of suul khatimah (bad ending of death).

Fifth, some righteous people say, “Use husnuzhan to Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla in every trial that befalls you so that you can get rid of it because it is closer to the way out.”

Sixth, the heart will always be calm. The soul feels safe and filled with happiness because it is pleased with the destiny of Allah Ta’ala and submission to its Lord.

Seventh, it is hoped that the heart of a believer who is kind to Allah will always be in good condition in both pleasant and troublesome situations.

Eighth, those who have good thoughts of Allah, their deeds will be good. As stated by the scholar Tabi’in al-Hasan al Bashri,

إنَّ اْلمُؤْمِنَ أَحْسَنَ الظَّنَّ بِرَبِّهِ فَأَحْسَنَ اْلعَمَلَ، وَإِنَّ اْلمُنَافِقَ أَسَاءَ الظَّنَّ فَأَسَاءَ اْلعَمَلَ
“Indeed, the believer is kind to his Lord so that he does good. While the hypocrite is prejudiced against his Lord so he does bad things.

May Allah Ta’ala guide our hearts to always be kind to Allah in all situations and conditions, amen. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)