Sermon Title: Thinking Well of Allah (Glory be to Him)
Themes of the sermon:
1- The status of thinking well of Allah and its good outcome.
2- Good thought about Allah is based on correct belief and good deeds.
3- Examples of thinking ill of Allah.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah exalt and send peace to the best of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and his family and companions, all together. To proceed:
O servants of Allah, fear Allah, with true piety, and be mindful of Him in secret and in private:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
“O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims.” (Quran 3:102).
O Muslims:
Our Lord, the Exalted and Most High, has the most abundant and perfect praises, the highest and noblest attributes of glory, and the most beautiful and sublime praises.
هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ هُوَ الرَّحْمَنُ الرَّحِيمُ * هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ * هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيم
“He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.”. (Quran 59:22 - 24).
One of the greatest stations of Iman (faith) and the highest levels of Ihsan (i.e. perfection or Benevolence) for a servant is to believe in all forms of perfection that befit his lord, to think well of Allah (Glory be to Him), and to fill his heart with His praise, exaltation, love, fear of His punishment, and hope in His bounty. Thinking well of Allah is one of the major characteristics that distinguishes a believer, while thinking ill of Allah is the state of disbelievers and hypocrites, as Allah (Glory be to Him) says:
وَيُعَذِّبَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَاتِ الظَّانِّينَ بِاللَّهِ ظَنَّ السَّوْءِ عَلَيْهِمْ دَائِرَةُ السَّوْءِ وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَنَهُمْ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا
“And [that] He may punish the hypocrite men and hypocrite women, and the polytheist men and polytheist women - those who assume about Allah an assumption of evil nature. Upon them is a misfortune of evil nature; and Allah has become angry with them and has cursed them and prepared for them Hell, and evil it is as a destination.” (Quran 48:6).
Whoever thinks well of Allah will find Allah as he thought of, and vice versa. In the authentic narrations from Abu Huraira, the Prophet (ﷺ) said: Allah the Almighty says: "I am as My servant thinks of Me."
Whoever thinks that Allah will suffice him if he truly has full trust in Him, Allah will, for sure, suffice him. Whoever thinks Allah accepts his repentance if he truly repents to Him, Allah will accept that from him for sure. Whoever deems that Allah will be grateful for his deeds if he perfects his worship, Allah will be grateful for his good deeds for sure.
Indeed, I put my hope in Allah so much that it seems as if *
I could see by the beauty of good assumptions what Allah is going to do with me.
As for the one who expects that Allah, the Exalted, will let down the one who relies on Him, or will not accept one’s repentance, or will not accept the work of the one who perfects his worship, he then thinks ill of Allah, and his outcome will then be that Allah inflicts upon him what he assumed about Him as a fitting requital. Thus, thinking well of Allah; the Almighty; is a gateway to great goodness, abundant grace. The more a servant has good thoughts in Allah, the more Allah gives him mercy and kindness. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: "By Allah, there is no deity worthy of worship but Him, no believing servant is given anything better than having good thoughts about Allah, the Almighty. And by Allah, there is no deity worthy of worship but Him, no servant has good thoughts about Allah, the Almighty, except that Allah, the Almighty, gives him his expectations; this is because goodness is in His hands."
Thus, having good thoughts about Allah is one of the best things a servant should have before meeting his Lord, as narrated by Muslim from Jabir, who said: I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) before his death, saying: "None of you should die except while having good thoughts about Allah."
Brothers and sisters in Islam:
Having good thoughts about Allah is based on two things: having a deep-rooted belief in Allah and doing good deeds in His obedience .
As for having a correct belief, whoever knows Allah by His names, attributes, favors, blessings, sovereignty, management, power, and glory, and that His mercy and knowledge encompass everything, and that His power and kingdom encompass everything, and that when He wants something, He says to it "Be," and it is, then he will have good thoughts about Allah, the Almighty. Whoever believes that Allah's Shariah (Islamic law) is the best, and His judgment is the greatest, will have good thoughts about Allah, the Almighty. In addition, whoever thinks that there is nothing too great for Allah to give, but He is the Generous, the Munificent, His hand is full, undiminished by any expenditure, bountiful night and day, will have good thoughts about Allah, the Almighty. Whoever believes that Allah is, with all this, the all-Mighty and the Wise, not equating the righteous with the wicked, or the believer with the disbeliever, for He is severe in punishment and also the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful, whoever knows Allah in this way will have good thoughts about Him, glorified be He.
Listen to what Tirmidhi narrated from Anas bin Malik, who said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying: Allah, blessed and exalted, said: "O son of Adam! As long as you call upon me and hope in me, I will forgive you for whatever you have done, and I do not care. O son of Adam! If your sins were to reach the sky, then you sought my forgiveness, I would forgive you, and I do not care. O son of Adam! If you came to me with sins as much as the earth and then you met me without associating anything with me, I would come to you with as much forgiveness."
As for doing good deeds in obedience, whoever knows Allah in that right way, his soul will incline toward obedience and strive in worship, hoping for the great favor of Allah and fleeing from His painful punishment. As Al-Hasan Al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The believer had good thoughts about Allah and did good deeds, while the impious had bad thoughts about Allah and did evil deeds."
Thus, whoever defies Allah in His judgment, disobeys Him in his commands, turns away from the causes of His mercy, then is does not have goods assumption in Allah, rather he is deceived by false hopes and deceptive illusions, may Allah protect me and all of you.
May Allah bless me and all of you with the great Quran, and benefit us from its verses and wise reminder. I say this, and I ask Allah for forgiveness for me and for you and for all Muslims from every sin, so seek His forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
The Second Sermon
Praise be to Allah alone, and may Allah exalt and send peace to the one after whom there is no other prophet. To proceed:
O servants of Allah: Satan is so eager to make a servant think bad thoughts about Allah, to fill one’s heart with doubt concerning Allah's power, mercy, or wisdom. Satan strives to ensnare the servant in various ways.
Whenever a servant thinks that he cannot get to Allah except through an angel, a prophet or even righteous guardian who intercedes for them with Allah, then he thinks ill of Allah
Thus, they liken Allah to some leaders who force those in need to resort to intermediaries and advocates who influence them and convey the needs of the people to them. So where is the vastness of Allah's knowledge? Where is the perfection of His kingdom and authority? Where is the perfection of His mercy and kindness? And where is His nearness, glory be to Him, and His response to the supplications of His servants?
Attributing a child to Allah, while He is the Creator of everything and has taken neither a companion nor a child is among bad thought of Allah
Rebuking Allah’s legislation and judgments and thinking that His Sharia is viable for one time but not another, and that people's interests lie in suspending it and following something else is among bad thought of Allah
Among the bad thoughts about Allah is to In addition, doubting Allah’s wisdom and the fulfillment of His promise, and thinking that He does not support His believing servants, and that the disbelievers can defeat Him with their power, capabilities, and resources is a false assumption and a corrupt calculation:
وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ اللَّهَ غَافِلًا عَمَّا يَعْمَلُ الظَّالِمُون
"And never think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do” (Qur'an 14:42).
فَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ اللَّهَ مُخْلِفَ وَعْدِهِ رُسُلَه
“So never think that Allah will fail in His promise to His messengers” (Qur'an 14:47).
لَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مُعْجِزِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَأْوَاهُمُ النَّارُ وَلَبِئْسَ الْمَصِير
“Never think that the disbelievers are causing failure [to Allah] upon the earth. Their refuge will be the Fire - and how wretched the destination” (Qur'an 24:57).
Among the bad thoughts about Allah, the Exalted, is to think that on the Day of Resurrection, He (Glory be to Him) may equate the disbeliever with the believer, placing the Muslim with the Christian, the Jew, and the polytheist in the same fate. He is the One who says:
وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاءَ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا بَاطِلًا ذَلِكَ ظَنُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَوَيْلٌ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنَ النَّارِ * أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَالْمُفْسِدِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الْمُتَّقِينَ كَالْفُجَّار
“And We did not create the heaven and the earth and that between them aimlessly. That is the assumption of those who disbelieve, so woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire. Or should we treat those who believe and do righteous deeds like corrupters in the land? Or should We treat those who fear Allah like the wicked?" (Qur'an 38:27 - 28).
So, think well of Allah, your lord, and do good deeds, and beware of thinking ill of Allah, the Almighty, the Merciful.
Then, pray and send peace upon the illuminating light. O Allah, exalt and send peace to our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions, all of them.
O Allah, we ask You for all that is good, both immediate and deferred, what we know of it and what we do not know. And we seek refuge in You from all evil, both immediate and deferred, what we know of it and what we do not know. We ask You for Paradise and what brings us closer to it in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from the Fire and what brings us closer to it in word and deed. O Allah, grant success to the guardian of our affairs in what You love and are pleased with, and guide him by the forelock to righteousness and piety. Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.
O servants of Allah: Remember Allah with much remembrance and glorify his praises morning and afternoon. And the close of our request will be: All the praises and thanks are to Allah, the Lord of all worlds.
