Expecting Good from Allah

Islam - Islam

Written by Sheikh Yûsuf b Ali al-Tarîf

Thursday, 02 September 2010 10:17

Having bad expectations about Allah… What does this mean? In broadest terms, it means to entertain any thought that Allah will act in a way that is inappropriate to His majesty.

For instance, a person might say to himself: : “If I ask Allah to forgive me, He will not do so.” or: “If I call upon Allah to help me, He will not do so.”

The same can be said for any suspicion about Allah that contradicts our belief that He is All-Powerful, Most Generous, and Most Merciful.

The Qur’ân provides us with examples of those who had bad expectations about their Lord. For instance, Allah tells us about the disbelievers of Mecca who went up to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and argued that if they accepted the faith, they would endanger the strong position of Mecca as well as their personal status and property.

It sayd in the Qur’ân: “And they say: ‘If we follow the guidance with you (O Muhammad), we shall be carried off from our country.’ What! Have We not established for them a sure sanctuary, whereunto the produce of all things is brought (in trade), a provision from Our presence? But most of them do not know.” [Sûrah al-Qasas: 57]

These were people of Mecca were afraid that tribes of Arabia would turn against them if they abandoned their idols and turned to the worship of the one true God. They worried they would lose their prestige they enjoyed among the Arabs by being the caretakers of the Ka`bah and the idols, and feared that the various Arab tribes would fight them instead.

This shows their bad expectations of Allah. They expected that Allah would not protect His religion and assist those who uphold it. In spite or recognizing the truth in Islam’s message, they thought that falsehood would prevail.

We find another good example of someone expecting bad about Allah in the Sunnah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: A man once said: “Allah will not forgive so-and-so.” As a consequence, Allah said: “Who is this who presumes to exceed My authority by declaring that I will not forgive someone? Indeed, I have forgiven that person and brought your deeds to naught.” [Sahîh Muslim (4753)]

To presume of Allah such a presumption is to place oneself in a position of godly authority, deciding who is to be forgiven and who is not. This is a great misapprehension about Allah, above and beyond the bad expectation it implies regarding Allah’s forgiveness and mercy.

It is a sin to think badly of Allah. Such is the manner of the worst unbelievers. Indeed, harboring bad expectations of Allah can lead a person to unbelief, especially of the bad thoughts cause the person to deny Allah’s greatness and perfection.
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Source: islamtoday.net