Answered by Habib Umar bin Hafiz
Question: Assalam aleykum
How can a person remedy oneself from thinking ill of others?
Answer: [Assalam alaykum]
Having Awe of Allah’s Knowledge
A person can remedy oneself from thinking ill of others by having awe of Allah’s knowledge. One must learn to have awe of Allah’s knowledge that has encompassed everything, and [also learn] the meaning of the verse:
“…Allah knows, and you do not know” [al Baqarah 2:216].
Wisdom in Allah’s Concealing of Knowledge
So if someone assumes their speculative perception to be decisive, then that person is [merely] claiming to have knowledge and to grasping the reality. But if that person understands that it is Allah who has knowledge of all matters, and has concealed matters from him so that he would remain courteous, then that person will shy away from being decisive about the meaning of things, or from giving credence to ill thoughts that occur to him about others.
Indeed, it is only Allah, Mighty and Majestic, who knows the ultimate consequences, and it is only He that knows the endings.
Good Opinion is a Religious Obligation
Allah, Glorified and Exalted, has commanded us to have a good opinion about His servants, and has warned us, making it sinful, to think ill of His servants. Allah says:
“ O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin” [al Hujuraat 29:12]
So we know what He has commanded us with, and shy away from His knowledge, such that we do not place our knowledge before the knowledge of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Translated by Mahmoud Hamed
Habib Umar bin Hafiz is a descendant of the Prophet (upon him be Allah’s peace and blessings). Born into a family of scholars, Habib Umar, pursued the sacred sciences from a young age, including Quran, Hadith, Fiqh, ‘Aqeedah, Arabic, and Spirituality. In 1994, he established Dar al-Mustafa, an educational institute in Tarim, Yemem.
كيف يعالج المرء نفسه من سوء الظن بالآخرين؟
يعالج المرءُ نفسَه من سوء الظن بالآخرين بأن يهابَ علمَ الله، تعلم هيبةَ علمِ الله الذي أحاط بكل شيء علماً، ومعنى قوله: ((والله
يعلم وأنتم لا تعلمون))، فإنَّ قطعَ الإنسان بما يتصوَّره من الظنون إنما هو لكونه يدَّعي العلم، ولكونه يظن أنه أدرك الحقيقة، فإذا علمَ أن العالمَ بكل شيء إنما هو الله، وغيَّب عنه الأشياء ليكون أديباً معه، استحيى أن يقطع أن معنى ذا كذا، وأن معنى ذا كذا، أو يصدِّق سوءَ الظنون الذي تنزل عليه عند ذا وذاك، فإنه لا يعلم العواقب إلا هو جلَّ جلاله، ولا يعلم الخواتم إلا هو، وإنه تعبَّدَنا اللهُ سبحانه وتعالى بأن نُحسنَ الظنَّ بعباده، وحذَّرنا وجعل من معصيته أن نسيء الظنَّ بعباده وقال: (( يا أيها الذين آمنُوا اجتنبُوا كثيراً من الظنِّ إنَّ بعضَ الظنِّ إثم))، فعلينا أن نعرف ما تُعبِّدنا به، وأن نستحي من علمه فلا نقدِّم علمَنا على علمه جلَّ جلاله.