Having Good Thoughts About Allah سبحانه و تعالى - Shaykh Wasim Kempson

Khutbah al-Ula — First Sermon

Praise be to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds.

Whom Allah guides, no one can misguide, and whom He misguides, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the right words. He will correct your deeds and forgive your sins. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed attained a great triumph.

Indeed, all praise and thanks is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His final Messenger.

The Greatest Gift: حُسْنُ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ

One of the greatest gifts that can be given to any Muslim by Allah is to think good of Him. We know that this dunya is full of trials, it is full of tests, full of difficulties, and there are many times when it may be easy for us to fall into a sequence of thoughts where we think bad of a situation. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala throughout the Quran gives us many messages, many reminders — with the stories of the Prophets, peace be upon them — of how they would have حُسْنُ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى.

But what is the reality of حُسْنُ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ? What is the reality of having good thoughts about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? For we are reminded quite often to think good about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

It is when you think about your ذُنُوب and you ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for forgiveness — that you have good thoughts that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will forgive you of your sins. That when you recite:

— "O Allah, guide me to the straight path" — that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will guide you to the straight path and keep you away from any harm. It is that when you have any question, any du'a, any supplication, and you put it to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that He will answer that supplication of yours.

Certainty in Du'a: يَقِين

This certainty, this yaqeen that we should all have. As the Prophet ﷺ told us:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 3479)

"Call upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and be certain of its answer." You have a certainty that you know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala hears you, and that He subhanahu wa ta'ala will answer your supplication.

The Prophet ﷺ said in the sound hadith — the hadith of Anas ibn Mālik radiyallahu anhu:

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 6338; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Hadith 2678)

"If anyone of you makes a du'a, then be determined in their supplication, and do not say: 'O Allah, accept this from me if You wish' — for there is no one to compel or force Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala."

The Fasting Person in Ramadan

So the mu'min, especially in this month of Ramadan — in this very special time where we are fasting and increasing our remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — we should have a hope that our du'a is more likely to be answered, in the sense that we are worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We are all عِبَادُ اللَّه, we are all worshippers of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But imagine now, on top of that, you are fasting — which is a continuous state of ibadah. Just as you ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in your salah, in your sujood — whatever du'a that you ask for — this is the time that you are worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

But the sa'im, the fasting one — from the time he or she begins fasting in the morning until the evening — they are in a constant state of ibadah. So imagine: in this time you are calling upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, knowing that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will answer the supplication of His servants.

Three Ways Allah Answers Du'a

As is found in the hadith of Abū Sa'īd al-Khudrī radiyallahu anhu, that the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Musnad Aḥmad, Hadith 11133; also narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, al-Adab al-Mufrad, Hadith 710)

"No Muslim makes a supplication — calls upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — except that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will give it to them, as long as when they are calling upon Allah they do not involve any sin or cutting of family ties." Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will answer in one of three ways:

Number one: Your du'a will be answered immediately — given to you as you like. Or, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will save what you are asking for for a time when you need it most — in the Hereafter. Or thirdly, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will divert what you are asking away from you — in that you think what you are asking for is good for you, but as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us:

"And Allah knows, and you do not know."

Upon hearing this, the Sahabah radiyallahu anhum said: إِذَنْ نُكْثِرُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ — "Then we will increase our supplication, O Messenger of Allah!" The Prophet ﷺ said: اللَّهُ أَكْثَرُ — "Whatever you ask for, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has more than you can possibly ask for."

So in a month like this — where it is the month of the Quran:

It is a شَهْرُ الرَّحْمَةِ, a شَهْرُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ — a month of mercy, a month of forgiveness. When you call upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, what state should you be in? "O Allah, forgive me if You wish. O Allah, protect me and my family if You wish"? The guidance of the Prophet ﷺ is that when you call upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, be certain, be sure that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will answer you — especially in a time like Ramadan, where you are worshipping and submitting to the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us those sincere people when making du'a.

Khutbah al-Thaniya — Second Sermon

All praise belongs to Allah, and may the peace and blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala be upon His final Messenger, Muhammad ﷺ.

Good Thoughts of Allah in Times of Difficulty

When we talk about حُسْنُ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ — thinking good about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — it is not just in times of goodness that we call upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but also to remember when times are difficult, when there is a trial upon an individual, even upon yourself.

And one of the greatest trials that you and I — and anyone — will face is when Malak al-Mawt may come to us and take our souls, and in what state will you be in. Jābir ibn Abdillah radiyallahu ta'ala anhu said, in the sound hadith:

(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Hadith 2877)

"I heard the Prophet ﷺ, three days before he passed away, saying: 'None of you should die except in a state that they have good thoughts about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.'" That you remind them about the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, as He says subhanah:

"My mercy has encompassed everything." Even for those who disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, those who disbelieve in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala provides for them and gives to them. But no doubt, for the believers and those who are close to Allah, they will have the goodness of this life and the goodness of the Hereafter.

Abdullah ibn Mas'ūd radiyallahu ta'ala anhu mentioned that there is no greater gift that can be given to any servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than حُسْنُ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ — no greater gift. Because this enters into every aspect of your life, in every situation that you go through, reminding yourself about the goodness that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given to you.

Seeking Forgiveness with Sincerity

You think and ask Allah to accept that from you. The ذُنُوب — the sins — that you may have fallen into throughout the year before Ramadan: eleven months before that there were months of eating and drinking and doing as you wish. Maybe you fell into so many sins that you may think you are not worthy, or you may think that you are so lowly — how and why would Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive you? But it only takes a sincere heart, it only takes a pure heart, to turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, sincerely asking Him to forgive you. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, as He tells us:

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgives all sins.

The Prophet's ﷺ Love of Optimism

The Prophet ﷺ reminded the companions — and at the same time reminded us — as was narrated by the Sahabah radiyallahu anhum, that the Prophet ﷺ كَانَ يُحِبُّ الْفَأْلَ — he would love optimism, he would love to think about the good side of things, avoiding negativity and pessimism. No matter how trying the situation may be, no matter how difficult, or what you think the outcome will be — you have good thoughts about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

At the Battle of Badr — in the month of Ramadan — where there were just over 300 Muslims, ranging from very old companions, not prepared fully, against an army of over a thousand: young men, well-prepared, with armour, horses, and camels. You look at a situation like that, and in all intents and purposes, there is only one winner. But remember this incident — the Battle of Badr, in the month of Ramadan — that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave victory to the Prophet ﷺ and the companions. But this was not without the Prophet ﷺ making du'a.

Good Thoughts Must Be Paired with Action

So we can have good thoughts about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but there is an important piece to go with that — and that is that you need to do actions. You need to act upon these good thoughts about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So when you know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala insha'Allah will accept the repentance of those who have sinned, you will need to make that effort to ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for forgiveness. If you want to be from the successful servants, then you need to strive, you need to go forth and do what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has obligated for you to do.

So having good thoughts about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is one part of the equation. The second part of it is for you to act upon that. This very well-known principle — knowledge and action: to have knowledge of something and then to act upon it. And how many times does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tell us:

"O you who have believed… and do righteous actions." Having knowledge and then righteous actions. And the month of Ramadan is that opportunity for us to display our servitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, our submission — gaining knowledge, improving in our knowledge of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and then acting upon that.

And it doesn't stop on the first of Shawwāl — the day of Eid. It is a day of celebration, of course. But that ibadah, what you sowed in this month, you will reap the benefits in the future insha'Allah ta'ala. And this is what you also make du'a to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for — that you ask Allah for you to be continuous in your actions, and not just to push yourself one month a year, but to push yourself every single day until the certainty comes to all of us — and that is death.

O Allah, we ask You for Jannah and whatever brings us close to it of words and deeds. O Allah, we seek refuge in You from the Fire and whatever brings us close to it of words and deeds. Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.

And establish your prayers, O servants of Allah.