To presume that one’s sins will
not be forgiven means to commit sû-i-zan against Allâhu ta’âlâ. And to presume that all
Believers are sinners, means to commit sû-i-zan against
Believers (Mu’mins). “Sû-i zan” is a forbidden (harâm) act. A dislike taken against someone upon seeing him committing a
prohibited action or learning that he has committed prohibited actions would
not be “sû-i zan”; instead, it is a dislike taken for the sake of Allâhu ta’âlâ (bughd al-fillâh); it generates thawâb (rewards in the
Hereafter). When a Muslim sees another Muslim (brother) doing something wrong,
he should try to interpret it in a good manner (husn al-zan) and should try to save him from doing that action again. A
negative thought that comes to the heart but does not stay there for long would
not be a “sû-i zan”. Developing a strong thought in the heart in a negative way
would be “sû-i zan”. The twelfth âyat of Sûra “Hujurât” in the Qur’ân al-kerîm purports: “O ye who believe!
Avoid suspicion as much
(as possible); for suspicion in some cases is a sin: ...” Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allahu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Do not have ‘sû-i
zan’. ‘Sû-i zan’ causes incorrect decisions. Do not pry into others’ private
affairs. Overlook others’ faults. Do not argue with others. Do not be jealous
of others. Do not have animosity against one another. Do not backbite one
another. Love one another like brothers. A Muslim is a brother of another
Muslim. Therefore, a Muslim will not despotize another Muslim; he will help
him. He will not look down on him.” It is
forbidden (harâm) for one Muslim to kill another
Muslim. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “A Muslim does not attack another Muslim’s self, property or honor. Allâhu ta’âlâ does not look at
strength or beauty of your bodies. He does not look at your deeds, either. But
He looks at your hearts.” Allâhu ta’âlâ looks at the sincerity and fear of Allah in the hearts. In order
for deeds and worships to be accepted, i.e., rewards (thawâbs) to be given, they have to be done with close attention to their
necessary conditions and a proper intention, i.e., for the sake of Allâhu ta’âlâ (ikhlâs). It would be ilhâd,
(i.e. profanity which causes one to go out of Islam,) to claim that an act of
“worship which is sahîh is acceptable regardless of intention.” A person who
says so is zindiq (heretic). The statement, “Allâhu
ta’âlâ will look at your hearts. He will accept anything
done with a good intention,” belongs to ignorant shaikhs of tarîqat.
[These ignorant shaikhs are
stating that their hearts are clean and then committing all kinds of prohibited
acts (harâms) and iniquities. They say that anything that is done with a good
intention is an act of worship and will earn you rewards (thawâb). These flippant sinners should not be liked and followed, for
their real purpose is to deceive Muslims and thereby to attract disciples
around themselves. It is not “sû-i zan” to say that people of this sort are
sinners (fâsiqs).]
Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Have good opinion
‘husn al-zan’ toward Allâhu ta’âlâ.” Fifty-third
âyat of Sûra of Zumar of the Qur’ân al-kerîm purports: “Oh My slaves with many sins! Do not give up hope of
getting mercy of Allah. Allah forgives all sins. He is a Being with infinite
forgiveness and endless mercy.”Allâhu ta’âlâ will certainly forgive every kind of disbelief and sin
when the repentance is done in accordance with its conditions. If
He wills, He will also forgive all kinds of sin other than disbelief without
repentance. In a hadîth al-Qudsî, Allâhu ta’âlâ declares: “I will treat My slave the way My slave thinks of Me.” Allâhu ta’âlâ will forgive those who do
repentance with the hope that He will forgive.
[Allâhu
ta’âlâ’s informing His Prophets ‘salawâtullâhi ta’âlâ wa taslîmâtuhu ’alaihim ajma’în’ is called
revelation (wahy). There are two types of
revelation. The angel Gabriel (Jabrâîl) would
receive information from Allâhu ta’âlâ and bring them and read them to the Prophet. This type of revelation is
called “wahy al-matlu’.” This type of wahy comes from Allâhu ta’âlâ both in tenor and in vehicle.
The Qur’ân al-kerîm is “wahy
al-matlu’.” The second type of revelation is called “wahy ghayr al-matlu’ ”
(revelation other than “Wahy al-matlu’ ”). This type of revelation was directly
revealed by Allâhu ta’âlâ into the
heart of a Prophet. The Prophet would then tell the meaning of
this revelation to his companions through his own words; these are called
“hadîth-i-qudsî”. The words of “hadîth-i-qudsî” belong to the Prophet. Hadîth-i-sherîfs are utterances of the Prophet which belong to the Prophet both in tenor and in vehicle.
Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in the following hadîth-i-sherîfs: “It is an act of
worship to have a good opinion (husn-i-zan) about Allâhu ta’âlâ.” and “I swear in the Name of Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is the only One
Ilâh without any partner that He will accept any prayer done (with a heart)
bearing a good opinion about Him.” and “On the Day of
Reckoning ‘Qiyâmat’ Allâhu ta’âlâ will order someone to be thrown into Hell.
While being taken toward Hell, the person will turn around and tell Allâhu ta’âlâ, ‘Oh my Lord! While I
was on earth, I always had a good opinion about You!’. Allâhu ta’âlâ will say, ‘Do not take
him to Hell. I shall treat him the way he thought of Me’.”
If it is not known whether a
certain Believer is sâlih (pious) or fâsiq (sinful, wicked), we should have a
good opinion about him. When the possibility of a person’s being pious or
wicked balances out, this state of uncertainty is termed shakk (doubt, scepticism). An imbalance of possibility in either
direction is a state of zan (supposition, opinion, surmise),
while the less likely possibility is called wahm
(delusion, mistrust).