Thinking Well of Others Relieves the Heart

Nothing relieves the heart and makes one happy more than thinking well
of others. Itprotects one from the harm of worrisome thoughts that
disturb his peace of mind and exhaust the body. Thinking well of
others leads to a sound heart, strengthens the ties of cordiality and
love among the individuals of a community, and frees the hearts from
hatred and rancor. The Prophet, , said: "Beware of assumptions, for
assumption is the falsest of speech, and do not be inquisitive, and do
not spy upon one another, and do not vie with one another, and do not
envyone another, and do not hate one another, and donot shun one
another; befellow-brothers and slaves of Allaah." If only the members
of the Muslim community wouldadhere to this sublime behavior, their
enemies would never dare to attack them and their famous policy of
"divide and rule" will never succeed because the hearts are united and
thesouls are pure.
Ways to Think Well of Others
There are certainly many ways that a Muslim can think well of others;
some of which are:
1- Supplication
Supplicating to Allaah The Almighty is the gate to every goodness. The
Prophet, , would ask his Lord to grant him a sound heart.
2- Putting Oneself in the Place of Others
If each one of us puts himself in the place of hisbrother when the
latter does or says something, this will help him think well of
others. Allaah The Almighty directs His slaves to this meaning in the
verse where He Says (what means): } Why, when you heard it [the
falsehood against 'Aa'ishah ], did not thebelieving men and believing
women think good of one another? { [Quran 24:12] In another verse,
Allaah The Almighty makes the believers feel as if they are one single
entity, to the extent that when oneof them meets his brother and
greets him, it is as if he is greeting himself. Allaah The Almighty
Says (what means): } But when you enter houses, give greetings of
peace upon yourselves - a greeting from Allaah. { [Quran 24:61]
3- Interpreting the Wordsof Others in the Best Possible Way
This was the habit of the righteous predecessors. 'Umar said, "Do not
think ill of a word that your believing brother utters as long as it
can beinterpreted in a good way."
Imaam Ash-Shaafi'i was ill once, and some of his brothers came to
visit him; one of them said, "May Allaah strengthen your weakness [He
intended to supplicate to Allaah in order to eliminate his weakness]."
Ash-Shaafi'i said, "If Allaah strengthens my weakness, it would kill
me!" The man said, "By Allaah, I intended nothing but goodness."
Ash-Shaafi'i replied, "Even if you insulted me, I know that you sought
goodness." Thinking well of others is true brotherhood, even in things
that cannot be interpreted in a good way.
4- Making Excuses for Others
When anyone says or does something that annoys or grieves one,
heshould try to find excusesfor him and recall the status of the
righteous who used to think well oftheir fellows and make excuses for
them. They would say, "You should make seventy excuses foryour
brother." Ibn Seereen said, "If you come to know that a brother has
harmed you with either a word or a deed, you should make an excuse for
him; if you did not find one, you should say, 'There may bean excuse
that I do not know of.'" When you exert your utmost to make excuses
for the words and deeds of others, you will save yourself the trouble
of assuming and you will avoid blaming your fellows excessively.
5- Abstaining from Judging the Intentions ofOthers
This is one of the greatestcauses that help one think well of others.
One leaves the intentions to the only One who knows them: Allaah The
Almighty, for He did not command us to check each others' hearts and
intentions, and thus we have to avoid harboring ill-thoughts about
others.
6- Recalling the Harmful Consequences of Evil Assumptions
The one who thinks ill of others lives in endless trouble and grief,
to say nothing of the fact that he loses all those who socialize with
him, even the closest people to him.It is natural that people make
mistakes, even unintentionally. Accusing others along with thinking
well of oneself is one of the evil consequences of thinkingill of
others. This is one way a person may be guilty of ascribing purity to
oneself that Allaah TheExalted forbade in His Book. Allaah The
Almighty Says (what means): } So do not claim yourselves to be pure;
He is most knowing of who fears Him. { [Quran 53:32] In another verse,
Allaah The Exalted criticizes the Jews when they ascribed purity to
themselves. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): } Have you not seen
those who claimthemselves to be pure? Rather, Allaah purifies whom He
wills, and injustice is not done to them, [even] as much as athread
[inside a date seed]. { [Quran 4:49]
Thinking well of others requires extensive training and striving
against one's self, particularly because the devil is inseparable from
man like the blood that runs through his body. He never stops his
attempts to sow dissension within the Muslims and stir up disputes
among them. Thinking well of others isone of the greatest means to
block this way before the devil. We ask Allaah The Almighty to Grant
us sound hearts and Help us to think well of our brothers and sisters.

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