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Fatwa CenterQudsi (Sacred) Hadeeth: I am to My slave as he thinks of Me
Question
What is the meaning of the Qudsi Hadeeth in which Allaah The Almighty Says that He is as His slave thinks He is?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
The Qudsi Hadeeth in question was narrated by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad and At-Tirmithi 
on the authority of Abu Hurayrah 
. Scholars interpreted this Hadeeth as follows:
- Imaam An-Nawawi 
said that it refers to having good expectations of Allaah The Almighty; meaning that one should believe that Allaah The Almighty will forgive him and have mercy upon him.
- Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar said that this Hadeeth means that Allaah The Almighty will reward His servant according to what that servant thinks of Him. This means that if a servant thinks that Allaah The Almighty will forgive him and have mercy upon him, then Allaah The Almighty will do so, as well as the opposite if the slave thinks that. The reason is that the servant who has good expectations of Allaah The Almighty proves that he is a believing slave with absolute faith in Allaah The Almighty that He will reward him for his good deeds. On the other hand, if a servant thinks that Allaah The Almighty will punish him, Allaah The Exalted will do so because that slave has despaired of His mercy, and no one despairs of the mercy of Allaah The Almighty except the disbelievers.
- Ibn Abi Jamrah said that Allaah The Almighty blesses those who think well of Him, since it is a sign that they put their absolute trust in His promise.
- Ibn Abi'd-Dunya narrated that Ibraaheem An-Nakha‘i mentioned that the righteous predecessors used to remind the dying person of his good deeds in order to make him expect good things from Allaah The Almighty.
- Imaam As-San‘aani mentioned that some senior scholars recommended compiling about forty Hadeeths on this topic in the hope of it being read to the sick person in order to strengthen his good expectations of his Lord.
Allaah Knows best.
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