I read somewhere that one of the Tabi’in once said to his companion,

“My heart no longer leans towards so-and-so.” His friend then replied, “Me neither, but what do you know, perhaps Allah has blotted out our hearts so we no longer have love for the righteous people.”

Subhan’Allah… husn al-dhann (good opinion of others).

Sometimes, a person will mistakenly begin to look down upon another and harbour bad thoughts and feelings against them. But they don’t realise that perhaps this is a righteous person and one favoured by Allah and the reality is that it is their heart which has become blotted and has thus turned away from the Salihin.

This is a very thought-provoking statement as it shows the importance of husn al-dhann, looking at things positively and in a reflective manner, and not raising one’s self above another in any way.

May Allah grant us all husn al-dhann, ameen.