Since Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) believed with certainty in Allah as the absolute Doer of all actions, he would always approach matters positively. There was no place for deadlock and hopelessness in his life. He did not believe in an ill omen, either. Allah Messenger (pbuh) turned the principle mentioned in the following sacred tradition into a rule for his life:
“I am as My servant thinks about me; if he thinks well about Me, I will treat him accordingly. If he thinks badly about Me, I will respond accordingly.” This is because the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in his every affair and this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a believer for if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks Allah, thus there isgood for him in it, and if he finds himself in trouble and shows resignation and endures it patiently, there is a good for him in it.” (Muslim, Zuhd, 64) And thus he invited his followers to see the good side of everything.
This approach of the Prophet (pbuh) can be seen in every aspect of his life, especially in his educational activities. Anas b. Malik (r.a.) reported that Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
“There is no bad omen, but I only prefer (tafa’ul) to interpret a good omen.” The Companions asked:
“What does (tafa’ul) “interpreting a good omen” mean?” He (pbuh) replied:
“It means the nice and positive word.” (Bukhari, Tibb, 19; Muslim, Salam, 102)
Urwa b. Amir (r.a.) said that:
“Bad omens were talked about before the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). Upon this he said:
“It is best for you to interpret things as good. Bad omens should not prevent any believer from attempting to do things. If any one of you sees something he does not like, he should pray saying:
اَللّهُمَّ لاَ يَأْتِي بِالْحَسَنَاتِ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ وَلاَ يَدْفَعُ السَّيِّئَاتِ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ وَلاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِكَ
“O Allah! Only You give goodness, and only You avert evil. The power to abstain from sins and perform acts of worship can be achieved only with Your help.” (Abu Dawud, Tib, 24)
Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) advised not to describe the acts of nature, such as wind, storm, etc, as evil. On the contrary, he encouraged people to say prayers to Allah the Almighty to be protected from their damages. (Muslim, Istisqa, 15)
Interpreting an incident as good, as advised by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is the best option that a believer can choose under such circumstances. For instance, addressing to a sick person as “You look well, how marvelous!” or calling someone who has not yet performed a pilgrimage a “pilgrim” and considering that he will perform the pilgrimage one day can be considered tafa’ul or a favorable interpretations. When the Prophet (pbuh) saw Suhail b. Amr appointed as the representative for the negotiations of the treaty of Hudaibiyah, thinking about the meaning of Suhail’s name, he said “now things have become easy.” (Bukhari, Shurut, 15)
Even if there is nothing done yet, tafa’ul gives people enthusiasm, desire, and spiritual comfort just like Tasha’um or inauspicious interpretation, which is prohibited by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), overwhelms and breaks someone’s hope and desire to act.
Favorable interpretation is based on the principle of thinking positively about Allah the Almighty. The disapproval of the Messenger of Allah of interpreting something as a bad omen is because it means thinking badly about Allah the Almighty. This provides us with a measure. It is always better to think well of people, because one will be held responsible for bad thoughts, but one will not be questioned for positive thinking even if he is wrong about his thoughts. His only loss will only behaving made a mistake. However, we will have to answer the questions for having baseless bad thoughts about someone.
The following is another example of how the Prophet (pbuh) approached matters positively:
“Mu’awiya b. Hakam had a maid-servant who tended goats by the side of Uhud and Jawwaniya. One day a wolf stole a goat from her flock. Hearing the news, Muawiya became upset and slapped her face, after which he regreted his deed and told the Prophet (pbuh) what had happened. When the Messenger of Allah called his deed unfair, Muawiya asked him:
“O Messenger of Allah! Should I grant her freedom?” He (the Holy Prophet) said:
“Bring her to me.” So Muawiya brought her to him. He said to her:
“Where is Allah?” She said:
“He is in the heaven.” He said:
“Who am I?” She said:
“You are the Messenger of Allah.” Then the Prophet (pbuh) said to Muawiya:
“Grant her freedom, she is a believing woman.” (Muslim, Masajid, 33)
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh), the mercy of the universe, accepted the maid’s answers given to the extent of her knowledge and described her as a believer. Consequently he asked Muawiya to free her.
The Prophet’s positive approach to the matters can also be observed in his interpretation of dreams. One day Umm al-Fadl, Abbas’ wife, came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and said:
“I had a dream tonight.” The Holy Prophet asked:
“What did you see in your dream?” Umm al-Fadl replied:
“It was a harsh and heavy dream.” He asked again:
“Tell me, what did you see?” She said:
“I saw a piece from your flesh cut and put in my house.” Upon this the Prophet (pbuh) said that:
“God willing, you have seen something nice. Fatima will deliver a boy and you will breast-feed him and your son Kusam with your milk.” A while later Husain (r.a.) was born and Umm al-Fadl (r. anha) became his wet nurse. (Hakim, III, 194; Ibn Sa’d, VIII, 278-79)
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) warned us about interpreting dreams inauspiciously saying:
“A dream has three types: one part is a glad tiding from Allah the Almighty. One are words from inner self; and one is the Devil frightening one. When one of you has a nice dream, he may tell it to others if he wishes. If he sees something bad in his dream, he should not tell it to anybody, he should get up and perform a prayer.” (Ibn Majah, Tabir, 3)
Since Allah the Almighty is how His servants think about Him, in a way people’s intentions and wishes constitute a type of prayer. This is why making positive interpretations not only comforts the state of human psychology but also may cause the actual positive manifestation of the events.