The Reality of Having Good Expectations of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)

Question:
Abu Sa'id al-Yami says: How does one have good expectations of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)?

Answer:
Having good expectations of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is to believe that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is your Lord, your Creator, and your Provider, that He is the One who guides you, and that He is the One who gives life and death, that in His hand is all good, and that He is capable of all things.
So you have good expectations of Allah and hope for good from Him. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says: "I am as My servant thinks of Me, so let him think of Me what he wills." And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) rebuked the polytheists when they entered the Fire, saying: So you became among the losers. If they are patient, the Fire is their abode, and if they seek pardon, they are not among those who are pardoned. The polytheists, disbelievers, and hypocrites had bad expectations of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), so their end was bad. As for the people of faith, their expectations of Allah were good, so their end and their destination were good.