Kitāb al-Zuhd 1, record 262 of the digital edition

Translation

7.Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥajjāj who said, “I told Abū ʿAbdillāh (a), ‘There is a ḥadīth that people are narrating [and then he mentioned it to him].’ So he said, ‘It is not as they are saying.’ Then he said, ‘The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, “Verily the last person will then be ordered into the Fire. When it is commanded that he be thrown into the fire, he will turn [and look back]. So Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, will say, ‘Have they been hasty with him? [Bring him to Me].’ So when he is brought, He will ask, ‘My servant, why did You turn to look back?’ So he will say, ‘O Lord, this was not how I had perceived You to be!’ So the Majestic Lord will say, ‘My servant, what was your perception of Me?’ He will reply, ‘O Lord, I had thought that You would forgive my sins and admit me into Your Paradise [to dwell therein]!’ So Allah, the All-Powerful, Majestic and Exalted is He, will say, ‘O My angels, by My might and bounty, by My mastery and majesty, by My loftiness and exalted station, My servant never thought positively of Me even for a moment in his life, for if he had thought positively of Me even for a single moment of his life, I would not have frightened him with the Fire. Yet let his lie stand, and place him in Paradise.’” Then the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, “A servant does not think positively of Allah but that he will find Allah to be as he had thought of Him. And he does not think negatively of Him but that he will find Allah to be as he had thought of Him. That is the [interpretation of] the verse in which He,the Exalted, says: It was the [negative] thoughts you entertained about your Lord that has led to your ruin, so you have become losers (Q41:23).”’”

Translation: Shaykh Tahir Ridha Jaffer — published with the edition, reproduced verbatim.