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How does iman help with depression and anxiety?

Not too long ago, I sat in a session where a group of us were given information about mental health. We were being told about the different mental illnesses and how they could impact a person. We were also told about certain thoughts that a person might have if they have an illness like depression or anxiety.

 

At the end of all of it I was quite surprised. Because I have those exact thoughts that were described in the session every now and then. But for some reason, I didn’t happen to have the behaviours that would usually occur with those disorders. Despite those thoughts, I still manage to see the bright side of things. I refuse to see anything in a negative light and I can’t stand anyone saying that something is impossible.

 

And I thought to myself, why? Why wouldn’t my behaviours align with the negative thoughts that would go with those disorders? The answer to that was these words that would come to my mind with every negative thought I had.

 

حَسْبُنَا اللّه وَ نِعْمَ الْوَكِيْل

 

“Allah is enough for us and excellent is He is a Disposer of affairs.”

 

That was it! Allah is enough. No matter what happens in my life, no matter what I lose, no my how tough of a situation I go through, Allah is always there for me. Allah will protect me if I seek His protection. Allah will guard me even in the most impossible situations. Allah Will heal my heart if I remember Him no matter how deep I think the scars are. Allah can change my entire life around with the blink of an eye and He is the One Who Loves me the most. So all I need to do is ask Him. Though I cant comprehend any bad that happens in my life, I know for a fact that I’m headed to where I belong because He is the best of Planners. These are the thoughts that save me, every.single.time.

 

And interestingly, this is exactly how Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) works in the world of psychology. It works on the assumption that what we think is what we feel and we behave according what we feel. So the therapy works on changing what a person thinks (the negative thoughts) and therefore change the way they feel and behave.

 

Do you now realize the favour Allah has done upon us, with this faith?

 

Note: By no means am I saying that strengthening our iman is the ONLY solution to healing from our traumas. Our traumas require us to face our emotions and go through a process of healing with help of others and even professionals in some cases. But I will say that strengthening our iman makes the healing process a little easy. May Allah help all of us who are going through any kind of mental illnesses. Ameen!

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“If you were to count the blessings of Allah, you will not be able to enumerate them.” Surah Ibrahim, 34

 

This ayah is usually translated as if you were to count the ‘blessings’ of Allah. But the word for blessing used in this ayah is ‘ni’mah’ which is the singular version of the word. So the ayah would literally translate as ‘if you were to count the BLESSING of Allah, you will not be able to enumerate them.’ But how does that make sense? How are we supposed to ‘count’ just one blessing?

 

The thing is, that’s the nature of every single blessing that Allah has given us. Take the example of our eyes. Which we open every day and we are able to see the world around us as it is. With these eyes, we get to experience everything beautiful around us. We see the beautiful sceneries of nature, day in and day out. We see the smiles on the faces of our loved ones that bring joy to our hearts. We know where we are headed as we walk or run just because of these eyes. We are able to take part and/or enjoy sports with the use of these eyes. Moreover, we know how to save ourselves from tripping or any other dangers with the help of our eyes.

 

The things that I have listed above, are they still EVERYTHING just the blessing of our eyes does for us? The obvious answer is no! And no matter how much we try, we would not be able to list every single way that just our eyes are helping us. Subhaanallah!

 

So when Allah says, if you were to count the BLESSING of Allah, you would not be able to enumerate it, it’s the absolute truth. Because we can’t fully appreciate even one blessing.

 

So the next time your heart complains, know that Allah’s blessings have ALWAYS gone above and beyond all your worries. Take just one blessing and think about it. And you will no longer find time to think about your worries In Sha Allah.

 

May Allah make us of those who focus on our blessings rather than our worries. Ameen!

mic

One of the things that many of the sisters and perhaps even the brothers assume about turning towards deen is that, making tawba will make them lose their voice in society. Perhaps because of how our attire changes and how we start looking different from others. Or perhaps because of how we show off less on social media and how others start seeing us as an outcast. Making tawba really seems to be a downer, at surface level. But I’m here to tell you that the opposite is reality, if we see things in perspective in light of the ayah below.

I remember the first time I gave a speech in front of a crowd. It was in an assembly when I was in 4th grade. I stood in front of the mic while my hands that held the paper were turning ice cold. My voice shook even as I began and I was dead sure no one was clear about what I was saying. After some point, my hands shook vigorously and the paper I was holding tore apart as I was halfway through the speech.

You might think this is just a story of a poor little girl with stage fright who suffered from a panic attack on the day she gave her first speech. And that’s exactly what I told myself with the years that passed. I just convinced myself that stage fright was a thing I had and public speaking was not my cup of tea. What I didn’t realize back then was that my problem was actually deeper than that.

It wasn’t just public speaking. It was literally anything that I did while others were looking. In my teenage years, I became extremely conscious of what others would think of me. What my friends would think if I said I liked a certain kind of movie or song. What they would think if I wore a certain dress for a party. What others would think of me if I hung out with the popular students of the school. What people would think of me if I upload a certain status or share a certain post. And I would think twice and thrice and sometimes even delete after I upload a status.

After years of going through this struggle, I stumbled upon the Quran by the mercy of Allah. And I won’t say that it changed me instantly. It was rather a journey. One of the ayahs that impacted me the most is where Allah says, “Don’t fear them, fear Me.” It took me months of thinking about these words to see a change in my behaviour. One day, a friend of mine was insecure about whether any other student had heard the joke that she cracked with me. It wasn’t an indecent joke or anything of that sort so I found myself saying, “Why think about what others would think if it isn’t displeasing to Allah?”

I surprised myself with those words. And that was a major turning point in my life. After that day, whenever I felt insecure, I would ask myself ‘Is this pleasing to Allah?’ If it is, I would be at ease and if it isn’t I would change what I did. Whenever I would think of holding myself back from saying the right thing I would tell myself that if Allah is pleased with me, for saying the right thing at the right time in the right way, I would do it regardless of what others would think.

And today, whenever I stand in front of a crowd, thinking about all the ways that everyone in the crowd would be judging me, I tell myself that if what I’m about to say is something good and valuable, Allah will be pleased with me. So regardless of the looks I get, I won’t hold back my voice. Rather, I will say whatever I need to without any hesitation whatsoever.

Hence when I see the ayah below, I feel as though it speaks to me. “You feared the people, while Allah has more right that you fear Him.” Subhaanallah!

So the next time you think turning towards the deen will kill your confidence, think again. If anything, it is this deen and the fear of our Master that will make us beaming examples of confidence In Sha Allah.

giving advice

The word ‘Wasiyyah’ in the Arabic language means an advice given by a person on a death bed. Allah uses a form of that word (thawaasau) to describe how we as believers are supposed to give advice to each other. What does that tell us?

 

It tells us that we should be loving when we give advice to one another. That the advice that we give should be selfless and none of the words slip out of our tongues except out of extreme care. That we should never give some advice to our fellow brothers and sisters in a way that would hurt them. Because at the end of the day, none of us would wish anyone were hurt because of us on the day we lie on our death bed. We would say whatever we say out of extreme care for the ones around us. And none of the words we say would be to gain anything of this world. Rather, it would be said with the pure intention of gaining something in the Akhirah.

 

This is how we are supposed to be when giving advice to our brothers and sisters even when we are living our daily lives. Subhaanallah!

mushaf

How ironic is the fact that we take the very Book that was sent down to teach us humility, and make it a means of boosting our arrogance? How disturbing is the fact that even in a gathering where that Book is recited, all that runs through the hearts of that gathering are jealousy and hatred? How sad is the fact that most people who are in touch with this Book, have absolutely no idea what it says, and thus have no value for it, when it is this Book that changed the entire face of this Earth for the better?

وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ يَا رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي اتَّخَذُوا هَـٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ مَهْجُورًا

And the Messenger has said, “O my Lord, indeed my people have taken this Qur’an as [a thing] abandoned.” Suratul Furqaan, ayah 30

This is a complaint that Rasool (SAW) will make on the Day of Judgement. As scary as this complaint will be on that Day, I want you to imagine the pain in these words. If you know even the least bit about Rasool (SAW), you would know about what he went through because of this message. About how worried he was about the fact that he may not be able to deliver this message to the entire ummah. The torture he and his companions (May Allah be pleased with them all) suffered. The sacrifices that they made just so that the people that will come after them will have the guidance of the Quran.

And here we are, with that Book in our hands, only because of those sacrifices they made, but all we are worried about is whether we can recite it with perfect tajweed. All we are thinking about is whether we can recite it better than others around us. All we aspire is to say that we have memorized more than the other person or that we have made more khathims in Ramadan than the others. Little do we think of seeking guidance from this miraculous word. Little do we even bother to know what this incredible message is telling us. Little do we realize the responsibility and burden that we have upon us, to learn this message and pass it to the next generation.

Let’s change this for the better. Let’s give the Quran the kind of attention it deserves. In addition to beautiful recitations and its memorization, let’s ponder deeply about the ayahs of Quran. And let’s try to live according to it and try to deliver it’s message to the future generations In Sha Allah.

 

May Allah make us among the people of Quran. Ameen!

desert
“….it increased them in their faith, and they said Allah is enough and excellent is He as a Disposer of affairs.” Surah Ale-Imran, 173
 
Subhaanallah this ayah describes an incredible scene from the battle of Uhud. As many of us might know, the muslims were winning this battle in the beginning. Long story short, just when we believed that we would win, some of the sahaabas took an action that contradicted the Prophet (SAW)’s command given to them. And as a result of that, the disbelievers who were running away came to notice that the muslim army lacked protection now since the original arrangement was changed. And immediately they decide to make a come back. When they did, they started killing and attacking the muslims like never before. The number of muslims killed and injured increased dramatically. So you could imagine how weak these sahaabas must have felt at this point. And yet when the Prophet (SAW) told up to stand and fight, the true believers among them stood up without any hesitation. Though they saw the disbelieving army slaughtering their own warriors with ease while they themselves were injured. The ayah above describes what the hypocrites (the weak believers and the ones pretending to believe) told them in this impossible situation and those true believers’ response to them.
 
الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَقَالُوا حَسْبُنَا اللَّـهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ
 
Those to whom hypocrites said, “Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.” But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, “Allah is enough for us, and excellent is He, as a Disposer of affairs.” Surah Ale-Imran, 173
 
As you could imagine the hypocrites are actually raising a genuine concern in this situation. They are saying that the people have gathered against them so they should fear them. But the true believers realized that its only Allah that they should truly fear and nothing else. So even that situation increased their iman and they said حَسْبُنَا اللَّـهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ (Allah is enough for us, excellent is He as a Disposer of affairs) Subhaanallah!
 
May Allah make us of those who see Him as One enough for us. Ameen!
eid mubarak

Is it just for the fact that Ramadan has now ended? And because now we can eat and drink like we used to? And the long Taraweehs and nights of worship have come to an end?

 

In the ayah about Ramadan, Allah tells us the real reason why we celebrate Eid.

 

وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

 

“….to declare Allah’s greatness for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.” Suratul Baqarah, 187

 

These are the words Allah tells us after saying that He swt wants us to complete the count of Ramadan. We are completing that count of fasting and worship of an entire month, to declare Allah’s greatness because He guided us and so that we become grateful to Him.

 

Now the question is, why are we declaring Allah’s greatness?

 

Because we realized His greatness in our lives more than ever before in the month of Ramadan. We realized His greatness in the fact that we became so close to Him and His worship than any other month and we know that it’s only because He guided us to do so. We realized that it’s only Allah Who gave our hearts the strength to give up our basic needs during the day just for Him. We realized that it’s only Him Who allowed us to pray in the night, make dua and do good deeds like we never did before.

 

Hence, we are grateful for Him. For this realization. For the guidance He gave us in Ramadan. From that guidance, we now have the strength to continue doing good deeds even outside of Ramadan. Some of us may not have been able to do as much worship as we wished to, during Ramadan due to circumstances. But all of us, did something extra even if it’s a little bit on a few days. Hold onto the extra little bit.

 

Perhaps you made a habit of reciting Quran every day. Do the same even outside of Ramadan, even if it’s a little bit. Perhaps you got into the habit of praying on time in Ramadan, hold onto that. Perhaps you got into a habit of giving charity and helping others in Ramadan, hold onto it, even if it’s a little bit. Perhaps you started learning more about Allah and His deen in Ramadan, hold onto it, even if it’s a little bit. Because at the end of the day, these little things are a part of the guidance that Allah gave us. And this Eid is the day we are being grateful for that guidance. Perhaps this gratitude and trying to hold on to that guidance, will increase us further in guidance In Sha Allah.

 

May Allah allow us to retain the guidance He gave us in Ramadan even outside of that blessed month. May Allah accept our good deeds and forgive us for our shortcomings. Ameen!