بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد
1. The Past, The Present, And The Future:
The depression, the tightness of the chest, the restlessness, the stress, the anxiety, the sorrow, the distress, the agitation, the discomfort, the fear, and other such mental and psychological disturbances, these are all unpleasant guests. These are not the guests which one can see; these are not the guests which occupy space in the homes. The problem with these guests is that they live in the hearts, dominate the minds, and influence the decisions.
We see many people around us – apparently – living a life of bliss. Having all the luxuries of life - a car, a big house, a nice family, good income, good health etc. But he is overpowered by distress, as if his chest is going to explode; and he is overpowered by anxiety which takes away his happiness; and he is overpowered by depression which makes him antisocial.
The fear about the future events is known as al-Hamm. The anxiety caused by thinking about what will happen tomorrow.
The pain that one suffers because of the past event is known as al-Huzn. The sorrow and the distress caused by the loss of someone or something etc.
And when the person griefs about the present situation, it is known as al-Ghamm.
The person looks ahead (future events), and it makes him anxious; he looks back (past events), and it makes him sad, and the present day is lost in-between these two. So, when will he find relief and comfort?! How can he enjoy the present when he is hanging between the past and the future?!
2. Luxuries And
The Earlier Generations:
In comparison to the earlier generations, this generation is living a comfortable life. What were luxurious items in the past have become common commodities today. Earlier, not many could afford cars and other vehicles, but today almost everyone has some form of modern means of transportation (cars, trucks, motorbikes etc.). The distance which would earlier take days and weeks to cover can now be traveled within a matter of hours. Today, an average house will have a TV, a gas or electric stove, a fridge, a washing machine, which, otherwise, were unaffordable for the earlier generations. What was earlier considered as luxury, have now become a necessity. The blessings have increased manyfold for this generation. They can afford to wear nice clothes, live in comfortable homes, eat in restaurants, travel around the world for leisure. Yet, with all this, the anxiety, distress, sorrow etc. has increased as well.
Our forefathers did not see the amount of distress that we find in our generation. With the increase in luxury, we are also seeing a decline in mental health. There has been a rapid increase in mental illnesses and disorders.
Even without these luxuries, the earlier generations lived a better life. They lived a quality life. Their lives were filled with the recitation of the Qur’aan, remembering Allaah in the mornings and evenings, their tongues were moist with the Dhikr of Allaah (by saying: Sub-haan Allaah! Alhamdulillaah! Laa ilaaha illallaah! Allaahu Akbar!), offering the night prayers, offering Dhuha prayers, arriving early in the Masaajid for offering the obligatory and Friday prayers. In contrast, many in today’s generation have abandoned the obligatory prayers, leave alone about offering the night prayers, sins have increased, immorality and indecency became widespread, and much more.
The earlier generations would hardly need a Raaqee (spiritual healer). But today, if one claims to be a Raaqee, people will flock around him, waiting in long lines for their turn, or booking appointments to meet him.
Almost everyone these days complain about their anxiety, tightness in chest, distress – fearing what will happen tomorrow, sad about what happened yesterday, and the today is squandered in-between these two. Living a life in-between anxiety, sorrow, and grief.
3. What Will Be
The First Statement of the People of Jannah:
Do you know what the people in Jannah (Paradise) will say after they have entered the Jannah, after they have been adorned with gold and pearls and garments of silk, sitting in shade, reclining on couches, in the garden with rivers flowing beneath them, and fruits hanging nearby? What will they say?
وَقَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَذْهَبَ عَنَّا
الْحَزَنَ ۖ إِنَّ رَبَّنَا لَغَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ
{And they will say: “All the praises and thanks be to Allaah, Who has removed from us (all) grief. Verily, our Lord is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Ready to appreciate (good deeds and to recompense)”}
[Surah Faatir (35): 34]
4. The World
Is A House Of Sorrow:
All the praises and thanks are for Allaah alone, Who has removed from us (all) grief, and this will be in Paradise. As for this world, then, in reality, it is a house of sorrow. We seem to forget that after being taken out of Jannah, Aadam عليه السلام was sent to Earth as a punishment for disobeying Allaah, the earth has been marked to be a place of toil and suffering with a little enjoyment. Everything on this earth is going to perish. People do not come together except that they fall into differences and divisions; nothing is assembled except that it falls apart; nothing is adorned except that it gets dirty; nothing is beautified except that it gets ugly, nothing is born except that it dies. This is the reality of this world.
Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه said:
I heard the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ
saying: ❝This world is cursed and
what is in it is cursed, except the remembrance of Allaah (Dhikr)…❞
[Sunan al-Tirmidhee (2322) and Sunan Ibn Maajah (4112) and graded as “Hasan” by Shaikh al-Albaanee in al-Saheehah (2797)]
Allaah تعالى does not want us to be preoccupied with this world at the expense of the Hereafter. We are merely travelers, who have entered this world in the morning and exiting it in the evening. The final destination is towards the Hereafter – either the enjoyment in the Jannah or the punishment in the Hellfire.
5. Even
Children Are Suffering From PTSD:
A very large number of people are suffering from depression and stress. Even the children are suffering from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) due to a very stressful, frightening, or distressing event, or after a prolonged traumatic experience. Types of events that can lead to PTSD include: serious accidents, physical or sexual assault, etc. Untreated PTSD from any trauma is unlikely to disappear and can contribute to chronic pain, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and sleep problems that impede a person's ability to work and interact with others.
6. The
Deception Of The Influencers And The News Media:
Many of those who speak about joy and happiness in their lives (like the social media influencers and bloggers, vloggers, etc.) are insincere, deceitful, and they only exaggerate about it. They hide their pain and sorrow in front of the cameras, rather, from the inside they are hollow. The are like wood infested from the inside with termites.
They conduct polls and have ratings for the best and happiest places/countries on earth. This is also from deception, and it is mostly to promote tourism to certain countries. They don’t go around asking every individual about their livelihood. It is just based on the input of a few people out of the millions. If one were to visit these so called “happy countries”, all they will find is abundant consumption of intoxication, drug abuse, immorality, illegal sex, suicides, mass murders, protests, chaos, riots, poverty, constant increase in prices of goods and services, higher cost of living, higher taxes, intolerance to different races and color, discrimination against different ethnic groups, oppression against the minorities, etc. With all their industrial power, greenery, mountain views, rivers, pleasant weather, luxurious cars, and big homes, many still suffer from depression. They consume intoxicants to forget their sorrows, they consume drugs (including marijuana) to fight the trauma and pain. But these are all temporary solution, they do not provide permanent solution. The moment the effect of these intoxicants wears off, the trauma returns. Rather, consumption of alcohol and drugs only increases the depression, and in the end, it leads them to committing suicide or go insane.
The studies always show a certain percentage of the world population is suffering from depression and trauma, but the fact is that even this numbers are incorrect. This percentage is the number of people who visited the psychiatrists, and who asked or help, but what about the population who did not go a psychiatrist or don’t have access to them? What about those who are suffering in silence? What about those who are pressured into remaining silent?
7. The Real
Cure For Depression, Anxiety Is In Following Islaam:
These countries and nations, even with their advancement in medicine, cannot provide true relief to the one who is suffering from sorrow, anxiety, depression, trauma. By Allaah! There is no other religion which has a solution for al-Huzn, al-Hamm, and al-Ghamm except for Islaam.
In our religion, the affliction from grief and anxiety is a form of worship, provided that the person is a Believer in Allaah, and hopes for the reward from Allaah for his patience.
The Prophet ﷺ said: ❝Never is a believer stricken
with a discomfort, an illness, an anxiety, a grief, or mental worry, or even
the pricking of a thorn except that Allaah will expiate his sins (on account of
his patience).❞
[Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (5640, 5641) and the wording is his, and Saheeh Muslim (2572, 2573, 2574)]
A person maybe pricked by a thorn a few times in his life, but the people who are suffering from diabetes, and who must inject themselves regularly with insulin, should receive the glad tidings that with every prick of the needle, some of their minor sins are expiated or their ranks are elevated, provided that they hope for a reward from Allaah.
The foundation for all our sorrows and pain is that we chase the comfort of this world. Sometimes, we are the one who cause our own suffering, we become our own worst enemy. We have not properly understood the purpose of life. We were not sent to seek comfort of this life. We were created so that we worship Allaah alone in this life, and in return He تعالى will reward us with the comfort in the Hereafter. Whatever Allaah تعالى has promised for us in the Jannah, we want it here in this world. We want to have an everlasting life, spacious homes, beautiful wives, enormous wealth, always smiling and happy, never suffering pain and sadness, everyone around us to be pleased with us, and those around us never to leave us. This is all promised in the Jannah, but man is always hasty, as Allaah تعالى said:
وَيَدْعُ الْإِنسَانُ بِالشَّرِّ دُعَاءَهُ بِالْخَيْرِ
ۖ وَكَانَ الْإِنسَانُ عَجُولًا
{And man supplicates for evil as he supplicates for good, and man is ever hasty.}
[Surah al-Israa (17): 11]
And also:
خُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ ۚ سَأُرِيكُمْ آيَاتِي
فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُونِ
{Man was created of haste. I (Allaah) will show you My signs, so do not impatiently urge Me.}
[Surah
al-Anbiyaa (21): 37]
From The Things Which Lead To Distress, Anxiety, And Sorrow Are:
1. The Slave’s Lack Of Knowledge Of His Lord:
Allaah تعالى said:
مَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ
{They
have not appraised Allaah with true appraisal. Indeed, Allaah is Powerful and
Exalted in Might.}
[Surah al-Hajj (22): 74]
A person may know who is rich, who is influential, who can give him a loan, who can support him, but he forgets that all these people cannot provide him with anything except after Allaah’s permission.
Strengthen your ties with Allaah through worship and obedience and see the relief which Allaah تعالى will provide for you.
Know Allaah through His beautiful Names and Lofty Attributes. Know Allaah by humbling yourself. Know Allaah by having good thoughts about Him. Know Allaah by reverencing Him by obeying His Commands.
2. Lack Of Remembrance Of Allaah (Dhikr):
Allaah تعالى did not create these hearts to find solace and comfort except through His remembrance. There is no real relief except by remembering Allaah, as Allaah تعالى said:
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ
{Those
who Believe (in the Oneness of Allaah), and whose hearts find rest in the
remembrance of Allaah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allaah do hearts find
rest.}
[Surah al-Ra`d (13): 28]
3. Lacking In Beseeching Allaah:
For every illness, Allaah تعالى has provided a cure. The cure for our suffering, distress, anxiety, sorrow, worries, etc. are mentioned in the Qur’aan and Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ has taught us many supplications through which we should seek Allaah’s help and relief. But we are hasty, and abandon supplications quickly. Allaah alone is the One who provides relief. If we stop supplicating to Him, then who can help us after Allaah?!
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