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Anxiety-3
Haniff
07/25/01 at 07:06:01
Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh On God we rely God says in the Qur'an: "God is the patron of the believers. He leads them out of darkness into the light. As for the un-believers, their patrons are false deities who lead them out of light into darkness. Theirs is the Fire wherein they shall abide." (2:257) Happy indeed is a believer who basks in the light of God's guidance and fills his heart with faith in God, the Compassionate, who knows all. A believer's life is essentially serene, tranquil, full of inner peace. Yet a believer may experience anxiety should he lose sight of some sources of light provided by faith. One reason for anxiety is fear of failure. This is the same sort as the fear felt by a student when sitting an important examination. Anyone who embarks on a business project, or some other matter which he is so keen to be successful may experience such a fear. In order to spare his followers such anxiety, Prophet Muhammad [saw] has taught us to make sure that we take every measure that contributes to success. We should plan carefully whatever we intend to do, exert our best efforts and persevere. We must never give way to daydreaming, thinking of success without taking appropriate measures and exerting necessary efforts. Such a state of inaction and daydreaming is described by the Prophet as "disability". It is the opposite of being "judicious", taking every necessary step to ensure success. That is the proper attitude of a thoughtful believer. The Prophet [saw] once said to one of his companions: "God blames a person for adopting an attitude of disability. Therefore be always judicious. Should something worry you, say, 'On God I do rely. He certainly gives the best support'." (Related by Abu Dawood). The worry to which the Prophet [saw] is referring here is the fear of failure. No matter how hard a person tries to take precautions there always remain a chance of failure. Hard as a student may prepare for his finals, an unforeseen illness or accident may prevent him from attending the exam or from doing well. A businessman may also try hard to ensure that his enterprise will yield the best results. How can he guard against a natural or man-made disaster that disrupts all his efforts? Thus, there is always a cause for fear of failure. The only solution to rid oneself of such a fear is to place one's trust in God. Hence the Prophet's [saw] instruction to his companion: "Should something worry you, say, 'On God I do rely. He certainly gives the best support'." The Prophet [saw] also says: "Were you to rely on God as perfectly as He should be relied upon, He would provide for you as He provides for birds: they start their day with empty stomachs, and they come in the evening having had their fill." (Related by At-Tirmithi). Another Hadith refers to Prophet Abraham when he was thrown in the fire to be burned. It mentions that the last thing Abraham said at the time: "On God I do rely. He certainly gives the best support."(Related by Al-Bukhari). Needless to say that Abraham was saved by God from that situation when none but God could have saved him. Anxiety may be the result of a feeling of weakness, or lack of confidence, when one is expected, or required to accomplish a certain task. The Prophet (peace be upon him) dealt with such a case when one of his companions, having volunteered to carryout a certain task, feared that it might prove to be too difficult for him. The incident took place after the Battle of Badr, when a Jewish poet, Kaab Ibn Al-Ashraf, traveled to Makkah where he used to encourage the non-believers to fight the Muslims in Madinah. He subsequently returned and was in the habit of singing poetry mentioning Muslim women in highly compromising terms. They were very upset by such poetry. The Prophet [saw] asked his companions, "Who can stop Ibn Al-Ashraf?" One of them called Muhammad ibn Masslamah said: "I will stop him, messenger of God [saw]. I will kill him." The Prophet [saw] permitted him to do so if he could manage. Muhammad ibn Masslamah went home, but for three days he was unable to eat or drink anything other than what would just keep him alive. When the Prophet [saw] was told of the fact, he called him and asked him the reason for that. He said: "Messenger of God [saw], I have made you a promise and I am unsure whether I can fulfill it or not." The Prophet [saw] told him: "You need only try your best." Here the Prophet [saw] teaches us that everyone should be given credit for his or her effort. Credit should not be given only when success is achieved as it is the case in many societies today, where only successful persons are given proper esteem. When a person has made a good effort, that person should be given credit, even though the ultimate result falls short of full success. This outlook, which is characteristic of Islamic faith, will go a long way to dispel any anxiety caused by fear of failure. It makes clear that a person who does his best, with honesty and sincerity, is given credit and rewarded by God for his or her efforts. Stressing the importance of making good effort, the Prophet [saw] gives us the following rule: "When a judge gives a verdict after honest consideration, he will earn a double reward if his judgment is accurate, but if it is mistaken, he earns one full reward.” (Related by Al-Bukhari). [i]By Dr Muhammad Kamal Al-Shareef - Arab News - 17 April 2000[/i] Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Haniff (with 2 f's)

Re: Anxiety-3
Sonny
07/25/01 at 14:53:45
These are very good articles.  I've really appreciated all three.  Thanks!--Sonny =:)
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