Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Belief expels anxiety |
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| Haniff |
| 08/15/01 at 06:49:43 |
| Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Belief expels anxiety Anxiety has different causes, an important of which is one's belief that some person may do good or harm to one. If you believe that a particular person may bring you good or cause you harm, regardless of God's will, you may easily experience anxiety. That is due to the fact that, by nature, human beings are subject to changing moods and attitudes. You may not know when that person could change his attitude toward you, stopping whatever benefit accrues to you through him, or bringing you the sort of harm that you fear. With its clear faith, based on the pure concept of the absolute oneness of God, Islam makes it clear to us that all benefit and harm comes from God only. This means that human beings will not benefit us anything other than what God has willed to be ours and will cause us no harm other than what God has permitted to befall us. This is a basic concept of Islamic faith. To consider that any human being, whatever his position, may be able to cause us benefit or harm of his own accord is a kind of polytheism which deprives a person of security and inner peace. God says in the Qur'an: "Those who believe and do not obscure their faith by wrongdoing shall be secure, since it is they who have found the right path." (6: 82) He also says: "To associate partners with God is awesome wrongdoing." (31: 13) Abdullah ibn Abbas, the Prophet's cousin, says: “I was riding behind the Prophet when he told me: 'Young man, I am teaching you some words (of advice): Be mindful of God and God will protect you. Be mindful of God and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of God; if you seek help, seek help of God. Know that if the whole community were to gather together to cause you benefit, they would benefit you nothing other than what God has already granted you, and that if they gather together to cause you harm, they would cause you no harm other than something that God has already determined to befall you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried'." (Related by At-Tirmithi). When a believer faces a threat by some people, he will take whatever measures maybe at his disposal to protect himself, but at the same time he places his trust in God who says: "For everyone who places his trust in God, He alone is enough. For certain, God always achieves His purpose. God has appointed a term for everything." (65: 3) At the time of the Prophet, the Muslims once suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the unbelievers. The following day, they received news that the unbelievers were preparing to fight them anew. All they did was to place their trust in God and to be determined to repel the aggression: “Those who have been warned by other people, 'Behold, a host has gathered against you; so beware of them'!" But this only increased their faith, so that they answered "God is enough for us; and bow excellent a guardian is He." Thus, they returned from battle with God's blessings and bounty, without having been touched by evil. For they had been striving after God's goodly acceptance. Limitless is God in His great bounty." (3: 173-174) A believer seeks the good things of life from God only, not from any creature. After all, human beings are only the means of getting what God has willed to give us. In order to teach us, God says in the Qur'an: "Seek all your provisions from God, and worship Him alone and be grateful to Him. For to Him you shall be brought back." (29: 17) He also says: "O God, Lord of all dominion! You grant dominion to whom You will, and take away dominion from whom You will; and You exalt whom You will and abase whom You will. All good is in Your hand. You certainly have the power to will anything." (3:26) If we were to analyze anxiety and identify the feelings which produce it, we will soon realize that it includes a fear that the future may bring some undesirable development against which one feels helpless. The point is that if you fear something undesirable but feel confident that you can do something to prevent it or to avoid its consequences, you will not worry yourself over it. It is that feeling of helplessness against danger and total inability to prevent it that is the main cause of anxiety. However, a believer never feels utterly helpless. When he has done his best, he places his trust in God. He follows that with prayers. It is not true to say that only the weak resort to prayer. Indeed prayer is one of the means available to us. We should make full use of it because it is highly useful. Thus a believer places his trust in God and prays Him for what he desires. What is also very important is that a believer should not be too keen to get something, to the extent that if he fails to obtain it, he would consider that failure a great loss. It may well be that he would be better off not having it. God says in the Qur’an: “It may well be that you hate something when it is good for you, and it may well be that you love a thing when it is bad for you. God knows, whereas you do not know." (2: 216) [i]By Dr Muhammad Kamal Al-Shareef - Arab News - 10 July 2000[/i] Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Haniff (with 2 f's) |
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