By the Morning brightness

by Raiiq Ridwan

Tough times come in the life of every human being, young or old, rich or poor, king or slave. And tough times, more often than not, make us who we are.

In fact, tough times (and learning to deal with them) help our true nature emerge. For example, during bad times a really “nice” person might show complete impatience and displeasure at the will of Allah (swt), whereas a not-so-nice person might actually turn towards Allah in times of need, bringing about a change in his life that puts him among the pious.

The Way Out of Depression

In recent times depression and sadness have been rife in the Earth. We have more than ever before but we’re more depressed than ever before. Anti-depressants are fast becoming the most prescribed drug, suicide is high, and morality has gone to an all-time low. The Messenger used to say, The best speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad.

Surah Duha

A man who is depressed, sad, or grieving requires the nurturing and caring of a well-wishing soul more than he needs the pill that alleviates his symptoms for a little while. Who better to speak to you to calm you down than Allah (swt)? And which better way but the way of the messenger? No human being suffered more than him, and it was at one of the saddest points of Mohamed’s life that Allah (swt) revealed Surah Duha.

The Messenger has just started giving the message to his people who were mocking and making fun of him. At that time revelation stopped for six months and their mockery and slandering just increased as they said things like, “No revelation today? Your Lord surely hates you now!”

Wake Up and See the Sunshine

So often do we not feel that Allah (swt) really hates us? He must hate us for all the pain we get, right? No— the answer comes!

By the morning brightness! [Quran, 93:1]

Your life was all hustle and bustle like the morning brightness! It was bright and sunny before, and don’t worry, it still is today! Wake up, look at the sunshine, look at life around you— it’s not all doom and gloom.

And by the night when it grows still . . . [Quran, 93:2]

Yes, a depressed life is like the stillness of the night; nothing moves, nothing seems to be going forward. But what comes after the stillness of the night? The bright morning! It was a bright morning only hours earlier, and another bright morning is coming! Its okay, don’t worry, good times are ahead. Get some sleep.

Allah (swt) Loves You and Has not Deserted You

Your Master has not said goodbye to you nor does He hate! [Quran, 93:3]

Your Master has not even said goodbye, so don’t worry! Wadda’a in Arabic is a loving goodbye. Your Master has not even lovingly said goodbye to you and doesn’t “hate.” Still not impressed? Look at how Allah (swt) gives you evidence that He doesn’t hate you or that He hasn’t said goodbye to you.

Things Will Get Better!

And the future will be better for you than the past. [Quran, 93:4]

Look forward. After bad times come good, and after pain comes ease. And if not, then the believer knows that after death comes paradise. Yes, it’s painful, but hold on, the future will be better!

Your Master will give you so much that you will be pleased. [Quran, 93:5]

Don’t worry, be patient. A time is coming that Allah will give you so much that you will be pleased. For many of us in this world, if not then at least in the hereafter in sha Allah! Imagine all that you wanted. Your wildest dreams that you know will never come true, Allah will make them all come true in paradise. You still need proof right?

Remember What He’s Already Saved You From

Did he not find you an orphan and shelter you? [Quran, 93:6]

Many of you were orphaned once upon a time, either you lost your father or both father and mother. But didn’t Allah help you out of it? Aren’t you better now? What about us with both parents? Were we not helpless and small babies, and didn’t Allah give us parents as a shelter? Or maybe uncles and aunties? Or brothers and sisters? Did Allah not give us a shelter?

And He found you lost(or searching) and guided you. [Quran, 93:7]

Were we not lost and wandering in the ocean of misguidance once and Allah guided us? Were we not searching for happiness everywhere (some of us still might be) whereas it was in the guidance of Allah? Ask Allah (swt) to guide you through man. Look what He did for you before, is He really going to forsake and bid you goodbye?

Remember His Generousity to You

And He found you in need and satisfied your need? [Quran, 93:8]

How many a times have we needed something and it was satisfied by Allah (swt)? We needed parents to take care of us and Allah (swt) gave that to us. We needed food and Allah created the world in such a way that we can extract food. We needed help and Allah (swt)created someone to help us. We needed and He satisfied? Are you yet not convinced that Allah (swt) is going to help? If you are, now time to take action. What do you do?

So do not be harsh with the orphan. And do not turn away the one who asks for help. [Quran, 93: 9]

In short, get active in the community. Help those who are in a worse condition than you are. That will humble your heart, take your mind off your own problems as you focus on others’. It will make you a stronger man and you will also be reminded of the bounties of God in your life and you will thus be grateful. Did I say grateful?

Talk About the Blessings of Your Master

Any of those people writing books on “being happy” or on “positive thinking” will tell you to look at the good side of life. This is exactly what Allah (swt) prescribes, just that He did 1400 years before today in the Quran and also in previous scriptures. Talk about the blessings Allah (swt) has given you. You’ve whined and complained enough. Now talk about how much He’s given you and thank Him for it. When was the last time we thanked Him for our eyes? For good skin? For not having a stomach ulcer? For the immune system?

Talk about the blessings of your Master— therein is peace.

The Psychology of Shukar(Gratitude)

by Bela Khan

She opens her wardrobe. Two dozen dresses— red, yellow, orange, pink, and you-name-it— are hanging there.  After a cursory glance, she bangs the door shut.

“Mom, I have nothing to wear for the party,” she whines.  “I’ve been begging you to take me shopping for ages— you never listen to me!  What do I do now?”

He’s rummaging in the fridge for the fourth time.  Pizza, chocolate, ice-cream, fruits, and juices are stuffed inside.  He closes the door despondently and leaves the kitchen, saying, “There’s nothing much to eat in here. Let’s go to the café and get some decent food.”

She wakes up with the same feelings of depression and dread that she’s been experiencing every morning.  Thoughts of suicide are again floating in her mind.  She’s married to a handsome man and has two lovely kids, a home, and a car— everything most women would ask for.  Apparently, life is perfect, but something is missing; she’s just not married to the man of her dreams.

He’s seventeen years old. He has an iPhone, Core I-7 Dell, and 1000 bucks monthly pocket money, but according to him his life sucks.  He can’t focus on his textbook.  He slams it shut and starts pacing the room as he thinks aloud: “If my friend can own a Jaguar, why the hell can’t I? Everything sucks.”

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?

 The Ingratitude Habit

As we grow up, we get tuned to be ungrateful, to be blind to the blessings in our lives. We focus all our energy and attention on looking for what’s lacking in our lives. This is really ironic, because the more we focus on scarcity, the more we tend to attract it.

How to Become a Black Hole of Despair

Research has proven that our thoughts and emotions emit powerful signals, and that these signals have the ability to attract signals of the same frequency!  In other words, whenever you’re ungrateful or have negative, self-defeating thoughts (for example, I never seem to have enough of money, or I can never be healthy, or I’ll never find a practicing husband) or worry about issues beyond your control, you’re actually emitting energies that will attract similar energies. Ultimately, you’ll end up becoming a black hole of despair.  All the worries, arguments, and frustration just lead to more of the same.

Want to try to attract more peace, joy, harmony, ease, and prosperity? Choose your thoughts consciously and carefully.

Open Secrets in the Quran

Today non-Muslim researchers have discovered these secrets in the name of natural laws, while these “open secrets” were given to us in the Quran 1400 years ago. Psychologists and philosophers have painstakingly conducted research and come up with new theories and ideas.  All this “newly discovered” stuff was presented to us in the Quran in no uncertain terms.  Allah (swt) promises us: If you are grateful, I’ll give you more.

And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.’[Quran, 14:7]

This is a ready-made formula for attracting more of what you want in life.

Surah Fatihah: A Pillar’s Pillar

It is well-known that prayer, the important pillar of Islam, is incomplete without Surah Fatihah.  Surah Fatihah begins with expressing our gratitude to our Lord for the countless blessings He has showered upon us.

Have you ever noticed that a lot of duas taught by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also start with the same expression of gratitude—alhamdulillah? The day starts with the supplication Alhmdulillahilazi ahyana… (All praise and thanks be to the one who gave us life.)
Allah (swt) wants you to start your day in a super-charged state, attracting ample happiness and abundance in life. The meal ends with the supplicationAlhmdulillahizli at’amana wa sakana . . . (All  praise and thanks be to the one who gave us food and drink). Why? Because He always wants you to have better food every time you eat.  The same expression— alhamdulillah; it’s not a coincidence, is it?

Getting Back on Track

Gratitude is one of the quickest ways to regain our focus. When we feel stuck it means we’re giving too much attention to something that doesn’t really deserve it. Most so-called problems are usually mundane preoccupations and mental obsessions. We focus so much on one area to the exclusion of everything else that we create and thus magnify our problems.

Surprisingly, when we focus so much on what’s not working, we can’t even access the part of our brain that provides us with solutions. So, when something is not working, we should focus on what is working and sayalhmdulillahi rabbil 3lameen aloud.

What do you think you’re doing by saying this?  You’re freeing your mind from those thoughts that bog you down and reinforcing strong, positive beliefs that even if some areas are not working in life, others definitely are. In this way, you’re able to think in a quicker and better way to resolve what’s not working in life. Try it out!

It’s reported that some of the companions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) were even grateful for the calamities they faced and presented their gratitude to Allah (swt) for not letting something worse befall them.  Now that’s the attitude of gratitude!

Being grateful to Allah (swt) does wonders. When you’ll acknowledge His hand in your life, miracles will happen. You’ll be in the middle of a problem, not knowing what might happen next, and suddenly the solution will dawn upon you. You might be in dire need of money and someone might, for example, return to you an old loan that you completely forgot about. Or you might be missing your loved ones and they give you a call right then.

We usually ignore many things that are readily available to us and need a big reason to be grateful. Our family, friends, body, health, job, leisure time, education, food, wisdom, smiles, children, and even the painful lessons that life teaches us (and the list goes on) are huge blessings to be grateful for. If you don’t have the same feeling, just close your eyes and imagine one of these blessings vanishing from your life. How does that feel? This is exactly the reason you need to be thankful each day, every moment.

All of us need a bit of fine tuning, so below are some tools that I am sharing with you to enable you to be grateful to Him and let the magic unfold.

Essential Tools for a Grateful Life:

1). Make a list of twenty things you appreciate right now. Write alhamdullilahin front of every blessing. Make a list of the things you feel good about and why you’re grateful for that thing, situation, or person in your life. How did you feel doing this? Here’s the good news: you just increased your positive emissions and now you are actually able to attract more happiness, abundance, and prosperity in your life.

2). Start looking for everything you can be grateful for in life and start talking about it all the time no matter how insignificant it is. If you find a buck from your old shirt’s pocket, celebrate. Go around and tell everyone how grateful you are for that. That’s how you are actually tuning your mind to show gratitude for tiniest blessing in your life.

3). At least once a day, share a gratitude status on Facebook and Twitter (or whatever social media you use) and ask others what they are grateful for. Insha Allah, you’ll get ajar for your shukr and theirs too.

4).  Try to seek the positive in every negative. Take out at least three good lessons from every painful experience and be grateful that life threw that situation at you so that you could learn.

Do share with us a list of some blessings in your life in the comments below.

Bela Khan is a student of Islam, a Muslim women empowerment coach, speaker, writer, and philanthropist. Her mission is, as she says, “to make every single woman reconnect with her Lord, refine her relationships, and get the money flow by inculcating an entrepreneurial mindset.”

Two Keys to Success Here and in the Hereafter

Two Keys to Success Here and in the Hereafter

Understand Quran Academy > Articles > Two Keys to Success Here and in the Hereafter

By Sumbal Tariq

s there anyone who says that he or she doesn’t want success? Definitely not. Everyone wants to be successful in this life and also in the hereafter. If you put the simple ingredients of success into your life, you get peace of heart and stability of heart mind and soul. These two keys are:

Tawakal (trust) and Sabr (patience)

Out of His infinite love, Allah (swt) always wants matters to be smooth and easy for us. That’s why in many Quranic verses He guides us to develop patience and to have tawakal (trust) in Him.

Trust (Tawakal) and Its Benefits

Tawakal is a state in which we have complete reliance and total dependence on Allah (swt). It means that we must believe and realize that everything we do and everything that happens to us comes from Allah (swt) and that He is in charge of everything. Allah is telling us that to be successful we must develop trust in Him.

Say: “Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector. In Allah let the believers put their trust.” [Quran, 9:51]

Say: “He is (Allah) Most Gracious: We have believed in Him, and in Him we have put our trust. So, soon you will know which of us it is that is in manifest error.” [Quran, 67:29]

Once you develop this belief, you won’t keep getting tense in hard times and you’ll understand this reality that all hardships are from Allah and that the purpose of trials is just to test your belief and to develop your complete reliance on Him. In fact Allah (swt) wants to test to find who has reliance on Him. And those who have complete reliance on Him are rewarded. What greater success than to please the king of kings?

Tawakal is not only necessary in difficult times but it’s equally important in good times. In pleasurable moments, realizing the fact that all blessings and happiness of heart are provided by Allah (swt) helps you to understand your own nothingness in front of His greatness.

Patience (Sabr) and Its Benefits

The first question that comes to mind is: why do we need patience? We need it when Allah (swt) takes away or withholds any blessings that we love, such as our jobs, status, wealth, children, belongings, etc. At that time you need to realize that it is Allah who has control over everything. Internalizing this reality helps us to withstand any loss, to scoop out hurt from your heart and to bring calm.

People usually find it difficult to have patience in bad times, but when we hold to the belief that Allah (swt) is the true and strong handhold and that He is Al-wakeel, the best disposer of all affairs, we can easily hand over our matters to Him.

Put your trust in Allah, and Allah is All-sufficient as a Disposer of affairs. [Quran, 33:3]

One of the best examples of patience is Hazrat Yaqoob (as). Allah (swt) took away all his belongings including his children, wealth and even health, but his heart was in rest because he has tawakal on Allah and he was patient. Knowing his condition of heart, Allah (swt) rewarded him with much more and he got eternal success. Allah (swt) love those who are patient, so who is more successful than a person who is loved by Allah?

“Patience is made a condition of success and prosperity. O ye who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy; vie in such perseverance; strengthen each other; and fear Allah; that you may prosper”.  [Quran, 3:200]

Say: “O you My servants who believe!  Fear your Lord. Good is (the reward) for those who do good in this world. Spacious is Allah’s earth! Those who patiently persevere will truly receive a reward without measure!” [Quran,39:10]

Apply these believes in your every single life matters and you will observe settlement of your affairs. Once you rely on Allah (swt) not your own means and withstand difficult situations with patience then your heart get rid of pride, arrogance, self-reliance and ego from the heart. You feel strong in handling your affairs in work, school office, home and where ever you go. This gives you success in this life and also hereafter. Learn it and apply it.