Smile!

Posted on July 19th, 2012 · Filed under International News, MYF News

Laughing moderately can act as a cure or as therapy for depression and sadness. It has a strong influence on keeping the soul light and the heart clear. Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I make it a practice to laugh in order to give rest and comfort to my heart. And the noblest of people, Muhammad (bpuh), would laugh, sometimes until his molars became visible.”

Laughing is an efficacious way to achieve comfort and light-heartedness, but keep in mind that, as in other things, you should not be immoderate. The Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) said:

“Do not laugh excessively, for verily, excessive laughter kills the heart.”

What is called for is moderation.

“And if you smile in the face of your brother, then that is a form of charity.”

So he, Sulayman, smiled, amused by her speech. (Qur ‘an 27: 19)

Also, when you laugh, you should not do so in a mocking or jeering fashion:

But when he came to them with Our Aayaat [proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.] behold! They laughed at them. (Qur’an 43: 47)

Among the pleasures of Paradise will be laughter:

But this Day [the DAV of Resurrection] those who believe will laugh at the disbelievers. (Qur’an 83: 34)

The Arabs would hold in high esteem a person who was known for his smile and laughter. They believed this to be a sign of a generous personality and of a person who has a noble disposition and a clear mind.

The truth is that the principles of Islam are based on moderation and on good measure, whether it is in matters of belief, worship, manners, or conduct. Islam does not condone a rigid, frowning expression, nor does it condone a constant playful giddiness; rather what it does promote is seriousness when it is called for and a reasonable level of light-heartedness when it is called for.

Bearing a gloomy mien and a frowning countenance are marks of a lowly character, a troubled nature, and hot-headedness. Then he frowned and he looked in a bad tempered way… (Qur ‘an 74: 22)

The Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) said:

“Do not disparage (underestimate) any good deed (no matter how small it is), even if that deed was to meet your brother with a friendly countenance.”

Ahmed Ameen said in his book Fayd al-Khaatir:

“People who are always smiling not only make their own lives more joyful, but what is more, they are more productive people in their work and have a greater ability to live up to their responsibilities. They are more prepared to face difficulties and to find expedient solutions for them. They are prolific workers who benefit themselves and others.”

If I were given a choice between having status in society and plentiful money, and between having a happy, radiant, smiling self, I would choose the latter. For what is great wealth if it begets misery? And what is high position if what comes with it is constant gloominess? And what good is the most beautiful wife if she transforms her house into a living hell? Much better than her — a thousand times at least is a wife who has not reached such a pinnacle of beauty, but nonetheless has made her house a kind of paradise.

Consider this imagery: In a sense, the rose is smiling and so is the forest. The oceans, rivers, the sky, the stars and birds are all smiling. Similarly, the human being by his very nature is a smiling entity, were it not for those things that counteract this natural disposition, such as greed and selfishness, evils that contribute to his frowning. As such he is an anomaly and at odds with the natural harmony of all that surrounds him. Therefore the person whose heart is sullied cannot see things as they truly are. Every person sees the world through himself- through his actions, thoughts, and motives. So if our actions are noble, if our thoughts are pure, and if our motives are honorable, then the spectacles through which we see the world will be clean, and the world will be seen by us as it really is a beautiful creation. If the spectacles become dirty, and their lenses stained, then everything will seem to be black and morbid.

There are those souls that are able to turn everything into misery, whilst there are those that are able to derive happiness from the most difficult of circumstances. There is the woman whose eyes fall upon nothing but mistakes. Today is black because a piece of fine china broke or because the cook put too much salt in the food. Then she flares up and curses, and no one in the house escapes from her execrations. Then there is the man who brings misery upon his own self and, through his disposition, heaps the same upon others. Any word that he hears he interprets in the worst possible way. He is affected gravely by the most insignificant of things that occur to him, or that have occurred to him through his actions. He is drawn into misery by profits lost. By profits expected that went unrealized, and so on. The whole world from his perspective is black, and so he blackens it for those around him. Such people have much ability to over-exaggerate the trifles that occur to them. Thus they make mountains out of molehills. Their ability to do well is negligent, and they are never happy or content with that which they have, even if what they have is plenty. No matter how great their possessions, they will never feel any blessings from what they have.

Life is like an art or a science: it needs to be learned and cultivated. It is much better for a person to plant love in his life than to glorify money, using all his might to help it ease its way into his pocket or into his account. What is life when all its energies are exploited and used for the sole purpose of accumulating wealth, an existence where no energy is directed towards the cultivation of beauty, splendor, and love?
Most people do not open their eyes to the beauty of life, but open them only to gold or silver. They pass by a lush and luxuriant garden, a beautiful bed of roses, a flowing river, or a group of singing birds, yet they are unmoved by such scenes. All that moves them is the coming and going of money into or out of their pockets. Money is but a means to a happy life. They have reversed this fact, have sold their happy existence, and have made money to be an end in itself
Our body has been equipped with eyes to see beauty with, yet we have trained them to look on nothing but money.

Nothing causes the soul or the face to frown more often and with more intensity than despondency. If you want to be a smiling person, wage war with despondency and hopelessness. The door to opportunity is always open to you and to others, and so is the door to success. So indoctrinate your mind with hopes of prosperity in the future.

If you believe that you are inconsequential and have been created for things of only minor importance, then your achievement in life will never surpass this initial goal. And if you believe that your calling in life is to achieve extraordinary feats. You will feel in you a determination that can destroy all kinds of barriers. This can be exemplified as follows. Whoever enters a 100m race will feel tired the moment he completes it, whereas anyone that enters a 400m race, will not feel fatigue after passing the 100m or 200m mark. Therefore the soul gives resolution and will power in proportion to your goal. Hence you must identify your goal, and let it be high and difficult to achieve. And never feel despondency as long as everyday you are taking a new step in its direction. What blocks the soul, making it frown and placing it in a dark prison? The answer is despondency, hopelessness, seeing everything as being evil, searching for faults in others and constantly speaking about the evilness of the world.

Blessed is the one who has a teacher that helps him to develop his natural abilities and broaden his horizons. The best teacher is the one that instills kindness and generosity into his pupil, and teaches that the noblest of pursuits that one can strive for, is to be a source of goodness to others, in accordance with one’s abilities. The soul should be like the sun, radiating light and hope. The heart should be filled with tenderness, virtue, benevolence, and a genuine love for spreading goodness to all those that are connected to it.

The smiling soul sees difficulties, and loves to surmount them. When it sees problems, it smiles, reveling in the opportunity to solve and overcome them. The frowning soul, when faced with a problem, magnifies it and belittles its own determination, while spending all its time justifying. It loves success in life, but is not willing to pay its price. On every path, it sees a grinning lion. It waits only for gold to shower down upon it, or to chance upon some treasure in the ground.

Difficult things in life are only relative, for everything is difficult for the ordinary person, while there is no great difficulty for the remarkable person. While the remarkable person increases in worthiness by overcoming obstacles, the weak person increases in meanness by running away from them. Problems are comparable to a vicious dog. When it sees you scared or running away, it barks and follows in pursuit. However, when it sees your scorn, your lack of concern, and when you shine your eyes in its direction, it gives way and draws back.

Furthermore, there is nothing more deadly than a feeling of inferiority, a feeling that makes its holder lose all faith in his adequacy. So when he embarks upon a project, he is immediately doubtful of its completion or success and he acts accordingly by gratifying these doubts. Thus he fails. Having self-confidence is a noble virtue, and is a pillar of success in life. It is important to note, though, that there is a vast difference between conceitedness and confidence. Conceitedness means to rely upon a deceitful imagination and false pride. Confidence means to rely upon true abilities; it means fulfilling responsibilities, developing talents and organizational skills.

How much in need we indeed are of a smile, a friendly face, easy-going manners, and a gentle, generous soul. The Prophet said:
“Verily, Allah has revealed to me that you should be humble, so that none of you should transgress upon another, and so that none of you should be arrogant and proud to another.”

Do not be sad – Do good to others

Posted on June 4th, 2012 · Filed under International News, MYF News

Being of service to others leads to happiness. In an authentic hadith, the Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) said:

Verily, Allah will say to His slave as He is taking account of him on the Day of Judgment, `O’ son of Adam, I was hungry and you did not feed me. He will answer, how can I feed you and you are the Lord of the worlds! He will say, did you not know that my slave so and so who is the son of so and so felt hunger, and you did not feed him. Alas! Had you fed him you would have found that (i.e. reward) with Me. O’ son of Adam, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. He will say, How can I give you drink, and you are the Lord of the worlds! He will say, did you not know that my slave so and so, the son of so and so felt thirsty and you did not give him drink. Alas! If you had given him, you would have found that (i.e. reward) with Me. O’ son of Adam, I became sick and you did not visit Me. He will say, How can I visit you and you are the Lord of the worlds! He will say, did you not know that my slave so and so, the son of so and so became sick and you did not visit him. Alas! Had you visited him, you would have found me with him.”

Here is an interesting point; in the last third of the hadith are the words: …you would have found me with him.

This is unlike the first two parts of the hadith: “You would have found that (i.e. the reward for feeding and giving drink) with Me.”

The reason for the difference is that Allah, the All-Merciful, is with those whose hearts are troubled, as is the case with the person who is sick. And in another hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said:

“There is reward in each moist liver (i.e. to do service to any living creature will be rewarded).”

Also, know that Allah admitted the prostitute from the children of Israel into Paradise because she gave a drink to a dog that was thirsty. So what will be the case for the one who feeds other humans, giving them drink and removing from them hardships!

In an authentic hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said,

“Whoever has extra provision should give from it to the one who has no provision. And whoever has an extra mount should give with this extra to the one who has no mount.”

Commanding his servant to search out for guests, Hatim said in some of his more beautiful verses:

“Burn the coals, for truly, the night is chilly,
If you bring me a guest, then I have set you free.” And he said to his wife:
“Whenever you make food, then search
For he who is hungry, as I do not eat alone.”

Ibn Mubarak’s neighbor was a Jew. He would always feed him before feeding his own children and would provide clothing for him first and then for his children. Some people said to the Jew, “Sell us your house.” He answered, “My house is for two thousand dinars. One thousand is for the price of the house and one thousand is for having Ibn Mubarak as a neighbor!” Ibn Mubarak heard of this and he exclaimed, “O’ Allah, guide him to Islam.” Then, by the permission of Allah, he accepted Islam.

On another occasion, Ibn Mubarak passed by a caravan of people who were traveling to make the pilgrimage to Makkah, and he too was on his way to do the same. He saw one of the women from the caravan take a dead crow from a cesspit. He sent his servant to inquire about this and when he asked her, she replied, “We have had nothing for three days except that which finds its way into it.” When Ibn Mubarak heard of this, his eyes swelled with tears. He ordered for all of his provision to be distributed among those of the caravan, and having nothing with which to continue the journey, he returned to his home and gave up making the pilgrimage for that year. Later, he saw someone in a dream saying, “Your pilgrimage has been accepted, as have your rites; and your sins have been forgiven.” Allah says:

And give them preference over themselves, even though they were in need of those themselves. (Qur ‘an 59: 9)

One poet said:

“Even if I am a person who is far,
From his friend in terms of distance,
I offer him my help and wish to alleviate his difficulties, I answer his invitation and his call to me for help, and if he dons a wonderful new outfit I will not say, alas, were I to be blessed with the clothes that he wears.”

By Allah, how wonderful are good manners and a generous soul!

No one regrets having done well even if he was extravagant in doing so. Regret is only for the mistake or for the wrong done, even when that wrong is a minor one.

Being sad is not encouraged in our religion

Posted on May 17th, 2012 · Filed under International News, MYF News

So do not become weak [against your eneml J, nor be sad… (Qur’an 3: 139)

And grieve not over them, and be not distressed because of what they plot.
(Qur’an 16: 127)

Be not sad, surely Allah is with us. (Qur’an 9: 40)

Referring to true believers, Allah informs us that:

Upon such shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Our ‘an 2: 38)

Sadness enervates the soul’s will to act and paralyzes the body into inactivity. Sadness prevents one from action instead of compelling one towards it. The heart benefits nothing through grief the most beloved thing to the Devil is to make the worshipper sad in order to prevent him from continuing on his path. Allah, the Exalted, says:

*Secret counsels [conspiracies] are only from Shaytaan [Satan], in order that he may cause grief to the believers. (Qur’an 58: 10)

In the following hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said:

“In a company of three, it is forbidden for two to hold secret counsel to the exclusion of the third, since doing so will be a cause of sadness for him.”

Contrary to what some believe (those who have an extreme ascetic bent); the believer should not seek out sadness, because sadness is a harmful condition that afflicts the soul. The Muslim must repel sadness and fight it in any way that is permissible in our Religion.

There is no real benefit to sadness; the Prophet (bpuh) sought refuge from it in the following supplication:

“O’ Allah, I seek refuge in you from anxiety and grief.”

Grief is coupled with anxiety in this hadith. The difference between the two is that if a bad feeling is related to what is going to happen in the future. Then one is feeling anxiety. And if the cause of this feeling concerns the past, then one is feeling grief both of them weaken the heart, causing inactivity and a decrease in will power.

Despite what has been mentioned above, grief may sometimes be both inevitable and necessary. When they enter Paradise, its dwellers will say:
All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has removed from us [all] grief.
(Qur’an 35: 34)

This verse implies that they were afflicted with grief in this life, just as they were afflicted with other forms of hardship, both of which were out of their control. So whenever one is overcome by grief and there is no way to avoid it, one is rewarded, because grief is a form of hardship, and the believer is rewarded for going through hardship. Nonetheless, the believer must ward off grief with supplication and other practical means.

As for the saying of Allah, the Almighty:

Nor his there blame] on those who came to you to be provided with mounts, and when you said: `I can find no mounts for you, ‘ they turned back, while their eves overflowing with tears of grief that they could not find anything to spend. (Qur ‘an 9: 92)

They were not praised for their grief in itself, but for what that grief indicated and pointed to namely, strong faith. This occurred when they remained behind during one of the Prophet’s expeditions, due to their inability to find the necessary resources needed to make the trip. The verse also exposed the hypocrites, because they did not feel grief when they remained behind.

Therefore the good kind of grief is that which stems from missing out an opportunity to do a good deed or from performing a sin. When one feels sad because he was negligent in fulfilling the rights of Allah, he shows a characteristic of a person who is on the right path. As for the hadith,

“Whatever befalls the believer in terms of anxiety, hardship or grief, Allah will make it an atonement for (some ofd his sins,”)

It indicates that grief is a trial with which the believer is afflicted, and through which some of his sins are atoned for. However, it does not indicate that grief is something to be sought after; the believer should not seek out means of finding grief, thinking that he is performing an act of worship. If this were the case, then the Prophet (bpuh) would have been the first to apply this principle. But he didn’t search out for misery; rather, his face was always smiling, his heart was content, and he was continually joyful.

As for the hadith of Hind, “He was continually sorrowful,” it is considered to be unsubstantiated by scholars of hadith, because among its narrators is someone who is unknown. Not only is the hadith weak because of its chain of narrators; it is also weak because it is contrary to how the Prophet (bpuh) really was.

How could he have been continually in grief when Allah had informed him that he was forgiven for everything (guaranteeing his entry into Paradise) and had protected him from feeling grief over matters pertaining to this life: for example, Allah forbade him from feeling grief over the actions of the disbelievers? How could he have felt grief when all the time his heart was filled with the remembrance of Allah, and when he was at peace with Allah’s promise? In fact, he was always pleasant and his teeth were always visible due to his constant smiles. Whoever delves deeply into his life will know that he came to remove falsehood and to eradicate anxiety, confusion, and grief. He came to free our souls from the tyranny of doubt, disbelief, confusion, and disorder. He came to save our souls from destruction. So many indeed are the favors that were bestowed upon mankind through him (Blessings and Peace be upon him).

And as for the alleged hadith, “Verily, Allah loves all sad hearts,” the chain of its narrators is unknown, so it is not an authentic hadith, especially in view of the fact that the basic principles of our religion are contrary to its import. Even if we were to suppose the hadith to be authentic. Then its meaning would be that sadness is one of the hardships of life imposed upon the worshipper as a form of trial. And if the worshipper is tested by this trial, and if he perserveres through patience, then Allah loves him. As for those who have praised melancholy and have lauded its many virtues (while claiming that our religion encourages it) then they are very mistaken. In fact, every text from revelation that touches upon sadness forbids it and orders its opposite: namely, that we should be content with the mercy and blessings of Allah, and happy with that which has been sent with the Messenger of Allah (Blessings and Peace be upon him).

Those who incline towards extremes in asceticism also relate the following narration:

“If Allah loves one of his slaves, He makes that slave’s heart that of a weeper. And if he hates one of his slaves, then he places a flute in his heart (thus making him constantly light and happy).”

First, we must note that this is an Israelite tradition, which is claimed to be found in the Torah. Nevertheless, it does have a correct meaning since, truly, the believer feels grief due to his sins and the evildoer is ever playful and frivolous, light and joyful. So if the hearts of the faithful grieve, then it is only due to opportunities lost in terms of righteous deeds or because of sins committed. This is contrary to the sadness of the evildoers, whose grief is caused by losing out on physical pleasure or worldly benefit. Their yearnings, anxieties, and sadness are always for these ends and for nothing else.

In this verse, Allah says of his Prophet Israa’eel (Israel):

And he lost his sight because of the sorrow that he was suppressing. (Qur’an 12: 84)

Here we are informed of his grief over losing his beloved son. Simply informing about something does not in itself signify either approval or disapproval of that thing. The fact is that we have been ordered to seek refuge from sadness, as it is a heavy cloud that hangs above its victim, and is a barrier that prevents one from advancing to higher aims.
There is no doubt that sadness is a trial and a hardship, and is in some ways similar to sickness. However, it is not a stage, level, or condition that the pious should actively seek out.

You are required to seek the means of happiness and peace, to ask Allah to grant you a good life, one that gives you a clear conscience and a mind at peace. The achievement of this is an early reward, a point that is underscored by the saying of some, “In this world is a paradise, and whoever does not enter it shall not enter the Paradise of the Hereafter.”

And we ask Allah to open our hearts to the light of faith, to guide our hearts to His straight path, and to save us from a miserable and wretched life.