Sadness, grief, and depression

In the Sahihain it is narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:

Abu Dawood narrated in his Sunan that Abu Bakrah related from the Prophet that he said:

“This is the supplication of those afflicted by distress, ‘O Allah! I seek Your Mercy. Do not make me reliant on my own self for an instant, and lead all my affairs to success, there is no deity except You.”

Abu Dawood narrated that Asmaa Bint ‘Umays said that Allah’s Messenger said to her:

“Should I teach you some words that you should recite when in distress, ‘Allah, is my Lord with Whom I associate nothing and no one.”

Imam Ahmad narrated that Jon Mas’ud said that the Prophet said:

“Whenever a sadness or grief strikes a slave and the slave then says, ‘O Allah! I am Your slave, the son of Your slave, the son of Your female slave. My forelock is in Your grasp. Your decision about me will certainly come to pass. Your judgment on me is certainly just. I ask You by every Name that is Yours and which You call Yourself by, whether You revealed it in Your Book, taught it to some of Your creation or kept in the Knowledge of the Unseen that You have. Make the Noble Qura’an the spring of my heart, the light of my chest, the eliminator of may sadness and the end of my grief. Then, Allah will remove his sadness and depression and will replace them with joy.”

In addition, At-Termezey narrated that Sa’d bin Abu Waaqas related from the Messenger of Allah that he said:

“The supplication of the Prophet An-Nun which he supplicated to the Lord while in the belly of the whale.” “La jlaha ilia Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)], Glorified (and Exalted) be You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]! Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers.” “No Muslim man would supplicate with it concerning a matter but would be positively answered by Allah.”

Imam Ahmad narrated in the Musnad, “Whenever the Prophet b would be concerned about a matter, he would turn to prayer.” Furthermore, Allah said:

وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ۚ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلْخَـٰشِعِين
‎"And seek help in patience and As-Salat (the prayer)." (2:45)

In the Sunon it is narrated, “Revert to Jihad, because it is among the doors of Paradise with which Allah drives away sadness and depression from the hearts.

The Prophet said:

In the Sahihain it is narrated that this supplication is a treasure of Paradise, while At-Termezey narrated that it is a door of Paradise. These cures that we mentioned are of fifteen types. If they are not sufficient to remove sadness, depression, and grief, then the sickness has become chronic and needs to be completely removed and dissipated.

The first cure, affirming Allah’s Oneness in His Lordship. The second, affirming Allah’s Oneness in the worship. The third cure, is the belief in the creed of Tawheed (There is no true god but Allah, and Mohammed is His Messenger), and The fourth, praising Allah for not dealing with His slave with injustice and for not punishing him without a reason. The fifth, the slave’s affirming that it is he who has committed the injustice. The sixth, pleading to Allah by the most beloved methods to Him, by His Names, Attributes, such as Al-‘Hay (The Ever-Living), and Al-Qayyum (Who Sustains everything and everyone). The seventh, depending on and relying on Allah Alone for everything. In the eighth, the slave affirms that his hope is only in Allah. The ninth, acquiring true dependence on Allah and relating all matters to Him while admitting that the slave’s forelock is in His Hands Alone and that He does with it whatever He will. Admitting that Allah’s decision on the slave will certainly come to pass and that His judgment is certainly just.

The tenth, the slave’s heart should enjoy the gardens of the Qur’an and should make the Qur’an just like the spring of pure water to the animals. The slave should use the light of the Qur’an to shatter the darkness of desires and lusts. The Qur’an should be one’s companion when no one else is present; the comfort that relieves every type of calamity and the cure that discards every illness that attacks the slave’s heart. In short, the Qur’an should be the remover of sadness and the end of depression and grief. The eleventh, turning to Istighfar, seeking forgiveness from Allah. Twelfth, repenting to Allah. Thirteenth, performing jihad in Allah’s cause. Fourteenth, performing prayer. Fifteenth, knowing all power and strength to He Who grasps them in His Hands.

How divine remedies affect diseases Allah has created the son of Adam and his body’s organs and designated a state of perfection that each organ could attain and achieve. Consequently, when the organ loses its perfection, it feels pain. Allah has designated a state of perfection for the heart, the leader of the organs. When the heart loses its perfection, it will fall down with various ills and sicknesses, such as sadness, grief, and anguish. Furthermore, when the eye loses what it was created for, sight; when the ear loses what it was created for, hearing; and when the tongue loses what it was created for, speech; then these organs will have lost their perfection.

The heart was created to acquire knowledge of its Creator and to love Him, worship Him Alone, be content with Him, be joyous in loving Him, and feel satisfied with Him. The heart was created to rely on Allah, to love for His Sake, to hate for His Sake, to be loyal for His Sake, to be enemies of His enemies for His Sake, and to remember Him always. The heart was created to love Him more than anyone or anything else, to have Hope in Him rather than anyone or anything else, and to revere Him more than anything or anyone else. There is no joy, happiness, delight, or sweetness except by acquiring such qualities, which are just like food, good health, and life for the heart. When the heart loses its food, health, and life, sadness, grief, and affliction will attack it from all sides and remain with it. The worst diseases that attack the heart are Shirk (polytheism, making partners with Allah), sins, forgetfulness, ignoring what Allah likes and is pleased with, abandoning relating all matters to Him, and not depending on Him for everything. Diseases of the heart include relying on others other than Allah, rejecting His decisions, and doubting and ignoring His warnings and promises.

When one thinks about the diseases of the heart, he will find that the reasons that we mentioned are the only ones behind these ills. Consequently, the only effective remedies for these ills are their opposites and antidotes that the Prophetic remedies contain. We stated before that the disease is removed by its opposite and that health is preserved by using what it is accustomed to which is included in the Prophetic remedies. Tawheed opens the door to all types of good, happiness, joy, elation, and enjoyment for the slave. Repenting to Allah extracts all types of harmful, sinful causes of the heart’s ailment. Further, Tawheed is the diet of the heart against bad substances, for it closes the doors of evil. The doors of happiness and all types of good will be opened with Tawheed, while repentance and seeking forgiveness will close the doors of evil. Doctors of old said, “Whoever seeks to acquire good health for the body should consume fewer amounts of food and drink. Whoever seeks the well-being of his heart, let him abandon sin. ” In addition, Thabit said, “The body’s well-being requires consuming less food, the soul’s comfort is in committing fewer sins and the consolation of the tongue is in uttering less speech.”

Sins are just like poison to the heart – if they do not destroy it, they will weaken it. Then when the heart is ‘weaker, it will become less efficient in fighting disease. The biggest of the heart’s ills occur by satisfying its lusts and desires while ignoring them constitutes its biggest cure. We should mention that originally, ignorance and injustice were created in the self. Because the self is ignorant, it thinks that its cure is in following its desire, although this path leads it to its destruction and demise. And because the self is unjust, it does not accept the prescription of the sincere doctor. Consequently, when the self has prescribed the ailment instead of the cure, it accepts it while refusing to take the cure when it is prescribed. And because the self prefers the illness rather than the cure, which it tries to avoid, many other illnesses and diseases will break out and by then the doctor will not be able to diagnose them and consequently, the cure will not be available. The biggest calamity of all this is that the self absolves itself of guilt and blames Fate and its Lord, inwardly in the beginning and then explicitly later on !*

When the ailing person reaches this stage, there is no hope of curing him, unless the Mercy of the Lord rushes to his aid and Allah allows him to start a new life while providing him with the required sustenance. This is why the Hadith that Ibn Ab’ass narrated about the supplication during the time of distress contained Unity (Tawheed) of Allah in Lordship and worship, glorifying Him and mentioning His being Most Forbearing. These two Attributes (Glory and Forbearing) are necessary to add perfection to the Attributes of Ability, Mercy, Kindness, and Forgiveness.

The same Hadith described Allah’s Lordship above the upper and lower worlds and, above the Throne, which is the ceiling and the mightiest of all creation, Affirming Perfect Lordship to Allah requires worshiping Him alone in Unity (Tawheed), and loving, fearing, hoping, glorifying and obeying Him Alone. In addition, affirming Allah’s Perfect Glory requires affirming and attributing every type of perfection to Him and denying every type of shortcoming, and is equated with the creation.

In addition, Allah’s being Most-Forbearing necessitates affirming the perfection of His Mercy and Kindness toward His creation. When the heart has access to these facts, it will seek to acquire the qualities of loving Allah and glorifying Him in Tawheed. Then, the heart will acquire and enjoy such joy and delight that will allow it to overcome feelings of affliction, sadness, and grief.

It is a fact that whenever the sick person hears of what brings happiness and joy to his heart, the body will be more effective in resisting the ailment, Furthermore, when one compares the depressing feelings while in anguish to the wonderful meanings contained in the supplication while distressed, he will find that these words are perfectly suitable to deliver the heart from its depression and substitute it with the elation that accompanies happiness and joy.

Only those who have had access to such feelings and whose hearts are filled with the light of the truth that comes with these feelings will give this subject matter its due consideration, The Prophet’s statement: be trained or at least restrained by the laws of Islam. Satan (the force of evil) appeals to our Nafs (self) and tries to encourage them to commit sins. This in turn causes negative damage to the soul, which we are responsible for.

It has a special kind of effect in removing grief. Allah’s Living is an attribute that includes every type of perfect quality, while the attribute “The Self Subsisting” entails Allah’s perfect Actions. That is why AJ-Hayy (The Ever Living), Al- Qayyum (The Self Subsisting) are included in Allah’s Mightiest Name, which if He is called by it, He will answer and if He is begged by it, He will give.

Furthermore, Perfect Life is the opposite of sickness and shortcomings since the residents of Paradise do not die, they do not feel any sadness, depression, or any type of ailment. When life has an end, it indicates the existence of shortcomings in actions and the inability to sustain. Being ever-living is thus suited to being ever-sustaining. The Ever-Living does not have any shortcomings in His being. The Self Subsisting AI- Qayyum, is Able to do everything He wills.

This is why asking Allah by His Names AI-Hayy, The Ever-Living, Al-Qayyum, and the Self Subsisting has profound effects on removing what is the opposite of life and Ability. Related to this, the Prophet used to ask Allah by His Lordship of Jibril, Michael, and Israfil to guide him to that which the people had differed in concerning the truth, by His Will, for the heart lives by correct guidance. The three angels mentioned in the supplication are responsible for the elements and necessities of life. For instance, Jibril is responsible for delivering the revelation with which the heart lives. Michael is responsible for sustenance, which is the life of the body. Israfil is responsible for blowing the Horn, which signals the resurrection of the souls and they’re being returned to their bodies. Asking Allah by His Lordship of these three angels, who are responsible for all types of life, has a special effect on acquiring what one seeks and longs for.

Therefore, invoking Allah’s Name AI-Qayyum has a special effect in answering supplications and ending afflictions. The Sunan and Abu Hatim in their Sahib narrated that the Prophet said: “Allah’s Greatest Name is in these two Verses.”

‎"Alif Lam Meem. Allah! La ilaha ilia Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), Al-Hayyul-Qayyum (the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists)." 
(3:1 -2)

‎At-Termezey commented that this is an authentic Hadith.

‎In the Sunan and the Sahih of Ibn Hibban, it is narrated that Anas said, “A man once supplicated, ‘O Allah! I ask You by Your owning the praise, there is no deity worthy of worship except You, the Mannan (Munificent), Who created the heaven and the earth. O Owner of the praise and Honor. ‘O Hayy, ‎Qayyum. ‎The Prophet said:

This is why the Prophet used to say when making Du’a,

This supplication entails invoking Allah, Who grasps all good in His Hands. It includes depending on Allah Alone, relating all matters to Him Alone, and pleading to Him to lead the slave’s matters to success.’ It ion includes asking Him not to allow the slave to rely on his own self and invoking Him by mentioning His Oneness. All these have a special effect in removing grief. Such is the case with the Prophet’s statement: “Allah is my Lord, I associate none with Him.” As for the Hadith that [bn Mas’ud narrated:

“O Allah, I am Your slave, the son of Your slave…”

It contains what no one book can explain of divine knowledge and the secrets of the slavery to Allah. The

Hadith includes attesting to the slavery of the person and the slavery of his father and mother to Allah, that the forelock of the slave is in the Hands of Allah and that He does what He will with the slave. The slave cannot bring about benefit, harm, life, death, or resurrection without Allah. When the slave’s forelock is in someone else’s hand, the slave does not own anything regarding himself. Instead, he is a prisoner in the grasp, power, and authority of his owner.

The Prophet stated that:

“Your decision on me will certainly come to pass, and Your judgment on me is certainly just.”

This portion of the Hadith contains two major aspects of Unity (Tawhid). First, the Hadith affirms Predestination and that Allah’s decisions will certainly come to pass on His slaves and that the slave can neither escape them nor fend them off. Allah’s decisions are certainly just and thus do not contain any injustice in them for His slave. Rather, Allah’s decisions always conform to justice and kindness. Injustice is a shortcoming that constitutes a need of some sort, ignorance, or abuse. Such behavior can never occur by He Who has encompassing knowledge of everything, Who does not need anything or anyone, while everything and everyone stand in need of Him, and Who is the Most Just Disposer of affairs. No part of Allah’s decisions can ever be empty of Wisdom and Perfection, just as none of it can ever escape His Power and Will.

Allah’s Wisdom is encompassing, just as His Power and Will are, and this is the reason why the Prophet Hud said when his people wanted to scare him with their idols:

This Ayah indicates that although Allah owns the forelock of His slaves and does what He wills regarding their affairs, He is on the Straight Path, meaning He never decides anything regarding them that is not full of wisdom, justice, kindness, and mercy. The Prophet’s statement:

“Your Decision regarding me will certainly come to pass” It is similar to what Allah said:

It is similar to what Allah said:

Then, the Prophet begged Allah by the Names that He has called Himself with, those which the slaves know and those which they do not know, such as the Names that He has kept with Him and did not allow any angel or Messenger to have access to. This type of supplication is one of the best and dearest to Allah, along with being the most beneficial in achieving what one seeks and longs for.

The Prophet then asked Allah to make the Qura’an in his heart just like a spring is to the animals. He asked Allah to make the Qura’an a remedy for his sadness and grief, so that it works just as medicine works when it removes an ailment, allowing the body to regain its health and youth. He asked Allah to make the Qura’an the remover that clears rust and impurities from the heart. This remedy, when the ailing person uses it with a sincere heart, will certainly remove the ailment and will replace it with complete recovery, health, and energy.

As for the supplication that Zhin An-Nun (Jonah) has made, it contains an affirmation of Tawhid (Unity) and praises Allah’s perfection. In addition, it contains the slave’s affirming his own injustice and the sins that he has committed, making the supplication an especially effective remedy for sadness, grief, and anguish. It is a very effective means of approach to Allah that ensures the deliverance of what one seeks. Tawheed (Unity) and praising Aciah include affirming all types of perfection for Allah and denying every type of shortcoming from approaching Him. One’s affirming his injustices indicates the slave’s faith in the religion and belief in reward and punishment. It leads the slave to be humble and to repent to Allah, asking Him to forgive his faults and affirming his slavery and meekness to Allah. There are four matters that the slave would be begging Allah with this supplication: Tawheed (Unity), praising Allah, affirming one’s slavery to him, and admitting one’s mistakes.

As for the Hadith narrated by Abu Umamah,

“O Allah! I seek refuge with You from sadness and anguish,”

It contains seeking refuge with Allah from eight matters. There are four pairs of things that are related: grief and anguish, inability and laziness, cowardice and miserliness, and preponderance of debts and dominance of men. When a hated matter reaches the heart, it will be either a current concern, which will cause sadness, or it will be an anticipated matter of concern and anguish, which might affect the slave’s important interests. When one does not attain his vital interests, it will be because he is unable or unwilling to seek such interests. When one does not bring about benefit to others and to himself, it will be because he is either a coward or miserly and unwilling to spend his money.

When one falls under domination, it will be because of his being indebted, or because he is overwhelmed by other people unjustly. The Hadith includes seeking refuge from all types of evil.

Seeking forgiveness has a profound effect on repelling grief, anguish, sadness, and depression. This is a fact agreed upon by those of wisdom of every nation. This is because sins and errors bring about grief, anguish, fear, sadness, distress, and ailments of the heart. After a while, those who are used to committing evil and sins will get bored with them. Then, they will commit these errors to drive away the depression and loneliness that they feel. Since these are the effects of sins and errors on the hearts, then the only remedy for this condition includes seeking forgiveness and repenting (to Allah).

As for prayer, it has a profound effect on bringing relief and comfort to the heart, along with strengthening it and bringing about joy and elation to it. The prayer is the connection of the heart and soul with Allah and brings about feelings of joy by drawing closer to Him, remembering Him, feeling happy by speaking to Him, standing before Him, and using one’s entire body and strength in implementing one’s slavery to Him. The prayer entails giving each organ and limb the due right of its slavery while freeing the heart from remembering the creation, dealing with it, or talking about it.

The attention of the heart and limbs will thus be concentrated on the Lord and Creator, along with being free from the irritation caused by his enemy (Satan) while in prayer. This is why prayer is one of the best types of medicines, remedies, and nutrition and is only suitable for healthy hearts. As for ailing hearts, they are just like ailing bodies, not fit for normal good foods.

Prayer is one of the best methods to acquire the good of this life and the life hereafter while fending off the harm of this and the next life. It n discourages people from falling into sin, cures diseases of the heart, fends off the ailments of the body, brings light to the heart and the face, and elevates the energy of the limbs and the soul. It brings about sustenance, fends off injustice, helps the oppressed, dissipates the lusts of the hearts, preserves one’s bounty, fends off torment, brings about mercy, relieves calamity, and helps against many ailments that attack the internal organs. Ibn Majah narrated in his Sunan that Abu Hurayrah said, “The Messenger of Allah saw me while I was asleep suffering from a pain in the stomach. He said to me:

“‘O Abu Hurayrah! Does your stomach bother you (he said it in Persian)?” I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah ! He said, ‘Stand up and pray, because the prayer is a cure,”

It was reported that these words are not the Prophet’s words, but Abu Hurayrah said them to Mujahid, When the hypocrite doctor’s heart is not pleased with all these facts, we talk to him in medical terms. We say to him that the prayer is an exercise for the body and soul, as it entails various movements and positions, such as standing up, bowing down, prostrating, sitting on the ground, and moving »between these positions during which most of one’s joints are used. In addition, most of the internal organs are exercised in the prayer, such as the stomach, the intestines, and the rest of the body organs that are responsible for food and digestion.

Who can deny that these acts and movements strengthen the body, especially when the soul is strengthened and relieved during the prayer? In this case, the body will be strengthened and the pain will subside. The disease of hypocrisy and rejecting what the Messengers were sent with and preferring atheism has no cure except for Fire. Allah said:

As for the effect of Jihad on repelling sadness and grief, it is well established, that when the heart is forced to tolerate evil succeeding and becoming dominant and apparent, its depression, fear, and distress increase. But when the soul performs Jihad for Allah’s sake, Allah will turn that sadness and grief into happiness and strength. Allah said:

No act is more capable of removing the heart’s grief, sadness and anguish than jihad. As for the effect of saying “there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah” in removing depression, it is a fact because these words include referring to all matters, power, and strength to Allah Alone. They include submitting all matters to Allah, not denying Him any supremacy over any matter, and referring the Ability to make any changes in this and the higher worlds to Allah Alone. Nothing can supersede these words in this regard.

It was said that there is no angel who descends from or ascends to heaven without uttering the lords,

“There is no power or strength except Allah”, Finally, these words have an especially profound effect in repelling the devil.