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I would often find myself worrying about things and draining my energy. Yes, it would lead me to prayers, but also depression. When prayer leads you to depression, it means that you are doing something wrong. Prayer is hope. Prayer is faith. Prayer is uplifting. Prayer is not constant worry.

I learned this after moving to this new city. The first couple of weeks were great, but right after that, my husband would come home upset. We had relocated, thinking that he had found the perfect job. However, in a couple of weeks, we were devastated. He began hating his job. He complained about his boss. He did not like the work. But here we were, and still are, bound by a long-term contract with the company.

He would text me from work to tell me how much he despised his job. He would come home stressed. Our happiness, our dreams, our tranquility in life had disappeared. Being the only person he could open up to, I felt helpless. I would cry for hours on my prayer mat. I did not know how I could help him. The kids were sensing our worries. It was difficult.

I prayed constantly for ease. I prayed and prayed. That is all I did. I would ignore my kids, I would ignore my house, I would ignore my chores, and prayed. This led me to constantly be thinking about the problem:

Prayer was leading me to worry.

One night, it occurred to me, prayer should not lead me to worry. Prayer means putting your trust in God, subhanahu wa ta’ala (exalted is He). Prayer means asking for goodness. Maybe there is goodness in this difficulty that we cannot see. I have to stop worrying about that over which I have no control. I should work on that over which I have control.

So, I changed my approach to prayers. I offered my five prayers, and even some optional ones, but instead of worrying constantly, I began thanking God (swt) for His blessings. I would pray for ease, but with the knowledge that there must be ease in this struggle. God (swt) is great. His wisdom, His sight, His reasons are beyond the human capability to grasp.

With my thankful attitude, I began to cheer the house up. I focused my energy on my kids. I started to learn how to make applications for Android. I started to cook regularly. I would feed my kids before my husband would come home tired, so he could have a quiet dinner to recollect his thoughts. I began to pour my heart out to God (swt) early in the morning, before the sunrise. I found my peace. Thanks to the Almighty (swt).

Peace comes from inside, not outside. Peace comes from working within your circle of influence. My husband is still unhappy at work. He still comes home upset. But I have found the way to charge my energy and be his support. I am embracing the experience, for God (swt) must have a reason that is beyond my wisdom.

اللهُمَّ لا سَهْلَ إلا مَا جَعَلتَهُ سَهْلا وَ أنتَ تَجْعَلُ الحزْنَ إذا شِئْتَ سَهْلا

Allahumma la sahla illa ma ja`altahu sahla wa anta taj`al ul-hazna idha shi’ta sahla.

“O Allah! There is nothing easy except that which You make easy; and You make the difficult, if You wish, easy.” ((Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (no. 2427) and Ibn As-Sunni (no. 351). Al-Hafidh (Ibn Hajar) said that this hadith is authentic. It was also declared authentic by Abdul-Qadir Al-Arna’ut in his checking of An-Nawawi’s Kitabul-Athkar p. 106.))

May God (swt) continue to strengthen our souls and ease our difficulties.  Ameen!

The word faith (Ar. imān) is constantly mentioned in communities, bellowing from pulpits and lessons, floating through the classrooms of Islamic schools or, most importantly, whispering to us from a deep place inside our hearts. Faith walks with us; it is there when tears run down our cheeks, and it is there when we smile.  It carries us through the good times and the bad. Faith is more than just a definition found in books of theology. It is a reality that touches every aspect of our lives. Faith’s centrality in our lives is a proof of our Prophet’s ﷺ (peace be upon him) role as a teacher and proof of his greatness because he expanded it beyond a theological concept, beyond gnosis, to every facet of our being, to, as Chaplain Marc Manley likes to call it, “Operational Islām.” Such that when the Prophet ﷺ was asked, “What is the best act?” He responded, “Faith in God!”

Teaching Faith in The 21^st Century

In the last 10-15 years faith (Ar. aqîda) has provided us with a sense of identity. While establishing an identity rooted in faith is important, often these efforts expanded well beyond the designations of faith and disbelief, to a number of “intrafaith” wars that rocked communities, and in some cases, led to divorce. I plan to touch on this in the future. But, for now, it is important to understand that classical books on faith were written with 3 different philosophies:

1. To teach and inspire
2. To compare with Other Creeds
3. To argue

Sadly, in recent times, the second and third approaches were given more attention while the first was orphaned. This series of articles will be written using the first approach – to build, familiarize, and inspire us to live faith-based lives.

Faith and 5: Faith’s Application in the 18^th Chapter

The 18^th chapter of the Qur’an holds a special status. Read by a large number of us on Friday, it teaches that faith touches on five important aspects of our lives: learning, community, thankfulness and indifference, patience with God’s decree, and ethics with success.

Each and every one of us experiences one or more of these on a daily basis: where and what to study first is a constant question we ask; each day we are faced with a large number of injustices at political, economic and structural levels; each day we find ourselves amazed by the latest offerings this world has to offer and find ourselves rocked by the tide, and each day we are confronted with tests and trials, with power and success.

In short, each day is an opportunity for us to live faith. And that is one reason why I think reading the 18^th chapter of the Qur’an each week is so important. Instead of looking at the world outside of the mosque as a challenge, we should look at it as an opportunity to celebrate God’s blessings, to stand in the tide of evil and pronounce our dedication to something greater and purer: faith!

The First: Sources of Knowledge

The sources of correct spiritual knowledge are identified at the beginning of the 18th chapter: revelation that “has no deviance, straight” and the perfect model to follow, “upon His servant.” Thus, we are taught to place our understanding of the unseen, our understanding of God’s commands upon His perfect words, the Qur’an, following the example of God’s beloved messenger, Muhammad ﷺ. This should cause us to study his Book and the Prophet’s ﷺ example, developing an intimate relationship with them.

The Second: Community

Concern for community is found in the story of the companions of the cave, “We made their hearts strong when they stood up and said, ‘Our lord is the lord of the heavens and the earth! We will never pray to any other deity except him.”   It was not enough for them to believe. But something nagged at their hearts, causing them to share God’s greatest gift, faith. Our hearts should be moved by the shallowness of a global society that has placed God on the backburner. The word guidance in Arabic comes from the same word as gift; gifts are meant to be shared. In the 36^th chapter of the Qur’ān, verse 26, we find a man so committed to sharing that gift that he wanted to share it even after his death. Ibn ‘Abbas (God bless his soul) said, “He called his people to faith while he was alive, and he wanted to call them to it after his death!”

The Third: Thankfulness and Indifference

Thankfulness for blessings and indifference to this world are found in the story of the two men who were blessed with gardens and wealth. One was thankful, the other ungrateful. “And why did you not say when you entered your (bountiful) garden, ‘What God has willed [has happened]; there is no power except God’s.’” One was humble with God’s blessings, the other blinded by them: “And I do not think the Hour will occur Even if I’m resurrected, I do not think I will find what is better than this!” We learn from this that indifference (Ar. zuhd) is not about neglecting the world, but appreciating what we have and attributing it to God’s grace and favors—using it to serve Him and society. At the same time, true wealth is not about richness at hand, but richness at soul. Zuhd is not that simple—to simply abandon responsibility. It is about embracing it with an eye to the Hereafter, an eye towards God’s pleasure. Promotions and raises are truly blessed when they are coupled with an increase in submission to God through worship and public service.

The Fourth: Patience with Calamities and God’s Plan

Patience with strange occurrences and God’s divine wisdom is found in the story of Moses and his companion. “You will not be patient.” “You will find me, God willing, patient.” We hear of patience on God’s obedience and avoiding evil, but patience with God’s plan is another story. At times, the unknown eats at us. But believing in God’s promise, “Indeed, we will help the Prophets and those who believe,” is an aspect of patience that is often neglected. Even more difficult than that is when the plan seems to throw us a curve. Patience with the good times is difficult, but patience with trials is even harder. Sh. Zakariyya al-Ansāri said that that type of patience was “hardest on the soul.”  Being pleased with God’s decree is not only a great mystery, but difficult to embrace.  A narration states that God said to Moses, “My pleasure with you is based on your pleasure with my decree.”

The Fifth: Ethics with Success

Ethics with success are found in the last story of the 18th chapter. The strong king, Dhū al-Qarnayn, exemplifies that power is not a problem when coupled with gratitude to God and respecting others. “Those things that God has established in me (through his blessings) are better (than what you offer), but assist me with strength.” It is only when power blinds a person from its true source—intoxicating them from seeing God’s blessing—that it becomes a problem. Promotions and positions should be met with humility and grace, not with arrogance and oppression.

As you experience your day, examine how faith affects your success, your sources of understanding, your concern for others, your patience with God’s plan and your engagement with power. Try to monitor your days, tying faith with your acts. You will surely find them blessed by God, bountiful. Move faith beyond the simple act of cognition, to a filter that guides your thoughts and your deeds. Faith is not about mastering a text only. It is about holding it down when your kids are driving you crazy, when your spouse is giving you the blues, when your boss is upset and when others are in need. We will spend a few more articles on this topic to help you bring faith back to your days, to your hours, to your life!

Recently my city got hit by a blizzard. In the middle of the storm, I had to make a trip outside in the whiteout conditions. Walking in the blizzard was pretty amazing; the storm almost knocked me down with powerful wind gusts, visibility was low, and the snow was still coming down hard. It got me thinking about how easy it is for Allah to cripple a society by just altering the weather slightly. The same precipitation that falls from the sky, giving life to Earth, can also be used by the Creator to take it all away. It’s pretty amazing – the fact that this doesn’t happen often is a Mercy from Allah, and one of the blessings we ought to be deeply thankful for.

The Concept of Thankfulness

In the Qur’an, Allah says about being thankful,

“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’.” (14:7)

In this ayah (verse), Allah tells us that if a slave is grateful, He has promised that He will increase the blessings that have already been given to them. But if the slave denies the blessings that they have been given, the punishment from his Lord is severe. Let’s take a deeper look at this verse.

The concept being communicated in the ayah is emphasized greatly through the language. In Arabic, emphasis can be placed, not with separate words or additional adjectives, but with just an added letter and/or a shaddah¹ to intensify the meaning of what is being said. The purpose of this emphasis technique is to remove any doubt from the mind of the reader to the truth of what is being read. Because of this, with translation we lose aspects of the meaning; English lacks the same use of emphasis, which means we can remain unaware of specific points that we should be focusing on.

In this verse from Surah Ibrahim, there are eight points of emphasis. The complete meaning being conveyed in English is, ”if you are truly thankful, then certainly, most definitely I shall increase many times for you [in favor]’, and ‘if you were to actually deny my favors, then certainly, most definitely My Punishment is extremely severe.”

This subtle depth of meaning is lost when we translate the ayah. Once we understand this emphasis, we can begin to appreciate the true depth of what Allah says.

Allah has given a promise that, if we are thankful to Him for His blessings, He will certainly give us more. Yet, if we were to be ungrateful, Allah does not say outright that He will give us a punishment; rather He leaves it open as if to remind us that, ‘look, My Punishment is severe – that is all you need to know so start becoming thankful for your own benefit.’

The Opposite of Thankfulness

Another important point to make is that Allah uses disbelief (كفر) as the opposite of thankfulness (شكر). A kafir (كافر) is one that “covers something up” and this is why a farmer is linguistically known as a kafir because he covers up seeds with soil – this word ‘kuffara’ is also in Surah Hadeed (Qur’an, 57:20). Allah pairs up shukr and kufr to teach us that they are opposites of each other. This is why in the verse the word ‘kafar’ is used, which comes from the root (كفر), to say that one who is ungrateful “covers up” or rejects the blessings of Allah thereby belittling them and showing ingratitude. This relationship between the two opposing concepts is highlighted elsewhere in the Qur’an where Allah pairs these two words together:

“So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.” (2:152)

Iblees (satan) also said that his ultimate goal was to make us disbelieve Allah through his method of making us ungrateful to Allah:

“Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You].” (Qur’an, 7:17)

Allah ties iman (faith) to being thankful:

“What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe?” (Qur’an, 4:147)

And the pleasure of Allah is tied to being thankful to Him:

“…And if you are grateful, He approves it for you…” (Qur’an, 39:7)

Lastly, being thankful is showing humility towards Allah. When we take a look at the Qur’anic story of Qarun who was blessed with great wealth, we see that despite all of his blessings, he was someone who failed to be grateful. What did he say?

“He said, ‘I was only given it because of knowledge I have’…” (28:78)

Qarun was ungrateful, he was arrogant and he rejected Allah’s blessings. Because of this Allah caused the Earth to swallow him up as a punishment for his arrogance. This teaches us that if we are not consciously being grateful towards Allah, we can build within ourselves a type of arrogance that deludes us into believing that whatever blessings we have is due to ourselves instead of Allah. We need to understand and practice gratefulness consciously, but how?

Thankfulness in Our Lives

Once the importance of being grateful has been established, the question is: How can we become grateful to Allah? A key rule to remember is that true thankfulness towards Allah is to use the blessings He gave us in a manner that will earn His Pleasure. We have countless blessings in our lives and cannot ever truly be thankful for them. We have warm homes, plentiful food, family, friends, cars, money in our wallets and bank accounts, quality education – and the greatest blessing of all: we have been blessed with imaan. Can we truly be thankful to Allah in the manner which He deserves? Perhaps not, but we can definitely make a conscious effort to start acknowledging these blessings in our life and increasing in good deeds to show gratitude.

We can thank Allah for the warm bed by getting up for Fajr salah. We can thank Him for the money in our wallets by giving to charity. We can thank Him for the great food we eat by feeding others. We can start by setting the bar high for ourselves in doing good deeds and make our intentions of doing them only to show gratitude to Allah. We can start by being better servants to Him and doing what He has commanded us to do (in patience and forbearance) and staying away from what He has forbidden.

Going back to the snow storm, it was truly a reminder for me when I walked into my home – the fact that I had shelter with a roof over my head, warmth, food, a warm bed and comfort from the storm outside. It was a reminder to me that Allah has truly blessed me and there is much that I need to be thankful for, which perhaps I was overlooking by taking it for granted.

Let’s start by being more conscious of the blessings we have and increasing in our ‘ibaadah (worship) to show shukr – thankfulness. After all, the best of Allah’s creation would spend his entire nights in worship just to show gratitude to His Lord, didn’t he ﷺ (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him)?

It was reported in al-Bukhârî and Muslim by our mother ‘Aishah (ra) that the Prophet ﷺ stayed up all night in prayer, stand­ing until his feet became swollen. When he was asked, “Why are you doing this, when Allah has forgiven all your past and future wrong actions?” he replied, “Should I not be a grateful slave?”

So the question is, should we not follow in his ﷺ blessed footsteps and try our best to be grateful slaves as well? After all:

“…And whoever is grateful is grateful for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever denies [His favor] – then indeed, Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy.” (Qur’an, 31:12)

Author’s note: The brother who told me this story allowed me to adapt it as if it happened to me for the purposes of this article.

A Lesson on the Way to the Mosque

I was late. I always managed to be a bit late, always missing thefirst takbir(the saying of AllahuAkbar to start the prayer), but alhamdulillah (all praise is due to God) at least managing to catch the salah (prayer). I pressed on the gas in hopes I would make the first raka`ah (unit of prayer).

As I came closer to the masjid (mosque) I took my eyes off the road in shock. An older lady in a wheelchair was trying to make her way up a driveway into a complex. She was struggling to make it up the incline with groceries strapped on either side of the wheelchair; she would make it up two feet and fall back one. The worst part was that there were some people just driving around her, as if nothing was wrong. Subhan’Allah (glorified is God), I have driven up that driveway numerous times without any problems. Something about a V6 engine and 91 octane gas made it slightly easier than her feeble arms.

I quickly switched lanes, made a u-turn, and headed straight back. I hit my one-touch, auto-down window button and began looking at her as my window made its way down. By now she had made it up the driveway.

“Hi, there, would you mind if I pushed you home?”

“Oh no – not at all.”

Over the course of the next ten minutes I learned about this lady and her story. She was living alone in her apartment. She took care of her own cleaning and cooking, and tried to stay active and self-reliant. She had broken her foot recently (hence the wheelchair), but was still managing to fend for herself; rarely did she seek a helping hand.

Our conversation was only reminiscent of gratitude for the little she had. She was constantly thankful for living in a nice area and always having food on the table, but her living condition left something to be desired in the prosperous surroundings of Orange County. She didn’t have a car (let alone a nice one), or designer clothing, or a beautiful house – but somehow she seemed more content and much happier than many people that I saw around me.

As we approached her apartment she thanked me. We stopped just short of being able to identify her apartment; she still had to get over a small ledge to get into the door. This was an easy task for most, but not for her. I asked numerous times, “Are you sure I can’t take you farther?” I assumed she would be scared that I would rob her. To the contrary, she explained that getting past this ledge was her favorite part of the day and she refused to get anyone’s help. Whenever she returned home, she lifted herself from the chair to sit on the ledge, moved the groceries one bag at a time onto the ledge, maneuvered the chair onto the ledge, re-hung all the groceries back on the chair, sat back on the chair and then wheeled herself into her apartment. Subhan’Allah, I was taken aback after hearing this. I assumed she didn’t have any help and that her neighbors neglected her. However, I was quickly reassured that this wasn’t the case as three little neighborhood children ran up to talk to her. It seemed as if her neighbors knew about her plight – so why this daily difficulty? She confidently replied that she wanted to maintain some independence and did not want to fall into relying on people for everything as she grew older.

Allahu Akbar! (God is Greater!) I continued to talk to her a little longer and she started to inquire about my life.

“So tell me about your life in Orange County, how has it been?”

“Honestly it has been nothing short of blessing. I’ve never had to worry about money or education or anything of the sort. I’ve always been provided for.”

“Really?! Tell, me what it’s like. How is it to live a blessed life?”

It now dawned on me how poor this lady was. She lived by herself, on welfare. She didn’t have anyone to help her because her family was either dead or out of touch. The way she had described herself to me earlier sounded like a life of blessing, but from her reaction it was now apparent to me she was barely making ends meet and that she had lived a life of much struggle and tribulation.

A True Manifestation of Shukr

I learned a very important lesson from her that day. Shukr (gratitude) only manifested through the tongue (i.e. saying alhamdulillah after salah) is the most superficial of realizations. Her shukr was so great that it blinded me of her poverty and past: she was so grateful for what Allah `azza wa jal (honored be His Glory) provided her then and now that I could not see that she was going through—and went through—difficult times.

For us, of course, it’s different. Instead we live lives of careless banter and headless action: we use profanity to express our outrage over petty incidents; we belittle each other senselessly; we get frustrated when asked for help; we get angry if someone needs extra minutes of our precious time; we deny help due to negligence and laziness; we deny monetary aid because of suspicion; we complain to our friends about how much we don’t have instead of thanking for what we do have; instead of walking the streets as positive social elements of change who are grateful for the blessings that surround us, we vegetate at home on our iPhones and Blackberries tweeting about what we had for breakfast while reading the hundreds of instantly updated Facebook status messages on what he hates and who she likes and whether celebrity x is going out with celebrity y.

The greatest manifestation of shukr is the use of a blessing for good and benefit. Allah `azza wa jal gave us a healthy body, so praying with care correctly can be an embodiment of gratitude as can organizing or participating in a beach clean up. We have been granted a privilege here in America by Allah `azza wa jal and we will be asked about our blessings on the Day of Judgment (102:8). How did we use our health: to defame property, beat up our siblings and chase after girls? Or was it to feed the poor, give da`wah (call people to Islam) and help with mosque setup? How did we use our intellect: to carry out endless and worthless arguments or to study hard and stand for justice? There is even blessing and provision in a lack of tribulation. Many of us do not have to care for ailing family members or work two jobs, so what are we doing with the extra time? What are we doing with our iPhones, Blackberries and Droids – are we using them to become more efficient with our time or waste more time?

As this year starts, we should be reciprocating our blessings with positive impacts in society. We only have two questions to answer: 1) What have we worked for the last year with all the blessings that we have been given? 2) What are we going to work for in the coming year?