:sl:
There are reasons, a wisdom as to why Allah(swt) has given us emotions and feelings. They serve a very vital point and that is - Emotions are alarms for action. What does that mean, it means we feel certain emotions/feelings at certain times - and those emotions are telling us to take a certain action.
Here is an example; The feeling of
Fear. When we Fear something, our feelings are telling us - "This might/will happen to harm you - you are not prepared for it, so you better take immediate action."
Let us look at the feelings of
Worry; what it means and how to overcome it when it goes over the limit.
The feelings of worry are signals that bring to our attention the negative things that 'could' happen. They serve to balance the equation with the positive. For example, if your child gets a fever, you can not be all positive and say it is just nothing, you must also be concerned and take the necessary steps.
Now excessive WORRY is the horror channel of the mind, that broadcasts only negative thoughts. It shows us false, filtered, one-sided images of reality. This is the killer of the mind, of energy, passion, dreams.
How should a Muslim over come Worry?
As was already mentioned i would advice first and foremost, have a firm connection with Allah(swt). Pursue the knowledge that will help you establish that firm connection and increase in your Iman. Knowledge is the key. Divine knowledge, that is the Qur'an and Sunnah. Learn the Names and Attributes of Allah(swt), really reflect on them and use them in Du'a.
The Solution: The solution to
Worry in islam is
Tawakal, putting your trust in Allah(swt).
What does Tawakal mean? here is hadith that best describes it;
One day Allah's Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it.
He asked the Bedouin, "Why don't you tie down your camel?"
The Bedouin answered, "I placed my trust in Allah."
At that, the Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, said, "
Tie your camel and place your trust in Allah" -
Tirmidhi
Meaning - Doing what you can - then put your trust in Allah(swt).
If there is something that you are concerned about, sit-down, get a pen and a paper, write down exactly what you are feeling. Getting it out of the head and putting on paper, that alone will create some space between you and the problem. Once you wrote it down, ask your self, "
is this truly the reality of the situation? or just one side of it?" Once you get the true picture of the situation, ask yourself,
"what part of this do i have influence over? what part can I do something about?" Once you separated what you can influence and what you can't - here is where you begin;
That which you can influence and do something about - no matter how little or small it might be,
DO WHAT YOU CAN DO,
i.e. Tie your camel!
And the part you can not influence and change -
LEAVE THAT TO ALLAH(swt),
i.e. Tawakal 'put your trust in Allah'!
Do you know what the remote-control to your mind is, what you can use to change the channel in an instant? It is questions!
The questions you ask yourself inside your head, or out loud control what you focus on at any particular moment. Develop better questions, questions that empower you, motivate you, uplift you. Powerful Questions like; What can I be grateful for right now? What positive thing can i focus on? How can i use this experience to better myself? How can i learn from this? How can i use this to grow? to become stronger? wiser?
Our minds sometimes work like search engines when we ask questions they will give us answer, the difference is that sometimes search engines don't give us answer, while our mind always give us answer, sometimes wrong, distorted ones. for example if you constantly ask; "Why am I always worried?" "how come this always happens to me?" "Why am i always sad?" you brain will give you a list of evidence that will reinforce those questions. "Why" questions are specially damaging when you are in a negative mental state because they are endless.
On the other hand if you were to ask; "Why am I always Lucky?", "Why am i so blessed?" your brain will also give you a list of evidence that support why you are those things. So you see, questions open different windows in our minds and the wisdom is to ask the right empowering questions that open the windows we want to open, and lock those that weaken us.
May Allah(swt) assist us in remembering Him, thanking Him, and in worshiping Him in the best of manners. Ameen.
Here is a very Amazing Hadith to leave you with;
THINK POSITIVE:
The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “Allah the Most High said, ‘I am as My servant thinks (expects) I am. I am with him when he mentions Me. If he mentions Me to himself, I mention him to Myself; and if he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly greater than it. If he draws near to Me a hand’s length, I draw near to him an arm’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.’” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Commentary:
Imam Nawawi (may Allah have Mercy upon him) said:
“The scholars say that expecting the best of Allah is to expect that He will have Mercy on him and relieve him of hardship.”
[Sharh Sahih Muslim]
‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud (radi Allahu anhu) said: “By the One besides Who none is worthy of worship, the believer is not given anything good better than his good expectations of ALLAH, and by the One besides Who none is worthy of worship, no servant of ALLAH expects good of Him except that ALLAH gives him what he expected, since all good is in His Hand.” [Husn adh-Dhann bi ALLAH]