Repel boredom with work

Those who have nothing to do with their lives are the same people who spend most of their time spreading rumors and falsehood, mainly because their minds are devoid of beneficial thoughts:

Allah says:

“They are content to be with those (the women) who sit behind (at home). Their hearts are sealed up (from right guidance) to they understand not.” (Quran 9:87)

When you find yourself to be idle, prepare for depression and despair, because idleness allows your mind to wander in the past, the present, and the future, with all of their difficulties. Therefore, my sincere advice to you is to perform fruitful acts instead of being idle, for idleness is a slow and veiled form of suicide.

Idleness is like the show torture that is inflicted upon prisoners in China: they are placed under a tap, from which a drop of water falls only after every hour. During the period of waiting between drops, many of them lose their minds and are driven to insanity.

Being inactive means being negligent of one’s duties, Idleness is an expert thief and your mind is its victim.

Therefore get up now and say a prayer or read a book; praise your Lord, study, write, organize your library, fix something in your house, or benefit others so that you can put an end to you inactivity. I say this only because I sincerely wish for your betterment.
Destroy boredom by working. When you apply this simple precept alone, you will have traveled at least fifty percent of the way towards happiness. Look at farmers, carpenters, and the bread – maker, and observe how, when they are working, they recite words as melodious as the singing of birds, because they are content. Afterwards observe yourself and how you toss and turn on your bed while wiping away your tears, always miserable, always torturing yourself.

Doing good to others gives comfort to the heart

The first person who benefits from the act of charity is the benefactor himself, by seeing changes in himself and in his manners, by finding peace, by watching a smile form on the lips of another person.

If you find yourself to be difficulty or distress, show kindness to others, and you will be the first to find solace and comfort, give to the needy, defend the oppressed, help those in distress, and visit the sick: you will find that happiness surrounds you from all directions.

An act of charity is like perfume-it benefits the user, the seller, and the buyer. Furthermore, the psychological benefits that one receives from helping others are indeed great. If you suffer from depression, an act of charity will have a more potent effect on your sickness than will the best available medicine.

Even when you smile upon meeting others, you are giving charity.

The prophet (pbuh) said:

“Do not dismiss certain acts of kindness by deeming them to be significant, even if (such a act) is to meet your brother with a smiling face (for that is a deed which might weigh heavily in you scale of deeds).”

On the other hand, when you frown upon meeting others, you are displaying a sign of enmity, an act that is so detrimental to brotherhood that only Allah knows the full extent of its evil effects.

The Prophet (pbuh) informed us that the prostitute who once gave a handful of water to a dog was rewarded for that deed with Paradise, which is as wide as the heavens and the earth. This is because the Giver of rewards is Forgiving, Rich, and Worthy of Praise.

O’ you, who are threatened by misery, fear and grief, occupy yourself in the betterment of others. Help others in different ways through charity, hospitality, sympathy, and support. And in doing so, you will find all of the happiness that you desire.

Allah says:

“He who spends his wealth for increase in self-purification, and has in his mind no favor from anyone for which a reward is expected in return; except only the desire to seek the Countenance of his Lord, the Most High.He surely will be pleased (When he enters Paradise) ( Quran 92:18-21)

How to deal with bitter criticism

Those who are ignorant have uttered curses at Allah, the Exalted, the Creator of all that exists, so what treatment should we, who are full of faults, expect from people. You will always have to face criticism, which in its onslaught is like an interminable war; it shows no sign of ending. As long as you shine, give, produce, and have an effect on others, then disapproval and condemnation will be your lot in life. Until you escape from people by finding a tunnel in the ground or a ladder leading to the sky, they will not desist from censuring you, from finding fault in your character. For that reason, as long as you are from the denizens of earth, expect to be hurt, to be insulted, and to be criticized.

And here is something you should contemplate; a person who is sitting on the ground does not fall, and people do not kick a dead dog. Therefore their anger toward you can be attributed to you surpassing them in righteousness, knowledge, manners, or wealth. In their eyes you are a transgressor whose wrongs cannot be atoned for-unless you abandon your talents and strip yourself of all praiseworthy qualities, so that you become stupid, worthless, and to them, innocuous. This result is exactly what they want for you.

So remain firm and patient when facing their insults and criticism. If you are wounded by their words and let them have an influence over you, you will have realized their hopes for them.

Instead, forgive them by showing then the most beautiful of manners. Turn away from them and do not feel distressed by their schemes. Their disapproval of you only increases you in worth and merit.

Verily, you will not be able to silence them, but you will be able to bury their criticisms by turning away from them and dismissing what they have to say.

Allah says:

“Say: “Perish in our rage” (Quran 3:119)

In fact, you will be able to increase them in their rage by increasing your merits and developing your talents.

If you desire to be accepted by all and loved by all, you desire the unattainable.

Leave the future Alone until it comes

Allah Says:

“The Event (the Hour or the punishment of disbelievers and polytheists or the Islamic laws or commandments), ordained by Allah will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it.”
(Quran 16:1)

Be not hasty and rushed for things that have yet to come to pass. Do you think it’s wise to pick fruits before they become ripe? Tomorrow is non existent, having no reality today, so why should you busy yourself with it? Why should you have apprehensions about future disasters? Why should you be engrossed by their thoughts, especially since you do not know whether you will even see tomorrow?

The Important thing to know is that tomorrow is from the world of the unseen, a bridge that we do not cross until it comes. Who knows, perhaps we might never reach the bridge, or the bridge might collapse before we reach it, or we may actually reach it and cross safely.

For us to be engrossed in expectations about the future is looked down upon in our religion since it leads to our having a long term attachment to this world, an attachment that the good believer shuns. Many people of this world are unduly fearful of future poverty, hunger, disease, and disaster: Such thinking is inspired by the Devil.

Allah says:

“Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to commit Fasha (Evil deeds, illegal sexual intercourse, sins etc), whereas Allah promises you Forgiveness from Himself and Bounty...” (Quran 2: 268)

Many are those who cry because they see themselves starving tomorrow, falling sick after a month, or because they fear that world will come to an end after a year. Someone who has no clue as to when he will die (which is all of us) should not busy himself with such thoughts.

Since you are absorbed in the toils of today, leave tomorrow until it comes, Beware of becoming unduly attached to future prospects in this world.

Today is all that you have

When you wake up in the morning, do not expect to see the evening – live as though today is all that you have, Yesterday has passed with its good and evil, while tomorrow has not yet arrived. Your life’s span is but one day, as if you were born in it and will die at the end of it. With this attitude, you will not be caught between and obsession over the past, with all its anxieties, and the hopes of the future, with all its uncertainty. Live for today: During this day you should pray with a wakeful heart, recite the Quran with understanding, and remember Allah with sincerity. In this day you should be balanced in your affairs, satisfied with your allotted portion, concerned with your appearance and health.

Organize the hours of the day, so that you make years out of minutes and months out of seconds. Seek forgiveness from your Lord, remember Him, Prepare for the final parting from this world, and live today happily and at peace. Be content with your sustenance, your wife, your children, your work, your house and your station in life.

Allah Says:

“So hold that which I have given you and be of the grateful” (Quran 7:144)

Live today free from sorrow, bother, anger, jealousy, and malice. You must engrave onto your heart one phrase: Today is my only day. If you have eaten warm, fresh bread today, then what do yesterday’s dry, rotten bread and tomorrow’s anticipated bread matter?

If you are truthful with yourself and have a firm, solid resolve, you will undoubtedly convince yourself of the following: Today is my last day to live. When you achieve this attitude, you will profit from every moment of your day, by developing your personality, expanding your abilities, and purifying your deeds. Then you say to yourself:

Today I shall be refined in my speech and will utter neither evil speech nor obscenity. Also, I shall not backbite.

Today I shall organize my house and my office. They will not be disorderly and chaotic, but organized and neat.

Today I will be particular about my bodily cleanliness and appearance. I will be meticulous in my neatness and balanced in walk, talk and actions.

Today I will strive to be obedient to my Lord, pray in the best manner possible, do more voluntary acts of righteousness, recite the Quran, and read beneficial books. I will plant goodness into my heart and extract from it the roots of evil – such as pride, jealousy, and hypocrisy.

Today I will try to help others – to visit the sick, to attend a funeral, to guide the one who is lost, and to feed the hungry. I will stand side by side with the oppressed and the weak. I will pay respect to the scholar, be merciful to the young, and reverent to the old.

O’ Past that has departed and is gone, I will not cry over you. You will not see me remembering you, not even for a moment, because you have traveled away from me never to return.

O’ Future, you are in the realm of the unseen, so I will not be obsessed by your dreams. I will not be preoccupied about what is to come because tomorrow is nothing and has not yet been created.

‘ Today is my only day’ is one of the most important statements in the dictionary of happiness, for those who desire to live life in its fullest splendor and brilliance.

The Past is gone forever

By brooding over the past and its tragedies, one exhibits a form of insanity – a kind of sickness that destroys resolve to live for the present moment. Those who have a firm purpose have filled away and forgotten occurrences of the past, which will never again see light, since they occupy such a dark place in the recesses of the mind. Episodes of the past are finished with; sadness cannot retrieve them, melancholy cannot make things right, and depression will never bring the past back to life. This is because the past is non existent.

Do not live in the nightmares of former times or under the shade if what you have missed. Save yourself from the ghostly apparition of the past. Do you think that you can return the sun to its place of rising, the baby to its mother’s womb, milk to the udder, or tears to the eye? By constantly dwelling on the past and its happenings, you place yourself in a very frightful and tragic state of mind.

Reading too much into the past is a waste of the present. When Allah mentioned the affairs of the previous nations, He, the Exalted, said:

“That was a nation who has passed away” Quran 2:134

Former days are gone and done with, and you benefit nothing by carrying out an autopsy over them, by turning back the wheel of history.

The person who lives in the past is like someone who tries to saw sawdust, Of Old, they used to say: “Do not remove the dead from the Graves.”

Our tragedy is that we are incapable of dealing with the present: neglecting our beautiful castles, we wail over dilapidated buildings. If every man and every jinn were to try jointly to bring the past back, they would certainly fail. Everything on earth marches forward, preparing for a new season – and so should you.

Ref: Don't Be Sad

Contemplate and be thankful

I just started reading a book called Don’t Be Sad by Aaidh ibn Abdullah Al Qarni, I found that book very interesting and thought of sharing some of the topics, maybe they would make a difference to my life and your lives in some way. InShaAllah

The author writes:

Contemplate and be thankful

Remember the favors of Allah upon you and how they surround you from above and below – indeed, from every direction.

Allah says:

“And if you would count the graces of Allah, never could you be able to count them”
(Quran - Chapter 14 Verse 34)

Health, safety, nourishment, clothing, air and water – these all point to the world being yours, yet you do not realize it. You possess all that life has to offer, yet remain ignorant.

Allah Says:

“He has completed and perfected His graces upon you, (both) apparent (i.e. Islamic Monotheism, and the lawful pleasures of this world, including health, good looks etc) and hidden (i.e. one’s faith in Allah, guidance for doing righteous deeds and also the pleasures and delights of the Hereafter in Paradise etc)”
(Quran Chapter 31 Verse 20 )

You have at your disposal two eyes, a tongue, lips, two hands, and two legs.

Allah Says:

“Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both (Jinn and men) deny?”
Quran Chapter 55 Verse 13)

Can you picture yourself walking without a feet? Should you take it lightly that you slumber soundly while misery hinders the sleep of many? Should you forget that you fill yourself with both delicious dishes and cool water while the pleasure of good food and drink is impossible for some, due to sickness and disease? Consider the faculties of hearing and seeing with which you have been endowed. Look at your healthy skin and be grateful that you have been saved from diseases that attack it. Reflect on your powers of reasoning and remember those that suffer from mental ailments.

Would you sell your ability to hear and see for the weight of Mount Uhud in gold, or your ability to speak for huge castles? You have been given abundant favors, yet you feign ignorance. Notwithstanding warm bread, cool water, easy sleep, and good health, you remain despondent and depressed; you think about what you do not have and are ungrateful for what you have been given. You are troubled by the loss of wealth, yet you have the key to happiness and many blessings, Contemplate and be Thankful;

Allah Says:

“And also in your own selves (are signs), will you not then see?”
(Quran – Chapter 51 Verse 21)

Reflect upon yourself, your family, your friends, and the entire world that is around you.

Allah says:

“They recognize that grace of Allah, yet they deny it “
(Quran Chapter 16 Verse 83)