Don’t be sad

Fajr Reminders - Mahmood Habib Masjid and Islamic Center

My brothers and sisters, we are living in difficult times which are testing us in ways that at least I had never imagined. On the one hand Allahﷻ has kept us and our families safe and well in this land. On the other hand, we are seeing every day what is happening to Muslims and other innocent people in country after country. That can’t leave us unmoved and uncaring. I am always at a loss to answer a simple question when someone asks, ‘How are you?’ I say Alhamdulillah I am well, but my heart is heavy. This sign of a heavy heart which I know I share with all of you is the sign that our hearts are still alive. Because it is the ability to feel pain, not pleasure, which is evidence of life. So, we thank Allahﷻ that we feel the pain of others and make dua for relief for them. However, that makes the heart sad. That is the topic of this Khutba – Don’t be sad. The Muslim is one who complains only to Allahﷻ and he tells only Allahﷻ about his fears and seeks help only from Allahﷻ and lives to please only Allahﷻ. That is why he can rely on help from Allahﷻ because he is constantly connected to Allahﷻ. The word (الحزن) sadness does not appear in the Qur’an except in the form of forbidding it, as in where Allahﷻ commanded: وَلَا تَهِنُوا۟ وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا۟ وَأَنتُمُ ٱلْأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ A’al Imraan 3: 139 Do not falter or grieve, for you will have the upper hand, if you are ˹true˺ believers. Or in the form of negating, as when Allahﷻ said about people of Jannah: إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّهُ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَقَـٰمُوا۟ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ Ahqaaf 46: 13 Surely those who say, “Our Rabb is Allah,” and then remain steadfast—there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve. The reason for this is because there is no benefit of sadness in the heart. Rasoolullahﷺ sought the protection of Allahﷻ from worry and sadness. اللهمّ إني أعوذ بك من الهم والحزن Ibn Al Qayyim رحمه الله said, “Sadness weakens the heart and diminishes determination and wanting to go forward.” For this reason, be happy, optimistic and always think well about Allahﷻ. Have trust in what Allahﷻ can do and depend on Him alone. That is Tawakkul which Allahﷻ gifts to those who live a life of Taqwa. Tawakkul is the reward of Taqwa. Allahﷻ created us with a nature that seeks certainty and dislikes ambiguity and uncertainty. That is what anchors and is the fount of all laws, rules, government, order, culture, manners, which form the fabric of society. Without the drive for certainty, we would have anarchy and chaos. But Allahﷻ didn’t give us knowledge of or control over our future. That produces worry, anxiety, fear, sadness, even despair. And that is Haraam. Ibn Al Qayyim رحمه الله said, “Don’t ruin your happiness with worry, and don’t ruin your mind with pessimism. Don’t ruin your success with deception and don’t ruin the optimism of others by destroying it. Don’t ruin your day by looking back at yesterday. If you think about your situation, you will find that Allahﷻ has given you things without asking, so have trust in Allahﷻ that He doesn’t prevent anything you want except when there is goodness for you in that prevention. You could be sleeping, and the doors of the Heavens are being opened with duas being made for you. SubhanAllah: perhaps from someone poor whom you helped, or someone sad whom you brought joy to, or someone passing by, and you smiled at him, or someone in distress and you removed it. So don’t ever underestimate any good deed.” One of the righteous predecessors said, “When I make dua to Allahﷻ for something I want, and if He gives it to me then I’m happy once but if He doesn’t give it to me then I’m happy ten times because the first was my choice and the second was Allahﷻ’s choice.” Shaikh Saadi Shirazi (رحمه الله), the great Farsi poet and one of the most influential thinkers, scholars, and philosophers of all time, the author of Bostaan and Gulistaan, said,