Finding Peace: How to Deal with Anxiety in Islam

Anxiety is a common human experience that affects people from all walks of life, regardless of their religious beliefs. In Islam, there are profound teachings and practices that can help individuals cope with and overcome anxiety. This blog post will explore some of these methods and offer guidance on how to deal with anxiety in Islam.

Prayer (Salah):
One of the most powerful tools in dealing with anxiety in Islam is prayer, known as Salah. Performing your daily prayers not only strengthens your connection with Allah but also provides a sense of tranquility and inner peace. When you pray, you turn your worries over to Allah, knowing that He is the All-Knowing and the All-Powerful.

Dua (Supplication):
In Islam, dua is a form of personal communication with Allah. When you're feeling anxious, take a moment to make dua. Pour your heart out to Allah, express your concerns, and ask for His guidance and support. Remember, Allah is always listening, and He responds to sincere supplication.

Tawakkul (Trust in Allah):
Islam teaches us to trust in Allah's plan. Recognize that anxiety often stems from worrying about the future. While it's essential to plan and take practical steps, remember that ultimately, Allah is the best of planners. Have faith that whatever happens is according to His divine wisdom.

Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah):
Engaging in dhikr, which involves the repetitive remembrance of Allah through phrases and supplications, can be soothing for the anxious mind. The act of dhikr redirects your thoughts away from worry and toward Allah's presence and mercy.

Community and Support:
Islam emphasizes the importance of community and seeking support from others. Talk to a trusted friend, family member, or a religious leader about your anxiety. Sharing your concerns can help relieve the burden and provide emotional support.

Self-Care and Health:
Taking care of your physical and mental health is essential in Islam. Ensure you are eating healthily, getting enough sleep, and engaging in regular physical activity. A healthy body and mind can better withstand stress and anxiety.

Seeking Professional Help:
If your anxiety is severe or persistent, it's perfectly acceptable in Islam to seek professional help from a therapist or counselor. Mental health is an important aspect of overall well-being, and there is no shame in seeking assistance when needed.

Recitation of Quranic Verses:
Certain verses from the Quran, such as Surah Al-Baqarah (2:286), Surah Al-Isra (17:109), and Surah Ash-Sharh (94:5-6), are known for their calming and soothing effects. Recite these verses regularly to find comfort and strength. 

Practice Patience and Gratitude:
Anxiety often leads to impatience and negativity. Islam encourages patience (sabr) and gratitude (shukr) in the face of adversity. Reflect on the blessings you have, even in difficult times, and trust that Allah's plan is for your ultimate good.

Dealing with anxiety in Islam involves a holistic approach that combines spirituality, self-care, and seeking support when necessary. Remember that you are not alone in your struggle, and Allah is always there to guide and support you. By incorporating these Islamic teachings and practices into your life, you can find peace and resilience in the face of anxiety.

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Peace and the four Islamic sacred months

Narrated Abu Bakr: The Prophet ﷺ said: “(The division of time has turned to its original form which was current when Allah created the Heavens and the Earths. The year is of twelve months, out of which four months are sacred: Three are in succession Dhul-Qa’da, Dhul-Hijja and Muharram, and (the fourth is) Rajab of (the tribe of) Mudar which comes between Jumadi-ath-Thaniyah and Sha’ban.” - Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book of beginning of creation, Hadith: 3197

Many Muslims are unaware that there are four sacred months in the Islamic Calendar. Even during the days of Jahilliyah, the idol worshippers of Arabia knew how to respect in these months. There used to generally be no fighting and most places were peaceful.

During these sacred months, Muslims are supposed to spend every possible opportunity to please his creator and avoid from harming anyone physically, verbally or mentally.

O you who believe! Violate not the sanctity of the symbols of Allah, nor of the sacred month. - Surah Al-Maida(5), Verse 2

[Fighting in] the sacred month is for [aggression committed in] the sacred month, and for [all] violations is legal retribution. So whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the same way that he has assaulted you. And fear Allah and know that Allah is with those who fear Him. Surah Al-Baqarah(2), Verse 194

Recently we are getting more and more news of people who are calling themselves Muslims but doing everything against Islam and Muslims. These crazy zealots, many of them subscribing to Islamic State ideology are doing everything against Islam (see here for more details).

There are many other glory hunters who may not be a part of any terrorist organization but think of themseleves as holier than others and are harming others every other day. This post is directed mainly towards these people to remind them that they are violating the sanctity of the sacred months that Allah and his Prophet ﷺ talked about on many occassions.

You have the potential for greatness: Ibn Ali Miller

I love this brother he is everything I want to be, what every Muslim man should be. Much love and respect to brother Steve Harvey too, big fan of his :)

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You don't need to look much further than the Quran for proof that Islam is a peaceful religion

The so-called Jihadi groups, which consist of extremist Muslims of every faction: ranging from Salafis, Wahhabis, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Isis and many more, consider themselves as advocates of True Islam. These terrorists claim that the Paris, London and New York attacks are supported and justified by the Quran.

Meanwhile, the majority of Muslims condemn those atrocities.

For those on the outside of the debate, this may seem like a confusing situation. Which side speaks the truth? Is Islam a dangerous religion?

Here are the reasons why the Quran doesn’t support the actions of terrorist groups both in the reasons for waging war and what it is appropriate to do when there is defensive justification for war.

To be frank, God does give conditional permission for Muslims to wage war; however there are strict guidelines for this which jihadists do not adhere to.

Here are some of the terms and conditions: first, Muslims cannot pre-emptively initiate a war. They are only allowed to act in defense. Muslims have permission from God to fight back only when they are expelled from their houses or lands. War can be waged if there is a situation where defenseless people are under attack and ask their Muslim allies for help. The last reason for a just war is when war breaks out between two groups of believers and one party does not intend to stop it in spite of a proposed truce.

Even for battles and fights, the Quran has set limitations and frameworks. If the enemy proposes peace, Muslims should immediately stop the war. Second, Muslims are not allowed to transgress the divine justice: “fight for the cause of God, those who fight you, but do not transgress, for God does not love the transgressors.” The idea of unrestricted, apocalyptic warfare as proposed by Isis is totally un-Islamic.  Third, Muslims have to treat prisoners of war with honour, not behead them, as seen recently in the bloody propaganda videos spread by the so called Islamic state. Prisoners should be released after the war, either in exchange for Muslims captives or only as a favour. Also Muslims do not have permission to keep prisoners of war, enslave them, or use them as future soldiers. Finally, followers of Islam are not allowed to force their religious beliefs upon their enemies. 

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Bosnia's Muslims reopen mosque Serbs blew up during the war

More than 10,000 people gathered for the reopening of a mosque in Bosnia that was blown up by Christian Orthodox Serbs during the 1992-1995 war.

The Ferhat Pasha mosque, also called Ferhadija, was a masterpiece of 16th-century Ottoman architecture and one of the 16 mosques in Banja Luka, or one of the 534 throughout the country, that were destroyed or damaged by Bosnian Serbs in order to erase any traces of those they were expelling or killing.

Their aim was to make that part of Bosnia a part of neighbouring Serbia.

The so-called "ethnic cleansing" project, also targeting Roman Catholic Croats and other non-Serbs, included expelling people from their homes, looting their property, killing some and putting others in concentration camps.

The destruction of their heritage was an essential part of the plan, aimed also at discouraging survivors from returning.

In 1995, after more than 100,000 people were killed, a peace agreement divided the country in two halves - one for the Serbs, where Banja Luka ended up, and the other shared by Croats and Muslim Bosniaks.

The agreement guaranteed refugees the right to return to their pre-war homes and reconstruction of the Ferhadija mosque was to encourage the plan.

An attempt in 2001 to lay a foundation stone was disrupted by a Serb nationalist mob. One Muslim visitor was killed and dozens were injured.

Nato forces had to evacuate foreign ambassadors from the ceremony by helicopters.

Activists located fragments of the mosque that were not thrown into the river or the rubbish dump, separated them and used computers to place the more thanr 3,500 fragments where they belong. Reconstruction took 15 years.

On Saturday, the 23rd anniversary of the Ferhadija destruction, Bosnian Serb authorities deployed more than 1,000 policemen to secure the event, attended by outgoing Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Bosnian leaders, foreign ambassadors and representatives of the Roman Catholic, Serb Orthodox Churches and the Jewish community.

The event symbolised a further push to restore Bosnia's multi-faith and multi-ethnic fabric. Turkey and other international donors as well as Serbs gave funds for the reconstruction.

During the war, Serbs often referred to Muslims as "Turks", explaining their actions as revenge for hundreds of years of Ottoman occupation.

At the ceremony in Banja Luka, Davutoglu said: "We were here once, we are here now and we will always stay here."

Jakob Fincik, leader of Bosnia's Jewish Community, said in his speech that rarely a Jew speaks at the opening of a mosque but in Bosnia it was possible. He, as well as Catholic bishop Franjo Komarica and Serb Orthodox priest Jefrem, welcomed the opening of the mosque and the people who will pray in it.

"Our differences are not a historical mistake," said Husein Kavazovic, the leader of Bosnia's Islamic Community. "They are God's gift, and any violence against those differences is an act against God's will."

Source

Badshah Khan: Muslim activist who showed that Islam is essentially a religion of peace and non-violence

 

ANYONE who has seen Richard Attenborough’s film Gandhi will remember the vivid depiction of the Amritsar massacre in April 1919 when British and Gurkha troops under the command of General Reginald Dyer opened fire on unarmed protestors and killed well over 350 people. It was one of the worst atrocities by the British in India, but far from the only one.

Far less well-known is the massacre at the Qissa Khwani bazaar in Peshawar in April 1930 when British troops opened fire with machine-guns on people protesting the arrest of Badshah Khan, the remarkable Pashtun leader and close associate of Gandhi who gave much of his life to the cause of non-violence.

It is no reflection on Gandhi that Badshah Khan (whose full name was Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, "Badshah" meaning "King") is so little known in Britain. But the story of his life needs to be told, not least as his abiding belief, rooted in the Qu'ran, was that Islam is essentially a religion of peace and non-violence. His personification of this belief is a powerful antidote to the Islamophobia currently so prevalent across Europe and north America.

This, in turn, is why it is so good to be able to welcome Heathcote Williams’s new “investigative poem”: Badshah Khan: Islamic Peace Warrior (Thin Man Press, 2015). This is a short but powerful book thatSURVEYS Khan’s life but also tracks his approach through to the modern era.

Khan himself is still best known for founding the Khudai Khidmatgarmovement, also known as the “Red Shirts”. This drew many supporters from the Pashtun of what was then the north-west frontier region of India, who came to form a hugely important part of the movement for independence. At its peak, the Red Shirt movement had over 100,000committed to peaceful change and an end to British rule.

Inevitably, Khan incurred the enmity of the British and spent many years in prison, often in appalling conditions. But he and his movement survived it all. He became known as the “Frontier Gandhi” and, as a devout Muslim, said he drew his commitment to non-violence directly from Islam. 

He wrote: “There is nothing surprising in a Muslim or a Pashtun like me subscribing to the creed of non-violence. It is not a new creed. It was followed fourteen hundred years ago by the Prophet all the time he was in Mecca, but we had so far forgotten it that when Gandhi placed it before us, we thought he was sponsoring a novel creed”.

 Source

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Peace-Seeking Muslims Should Refudiate Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin has called on "peace-seeking Muslims" to "refudiate" plans by the The Cordoba Initiative, a Muslim organization, to build a mosque and community center near the site of Ground Zero. After someone alerted her to the fact that "refudiate" isn't actually a word, she deleted the original tweet and sent out two more: "Peaceful New Yorkers, pls refute the Ground Zero mosque plan if you believe catastrophic pain caused @ Twin Towers site is too raw, too real," and, "Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand, Ground Zero mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Pls reject it in interest of healing."

Let's put aside the issue of "refudiation" for a moment; the larger issue here is the intent of the Cordoba Initiative, which is trying to build the mosque. I know the people who run the initiative; they are, for lack of a better term, "peace-seeking Muslims." I spoke at a program co-sponsored by Cordoba last year, and I came to understand that the organization is interested mainly in battling extremism within Islam, and in building bridges to non-Muslim faiths. It seems to me that its mission makes Cordoba an appropriate fit for Ground Zero. One of the ways to prevent future Ground Zeroes is to encourage moderation within Islam, and to treat Muslim moderates differently than we treat Muslim extremists. The campaign against this mosque treats all Muslims as perpetrators. This is a terrible mistake, for moral and strategic reasons. I'm afraid that Sarah Palin, if she were ever to become President, would help create what Muslim extremists have so far unsuccesssfully sought to provoke: an all-out clash of civilizations.

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Hadith: Spread Greetings of Peace

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “O (my) people, spread greetings (of peace), feed people (in need), keep ties of kinship, and pray during the night while the others sleep, and you will enter paradise in peace."

Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 2, Number 21