By A. O.

This insecurity is a consequence of not putting one’s trust in Allah.

Ignorant Societies Lead a Troubled Life

In ignorant societies, people lead troubled lives. This is surely a direct consequence of not putting one’s trust in Allah. Not believing in Allah, they assume they can avoid their responsibilities towards Allah and still enjoy all the worldly pleasures of life. Nevertheless, to their disappointment, one thing bothers them greatly: stress. Their choice of disbelief rests solely on the assumption that an environment where proper behavior is not enforced by an absolute sense of right and wrong but by devotion to one’s own principles would afford them peace, comfort and a life of joy and happiness. Yet, contrary to their expectations, their experience proves to be otherwise.

The main source of this trouble is insecurity. This insecurity is a consequence of not putting one’s trust in Allah. People, who cannot conceive of the power and control of Allah over all men and incidents, feel a constant fear and a sense of uneasiness. Not aware of fate, which is only under the total control of Allah, they struggle to cope with the whole of life. This rationale holds that, at every moment, misfortunes may befall them and they are weak and helpless against them.

They have a negative approach towards all happenings. Mostly fear surrounds them on all sides. Blurred with stress, their mind fails to bring solutions to problems. If dealt with in a peaceful state of mind, however, these surely would be minor issues to resolve. They are mostly unhappy; everything they meet with in the course of their lives, whether important or trifling, makes them easily tense. Especially situations which they describe as misfortunes become the main sources of stress.

Yet, what is most common to these people is the harm they do to their own mental health. Statements starting with What if…? keep their minds occupied with disaster scenarios. A businessman, for instance, considers all the possible consequences of missing an important meeting that will be held the following week: What if he misses the plane and cannot arrive at the meeting on time?; what would be his loss in such a situation?; how can he explain this situation to his boss?, are only a few of the questions that cross his mind. This attitude, however, is not restricted to one subject only. Such an approach holds true for every aspect of life, like health, family and friends, social and economic affairs, to name a few. The imaginary problems of their spouses, children and friends increase their distress.

Believers complying with the commandments of the Qur’an, on the other hand, feel peace, comfort and happiness deep in their hearts. Being conscious of Allah’s existence and power, they are never overwhelmed by trouble and distress. They handle problems with wisdom. If they face any difficulty in solving a problem, this does not break their spirit. They know that, whatever happens, there is goodness in it. Again, in a peaceful state of mind, they look for ways to improve the situation. With such an attitude, the direct consequence of their faith in Allah, they stay away from all the harm that stress and tension give to the human body and soul.

Believers never lose their trust in Allah; material loss, an accident or illness does not affect their trust in their Creator, since they know that there is goodness in everything. They know that, besides Allah, people have no other protector or helper… In situations particularly where circumstances are not favorable, they quickly acknowledge this to be a trial by Allah. Allah provides the underlying reason for this attitude in the following verse:

“But it may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows, but you do not know.” (Al-Baqarah: 216)

Ignorant people are exceptionally vulnerable. Stress, a consequence of their senseless rationale, causes irreversible damage to body and soul. While endlessly pursuing the pleasures of life, they find themselves overcome by the grief of their unreasonable worries. Besides this world, they also lose the eternal life. If, however, they devoted their time to contemplating the Hereafter, rather than producing negative scenarios, which are mere figments of the imagination, they would certainly attain happiness both in this world and the Hereafter.

“Surely Allah has bought from the believers their persons and their property and in return has promised them, that they shall have the Garden; they fight in Allah’s way, so they slay and are slain; a promise which is binding on Him in the Taurat and the Injeel and the Qur’an; and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? Rejoice, therefore, in the pledge which you have made; and that is the supreme achievement.” (Al-Tawbah: 111)

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A. O. is a Turkish writer and author.