There’s more to us than what meets the eye.

Many of us don’t realize that the nature of our thoughts affects the quality and course of our lives, we tend to judge our actions and that of others by what is visible to us, forgetting that there’s always, always a root cause.

We also live in a world that claims us piece by piece, stripping us of our individuality and principles, driving us to race towards meaningless distractions instead of the Purpose we were perfectly created for.

Many of us neglect our mental and emotional wellbeing, feeling ashamed by our internal struggles because we associate them with having low iman (faith). However, even the best of Allah’s worshippers have experienced serious lows and moments of piercing sadness; this is part of being human. 

Everything we feel, whether it’s joy, anger, grief, hatred, guilt, or desire, serves a purpose, and if we use it as fuel to gain closer to Allah, then even the most painful emotion is an incredible blessing.

Islam is a complete and perfect way of life, so how can we imagine that the very real issue of mental health isn’t addressed by Allah’s Book and His Messenger ﷺ?

The Prophet ﷺ said,

“Allah did not send down any disease but that he also sent its cure.”

[Sunan Ibn Mājah 3438]

Here are 4 Islamic remedies that can help us navigate life’s turbulences through moderating our internal state and surrendering proactively to the One in charge of all great and small matters.

Reframing your thoughts

Allah tells us He is with the patient.

“O you who believe, seek help through patience and prayer. Surely, Allah is with those who are patient.”

[Al Baqarah: 153]

And I’d like you to truly pause and reflect on this; if Allah is with you, then what more do you need?

He سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى, Who effortlessly created the billions of galaxies and trillions of stars and the Earth with all undiscovered and unknowable wonders, promises to be with those who gracefully endure hardship for His sake.

And when we are truly grateful during our joyous chapters, we show it by worshipping Allah with even more ihsan (excellence) and vow to abstain from the sins that can eventually plunge us back into grief.

Transforming something you dislike into a source of reward and viewing the struggle itself in a positive light enables you to feel genuine gratitude.  This leads to a heart lit up with contentment and serenity, no matter what your external state is like.

Let’s look at a small, everyday example.  Imagine you’re on your way to an important event and stop for a coffee on the go.  As the waitress is about to hand it to you her hand slips, spilling scalding hot liquid on your clothes.

Obviously, you will not be enthused or happy about what just happened. Emotions of shock, frustration, and stress are completely natural.

However, how you handle these emotions makes all the difference.  If you allow them to channel your thoughts, you may think “She has ruined my outfit! I’m going to give her a piece of my mind.”, which would cause you to lash out at the waitress and make an unpleasant scene. All your other interactions that day are likely to follow the same destructive pattern.

However, if you exert control over your surge of negative feelings and refocus your thoughts on something positive, your emotions and resulting actions will transform drastically!

For instance, you may say, “Alhamdulillah, the hot coffee didn’t splash on my face and burn my skin.” or “Alhamdulillah, it fell on my hijab and not my dress, maybe I can wear it inside out!”

SubhanAllah, this will calm you down instantly, and instead of yelling at the poor waitress, you would graciously accept her apologies.  Maybe you’ll even do ihsan (excellence) by going a step further and giving her a generous tip. The rest of your day will probably be spent in a state of gratitude and cheerfulness, and the people you pass may smile at the positivity you radiate.

The same negative situation, but two reactions, one leading to unpleasantness and possibly displeasing Allah, and the other leading to serenity, contentment, and the pleasure (and reward) of Allah سُبْحَانَهُوَتَعَالَى.

Knowing your Lord

Let’s reflect on just one Name of Allah to expand our hearts, which the demanding dunya (worldly life) has a way of constricting.

The Name of Allah, Al-Latif (The Sublimely Subtle) is manifested throughout the story in Surah Yusuf, revealed in the worst year of the Prophet’s life when the Sahabas thought he ﷺ would perish from the extent of his grief.

Yusuf عليه السلام went through the most traumatic sequence of events imaginable, but in the end, not only was he reunited with this father and repentant brothers, but he was also the most noble and influential man in the world (Egypt was the superpower at the time).

In the end, he tells his father,

“This is the outcome of my dream from before; my Lord has certainly made it a reality. Indeed, my Lord is Latif towards whomever He wishes. Indeed, He truly is the All-Knowing, the Most Wise.”

[Surah Yusuf: 100]

Yusuf عليه السلام makes that epic connection between Allah’s ‘Lutf’ (His infinite knowledge of the Seen and Unseen, the immense and the minuscule, and His subtle kindness with which He delivers benefit for His Slaves) and all the trials that he went through.

Allah was looking out for him through it all, even though on the outside, it seemed that the pain and adversity only got progressively worse.

If Yusuf عليه السلام had missed even one painful plot twist in his story, whether it was his brothers throwing him into a well, being sold as a commodity, or convicted for a crime he never committed, he would never have ended up with control over all of Egypt and the ability to save the lives of millions.  He would never have ended the oppression of his brothers and embraced his father in a station of honour.

In the same way, we must also acknowledge that there are hidden pearls of wisdom and benefits in everything we go through.

We should feel that incredible nearness to the Help of Allah because we realize that our tests are not random; Allah plans our lives in the most perfect and customized of ways.

And how does this mindset impact our actions?

We will walk through life trusting so completely in Allah’s Plan for us that patience and gratitude will be our default state.  And as Allah promises us in His Quran [14:07], this will make us a magnet for blessings.

This certainty will also enable us to wholeheartedly focus on being walking blessings for others, seeking closeness to our Lord and theirs.

Even as a slave boy, Yusuf عليه السلام did so much ihsan (excellence) that he was coveted by the nobility, he learned from Egypt’s elite because of the trustworthiness of his character and was even sought by the misguided (wife of the Aziz) because his purity and goodness were hard to resist.

To know Allah is to love Him, and this is the best of knowledge, which will draw us out of depression and aimlessness.

Managing your expectations

While, ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّٰهِ‎, we may not have experienced oppression or betrayal like that faced by Yusuf عليه السلام, people will inevitably hurt us.  

For instance, to put it quite bluntly, people not knowing how to mind their own affairs is a plague in our societies. 

Of course, this doesn’t refer to the genuine well-wishers who take us aside and impart gentle advice. There are certain people who make it their life’s work to monitor your every action and scathingly criticize every step you take, either to your face or behind your back!

However, when we busy ourselves with consciously remembering Allah, getting to know Him through the Quran and the Sunnah, the sharp jabs of people lose their power. This is because- Allahu Akbar- Allah is Greater than anything they could ever do to you or say about you. 

And once we internalize this, we not only grow more tranquil, we can be more compassionate, even with those ignorant people.

Why? Because our beautiful expectations are for Allah alone, we don’t expect to be raised or honored by the people.  And we know that those who misuse and abuse our names will lose their good deeds to our scales, in some cases, even bearing the burden of our sins.

The Messenger ﷺ once exclaimed in wonder,

“Amazing is the affair of the believer, verily all of his affair is good and this is not for no one except the believer. If something of good/happiness befalls him he is grateful and that is good for him. If something of harm befalls him, he is patient and that is good for him.”

(Saheeh Muslim 2999)

Trials help us see our blessings more clearly. Blessings help us to stay steadfast during trials.

 And even the prick of a thorn or the smallest twinge of sadness is a means of expiating our sins and drawing us closer to the mighty reward our hearts undeniably crave.

Here’s one hadith that, if we truly etch it into our hearts, we would never feel despairing or lost:

“Nothing afflicts a Muslim of hardship, nor illness, nor anxiety, nor sorrow, nor harm, nor distress, nor even the pricking of a thorn, but that Allah will expiate his sins by it.”

[Saheeh Bukhari 5641]

Ground yourself in mindfulness

We need to center ourselves around intentionally fulfilling our purpose.  We don’t exist …just because. Our life experiences are not meaningless, and our death is not the end.  It’s a new beginning.

If we truly believe this, then what naturally follows is that we exert effort to make every second of our lives matter because our eternity is determined by the choices we make today, bi’idhnillah.

The truth is, we all make bad decisions driven by unhealthy thought processes and emotions, but having the intention to please and draw close to Allah, to pick ourselves up after inevitable pitfalls and run to Him, that makes all the difference.

Our dhikr (especially the morning and evening adkhaar) and five-times salah, our intimate conversations with Allah during the last third of the night, and learning His healing Ayaat, all help us to find clarity.

Allah describes to us the exact reaction of His patient slaves:

“Surely We will test you with a bit of fear and hunger, and loss in wealth and lives and fruits, and give good tidings to the patient; who when a suffering visits them, say: “We certainly belong to Allah, and to Him we are bound to return.”

[ Al Baqarah : 155-156]

Dhikr in all its forms focuses our priorities, aims, thoughts, and eventually our actions on what truly matters -Who we belong to and Who we will return to.

 The highly rewardable reaction (“Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Raji’oon”) in the ayah above will come naturally to us, bi’idhnillah, if we are people of constant, heartfelt remembrance.

This effect is all the more powerful when we internalize the meaning of what we are reciting and reflect on Allah’s position relative to our own.

We are limited in our abilities, but He is capable of anything and everything.

Whatever we rely on from the dunya, even our loved ones, are not infallible, but Allah is sufficient for us. 

We are blindfolded towards the future, we don’t know the hidden traps we need to avoid, but Allah is the knower of the Unseen and the Witnessed.

Beneficial knowledge changes us from within and translates to how we influence the world around us with our thoughts, feelings, and actions. 

I once heard an Ustadh say that “Allah’s Book pushes us out to the world, and the world pushes us back to Allah’s Book.”  This is so true.

And when this world becomes too heavy upon our hearts, we automatically turn to Allah’s Word as our refuge and solace. As our solution for all matters.

This beautiful quote from A.H. Helwa puts things into perspective,

“We do not worship God because God needs it, we worship God because we need it. Prayer is not you reaching out to God, it is you responding to God, who first reached out to you.”

My Du’a for us

If there is anything I want you to take away from this article and hold close to your heart, it’s to know Who Allah Subhana Wa Ta’La is, for you to begin this journey of discovering your Lord for yourself. Take out time to learn His beautiful Names and Attributes.

It’s not about who you are, all your weaknesses, struggles, and insecurities, neither is it about the people who can alternate between being a blessing and a test – it’s about Who He is.

Also, Allah’s chosen people are not picked at random.  The best of the best, Muhammad Ar-Rasulullah ﷺ, was chosen because he had the purest heart from all of mankind.  You were chosen to be Muslim, to be a believer struggling in Allah’s way, because Allah saw something in you that made you worthy. Never lose sight of that worthiness, that is from Allah, and will, bi’idhnillah, take you back to Him.

 I pray that we can all see our purpose clearly, seeking Allah’s Face in everything we do, focusing on giving, spreading khair, and leaving a meaningful legacy knowing that Allah is sufficient for us in every way.

I pray that whatever pain this dunya brings us, and whatever joys it is replaced with, both draws us closer to Allah, and we remain in a state of beautiful patience, gratitude, and trust, with content hearts, stimulated minds, and beneficial actions.

May we be from amongst those who are dipped in Jannah and declare that we have never known suffering, so insignificant are the thorns of this world when compared to the Eternal Gardens of Peace and Pleasure.

Allahumma Aameen.

Stay tuned for more practical tips in my next mental health segment, In Shaa Allah, where we’ll be delving into more beneficial examples from the Quran and Sunnah.