Lets heal your soul through Islam

Al-Ghazali said, “If you see Allah, Mighty and Magnificent ,holding back this world from you, frequently trying you with adversity and tribulation, know that you hold a great status with Him.Know that He is dealing with you as He does with His Awliya’ and the chosen elite, and is watching over you,have you not heard His saying,”

Remember the reward too...

Allah, the Exalted, says: 

We all have ambitions and dreams in life. From when we are very young, we begin to lay out some major life plans – the college I want to join, which degree to enroll in, the company I want to work for … what not!

But what do we do when these goals aren’t met? When these plans are not achieved at the specified time we have set for ourselves?

We hope this article  inspires someone to continue to chase their dreams despite their past.

Some of the most essential qualities a Muslim should have are generosity,kindness and compassion towards others. Allah has presented  to us in the example of the messengers and  the Quran a great lesson we often forget and neglect-Helping others.One of the central principles of Islam is helping others.Like the messengers,who selflessly and tirelessly dedicated their lives to serving their community, we need to follow the footsteps of the Sahaba and  make it a priority to help humanity and try to lessen the burdens of others.The Messenger of Allaah always did something to better peoples’ situation. He would give away so much that he would forget to keep some for himself.He emphasized love, sympathy and kindness towards all mankind through his actions. We need to think about what we can  do  for people to better their lives, bring them peace, tranquility and fulfillment in life especially today when our Ummah needs us the most.

On the authority of Abu Huraira (RA) from the Prophet SAW who said,

In the past, whenever I would sin,the guilt of committing that sin would consume me.So much so that it would stop me from making up for that sin,because I thought “whats the point anyway?’Allah wont forgive me.I’m a SINNER.Whatever I would do now is useless”. And this mental dialogue would go on for days,even months preventing me from repenting and I would even abandon my salah,dhikr, or any any of worship for that matter .I continued languishing in shame, never realizing that it’s all  a trick from the Shaytan,He makes you sin and then dwell in guilt or shame.Whats even worse, I was forgetting that Allah is the Most Merciful and Forgiving, Al-Ghafur,Al Rahim.

Allah says in the Quran;

Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful. (Quran39:53

What prompted me to write this again,even though  I have written about this before,was a lecture I attended a while ago.The Shiekh spoke about how guilt can be destructive for you Imaan  and that fact that it can make you despair of Allah’s mercy.It makes you lose all hope of ever returning to Allah.The advice he gave me stayed with me forever

He said, “Whenever you sin,repent,forget and follow  it up with a good deed”

Guilt is only good when it makes you  realize your mistake and motivates you to change your habits.Like in my case, I stopped dwelling in the guilt and instead, I would repent  and ask Alllah swt to forgive me. I have forgotten the fact that we are all human and we are bound to sin and everyone is a sinner.yes, EVERYONE.But the only difference is,WHAT YOU DO AFTER YOU SIN.

Al Salam Aleykum,

Actually,no.Islam actually encourages us to seek help for any physical,mental and psychological problems.as its evident in the following hadith

Abu Hurayrah narrates that The Prophet pbuh said

“There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its remedy.” (Bukhari 7.582) 

Having said that, western pschology has it limitations.for example.western psych doesnt believe in Jinn and therefore,they dont consider it while treating a patient.Another good example is western psychology does not believe in  the concept of Qadr (Allah’s decree) and having Tawakal (Trust in Allah) or strong Iman and that fact that these can affect a person well being if the person does not possess these qualities.

We recite this verse so many times in  our prayers  but we never pay heed to the meaning of this wonderful Ayah and the significance of what we are asking for…

We keep asking for guidance in each prayer,and each Rakah of every prayer.But what are we really doing to stay on the right path.

We often think its difficult to stay on the right path because we have this mistaken idea that  we need to to give up too many things  to be a good Muslim. We forget that once you truly devote yourself to Allah,you realise you never needed those things in the first place. And Allah swt eases the path to guidance for those who sincerely strive to change themselves for His sake.

Waa Aleykum Salam Sis.

You have already answered your own question.The simplest thing you can do is to repent and you said you already do so.It means you fear Allah and His punishment.Adultery is indeed a grave sin,however Allah swt is the Most Merciful and if you sincerely repent,He will forgive you, no matter how big the sin is.

Allah says: “Say: O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Sûrah al-Zumar: 53]

Repentance does not just mean asking for forgiveness from Allah for your sin. It should be made with the intention of NEVER again repeating that sin and that’ll include staying away from any place/thing/person which may lead you to commit that sin again.

Read this dua when asking for forgiveness:

اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لا إِلَهَ إِلا أَنْتَ خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَمَا اسْتَطَعْتُ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلا أَنْتَAllahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, Anta Khalaqtani wa ana abduka, wa ana ‘ala ahdika wa wa'dika mastata'tu, A'udhu bika min Sharri ma sana'tu, abu'u Laka bini'matika 'alaiya, wa Abu Laka bidhanbi faghfirli innahu la yaghfiru adhdhunuba illa anta(O Allah! You are my Lord! None has the right to be worshipped but You. You created me and I am Your slave, and I am faithful to my covenant and my promise as much as I can. I seek refuge with You from all the evil I have done. I acknowledge before You all the blessings You have bestowed upon me, and I confess to You all my sins. So I entreat You to forgive my sins, for nobody can forgive sins except You.)

Shaddad ibn Aws (radiAllahu anhu) relates that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said that he (Sayyid al-Istighfar) most superior way of asking for forgiveness from Allah is to say (the above du'a). That "If somebody recites it during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of Paradise."[sahih al-Bukhari; 8,75,318, at-Tirmidhi; 3393, an-Nasa'i; 5522, Ahmad; 16662]

After this , you can make Wudho and pray two Rakahs with the intention of seeking forgiveness from Allah.

Abu Bakr Al siddiq (May Allah be pleased with him), narrated:

“I heard Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) saying: ‘There isn’t a man who, when he commits a sin, rises, makes ablution, and offers two rak'as of prayers, but Allah forgives his sins.’

Oh, thank you.I hope you have fabulous day too.

no,its not, especially  if you are passionate about helping other people.

The amount of time you have to  study, the kind of jobs you’ll get,amount of salary.etc depends on the area of psychology you'll choose.

Follow this link to know more about the different types of psychology and the different requirements to study them as well as the job prospects of each area.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/options_psychology.htm

To know which one will suit you, take this test

Thank you for the lovely words anon.

Being a muslim,I follow whats in the Quran and Sunnah and my opinions about the psychological/mental illnesses is based on Islamic teachings.

According to the Quran and Ahadith these are the reasons why someone may have a psychological or mental illness,:

1.- Being possessed by Jinn (They have the ability toinflict intense fear, psychological disorders i.e. depression, anxiety,etc.and physical sickness, hallucinations, creating animosity between individuals (couples, friends, etc.).

2.The person may not possessed by a jinn but the jinn may be  interfering  with the person’s day-to-day activities by inflicting fear, causing depression,anger,etc

3.Chemical Imbalance : This is what causes diseases like bipolar disorder, schizphorenia ,etc

4.Weak Imaan: Due to weak Imaan,a person losses faith in Allah’s ability to change his situation which leads to feeling hopeless and overwhelmed with life. A person with weak Imaan forgets that everything happens due to Allah qadar.It is a normal to grieve and its is allowed in Islam, but person should not forget the fact that all suffering, life, death, joy, and happiness are derived from Allah and Allah is the one who can give us strength to survive, therefore,we should invoke him and ask Him for strength.

To find out which of the above is the cause of the patient’s illness, Ruqayah can be performed  and Quran is read as per the Sunnah and what happens next determines what the issue is.

1.If the person is possessed by jinn.the patient will experience seizure and the jinn will speak through the client.2.No seizure occurs, but signs indicate that jinn caused the problem and is now gone.3.Nothing happens, in which case the problem was physiological or psychological or its jsut weak Imaan, the person is spiritually dead.

So this explains the importance of knowing/adopting both western psychology and Islamic psychology when treating a patient with mental/psychological illness.it is highly beneficial to integrate  Islamic views in Westernized therapeutic techniques to patients.

“And for those who fear Allah, He always prepares a way out, and He provides for him from sources he never could imagine. And if anyone puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is Allah for him. For Allah will surely accomplish His purpose: verily, for all things has Allah appointed a due proportion. “ (Quran, 65: 2-3)

Please tell me if lesbian in particular is haram or not as  my friend here argues with me that it is not  mentioned in the Quran that lesbianism is haram

Waa Aleykum Salam, sorry for the late reply.

There is at least one mention of lesbian behavior mentioned in the Hadith: "Sihaq (lesbian sexual activity) of women is zina (illegitimate sexual intercourse) among them."

They (gays and lesbians) both go against the natural disposition (fitrah) which Allaah has created in mankind – and also in animals – whereby the male is inclined towards the female, and vice versa.Whoever goes against what Allah swt has forbidden is committing a grave sin. Disbelieving in any commandment of Allah is Kufr. You cant pick and choose in Islam.

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

Both of them – fornication and homosexuality – involve immorality that goes against the wisdom of Allaah’s creation and commandment. For homosexuality involves innumerable evil and harms, and the one to whom it is done would be better off being killed than having this done to him, because after that he will become so evil and so corrupt that there can be no hope of his being reformed, and all good is lost for him, and he will no longer feel any shame before Allaah or before His creation. The semen of the one who did that to him will act as a poison on his body and soul. The scholars differed as to whether the one to whom it is done will ever enter Paradise. There are two opinions which I heard Shaykh al-Islam (may Allaah have mercy on him) narrate.” (al-Jawaab al-Kaafi, p. 115).

Ibn Katheer said:

“The words of Allaah ‘And the two persons (man and woman) among you who commit illegal sexual intercourse, hurt them both’ mean, those who commit immoral actions, punish them both.

Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him), Sa’eed ibn Jubayr and others said: By condemning them, shaming them and hitting them with shoes. This was the ruling until Allaah abrogated it and replaced it with whipping and stoning.