Holding Onto Hope

It seems almost all there is to life is related to our perception of it. People who have a habit of harboring positive thoughts have a happy life while those who keep complaining, experience bad consequences in life. In the process, they experience difficulties, miseries and depression. This perception has a direct effect on the quality of one’s life. This is a natural law. Indeed Allah (SWT) says in a Hadith Qudsi:

Allah the Most High said, ‘I am as My servant thinks (expects) I am. I am with him when he mentions Me. If he mentions Me to himself, I mention him to Myself; and if he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly greater than it. If he draws near to Me a hand’s length, I draw near to him an arm’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed’

One of the scholars once advised: “if you see someone carrying many glasses in a tray in an unbalanced fashion, do not even say that the glasses will fall. Indeed if you do so they will certainly fall.”

The Prophet’s (SWAS) life is full of so many events in which having hope seemed so incredibly difficult. The changes of things going his way were so small, yet time and again he never lost hope or became depressed. On the outskirts of Makkah when they were just about to be caught outside the cave of Thawr he reassured Abu Bakr (RA):

“If you do not aid the Prophet - Allah has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah] as one of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us." And Allah sent down his tranquility upon him and supported him with angels you did not see and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah - that is the highest. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise” (9:40)

Indeed optimism was a prominent characteristic of his personality. He has been reported to have said:

“O son of Adam! You are free to choose from what befalls you in your life, between despair and hope, pessimism and optimism. However, you shall find your hope and optimism with Allah, and your despair and pessimism with Satan, 'in order that he may cause grief to the believers. But he cannot harm them in the least, except as Allah permits' [Al-Mujdilah: 10].” (Bukhari and Muslim). 

Certainly, having good positive thoughts and good opinion about Allah is a form of worship. He (SWAS) said:

“Hoping for good is also an act of worship of Allah” (Tirmidhi and Hakim).

Regarding persisting with patience in difficult times, he (SWAS) is reported to have said:

“Whoever abstains from asking others, Allah will make him contented, and whoever tries to make 

himself self-sufficient, Allah will make him self-sufficient. And whoever remains patient, Allah will make him patient. Nobody can be given a blessing better and greater than patience” (Bukhari).

As we approach the end of times, the global news seems sadder by the day. Life seems to get harder and harder. With a loss of human values in modern societies, crime, violence, indecency, etc. keeps increasing. Our younger generation faces challenges that we never dreamed about. Despite all the atmosphere of negativity, we must not give into complaining for indeed if we take the time to reflect deeply we will realize that despite all these problems we enjoy countless blessings.

Try to reflect and write down only 3 things in your diary that you should give thanks about for that day on a daily basis. If you do this exercise persistently, your outlook, health, the quality of your life and the events that will proceed from it will all improve. Countless scientific experiments in the field of Positive Psychology have shown this to be true. See http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/in-praise-of-gratitude

Remove all negatives from your life. Stop listening and paying attention to those who only complain. Trash your TV as even watching the news every day is a recipe for chronic depression these days. Replace them with positives. Volunteer in activities with group of people who are improving the condition of humanity. Be with those who are positive and their positivity will affect you.

Know that having good hopes is a natural medicine to a fulfilled and happy life. You have the power as to what attitude you adopt. Be positive. Allah (SWT) loves positive people who are engaged in constructive activity and do not have time for negativity. Engage in exercises that build gratitude. It has shown to have amazing therapeutic value. Be with positive people and cut off all avenues of negativity from your lives.