Allah has asked us not be sad. He says:
"So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad.…"
[surah Al-Imran - Ayah 139].
"And grieve not over them (polytheists and pagans, etc.), and be not
distressed because of what they plot.."
[surah An-Nahl - Ayah 127].
"Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allâh is with us."
[surah At-Taubah - Ayah 40].
We are informed in the following verse about the believers that:
"…. there shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve."
[surah Al-Baqarah - Ayah 38].
Sadness enervates the spirit’s will to action, paralysing the body into inactivity. The secret of this is that sadness prevents one from action instead of compelling one towards it. The heart benefits nothing through grief. The most beloved thing to the Devil is to make the worshipper sad in order to prevent him from continuing on his path. Allah says:
" Secret counsels (conspiracies) are only from Shaitân (Satan), in order that he may cause grief to the believers."
[surah Al-Mujadilah – Ayah 10].
In the following hadith, the Prophet (Sallalahu Alayhi Wasalam) said:
'In a company of three, it is forbidden for two to hold secret counsel while excluding the third, as this will be a cause of sadness for him.'
Contrary to what some believe (those who have an extreme ascetic bent), the believer should not seek out sadness, because sadness is a harmful element that afflicts the soul. The Muslim must repel sadness, fighting it in any way that is permissible in our Religion. There is no real benefit in sadness, the Prophet Muhammad (Sallalahu Alayhi Wasalam) sought refuge from it in the following supplication:
'O’ Allah, I seek refuge in you from anxiety and grief.'
Grief is coupled with anxiety in this hadith. The difference between the two is that if a bad feeling that pervades the heart is related to what is going to happen in the future, then it is anxiety. And if the cause of this feeling concerns the past, then it is grief. Both of them weaken the heart, causing inactivity and a decrease in will power.
Grief may sometimes be both inevitable and necessary. When they enter Paradise, its dwellers will say:
"All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, Who has removed from us (all) grief...
[surah Fatir – Ayah 34].
This verse implies that they were afflicted with grief in this life, just as they were afflicted with other forms of hardship, both of which were out of their control. So whenever one is overcome by grief and there is no way to avoid it, one is rewarded, because grief is a form of hardship, and the believer is rewarded for going through hardship. Nonetheless, the believer must ward off grief with supplication and other practical means.
As for the saying of Allah:
"Nor (is there blame) on those who came to you to be provided with mounts, and when you said: "I can find no mounts for you," they turned back, while their eyes overflowing with tears of grief that they could not find anything to spend (for Jihâd)."
[surah At-Taubah – Ayah 92].
They were not praised for their grief in itself but for what that grief indicated and pointed to namely, strong faith. This occurred when they remained behind during one of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam’s) expeditions, due to their inability to find the necessary resources needed to make the trip. Hence the hypocrites are exposed, because they did not feel grief when they remained behind.
Therefore the good kind of grief is that which is occasioned when one misses out on an opportunity to do a good deed, or when one performs a sin. When one feels sad because he was negligent in fulfilling the rights of Allah, he shows a characteristic of a person who is on the right path.
__________________ Surah Ghafir
39. "O my people! Truly, this life of the world is nothing but a (quick passing) enjoyment, and verily, the Hereafter that is the home that will remain forever."
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