Don't Worry!
The Seal of Prophets, Sayyidina Muhammad, peace be upon him, imparted this good advice to mankind: "Ifyou awaken in the morning and find that you are lacking nothing in theway of material sustenance, and that you and your family are in goodhealth, then don't burden yourself with worry".
The Holy Prophet advises us not to make problems for ourselves. Ifthere are immediate and pressing problems, that is another story, butso many "problems" in people's minds are not problems at all except intheir minds. They are only "projected problems" which may or may notever materialize. This is the affliction of twentieth century man:anxiety, or suffering inflicted upon oneself over the possibility offuture suffering. As a result of this neurotic anxiety people maysuffer intensely over a long period of time, although none of what theyfear ever materializes This is the epitome of foolishness.
We are shouldering weekly, monthly and yearly burdens each day. Whycarry such baggage when you may walk unburdened and find all that youneed awaiting your arrival at each station of your journey? You onlyexist here and now. Tomorrow's "you" is only a fantasy, as you can'teven know if you'll live that long. By inventing so many problems foryourself you are only making yourself ill. Is this advice of theProphet not enough evidence of his adherence to a way that leads man tofelicity?
Allah Almighty doesn't want His servants to suffer needlessself-inflicted misery, and He says: "Oh My servants, don't load heavyburdens on yourselves by worrying about the future. Just bringyourselves in line with My will; accord with my purposes this moment,and then rest assured that I will help you keep your future momentssimilarly aligned with My will".
Perhaps you may understand my point from the following example. When anew railway track is laid, before a locomotive and train are ever sentover it, a two-wheeled cart is first drawn over it to check whether thetracks have been laid straight. In the same way, if you can align yourwill to that of your Lord even for one moment, without carrying a heavyburden, you may be sure that your way is right, and that, even shouldtimes get rough, and so many burdens be coupled to your locomotive,your track is straight and true and you will pass along it smoothly andsafely. A solution to this moment's problem is the solution to nextyear's derailment.
When I am here in western countries I daily encounter people carryingthe weight of anticipated problems, It is so difficult in the modernworld to escape from having this perspective, and to concentrate on themoment in order to put it right. With tens of thousands of problems infront of you all at once how should a solution seem possible?
I often see people running into the mosque, saying the obligatoryprayers quickly and running out. Sometimes I ask them: "What's therush?" Then they nervously look at their watches and say: "We havetarried in the mosque too long already. We have so many things to dotoday!" I reply: "It is laudable to be industrious and to look afteryour affairs well, but who would look after your affairs were you todrop dead here and now?"
I am not encouraging people to spend their whole days in the mosque,but only trying to remind people who are not only running after theirsustenance, but leaping, head over heels after ambitiousall-encompassing undertakings that it is impossible to "master theworld", and destructive to devote so much energy to their attempt, andwith so much abandon. First of all, the world already has a Master, andaddressing Him humbly and with presence of mind (not hurriedly) in yourprayers is even more instrumental in attaining your sustenance thanrushing through the city. Secondly, far from attending to your affairsmore efficiently by running, you are only likely to have a heart attackand die young!
Don't live in a world of great big-time schemes, for such schemes willnot save you from trouble, but entangle you in it even further.Simplify your problems so that the solutions may be simple, also don'tregard your problems with a magnifying glass, so that they are out ofperspective: that habit will destroy you physically and spiritually.
'Patience is like a knight that can defeat foolish desires'
The Seal of Prophets, Sayyidina Muhammad, peace be upon him, imparted this good advice to mankind: "Ifyou awaken in the morning and find that you are lacking nothing in theway of material sustenance, and that you and your family are in goodhealth, then don't burden yourself with worry".
The Holy Prophet advises us not to make problems for ourselves. Ifthere are immediate and pressing problems, that is another story, butso many "problems" in people's minds are not problems at all except intheir minds. They are only "projected problems" which may or may notever materialize. This is the affliction of twentieth century man:anxiety, or suffering inflicted upon oneself over the possibility offuture suffering. As a result of this neurotic anxiety people maysuffer intensely over a long period of time, although none of what theyfear ever materializes This is the epitome of foolishness.
We are shouldering weekly, monthly and yearly burdens each day. Whycarry such baggage when you may walk unburdened and find all that youneed awaiting your arrival at each station of your journey? You onlyexist here and now. Tomorrow's "you" is only a fantasy, as you can'teven know if you'll live that long. By inventing so many problems foryourself you are only making yourself ill. Is this advice of theProphet not enough evidence of his adherence to a way that leads man tofelicity?
Allah Almighty doesn't want His servants to suffer needlessself-inflicted misery, and He says: "Oh My servants, don't load heavyburdens on yourselves by worrying about the future. Just bringyourselves in line with My will; accord with my purposes this moment,and then rest assured that I will help you keep your future momentssimilarly aligned with My will".
Perhaps you may understand my point from the following example. When anew railway track is laid, before a locomotive and train are ever sentover it, a two-wheeled cart is first drawn over it to check whether thetracks have been laid straight. In the same way, if you can align yourwill to that of your Lord even for one moment, without carrying a heavyburden, you may be sure that your way is right, and that, even shouldtimes get rough, and so many burdens be coupled to your locomotive,your track is straight and true and you will pass along it smoothly andsafely. A solution to this moment's problem is the solution to nextyear's derailment.
When I am here in western countries I daily encounter people carryingthe weight of anticipated problems, It is so difficult in the modernworld to escape from having this perspective, and to concentrate on themoment in order to put it right. With tens of thousands of problems infront of you all at once how should a solution seem possible?
I often see people running into the mosque, saying the obligatoryprayers quickly and running out. Sometimes I ask them: "What's therush?" Then they nervously look at their watches and say: "We havetarried in the mosque too long already. We have so many things to dotoday!" I reply: "It is laudable to be industrious and to look afteryour affairs well, but who would look after your affairs were you todrop dead here and now?"
I am not encouraging people to spend their whole days in the mosque,but only trying to remind people who are not only running after theirsustenance, but leaping, head over heels after ambitiousall-encompassing undertakings that it is impossible to "master theworld", and destructive to devote so much energy to their attempt, andwith so much abandon. First of all, the world already has a Master, andaddressing Him humbly and with presence of mind (not hurriedly) in yourprayers is even more instrumental in attaining your sustenance thanrushing through the city. Secondly, far from attending to your affairsmore efficiently by running, you are only likely to have a heart attackand die young!
Don't live in a world of great big-time schemes, for such schemes willnot save you from trouble, but entangle you in it even further.Simplify your problems so that the solutions may be simple, also don'tregard your problems with a magnifying glass, so that they are out ofperspective: that habit will destroy you physically and spiritually.
'Patience is like a knight that can defeat foolish desires'
