Dealing with Distress & Calamities - Sheikh Abu Abdillah Yunus Mahmud

Dealing with Distress & Calamities

Sin, Guilt, and the Alarm Bells of the Heart

But if a person has disobeyed their creator, a person has violated their soul, then Allah has given us a special gift — something inside us which is guilt, and feeling blameworthy, and heavy-hearted. Like the Prophet ﷺ tells us in the hadith of al-Nawas ibn Sam'an in Sahih Muslim — he says: as for a sin, what does it lead to? What happens with it? It creates a wavering in the chest, and you dislike for others to see you, or to acknowledge that you've done such an action. Your heart has a wavering type of feeling.

So it's like alarm bells are ringing. When you go to this person, they're telling you: don't pay attention to this, forget about it, continue with life, feel happy. So what happens when a person continues to do this — and they sin after sin after sin? And as we know that we are going to sin whether we like it or not. As human beings, we will sin.

Like the Prophet ﷺ tells us in Sahih Muslim — he says: if you did not sin, if you don't sin, Allah would do away with you. He says that. And the Prophet ﷺ then said: you bring a nation, a people who will sin, then they will seek forgiveness for their sins with Allah the Almighty, and then Allah will forgive them.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 37, Hadith 6621)

So every human being will sin. But the question is: how do you want to treat the sin of yours? You want to treat it like a building which has a crack in it, or some damage, and then fix and repair that damage so you can maintain the building? Or would you like that the building gets hit the first time, the second time, the fifth time, and then eventually it collapses?

The Conditions of Sincere Tawbah

A person sins — if they make tawbah immediately, then there's not a problem. Sincere tawbah, meaning they do it sincerely for the sake of Allah; they stop doing that sin; they regret doing the sin that they've done; they have a strong determination not to return back to that sin; and if it involves the right of a creation, they return that right back to the creation. If a person does that, then إن شاء الله تعالى this person is on the right path.

Like al-Hasan al-Basri from the Tabi'een was asked — a person sins and then makes tawbah, and then sins again and then makes tawbah — until he said this four times — he said: until when? And al-Hasan al-Basri — what was his reply? He said: I am unaware for this to be a characteristic except a characteristic of the believers. This is a characteristic of a believer.

And when al-Hasan al-Basri was asked something that many of us probably feel — when you commit a sin and you have that heavy-heartedness, it slowly eats you up — until the shaytan tells you: keep sinning and then repenting and then keep sinning. Are you genuine about what you're doing? Are you genuinely making tawbah? Is this truthful? Are you being truthful with yourself? Are you being sincere? Or are you just playing with Allah's religion? You're pretending to make tawbah and then returning back to that sin.

Al-Hasan al-Basri was asked: is it not befitting for one of us to feel shy from their creator, from their lord — seeks forgiveness from his sin and then he returns back to that sin? So what was al-Hasan al-Basri's statement? He said: the shaytan would be over the moon, he would be so happy, if he was victorious over you like this — meaning he made you think like this. He said: never ever become bored of seeking forgiveness. Never ever become bored of seeking forgiveness. Because the shaytan will tell you, he'll plant seeds in you and whisper, saying: no, you've sinned too many times, you've gone too far, you keep returning back to the same sin — until a person starts to feel despair, until they slowly start to give up.

Allah's Infinite Forgiveness

What we're saying, my dear brothers and sisters, is that as Allah the Almighty mentioned in the authentic narration in Sahih al-Bukhari and also in Muslim — he said that when a person sins and they say: "O my Lord, forgive me," Allah says: "My slave knows that he has a Lord who forgives sins and holds him accountable — I have forgiven my slave's sin." And then the person sins again, and he says: "O my Lord, forgive me." So Allah says: "My slave knows that he has a Lord who forgives sins and who holds accountable — I forgive my slave." And then He mentions this a number of times in the same narration until Allah the Almighty says to His servant: "Do as you please, for I have forgiven you."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7507; Sahih Muslim, Book 37, Hadith 6642)

What does that mean? It means — as Imam an-Nawawi when he comments on this narration in Sahih Muslim — he says: as long as you seek forgiveness for that sin with sincerity, I will forgive all of your sins, I will forgive that sin of yours.

So the first thing is, my dear brothers and sisters — the prevention stage. If you're a person — as soon as you sin, and we all sin — but as soon as you sin and you can feel that wavering, that hard-heartedness, then make sure that you return back to your creator immediately. As Imam an-Nawawi says when he's talking about the agreements of the scholars — he says: and they agreed, the scholars have agreed, that when you commit a sin you need to make immediate tawbah. You can't wait till tomorrow, or the day after, or a week later. A person makes tawbah immediately. This is the prevention. So long as you take this path in your life, you are on the road to success. This is the first part — the prevention stage.

Prophetic Remedies for Those Who Feel Like Giving Up

However, a person may say — and this is very common — anyone who mixes himself with the general public and they confide within you, you'll be surprised with the amount of brothers and sisters who comment saying how they feel suicidal: "I feel suicidal, I don't really want to live anymore, I'm fed up with life." So a person who feels like this — let us look at some of the prophetic antidotes.

First Remedy: The Du'a Against Wishing for Death

The Prophet ﷺ says in the narration in Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him — he says: none of you should ever wish for death due to a harm that has descended, that has struck him. Don't ever wish for death. He says: if he feels that he has to ask for it, then make this du'a instead — don't ask for your death, instead make this du'a:

Translation: "O Allah, keep me alive if life is better for me, and take me away if departure is best for me."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5671; Sahih Muslim, Book 35, Hadith 6480)

You have no idea what is best for you, my dear brother and sister. SubhanAllah — you'll be surprised. A person who may be feeling depressed, suicidal, for days and days, sometimes months — yet as soon as they have strong conviction, and this is the important point, that they have strong conviction and they believe that the words that the Prophet ﷺ uttered are true — and then they recite this du'a — إن شاء الله, the same day, perhaps within a very short space of time, they actually feel better. That doom and gloom slowly melts away — or sometimes even at a rapid pace, immediately. They actually start to feel better. This is one thing — if a person feels suicidal, instead ask for this. You may feel that you've got nothing better to live for — you have no idea in respect to what is best for you.

Second Remedy: The Du'a Upon Calamity — The Lesson of Umm Salama

The second thing is — if a person has been afflicted with a calamity: someone has passed away, someone very dear to them — their father, their mother, their spouse. We ask Allah to preserve and protect all those who are dear to us. But if a person has lost one of them, or a child, someone very close to them — then what do most of us do? No doubt you're going to feel sad. The Prophet ﷺ felt sad. You may shed some tears — the Prophet ﷺ had tears rolling down his cheeks when his daughter passed away, when his son Ibrahim passed away, when his grandson was on his deathbed, and multiple times even with his companions — the Prophet ﷺ had tears rolling down, running down his cheeks.

But what was the Prophet's ﷺ instruction here? Umm Salama, may Allah be pleased with her, mentions in the narration in Sahih Muslim — she says: when Abu Salama passed away, I recall the Prophet ﷺ advising us that if you're afflicted with a calamity, then for us to recite:

Translation: "Surely we belong to Allah and surely to Him is our return. O Allah, reward me for this calamity that has struck me, and recompense me with something better than it."

(Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 2126)

Pay attention to the du'as, my dear brothers and sisters. If you're unable to memorize them, at least pick up something like Fortification of the Muslim (Hisnul Muslim) and memorize them.

She said: I recited this du'a with full conviction — but I was thinking to myself, "Abu Salama, her husband, was one of the first to migrate for the sake of Allah. Who is better than him? Who am I going to get that's better than him?" And then the Prophet ﷺ proposed to her. Then she understood — that she had been granted someone better than Abu Salama.

So a person says this — something went wrong in your life, not just for death, you lost something dear to you, something went wrong — you make du'a with full conviction, acknowledging and knowing that your Lord can fully change that darkness into light. And He'll do it بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى, with His permission.

Third Remedy: The Du'a of Yunus ﷺ

Another one is — if a person feels sad, full of problems, as if maybe they've been afflicted with some sort of problems, something's harmed them, they feel sad — then use the du'a of Yunus ﷺ. Allah when He tells us the story of Yunus ﷺ:

Hear the du'a:

Translation: "There is no god but You. Glory be to You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers."

Yunus ﷺ reciting this in the stomach of the great whale. What happened after that? Allah says in the next verse:

So We answered his call. And We rescued him from — what? From that misery, from that sadness, from all of those difficulties. And then here's the secret — Allah says: "And likewise We rescue the believers." You use the same du'a to also be rescued, my dear brother and sister, from those difficult times. And anyone who actually recites it with full conviction will see fully that whatever difficulty they're going through, they'll actually feel better, بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.

Fourth Remedy: Strengthening the Connection with Allah Through Dhikr

Finally, if a person has no idea why they're feeling down and depressed, and they want to isolate themselves, and they have no idea — they don't recall sinning, they don't recall anyone passing away, everything's running smoothly in their life — this is a sign that this brother or sister has a very weak connection in terms of remembering their creator. They have a very weak connection. Why is that?

Because when Allah جَلَّ وَعَلَا talks about:

"The one who whispers in the chest of the people" — some of the scholars actually mention that النَّاسِ here refers to the forgetful one, the one who forgets to remember Allah. And as Ibn Abbas mentions in the tafsir of this surah — he says that the shaytan perches on the heart of the son of Adam; every time he remembers Allah, he retreats, he runs away. So a person, as soon as they start to remember Allah on a regular basis and they keep their tongue moist with His remembrance, they'll find a change.

And بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى, if a person is feeling really down for a long time and has no idea what's going wrong — try reciting the entire Surah al-Baqarah from the beginning to the end. Even if it takes 3 or 4 hours if a person has a slow pace in terms of their recitation. بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى, if they recite it from the beginning to the end and they recite it loudly so they can hear what they're reciting — it doesn't have to be too loud — but the Prophet ﷺ is telling us:

Translation: "The shaytan flees from the house in which Surah al-Baqarah is recited."

(Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 1821)

So how about the person — the entire house is running with the recitation of Surah al-Baqarah? He flees from this house. A person tries this out — they actually recite Surah al-Baqarah and they'll see their chest would have expanded, بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.

Calamities as a Means of Purification and Elevation

My dear brother and sister — just like a person may be afflicted, or some problem may enter into their life and they may feel down due to a sin that they have committed — the same applies if they can't find any of this. That, إن شاء الله تعالى, this is a form and a way for elevation in their ranks — an expiation of all of their sins, meaning their sins being wiped away.

And know — as Allah tells us in the Qur'an — He says:

Meaning Allah is purifying — He's purifying the believers. He's not punishing them. Don't see this as a punishment. Like the Prophet ﷺ mentions in the authentic narration in Tirmidhi:

Translation: "Indeed, if Allah loves the people, He puts them to trial, He puts them to test."

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Book 36, Hadith 2396)

And in some of the narrations, a person is tested, and tested, and tested until they leave this dunya free from sin.

The Light of Surah al-Falaq: Darkness Always Breaks into Dawn

So finally, my dear brothers and sisters, if a person is feeling down — let them try and return back and see, return back to Allah. Flee back to Allah. Make tawbah. And if they try their best to apply the points that we've mentioned, إن شاء الله تعالى and بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى, just like Allah جَلَّ وَعَلَا tells us:

"Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of al-Falaq." Al-Falaq, my dear brothers and sisters — when a person looks at it according to the majority of scholars of tafsir — they find that it's talking about something that is ripped open and something else comes out of it. So in the night time, specifically — it is night, and then the rays of light rip open through the darkness, and then there's dawn, and dawn breaks.

The same — if Allah جَلَّ وَعَلَا is able to do that, meaning just as a person thinks: of course Allah is able to do everything — we're saying, Allah جَلَّ وَعَلَا is able to do something universal like that — that is complete darkness in countries — and then what happens? The lights rip through the darkness and then there is light. Of course in a person's life, as an individual — a person going through darkness and difficult times — of course Allah the Almighty can flip that darkness into light.

So it actually gives us a lot of positive feelings as well as optimism — that we actually feel optimistic that, okay, there may be darkness, but it's only a matter of time before there will be light by the will of Allah.