Beating Procrastination, Depression, Fear and Anxiety

Beating Procrastination, Depression, Fear and Anxiety

Shaykh Abdul Nasir Jangda

Opening Remarks

I wanted to first and foremost appreciate everyone who's here at the session and I wanted to thank everyone for attending this final session. It's a beautiful weekend and we definitely understand if people wanted to get in some last-minute shopping or do something else. But at the end of the day, it's really about the purpose and the maqsad for which you came.

What was your objective for coming here? And if your objective of coming here was to come closer to Allah, to learn more about the Messenger of Allah, to learn more about your deen and religion and come closer to the example of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) then it's very fitting that you would depart from the convention having attended the final session.

So, may Allah (جل جلاله) reward you, may Allah bless you, may Allah accept. So, my session here today is about beating procrastination, depression, fear, and anxiety.

Clarification on Sources

Now, before I address the topic, and I do this with nothing but just for the purposes of clarification, it's important in our deen and our religion to confirm and to verify knowledge and information. There's a hadith that is quoted there in your program booklet talking about the subject of this particular session. And it quotes a narration that says that, oh people, have taqwa of Allah, have taqwa of Allah as is worthy of Him.

Strive in gaining His pleasure, have certainty that the world is temporal and that the next life is everlasting. This particular narration as quoted there is actually not an authentic narration. But there are other authentic narrations which are similar in meaning that I wanted to share with you here today.

Prophetic Wisdom on Knowledge Transmission

So, these are gems from the prophetic wisdom and lessons from the fountain of prophetic wisdom. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) he says:

(Tirmidhi 2656)

"May God bless that individual who hears a hadith from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And then that person learns it, memorizes it, learns it. And then they go on and they transmit it on to someone else."

They pass it on to someone else.

"Because sometimes someone who carries the knowledge from point A to point B might not know what he can do with it. They might not know what to exactly do with it. They don't realize its full scope and its full potential. But you might take it to someone who will be able to do a lot more with it. And perhaps the one who carries knowledge to someone who can do more good with that knowledge."

Three Essential Qualities of a Believer

Then the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) he goes on to say:

(Ibn Majah 230)

"There are three characteristics and qualities that the heart of a believer is never devoid of. There are three qualities that the heart of a believer possesses."

Number one: إِخْلَاصُ الْعَمَلِ لِلَّهِ

"To sincerely do everything that you do for the sake of Allah." Ultimately at the end of the day, that is the bottom line. That is why you do what you do.

Number two: وَمُنَا صَحَةُ وَلَاةِ الْأُمُورِ

"And to constantly give good advice and good counsel to those who have responsibility and authority over you." Meaning we have leadership, we respect leadership, we work with leadership, but we also hold our leadership accountable. And we give them advice, and we give them counsel, and we correct them when we need to correct them.

Number three: وَلْزُومُ الْجَمَاعَة

"And always remain with the congregation, with the group of the Muslims." Never isolate yourself.

مَنْ شَدَّ شَدَّ فِي النَّارِ

"Somebody who isolates themselves shall become isolated."

So never isolate yourself. Because the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says that when Muslims collectively get together and pray for something, Allah answers that prayer:

فَإِنَّ دَعْوَتَهُمْ تُحِيطُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ

The Key to Success and Failure

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

(Tirmidhi 2465)

"Whosoever focuses on working for the life of the hereafter, Allah will gather that person strength. Allah will give that person strength. And Allah (جل جلاله) will make them rich internally. Will grant them the prosperity, the richness of the soul. They will have a strong soul. The dunya, material things will come to him, humiliated and debased, wanting to serve that person."

"But whoever lives this life, only wanting material things of this world. Allah (جل جلاله) will distribute and Allah (جل جلاله) will break up that person's strength and that person's resolve. It will dissipate. And Allah (جل جلاله) will put that person's desperation right in their face. That person will always have a very desperate feeling about them. But someone can only get as much dunya, material things, as was written and destined for that person. But you cannot achieve more than what Allah (جل جلاله) has written for you."

This is a hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)

The Four Components of Human Existence

Now, the topic itself was the idea that they're overcoming procrastination, fear, anxiety, depression.

Now, there are some comments that I wanted to share here. Classical scholars of Islam, they would divide the existence of the human being into three essential parts. The aqal, the intellect, the ruh, the soul, and the jasad, the body.

The aqal, as I mentioned, is the intellect, it's the rationale, the rational part of the human being. The ruh is the soul, where the spirituality lies. And the jasad is of course the physical component, the animalistic component.

There are conversations today and I would also posit the theory and support the idea that we need to revisit this analysis of dividing the human existence into three parts. And I would say that we can also say today from what we have learned and what we have realized about the emotional complexity of the human being that there are four parts to the human being's existence in this dunya. The intellectual, the physical, the spiritual, and then the emotional.

The emotional, which is referred to as the awatif or the quwa atifiyah of a person. And the heart can be the place where that resides. Especially in recent times, we are learning increasingly about the emotional depth and complexity of the human being.

And these four components, the intellect, the physical, the spiritual, and the emotional, they all work together in unison to contribute to the well-being of the human being, to the person. And anytime any one of them is out of sync, anytime any one of these four components is out of sync, then it leads to an imbalance that results in suffering. Whether it be the body, the mind, the soul, or the emotions.

The Quranic Command for Holistic Submission

Allah commands us in the Qur'an:

"Enter into submission to God completely, holistically." Mind, body, soul, and heart.

The Importance of Spirituality

So, while I must say that spirituality is the most important part of this equation.

Why? Because God forbid, God forbid, Allah protect us all. But if someone might struggle intellectually, they were not given a proper education. Or someone struggles physically, they're ill, they're sick, they have some disability.

Or someone even struggles emotionally, they're sad, or they're depressed, or they're struggling with different things. They can still achieve salvation, they might struggle here in this world, and our heart goes out to them, we empathize. But they can still achieve eternal salvation in the life of the year after through a meaningful relationship with Allah.

However, to undermine health and proper care in regards to the other three components in the human being, the intellectual, the emotional, and the physical, will prove extremely damaging to individuals, to families, and to communities.

A Holistic Approach

If I neglect my health, my physical health, if I do not educate my mind, if I do not take care of my emotions, my heart, and I just completely say, no, I just care about spirituality, I won't take care of my health, I won't educate my mind, I won't emotionally take care of myself, I will struggle, I will suffer.

And Islam does not want us to suffer:

"We did not send down the Qur'an upon you to make you suffer." That is not the objective.

So we have to develop a very holistic, well-rounded approach to dealing with the entirety of our existence. And I will reiterate, in this equation, the spiritual component is by and far the most important. There's no doubting that.

But that does not mean, just because one thing is more important, that you neglect the rest.

The Importance of Mental Health

And so what I wanted to mention here today, I wanted to talk about the importance of spirituality, and I'll come back to that in just a second. But what I wanted to advise, myself and my community, is that we take mental and emotional health very, very seriously.

Consult experts of those fields and those disciplines in how to address and remedy such issues in our homes and in our communities. We have to get away from the myth that you can pray your depression away. We have to get out of the idea that you can just pray your different emotional struggles and challenges away.

That you can just pray and it will all magically go away. We have to get away from that idea. Our families, our communities, are suffering greatly.

The Reality of Community Suffering

Talk to someone who works in the community, who works with people, who talks to families. Talk to them. How many families are destroyed? How many generations suffer because of untreated mental and emotional health? When it's not dealt with properly, when they are not addressed properly.

Not only that one person suffers, their family suffers, and their children carry that damage forward. It's extremely detrimental and harmful. We have to start taking this very seriously.

The Prophetic Supplication for Well-being

Now to come back to the core of the message that I wanted to share here. And that is the idea, the importance of spirituality. I will share a dua of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), a prophetic supplication.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in an authentic narration, narrated by Abdullah bin Umar (رضي الله عنهما). He used to make this dua every day on a regular basis:

(Abu Dawud 5074)

"Oh Allah, I ask you for well-being, for health, in this dunya and in the akhira."

"Oh Allah, I ask you for forgiveness, and I ask you for protection, well-being in my deen and in my dunya and in my family and in my property, in my wealth."

"Oh Allah, cover my faults, my privacy. And protect the things that I care about."

"Oh Allah, protect me from in front of me and from behind me and from the right of me and the left of me. And Oh Allah, protect me from above me."

"And I ask for your protection. I take refuge in your greatness and your might that I would be deceived and be taken advantage of from beneath me."

The Path to Success

This was the dua of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). We have to understand the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) he would teach his companions:

"Ask Allah for forgiveness and well-being in this dunya and in the hereafter."

He again repeated it to emphasize it. And he said:

"If you are given well-being in this dunya and in the life of the hereafter then you have indeed succeeded."

You are successful. The spirituality is at the core of the matter. Commit yourself to having a meaningful personal, individual relationship with Allah (جل جلاله)

The Path Forward

Everyone starts somewhere.

Make the intention to start your journey back to Allah today. Everyone make the intention before you leave this gathering that I will turn things around. Say Inshallah.

Everyone make the intention before you leave the gathering today that I will fix my relationship with Allah. Say Inshallah. That I will begin to build my relationship with Allah every single day going forward.

Say Inshallah. That is our ultimate salvation. And while we are doing that do not neglect the other three areas of your being.

Practical Steps

Educate yourself. Read the translation of the Qur'an. Read the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Have an intelligent approach to your religion. Learn your deen.

Take care of your physical self. I need that advice more than anyone. I understand the irony in that. But we are all working on it. Like I said, everybody starts somewhere.

And take care of yourself emotionally. Surround yourself with people that love you and that care for you. That look out for you. That check on you. That see how you are doing. And if you are truly struggling emotionally never shy away from getting help.

And get help from people who have the ability to help you. Counselors, therapists, mental health professionals. Go and talk to them. Seek assistance from them. And you will never regret it.

Closing

May Allah (جل جلاله) grant each and every single person here well-being. May Allah (جل جلاله) protect individuals, families and communities. And may Allah (جل جلاله) allow us as a community to work together to provide well-being for all mankind in this world and to lead all of humanity to salvation in the life of the year after.

(جَزَاكُمُ اللهُ خَيْرًا وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ)