Khutbahs
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Islam's Cure for Depression | Khutbah
Islam cultivates beliefs and practices in our daily lives that empower us to stay positive and cure the feelings of depression that hold us down.
Listen to Sh. Mohammad Elshinawy, Associate Director of Systematic Theology at Yaqeen Institute, in this week’s Friday khutbah.
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. After praising Allah, the Exalted and the Majestic, while recognizing that we never fully can. And after testifying that we recognize Allah's unique perfection and unique oneness, Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the finality of prophethood being in Muhammad, salallahu alayhi wa alihi wa salam. And after welcoming my brothers and sisters to the house of Allah. And reminding myself and you with the ancient trust, the trust of taqwa. To be committed to reliance on Allah, and devotion to Allah, and love of Allah, and submissiveness with Allah, Subhanahu wa ta'ala. To begin, my brothers and sisters, from the year 1988 onward, antidepressant medication is up more than 400%. And while part of this may be due to capitalistic greed, corporate greed, there is a bigger picture here. There is no doubt that something is very wrong. There is a global pandemic of depression in the world. And we know this because, medications aside, in the last 60 or 70 years, depending on what age bracket you're in, of course the teens and the young adults have the most abysmal numbers, suicide rates are up more than 300% in some of these categories. And without sharing more and more data on what we can all really feel, let me just jump to saying that we know it doesn't have to be this way.
In fact, Allah Azzawajal made it very clear in the Qur'an, in Surah Taha for example, مَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَى We did not send down this Qur'an upon you so that you would be miserable. Meaning, the very reason we sent down the Qur'an upon you so that you would not be miserable. And then at the end of Surah Taha, Allah Azzawajal speaks about Adam A.S. story, and we're going to send you to earth and await revelation from us on earth. Why? فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا يَضِلُّ وَلَا يَشْقَى Whoever follows the revelation closely will never be lost and will never be miserable. And you know, there is just one more study I will share with you. It's so fascinating. This was a major study, 132 different countries, 140,000 different people, lots of resources were pumped into this study about what constitutes life quality and happiness, right? And so they found that the more affluent countries, the wealthier countries, which almost have a monopoly on suicide rates, they report higher happiness, which seems to be a riddle. Like, why are you happier but still more prone to giving up on life? And if you look a little deeper, read between the lines, or just read the report carefully, you will see that happiness, they were actually testing for comfort, for luxury. Like, are you happy with your car? Yeah, I'm happy with my car. I have a nice car. Are you happy with your house? Yeah, I guess I have an above average house. Look at everyone else around the world, right? So they were actually measuring for comfort and luxury, and yet people are still so prone to these destructive behaviors. A third question now will make it very clear why. They asked all of those they surveyed, do you see life as coherent, as purposeful, as having a meaning? Is there a meaning to life?
And that was the missing puzzle piece. The countries that had less comfort but saw life as more meaningful, life was livable, life was bearable. You could find contentment, you could find meaning, you can find resilience, you can find patience. Whereas the countries that had more comfort but didn't have a sense of meaning, life was unbearable for them. And that alone, if you can just bring it back to Surah Taha one more time, Allah Azzawajal says, whoever follows my guidance will never be lost, will never be miserable. The next ayah says, وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي And whomever turns away from my remembrance, فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنْكَ They are bound to live a life that is dunk. Of the meanings of the dunk, of the translations of it, you'll find also is depressed. A depressed life, a constricted, shallow, depressing, suffocating life. In this world, because the ayah continues to say, وَنَحْشُرُهُ And then we will resurrect him blind. If we're turning a blind eye to our verses, they will be blind in eyesight as well in the hereafter. And so, if that is not enough of a cure, or enough of a treasure, that one notion in the Quran, the one ayah even, where Allah tells you, وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونَ I did not create the jinn or the human with any meaning, any purpose, except to devote their life to me. That's the value of having purpose, having meaning. That one ayah means the whole world. Because those who have the whole world, but don't have this concept locked in, they feel like they have nothing, nothing to live for. But that is not the only cure that Islam provided us with for depression, which is this global pandemic, global crisis.
Of what Islam also offers, this conversation, is that Allah obligates those who devote their life to Him to be invested in their own happiness. What does that mean? What does Allah want from me as a believer? He wants you to be happy. Let me put that differently. It is wajib, it is mandatory. Allah made it obligatory. How incredible is this deen? How incredible is Allah عز و جل when part of your devotion to Him, your pursuit of pleasing Him, is to be keen on your own happiness. What do you want? I want you to be happy. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Where do we get this from? It's all throughout the ayat and the hadith, that Allah obligates you to be happy, to be positive, to be optimistic, to be in high spirits, to fight off negative notions and mindsets. The Qur'an says, and the sunnah says, أَبْشِرُوا Rejoice at this contract you have with God. It's a privilege. When the Prophet ﷺ says, بَشِّرُوا وَلَا تُنَفِّرُوا Give glad tidings. Spread cheer, not fear. Don't chase people away. When the Qur'an says, I've revealed to you this scripture, فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا I want you to celebrate it. Celebrate this scripture. Be happy about it. And even the overarching notion in Islam of it being mandatory to have the best assumptions always of Allah. أَحْسِنُوا الظَّنَّ بِاللَّهِ Have the best assumptions, best estimate of Allah ﷻ. Like you even think of the opposite. We are not allowed to believe in bad omens. We're not allowed to believe in superstitions. We're not allowed to be pessimistic. When the Prophet ﷺ said, That tiyarah, basically believing in bad omens, is shirk. It is contrary to fundamental ABCs Islam.
It's a form of setting equals with Allah. The greatest evil is to believe in bad omens. You know tiyarah, translated as bad omens, comes from the word ta'ir, bird. Because the Arabs had this superstition, right? That I'm gonna go on a trip, I'm gonna release a bird. If it goes right, that means I made the right decision to travel today. Keep going. If it goes left, that means cancel the whole trip, we're all gonna die. That's what it means. And they would cancel the trip. And so the deen said, it is shirk. It is to set a rival with Allah to believe in that. Well, how? Well, Allah said move forward. Yes, you do your due diligence. Yes, you're reasonable. Yes, you're planning. But you don't give in to just baseless fears, negativity, suspicion. You have to fight that off. As Ibn Mas'ud said about this hadith, radiallahu anhu, he said, tiyarah happens to everyone. Everyone gets this knock on their door like, Oh man, what if something really bad is about to happen? And we have this, every culture. The number 13, you don't build the 13th floor. It's really bad if Friday lands on 13th in our calendar. If you see a black cat, you walk under. Everyone's got something, right? If you see the white start forming on your nail, everyone's got something. He said this happens to everyone. But the difference is, the believer repels it with his trust in Allah. He says, no, Allah said stay positive. Allah said he cares for the believer. Allah said the outcome for the believer is always good, even if it might pinch. We're going to move forward. And Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq radiallahu anhu, about this notion, he used to say, إِنَّ الْبَلَاءَ مُوَكَّلٌ بِالنُّطْقِ That watch your tongue, don't say something, and then face a hardship because of it. Because tribulations, adversities,
they are interlinked with your utterances. When you say something, that's a translation of how you think, what you believe, right? You're translating what's on the inside. This could be a reason. It didn't have to happen that way. But because you believed it and expressed it, so be it. That understanding of the self-fulfilling prophecy is very true. Not because our words or our beliefs control the universe, because they project or they reflect what we assume of Allah, and He will be what you expect of Him. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. You know the hadith in Surah Al-Bukhari that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam one time visited a sick Bedouin man. And he said to him, لَا بَأْسَ عَلَيْكَ طَهُورٌ There will be no harm on you, eventually you're going to be fine. It's alright, you're going to be alright. And so the man said to him, كَلَّ بَلْ هِيَ حُمَّ تَفُورٌ عَلَى شَيْخٍ كَبِيرٍ تُزِيرُهُ الْقُبُورِ No way, I'm going to be fine. This is a different kind of fever that causes an elderly man's head to boil that will send him to the graveyards. I'm sure of it. This is my death fever. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said what? فَنَعَمْ إِذًا In that case, yes, it will be. In that case, yes, it will be. He said to him in the beginning, you will be fine. But when he insisted on this perspective about Allah, right? This doom and gloom lens and in certain narrations outside of Sahih Al-Bukhari, this man did in fact die. A while after that. And so reset your understanding. Part of your ibadah of Allah, your devotion to Allah is not giving in to the negativity. That is part of what Allah loves to see from you. And look at the opposite as well. Part of what Shaytan loves to see from you and wants of you is to see you sad and depressed and hopeless. Allah Ta'ala says, إِنَّمَا النَّجْوَةَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ لِيَحْزُنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
Loosely translated, Shaytan only conspires, it's like a primary target for him, only conspires to plague with sadness those who believe. That's what Shaytan wants. Because if the believer is sad, this will not just make you miserable in your life, it will actually slow you down or swerve you, may Allah forbid, in your path to Allah. Your sadness will affect your deen. Many people often say that your faith is the source of your happiness, which is sort of true, of course, right? It gives you clarity, which we said. But also look at it the opposite way, that you being invested in your happiness, which is a part of your faith, helps you grow your faith. If Shaytan is able to get you depressed, even your deen will suffer. You will even eventually, may Allah forbid, start projecting this on Allah Himself. Why is Allah doing this to me? Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And Ibn Al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, he says something very profound about the Qur'an. He says, read the Qur'an carefully. You will notice that huzn, sadness, is never mentioned except that it's negated or it is prohibited. Negated meaning the believers when they meet Allah, there is no sadness for them, no fear for them, nor will they grieve. No sadness. That's negated, right? It's a good thing to get rid of sadness. Or it is prohibited. فَلَا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا Don't fear, don't be sad. Of course, some of you are thinking, wait a minute, how can I ever stop being sad? That's not what's intended. Do not give in to fear and sadness. It is natural and human to be afraid. Natural and human to be sad. Could even be the result of something good in you. Like I care for people so I'm hurt when I see people hurting. It's called empathy, it's called compassion. Or I'm hurt when I see myself failing in my religious commitment. That's called iman, that's called faith, right? But the idea is it came as the result of something good. We don't seek out sadness as if it is good.
Like it's inherently good, it's not. That's why Allah never praised it in and of itself. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so remember, yes, the past is going to always be the past and things are going to hurt even after time has passed. But you can't ignore your mission. You can't get distracted from the windshield in your journey by the rear view mirror. Sure, you always see the rear view mirror. But don't get distracted from the windshield. This is the intended meaning in the Quran and in the Sunnah. And that is why the Prophet ﷺ used to say, اللهم إني أعوذ بك من الهم والحزن Oh Allah, protect me from hem, worry, which is the future, about the future, and hazan, which is grief, sadness, depression, about the past. Meaning, don't allow me to become paralyzed, to become stuck, to become trapped in the past or in the future. وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبَدُهُ وَنَبِيُّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ Brothers and sisters, there really is so much to this. But I want you just to take it as a starting point. And now when you read the ayat and ahadith, so many things will start making sense. If we are no longer confused on this principle of what Allah wants from us. He wants you to be happy in this world and the next. And it is up to us to make sure we live up to that. You know, you think about, oh, so that is why there is a limit to how long you grieve over a deceased person in Islam. Of course you're going to grieve. But don't keep feeling like you're supposed to renew the grief. And you feel guilty that I'm not as sad today as I was yesterday, right? That is a wrong mindset.
Or you think of the hadith that says that Allah loves, one of the most beloved acts to Allah, سُرُورٌ تُدْخِلُهُ عَلَىٰ مُسْلِمٍ Joy that you admit upon the heart of your fellow Muslim. Allah loves that you make Muslims happy. And all people, right? But extra reward because he's your brother in faith. She's your sister in faith. And also by the way, this will reciprocate right back to you. When you feel like you've admitted joy upon someone's heart, this will add to the joy of your heart. There's even a hadith. I'll give you another sort of very distant example to show you how universal the principle is. Where the Prophet ﷺ said, عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْتَلْبِينَةِ فَإِنَّهَا تُجِمُّ الْفُؤَادَ وَتَذْهَبُ بِبَعْضِ الْحُزْنِ I prescribe for you eating talbina. Talbina is like a porridge, barley boiled with milk, talbina laban, like milk or yogurt. And usually got some honey on it, right? He said because it pulls you together and does away with some of the sadness. So he's telling you, sadness will come. When it comes, don't surrender to it. You're not supposed to be sad or want to be sad. You're supposed to remedy sadness. This hadith which some of the medically inclined, they will tell you that this is like the first notion of an antidepressant, if you will, right? Just some sweetness. Now we know like sweetness, serotonin, and sort of like a little bit of this chemical is really good for you and it cheers you up and stuff. And of course there's extreme versions of this and dangerous forms of sugar and that's another conversation. But the idea he's telling you that even what you eat could be done with the intention of lifting your spirits. Like just have some healthy sweets, right? Or even to abstract it a little bit, sweet experiences are important. Not just the foods.
Like invest in your relationships. Invest even in your house. When the Prophet ﷺ says, there are four components to happiness. Very strange hadith without context, right? He said, a good wife or husband, of course, a good spouse. He said, a good neighbor. He said, a spacious house. And he said, a pleasant ride, a comfortable ride. You see, you think, wait a minute, but like the dunya is a deceitful enjoyment and this ayah. Yeah, it is. If you get deceived by it. But so long as you remember the number one cure for depression, purpose and clarity, these can actually contribute to your happiness. They can. Like if your car is not breaking down, your day is kind of better, isn't it? If your wife or your husband is not breaking down, it's probably a better day. If you have a relationship with your neighbor, you know what is crazy? And we're out of time. The UK now has a ministry of loneliness. And two years ago in 2021, Japan adopted this. They have a ministry of loneliness because nobody talks to their neighbors and everyone sort of has checked out of the extended family model. And so to remedy the pandemic of social isolation, right? Connect with your neighbors or move to a place with better neighbors or neighbor the masjid so you can have that brotherhood through the masjid. Invest in your relationships. These things do contribute even to the flourishing of your deen. As Ali radiallahu anhu said, رَوِّحُ الْقُلُوبَ فَإِنَّ الْقَلْبَ إِذَا أُكْرِهَ عَمِي Give yourself time, activity, vacation. Not at the expense of purpose, but for the sake of purpose. Allah will reward you for it if that's your intention. For the R&R, the relaxation, rejuvenation time. He says, rejuvenate your heart because the heart when it's overworked, even spirituality imbalance sometimes, right? At your pace. Everyone's got a different pace.
Because the heart when it's overworked, it goes blind. I don't care. I don't want to hear it. I'm done. I'm not cut for this. Pace yourself, he's saying. And I'll share with you one final hadith about being concerned and invested in your happiness so that it may deliver you to the best station you can have in the hereafter for your deen also, right? When Allah said, وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ The life of this world is a deceitful enjoyment. Sa'id ibn Jubair, رحمه الله, he said, unless you use the dunya towards the akhira, you enjoy it towards the akhira to rejuvenate you for akhira, then it is متاع البلاغ. Then it is the enjoyment that delivers you, not the enjoyment that deceives you. That's not what he's talking about in that ayah. As for the hadith, the Prophet ﷺ This is in Sahih Muslim. He entered upon a man that had become so sick, he was a skeleton basically. Skin on bones, the hadith says. And the Prophet ﷺ had a suspicion. He said to him, a hunch, هل دعوت بشيء؟ Did you make a particular dua? Did you ask for a particular something? He said, Yes. I said to Allah, Oh Allah, whatever you are going to punish me with in the akhira, in the hereafter, give it to me now. I'd rather have it now than the hereafter. So the Prophet ﷺ said to him, سبحان الله لا تطيقه لا تستطيع How could you do that? You will not be able to bear it. He said to him, أفلا قلت Why didn't you just say اللهم آتنا في الدنيا حسنة وفي الآخرة حسنة وقنا عذاب النار Oh Allah, give us the good of this world and the good of the next world and protect us from the torment of the fire. We ask Allah to give us the good of this world and the good of the next world and to protect us from the torment of the fire. ربنا آتنا في الدنيا حسنة وفي الآخرة حسنة وقنا عذاب النار اغفر اللهم للمسلمين والمسلمات
والمؤمنين والمؤمنات اللهم إنا نعوذ بك من الهم والحزن والعجز والكسل والجبن والبخل وغلبة الدين وقهر الرجال وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين
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