Assim Al-Hakeem – The importance of mental health
AI: Summary ©
The importance of mental health and the health of the brain, heart, and the psychiatric aspects of Islam is discussed. The need for hard work and purifying one's heart is emphasized, as well as the importance of letting one's heart and mind be the guide. The speakers emphasize the importance of pursuing spiritual guidance and avoiding "will" and "will" issues in the future. The segment also touches on various mental health issues and the negative impact of shaytan on individuals and their environments. The speakers emphasize the importance of fearing death and the consequences of actions, and encourage the audience to be aware of their thoughts and actions to avoid feeling despairing.
AI: Summary ©
I think I need a mouth guard, just
to protect myself.
Very dangerous, my old age.
These teeth are very expensive.
So that was the title.
What's the title of this lecture?
So we're talking about the importance of mental
health and the health of the brain, the
heart, and these psychological things and the psychiatric
aspects of it needs an expert.
I'm not an expert in this.
I'm not a shrink.
I'm not a psychiatrist, but what I know
is Islam.
So in Islam, we know that Allah Azza
wa Jal says in the Quran, the day
when there will not benefit anyone wealth or
children, but only one who comes to Allah
with a sound heart, only what you have
will not benefit you.
Bank accounts, cars, real estates, children, wives, it's
not going to benefit you.
The only thing that's going to benefit you
on the day of judgment is what?
Your heart.
Now the Prophet ﷺ told us in the
hadith, he's a Sahih Muslim, Allah does not
look at our bodies nor our wealth, rather
Allah looks at our hearts and our deeds.
This is what Allah will hold us accountable
for.
So our hearts, again, is a priority in
our lives to purify them, to cleanse them,
to ensure that our hearts are healthy, purifying
the heart is the message, the core message
of Prophets of Allah, all of them.
Moses said to Pharaoh, Moses ﷺ said, فَقُلْ
هَلْ لَكَ إِلَىٰ أَن تَزَكَّىٰ And say to
him, would you be willing to purify yourself?
And this purification is not something that you
can attain without Allah's will.
So you can be rich, you can be
healthy, you can be wealthy, you can be
influential, but all of these factors are a
gift from Allah.
Allah gives this dunya to whom he loves
and those whom he doesn't love.
So many times we look at the richest
man in the world, he's a kafir.
Why did Allah give him this?
We look at the strongest man in the
world, he's a kafir.
Subhanallah, all these muscles, all this power.
We look at other European countries, kafir countries,
they're handsome, beautiful, healthy, wealthy, everything is going
for them.
Why?
This is Allah's will.
He gives dunya, he gives health and wealth
to whom he loves and those whom he
doesn't love.
But be certain that Allah only gives imam,
only gives islam, only gives purification of the
heart to those whom he loves.
You are among the luckiest on earth because
you are gathered in a masjid.
To listen things that may get you closer
to Allah, things that may change your life
and admit you to jannah, things that may
open your eyes and save you from hellfire.
How did this happen?
Oh, I chose to come.
No, Allah azza wajal guided you to come
because there are thousands and hundreds and tens
of people who fail to come and they
instead are watching a football match or a
tennis match or a movie or listening to
music or sitting idle home.
So they've lost this opportunity.
So this is a gift from Allah to
you.
This purification of the heart comes only from
Allah who says وَلَوْ لَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ
وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَى مِنكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا And
if not for the favor of Allah upon
you and his mercy, not one of you
would have been ever, but Allah purifies whom
he wills.
So if Allah purifies your heart, Allah has
chosen you.
The most that corrupts our hearts is what?
Sins.
These sins tarnish our souls and hearts, makes
them black, makes them…
Allah says, no, rather the same has covered
their hearts of that which they were earning.
These stains come from our sins.
And there is no prosperity on life, on
earth.
There is no progress.
There is no success except for those who
purify their souls and hearts.
Allah says, he has certainly succeeded who purifies
himself.
But how do we purify ourselves?
Purifying yourself requires a lot of work.
Likewise, you want to go and build a
healthy body.
You eat well and you work out.
You cannot simply sit on your backside like
I used to do and bring someone from
the Far East, you know, a driver or
a janitor or, you know, someone to serve
in the house.
And I take him to the gym.
I let him work for two hours, sweat.
Then I take a shower and Alhamdulillah, I
rest.
Do I have muscles?
He was the one who's working out.
Yeah, but I paid for it.
Will I grow any muscles?
No.
To purify yourself, you have to work hard.
How to do this?
First of all, you have to cleanse your
heart from anything that may negatively impact it.
Such as, oh, there are a whole list.
Riya, showing off, arrogance, pride, hatred, enmity, envy,
anger, stinginess, being a coward.
All of these tarnish your heart, makes you
the worst of the worst.
Unfortunately, lots of us Muslims may have these
things.
And some of us may have all of
these things.
Muslims around you whom you say, well, this
guy, this dude is a bad Muslim.
I'm not getting close to him.
Why?
Oh, Alhamdulillah, he's really bad.
And this person whom everyone else is avoiding,
he is in real danger.
Because he come on the day of judgment.
He doesn't have anything.
What does he have to show up for?
Nothing.
He filled his heart with everything bad.
He's always envious, giving people evil eye.
He's always holding a grudge against each and
everyone.
He always has negativity filling the air around
him.
So this person needs to purify his heart.
If he eliminates these negative feelings and bad
things, then that was step one.
There is step two.
Then he has to fill his heart with
good things that would make his heart shine
and resonate, such as sincerity, such as generosity,
such as truthfulness, honesty, humbleness, returning back to
Allah Azza wa Jal, the fear of Allah
Azza wa Jal, the knowledge of Allah's beautiful
names and attributes.
If you don't fill up your heart with
knowing Allah Azza wa Jal, you're the most
ignorant person on earth.
How many names of Allah do you know?
Allah has 99 names.
Okay, this is the hadith.
Whoever knows the name, implements them and apply
them, he will enter Jannah.
How many names of Allah do you know?
10, maybe 15.
How many of these 10 or 15 names
do you know the meaning of?
The meaning?
No, I know the names, but I don't
know what Allah means.
I don't know what is a summit.
I don't know what Al Mateen is.
I know, but maybe I know two or
three.
So how do you want to enter Jannah?
Rather, how do you even enjoy Salat when
you say Allahu Akbar and your head is
roaming all over the universe except the Salat
you're praying?
If I ask you, what did the Imam
recite in the first surah, in the first
rak'ah?
Ummm, Al Fatiha.
Good, Mashallah, you are a good student.
People don't know.
I've asked this question once in a masjid
full of worshippers, full.
And none of them could find the answer.
Why?
Because it was Zuhr.
They take time.
20 minutes later, the Salat was Zuhr.
So they could not know what the Imam
recited in the first rak'ah.
Get it?
Hopefully.
So we have a problem.
We know Islam only on the surface.
The Islam we know.
How many rak'ahs for Zuhr?
How many rak'ahs for Asr?
When should we prostrate for Sujood As Sahoo?
Does this nullify my Salah?
Is my Qira'ah good?
This is what we know about Salah.
About Islam.
The essence of Islam.
How to get closer to Allah.
How to enslave yourself to Allah.
How to allow the Qur'an and the
Sunnah to be your guide.
Whatever Allah says.
Whatever the Prophet says.
He's my tutor.
My leader.
He is the one I follow.
My role model.
We don't have this in us.
This is why we only choose and pick
from Islam what we like.
What we enjoy.
I enjoy having a long beard.
Why?
Because whenever there's a raw or a lime
and I come to say, Oh, uncle, uncle,
come.
So I come to the first of the
special needs.
No, this is why I like a big
beard.
But when people come and say, We need
charity for an orphanage.
I forgot my wallet.
Sorry.
But Sheikh, you have a big beard.
Yes, but I don't have a big wallet.
So we have a problem.
We have to know.
Have we purified ourselves?
Have we cleansed our hearts?
Have we filled it with feelings that will
get us closer to Allah?
How would we know?
We would know by the amount of psychological
and mental illnesses we have.
Interesting.
Do you mean that a Muslim does not
have a mental illness?
Generally speaking, yes.
All those who study psychology and they're psychiatrists
don't sue me.
And wait, because they hate this.
Generally speaking, yes, to an extent.
Allah says in the Quran, الذين آمنوا وتطمئن
القلوب بذكر الله ألا بذكر الله تطمئن القلوب
Those who have believed and whose hearts are
assured by the remembrance of Allah.
Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah, hearts are
assured.
Now we have so many illnesses, mental illnesses
available on the market.
And this is why you go to any
psychiatrist, even if you're a good person, they'll
say you're bipolar.
You have schizophrenia.
You have borderline disorder.
You have depression.
You have this.
You have that.
The least they would say, you're autistic.
You have autism.
Sheikh, I'm 60 years old.
Yeah, yeah, you have minor case of autism.
And you feel that, whoa, I'm not alive.
This is what the non-Muslim psychiatrists would
usually do.
That's why we say you have a mental
illness.
Do not go except to a Muslim psychiatrist.
He fears Allah and he knows how to
diagnose you.
And he would know what is best for
you.
But you go to any Tom, Dick or
Harry, gives you pills that would make you
addicted to them and make you hysterical, would
make you paranoid.
And this is a big, big problem.
In Islam, Quran and Sunnah, what are the
basic mental illnesses that we would like to
address?
We have grief and we have worries.
In Arabic, we say alham wal hasan.
The Prophet ﷺ, and this is part of
the morning and evening adhkar.
Parts of the morning and evening adhkar, which
means that you have to say them in
the evening and the morning every day.
Allahumma inni a'udhu bika min alham wal
hasan, wal ajzi wal kasal, wal bukhli wal
zubun, wal ghalabati al-daini, wal ghalabati al
-rijal, wal dhala'i al-dain, or wal
dhala'i al-dain, wal qahri al-rijal.
Many narrations.
This hadith by itself would require a lecture.
But the first part of it is what
concerns us.
Oh Allah, I seek refuge with you from
grief.
This is a mental illness.
Worry is something that took place in, will
take place in the future.
It's something that took place in the past.
And this is what kills you from the
inside.
The death of a loved one.
You can't get over it.
Oh, my father died, well, five years ago.
Okay.
So I can't get over it.
I always cry.
I always, I always suffer.
I always say why, why, why?
This is grief.
Grief of a mistake you've done.
Grief over an opportunity that you've missed.
So it keeps on itching, eating you from
the inside.
If you don't treat it, it will devastate
you.
Worries are something coming in the future.
And we have lots and lots of things
to worry about.
How am I going to pay the rent
next month?
How am I going to take care of
a new job?
They gave me one month notice.
How am I going to get married?
I'm getting married in five, six months time.
How's it going to be?
My children, my rizq, my parents, my sick
relatives, blah.
Things that I worry about.
So when you seek refuge in Allah Azza
wa Jal, then you know that Allah will
take care of it.
So you surrender to Allah's power and might,
and you're the happiest man on earth.
When you depend on your intellect, when you
depend on your strength, when you depend on
your knowledge or your certificate or those you
know, you're the worst and the most vulnerable.
Because this is when shaytan will attack you
left, right and center.
Also, part of the mental illnesses, whispers of
shaytan.
Does shaytan whisper to us, yes or no?
Is anyone exempted from the whispers of shaytan?
Not a single one of us.
Because this is the job description of shaytan.
In his job description, if you go to
LinkedIn, you will find that part of it
is to deviate the Muslims from the straight
path and to join and combine and recruit
as many as he can in hellfire.
This is the only thing he wants.
What does he want?
You to be with him in *.
Now, depending on first class business or economy,
he wants you to be in *.
It doesn't matter, even next to the shoes,
outside the door gate, he's okay.
Enter, mission accomplished.
How?
There are traps of shaytan.
There's a lecture I did in Canada or
somewhere, I don't know where.
It's called the traps of shaytan.
Watch it on YouTube.
And you will find how he attacks each
and every one of us.
Allah Azza wa Jal says in the Quran,
Indeed, those who fear Allah.
Wow.
Those who fear Allah.
Allah says, when an impulse touches them from
shaytan, they remember Allah and at once they
have insight, which means each and everyone has
this moment of weakness.
We get intrusive thoughts that attack us day
and night, depending on your Iman.
I have counseling sessions paid, of course.
I have to become rich.
So people come to me complaining for intrusive
thoughts and each and every one of them
vary.
Some of the righteous people get intrusive thoughts
for five seconds and it's gone.
Some of them get it for five days.
It's killing them.
Some of them get it for five years.
They're devastated.
They're lost.
So shaytan looks at the strength of your
Iman and he gives you these intrusive thoughts
and these impulse touches.
And this is why Allah says, and say,
my Lord, I seek refuge from the incitements
of the devils and I seek refuge in
you, my Lord, lest they be present with
me.
So hamazatu shayateen.
They come and overwhelm us sometimes when we
are most vulnerable and weak.
And this is why this is the right
time when you should put your trust in
Allah.
You should depend and rely on Allah.
Only then you will be able to prevail
and succeed.
Among the mental illnesses that are prevailing among
the Muslims is despair.
A lot of the Muslims come to me
in despair.
Why did Allah do this?
Why did Allah take the one I love?
Why did Allah make me lose my job?
Why did Allah azza wa jalla put so
much debt on me?
I said, you're coming to the wrong man.
Why are you asking me?
This is Allah's calamity and test for you.
And by the way I see it, you
failed miserably.
He said, but why?
I said, I don't know.
I don't care.
Who could say to Allah why?
Allah says in the Quran, la yus'aloo
anna yaf'al.
No one asks Allah why you do this.
Rather, all of you are questioned.
So despair is the tag name, the definition
of lack of trust in Allah.
It is the definition of thinking negatively of
Allah.
La yus'aloo anna yaf'al.
Never despair.
Allah, no mu'min.
Prophet Yunus, three times his name comes to
being thrown off the boat.
He's a prophet.
First time, no, you're prophet of Allah.
How can you throw you?
But the storm is heavy.
And the boat will capsize or drown if
we don't throw someone.
Number two, his name.
Number three, his name.
They threw him.
And he was swollen by the whale.
A whale swallows me.
What are you going to do?
Ah, can I go to the executive club,
please?
This is a whale.
And he stayed in the belly of the
whale for three days and three nights.
What did he do?
La ilaha illa anta subhanak.
Inni kuntu minal zalimeen.
Nothing else.
Confessing who Allah is and of his own
flaws and shortcomings.
What happened with these positive thoughts and ideology
and vibes?
Allah saved him and made him better than
he was before.
This is what takes you out of despair.
This is what takes you out of your
depression.
And this despair happens either because Allah took
a ni'mah, a favor, a blessing away from
you, or tested you with a calamity or
something that is evil.
Allah says, and if we give man a
taste of mercy from us, and then we
withdraw it from him, indeed, he is despairing
and ungrateful.
How many years Allah Azza wa Jal had
made you walk on your feet?
How many years Allah has blessed you with
health and wealth, the ability to see, the
ability to hear, the ability to eat?
And when Allah tests you with little things,
you're ungrateful and you're despairing of Allah's mercy?
Fear Allah Azza wa Jal.
And also, if an evil thing happens to
you, Allah says, and when we bestow a
favor upon the disbeliever, he turns away and
distances himself.
Allah gives him money, gives him wealth.
He turns away.
This is my own earning, my own doing.
Then Allah says, and when evil touches him,
he is ever despairing.
So this is a yes to despair from
Allah's mercy.
There is no exit and there is no
lifeline from despair, except by believing and trusting
in Allah Azza wa Jal.
Allah says, and Allah will save those who
feared him by their attainment.
No evil will touch them, nor will they
grieve.
Among the mental illnesses that a lot of
the Muslims have today, is fear.
Fear of what?
Fear of everything.
The fear of death.
The fear of scandal.
The fear of losing rizq and wealth.
The fear of the future.
So many people come to me and say,
Sheikh, I'm afraid of dying.
A brother came to me once and in
a counseling session, and he said, Sheikh, I
have this fear of death to the extent
that my wife divorced me.
I lost half of my weight.
My job is threatening me of sacking me
because of my poor performance.
And the sad thing is, I haven't prayed
for 20 days.
Why?
He said, I'm afraid to go to the
toilet to have ghusl.
And I don't know, Sheikh, I don't know
what to do.
So I said to him, how long you
had this fear?
He said, three years, Sheikh.
I said, subhanAllah.
And did you die?
Excuse me?
I said, you had this fear for three
years.
Did you die?
He said, of course not, Sheikh.
I'm talking to you.
I said, then who's stupid, you or me?
Three years, you're afraid of death, and you
didn't die.
What happens if this extends to another 15
years?
What will you do?
Beg in the streets?
Please give me food.
I'm going to die soon.
This is crazy.
Look what shaitan is doing to you.
Verily, this is shaitan intimidating you with his
soldiers.
فَلَا تَخَافُوهُمْ وَخَافُوهُمْ يَن كُنتُمْ أُمْنِينَ You should
not fear them, rather fear them.
But this is the fear of death that
does to you.
Fear can be crippling and negative, as in
this case.
But it can be positive.
How?
If you fear death, what are you going
to do about it?
Do good deeds.
So when death comes, I'm ready.
I have nothing to fear.
I'm waiting for death to come so that
I can meet my Lord.
I can meet my good Lord in the
grave.
I can meet Allah Azza wa Jalla.
I'm happy to die because I have good
deeds.
But when your fear is negative, it cripples
you.
The fear of scandal.
Akhi, you reap what you sow.
You had illicit haram relationships.
Who did it?
Who did it?
So now you repent it.
Good for you.
You started doing good deeds.
Mashallah, keep up the good work.
But I'm terrified.
Of what?
I want to get married, but I'm afraid
I will be exposed to everyone because of
my previous sins.
And this fear is crippling me.
Akhi, trust Allah.
And if anything would surface, this is a
test from Allah.
You did it.
And these are the consequences of your actions.
But you should not let them deprive you
and deter you from moving on.
You may repent and Allah conceal my sins.
But if Allah did not conceal your sins,
khalas.
Be man and face your consequences.
But if they do not show up, the
graces from Allah Azza wa Jal.
The fear of Busq.
Akhi, you're working in a supermarket and you're
selling pork, alcohol and cigarettes.