An Antidote to Dissatisfaction – Reaction (Ali Dawah and Smile2jannah)

Go to quality dot app inshallah the app tracks versus pages and time spent reading. And the vs two pages function takes you from reading a few verses a day to few pages a day. This project is for the real enthusiast, and there's enough of us out there. This will become the future of collapse and support the project if you can in sha Allah may Allah bless all of you just not gonna care. So many Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah here want to catch you? How are you guys doing? Yes, I'm joined with two very, very special men very, very influential men. I'm joined with Zhi Shan small to Jana and Ali needs dour.

How're you guys doing? Yeah, how are you bro? You're right. Yeah. Good to see you. Good.

Today, we're gonna be talking about something very very important. In fact, we're going to be responding not responding, we should say reacting. Well used to responding but good reacting. You have it? What's the name of the channel? How just pronounce herb cretins.

Sounds like you're having a stroke in German.

You've said this before. It's probably not

to say you say cuts Kazakh. Okay, I like that. Okay, actually, you've been you started doing stuff on your channel, which kind of mimics the material, doesn't it? Yeah, copying their stuff.

In a better way. What was it they're known for this kind of like really kind of interesting. Animations. Well put animations which, which are informative. And you'll give a little undertone of a very kind of atheistic liberal backdrop. Aha, so I'm trying to set an agenda you're doing the same thing. But with with the Islamic kind of paradigm in place, counteract that

in going one step back.

I welcome I think what you're doing is really pilot is pioneering animations in the Dallas pace, and I think this would be really good. But what I wanted to respond or react to as collective right, yes, respond, respond. Well, I wanted to reactor today is something I was watching about a video they made about an antidote to dissatisfaction. And what was really interesting was some of the things that they put in that video relating to gratitude. And obviously, from an Islamic perspective, we have a lot to say about this because our religion speaks about this at length. So the first thing I want to do is show one clip, okay about what they're saying the benefits of

gratitude, and then come back and have a conversation. The scientists found that gratitude stimulates the pathways in your brain involved in feelings of reward, forming social bonds, and interpreting other's intentions. It also makes it easier to save and retrieve positive memories. Even more gratitude directly counteract negative feelings and traits, like envy and social comparison, narcissism, cynicism, and materialism.

As a consequence, people who are grateful no matter what for tend to be happier and more satisfied. They have better relationships, an easier time making friends, they sleep better, tend to suffer less from depression, addiction and burnout, and are better at dealing with traumatic events. So as you guys saw there with first clip, you know, it was talking about what the benefits are to graduate. What are your initial reactions? I think my initial reaction is that of, I wasn't really surprised yet. Because whenever atheists or people without a religion, want to encourage people to do something, either it will be done using threats, or it will be done using science threats that we

see. traffic cameras. We see London is one of the most Yeah, the hotspots are one of the most watched cities because of CCTV. If you park in a bus lane, you get a ticket home before you even reach the home here. So that's one way of doing it. The other way of doing it is by bribing people through facts and through science of sciences, sciences, that but just like when you watch these atheistic debates, and they they mock theism or whatnot, and then they get the big clap and you know, Christopher Hitchens, very well articulated arguments, but that's, that's all they are. They're just well articulated, but they don't have any substance behind it. So when these people go

home, to their, you know, empty flats and they're ready, microwave,

microwave meals, that there's nothing of substance that's why they go to the bowl. That's why

Christopher Hitchens, he admitted that his his friend was the vocable. So these people admit I don't want to you know, bait out others

The names on the screen because it was made from the same thing. Oh yeah matter rearrangement of particles. What do you think Ali? You are you are a non Muslim at one point you became a Muslim? How has your life changed because of Islamic grudge To be honest, like so we'll say that really well. I was discussing with him. He said, atheists are people that like they come in front of the house and scream cow Get out, get out. And you run out and go weapon in a go? I don't know.

I don't know. Do you mean, I don't know what you came to know purpose. They'll tell you no, God, no, God, no God. But when it comes to life from the central, give me a solution. Okay, tell me what's what?

I don't know. I tell him to kill my house, then you have nothing to offer me. You're intellectually bankrupt, you've got nothing to offer your intellectual unique. So the point is this, you got nothing to offer. So when it comes to gratitude, it's what we say is good. Because what it does is like the reason I mentioned this is because people like Sam Harris, and new Atheism have realized the spiritual gap, the massive gap. So they've included spirit to spirituality. But as atheists, they have gone because it hits a wall. Now, it's good that we see that because now they've read us and making a U turn. But what that means, in a nutshell, gratitude is good, because now what you're

doing is like it says in the video, happy, be happy for a new coffee that you have will be hard for little stuff. That's good. That's the beginning. But we need to take it to the next level. Because what this shows is a step towards the right direction, which is gratitude. But now the question is, what are you grateful for? Because if somebody gives you 100,000 pounds, you start an image, you start funneling the money, like Oh, thank you. Thank you. What about the one that gave you that? To focus on the money? Okay, but we're saying, what about the one that gave you that? If you can find happiness and gratitude with the materialistic thing? What about the one that gave it to you? If the

material thing can give you the happiness of being grateful for the little things? What about the One who created you? And the thing that gives you the happiness? What we're seeing is taken to the next level? Yes. By connecting to God, because other than that, who are you grateful for your Oh, yeah, yeah. What are what anything that the object of gratitude is missing? The ultimate object of graduating? I think what you what you've mentioned, that's very well put, I think what Zhi Shan was saying is, I think, something they've realized as well, because it's a chemically reductionist approach. I mean, now that and they've realized that which is why the NHS, the National Health

Service in the UK, for those who don't know, abroad, they do have SSRIs like, you know, serotonin, or drugs that manipulate serotonin, which is one of the neurotransmitters, right.

However, you know, if you look at some of the placebo drugs, they have almost as much effect as, as SSRIs, which shows you a lot of is actually cognitive, which is why in the NHS, they put things like CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy, or talking therapies, or psycho therapies, because they realize it's reductionist to just kind of go all the way, speak of this in chemical and neurotransmitter, terms of neurotransmitters and so on. And we, as Muslims, our paradigm has always been multifaceted. You know, in terms of how we diagnose issues, it can be physical, a physical ailment, it can be chemical, of course, sometimes it is, but also we have to think about all the other dimensions as

well the spiritual dimension being one of those things, which is not even accessible by the scientific method

to tap into

those metaphysical laws in place for a reason and this is this is the massive gap that's happening, bro. You can be grateful for coffee and stuff like that, you know, but the metaphysical law what we believe in, like the, like the processes or the Hadith.

One versus the affirmative believer, yes, whatever, like calamity, strikes or goodness is grateful or is patient. I think we should stop with this really important Hadith, where the process elements of the hijab and movement is one of my favorite hobbies. In fact, the wonderous is the affair of the believer in nomina hula hula hold on that his entire affair is good. Well, Lisa Kelly, I had an elopement and this is not the case for anyone except for the believer in Assata. shakur if good things happen to him as thankful when a sobre todo sobre la Shakur, bad things happen to be thankful and grateful as well. And in that clipping that we just saw the video clip we were mentioning, they

were mentioning how people that are grateful on a regular basis can deal with trauma better, better. And this is, you know, subhanAllah is really showing us the spiritual fruit of this hadith isn't, of course, because if you think about when a disbeliever gets ill, yeah, what? Well, let's say someone who is an atheist.

Yeah, so if he's ill, the question that needs to be is I would, why am I? Why me what caused it? You have no meaning. What meaning does it have? Yeah, when you talk about a believer, it's like expansion of sins. Yes. It's about getting closer to Allah test. Allah testing me. I've got so many options to choose from, or somebody come and say, it's, it's you made up I don't care. Does it work? Or we know I know it's true. But to you let's suppose it's made up

It does work the formula does work is right under our noses. We're not seeing it. And we're not saying Therefore God is true.

This is we're saying that we are saying that our system allows better quality of life. That's what it is. It is an evidence supporting evidence. Yes, it's supporting evidence. But it shows you that we haven't in a yes, propensity is an inclination to want to be grateful to an ultimate source.

Think of it this way, if you come across a doctor in in a remote kind of village, yes. And you have a few illnesses. You tell him, Look, I've been bitten by this insect? I don't know. He says, okay, he touches it. And it's okay. I know what it is. And it gives you a cure. And you're like, Well, have you studied or just, you know, studied somebody? Okay, well, I've got a Russia, he prescribes you a cure for it. But he hasn't been through the official channels. And then he gives you another cure. When he keeps giving you cures, and they keep curing you. Eventually, it becomes illogical for you to say that now this is his effect. Oh, yeah. So what you're saying is that Islam is such a

robust and comprehensive system, that when you start looking at a spiritual package, no, delivering, in fact, delivering the goods. Yeah, in fact, I would even say that if if these proofs accrue, this actually is in favor of the truth of Islam. So there's a probabilistic type of value. Exactly, exactly.

Yeah, there's so many things if you see Islam through a social first through social lens, from a social lens, from a philosophical lens through psychological lens, you will see that Islam, whatever it has said 1400 years ago, is relevant till today well, and will be relevant in the future. Yes, and has been relevant in the past. Very good.

So working model, I want to show you guys another quick clipping where they give us recommendations of what to do. Okay, let's take a look at what they say we should do.

The easiest gratitude exercise with the most solid research behind it is gratitude journaling. It means sitting down for a few minutes, one to three times a week, and writing down five to 10 things you're grateful for. It might feel weird at first. So start simply, can you feel grateful for a little thing? Like how great coffee is? Or that someone was kind to you? Can you appreciate something someone else did for you? So they're talking about gratitude journaling? What What are your reactions to that? I think with gratitude journaling, we already have a form of gratitude journaling.

Yeah, it was in my head, isn't it?

It's the biggest journal, small people can't see.

So in Islam, well, let's look at psychology. They say post the age of 25 is very difficult to change the mindset of a person, the only two things that can change the mindset of a person is number one, trauma and number two, affirmations, you're constantly repeating something that's why when you go to these self help classes, or you go to a therapist, they say when you get up in the morning, even people like Jay Shetty, they say, when you get up in the morning, make sure you don't switch on your device. Make sure you you don't do other things. You say these affirmation today is going to be a good day. I'm a strong person. I'm a confident person. Yeah. And you give time to yourself. And

that's exactly what we're asked to do. We get up in the morning. What do we say Alhamdulillah Illa. The ohana, Bata, Mammoth and our eloheinu Sure, which means be to Allah has given us life after death. So we start off the morning with gratitude, Lord, but let's start off with gratitude instead of an egoistic model where it's all about yourself. Now you have an object of transcendental why and that's why I think that's what makes Muslims you know, we have the key. Why? Because when it comes to these sorts of that's what I was saying initially, that you can tell somebody, oh, this chemical is released. And that sounds good in theory, but is that going to work when you are inundated with

grief? If you are in undated with the trials and tribulations of life? No, it does not work and it will not work. And the suicide fingers attest to that. But when you come to the Islamic frame of mind, and a way of thinking and believing you will see it's effective in so many different ways. I mean, like you said, you mentioned that in in beginning but the very first thing that we're introduced to in the Quran is Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil aalameen. All Praise and thanks belongs to God, Lord of the world. And after each prayer is Sunnah, or it's recommended, at least, to say subhanallah which means glorious, beautiful three times I'll have to allow you to praise and thanks

be to God 33 times and in 34 times saying Allahu Akbar, which is Allah's grace, so you're constantly in the day you are constantly saying Hamdulillah 100 times in one prayer and there's this five prayers, so that's 500 times and even one Salah

You the one thing that you're often repeating is Allahu Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allah Akbar, semi Allah Allah Muhammad. So that is that is constantly, you know, introducing to you if you're putting chemical terms, although we're not saying this, this has got a spiritual effect, but you're gonna kill us endorphins and neurotransmitters.

But who is it to? Like, it's very interesting. Are you saying Alhamdulillah it's not egoistic. I'm not saying that. When you say 100, or whatever it may be. It's like your gratitude is it to the object? But if you realize all these decades around to to Allah, Allah, what are they talking about? It's all about because they don't have that. Yeah, the fill is a form of shill for coffee

was the ultimate. That's

one of the things that we have been taught to do. Yeah, it's all connected back to Allah original. So powerful him. And just to add on,

is that if you think about in we have 24 hour day? Yes, we have that daily prayer. Yeah, we have one week. You have Juma? We have 12 months Ramadan, or

lifetime Hajj. Isn't it amazing Allah from our day, to our week, to our year to our lifetime has prescribed a little that it is there one way or another, even the vicar you're talking about. He even though they even like because in an hour, the vicar Allah has even prescribed something somewhere there, wherever it may be, for us to work with both system. Forcing is beautiful, because it's a practical way of withholding from things which we take for granted every day. That's a really good food, drink a section in schools, etc. But there's more to it than that. I mean, I think what you were saying was really powerful in that is there's a hadith which says Men lamb Yes, goodness,

lamb Yashika Allah, whoever does not thank the people does not thank Allah. So even if we're being thankful to people, and by the reasons had met let me escrow Muslimeen also whoever thinks that Muslims, this is this shows you the comprehensiveness and the universality of Islamic religion, whoever does not thank the people, whether they're Muslim or non Muslim, if you're thank people who deserve that, thanks, then you're not thanking Allah shows in gratitude, what you think about, you know, what Allah says, We ought to do to live off the worshipping, being gratitude, grateful to the parents as well. Yeah, actually, someone has in gratitude to their mom or dad, yeah, can never be

grateful to Allah. If you think about it, if the One God gave birth to you, or the people, if you're not grateful to somebody who did something good to you, that shows a disease of ingratitude in the heart could lead you in graduate, graduate to Allah. So what we've seen is if someone can't be grateful to the one who gave birth to them, how could they be grateful to the one who gave them mother? Wow. There's nothing you can say as well, which is that it's so ironic that we are using Allah's his oxygen, his material, his time, his space, in order to be ungrateful to him with it.

What you can add on to that also, you know, just one more thing, you know, Abdullah Andalusi, you know, you know, he's, he's made, he made a really good point one time, I'll give him credit for this. He said, You know, it's like, he said, it's like,

it's like someone who's a for example, you've got you've got a wife and she's paying for you. Okay, she's painful for you. And you're the breadwinner. She's the breadwinner, yeah, she's the breadwinner. She's paying for food, drink, housing, accommodation, everything, right?

Right. So she's doing all those things, right, which is the anti traditional model, the opposite of it, even though even the feminist model, so and so he thinks the money okay, that she's paying him and all that kind of thing. Yeah. And he goes, and he cheats on her, using the money that she gave him.

Do you see the point and it's worse use it using the money. That's what he was saying, using the money that is the same as human beings. That analogy goes on. And it's worse than that * is billion tantalize. What if it was bad? All I would say right. So it's worse than that. Because human beings we're using the we're using the oxygen we're using the place in the time and everything that we can't go anywhere to escape the dominion of God and we're being ungrateful to him in his own space. Why don't you live his own space? I don't care what anyone says to you. If you truly comprehend that what you're doing well, Allah He there's no place except Hellfire for you. I'm so

sorry. No, one other thing, when when you want to charge your phone does YouTube videos where you can charge it using a potato? Yeah.

So you'll get certain amount of energy from it. You can charge it using a battery pack, you get a certain amount of energy from it, then you put it in the mains, that's when you get the proper energy coming through. So yeah, so being grateful to a cup of coffee. Like what does that what does that mean? Even

like getting the it's like getting it from the potato? Yeah, it's so low level, isn't it? But then when you're grateful for the to the source, what you're doing is you're unlocking so much. Yeah, you're not you're not just in a room. What you've unlocked the house. You've unlocked the village of the city. And that's what Islam is and unfold.

Generally Muslims as Muslims, we don't appreciate this. We see drips and drabs of research and we cling on to it. All serotonin, oxytocin, oxytocin, oxytocin, oxytocin, and cortisol. And, and all of these chemicals, we're not sleeve to chemicals. Yeah, there's there's research Rupert Sheldrake on our brilliant book in which he links a lot of these religious practices to even atheism that, you know, even atheists take on board these things without even realizing, wow, wow, it's actually a really good book, and he's actually doing another one also. And as Muslims, as believers, sometimes we don't really appreciate what we have. Yes. And I think that's, that's very important for us to

do. And these things, I think, can actually improve our Eman if we use it properly. And this is, I think, a good place to end because you know, and the Quran states itself well in Shackleton as either Netcom will Inca Felton in the villa, she added that if you are thankful than I will give you more Allah saying this to you. Well, in Chicago, if you are thankful, let as he then Neko, which actually in Arabic, is like lamb is for mobile, Allah is for hyperbole. And new data is also for hyperboles was a double hyperbole that I will set most certainly, you know, give you more, you know, this is if you're just thankful, we're in Chicago, I will certainly give you more, we're in tougher

time. If you're ungrateful, then my punishment, as you were saying, is going to be extremely odd is going to be extremely severe. And this is what I think is a good place to end. But in terms of call to action, what we can do in our daily life is and I try and do this with my family as much as possible, is teach our children really, honestly the young people need to know, what are we thankful for, and you'll see the most innocent answers that they get. I'm thankful for my hearing my seeing my being able to the five senses, my being able to walk and you'll see that these things that we get for free for the most part, are the most powerful, and priceless love that you have. You know love

you somebody that you love or a heartbeat, you have a heartbeat, your heart is beating involuntarily, you're not paying it. You know, all of these things are just happening the system the immune system is working, everything's working automatically within your body. There's so much to thankful and if you can't think of anything to thank God for then this is part of the problem. And if you can do it, then this will be part of your solution was salam ala Malanga lightworker