Mufti Menk – Dealing with Difficulty #19 Negative Mindset
AI: Summary ©
The importance of trusting Allah for one's life is discussed, emphasizing the need for positivity and finding a way to manifest Allah's actions. The speaker also highlights the importance of facing challenges and laying a trust in Allah. The speaker emphasizes the need for gratitude and negativity in resolving negative emotions, and the importance of preparing for unexpected events and showing positive connections with Allah.
AI: Summary ©
Dealing with difficulty
regarding
being negative all the time. Some people are
indeed negative. Anything that happens,
they think of the worst case scenario and
they live
with that type of understanding. Now bear in
mind, we are human.
It's normal to be negative, but it's also
normal to be positive and to strike the
balance.
Try your best to strike the balance. Don't
look at everything in a negative light.
Something happens that is good, and you just
look at the negatives.
You know, you look at the ceiling and
think, what if the ceiling drops? You look
at a road and you say, what if
this just cracks open and we all go
in? You look at a building and you
say, what if the building falls? You're flying
in the aircraft and you think, what if
this aircraft, this happens to it and that?
Why think negative for everything?
Okay. We're
human. It may cross our mind, but understand
quickly
lay your trust in Allah.
That's the bonus of a believer.
When you have belief in your maker and
you know, he put you here in the
first place, he will look after you.
Then,
you will definitely be able to achieve
so much of positivity.
Because what you will begin to understand is
Allah has given me a capacity.
He's helped me. He's provided for me to
a certain extent.
He's given me everything that I actually have,
and whatever he's given me, my physical capacity,
my intellectual
capacity, my financial capacity, and so on,
everything put together, I will do whatever I
believe is best to protect myself,
and to be able to build myself in
a way that is pleasing to Allah
and will make my life on earth, which
is temporary,
easy.
And then I lay my trust in Allah.
Work hard towards achieving that which is beneficial
for you. Seek the help of Allah
and don't be lazy. Don't just give up.
Keep trying.
If something happens that is negative, then definitely
it happened.
We will
rise to the occasion. We will do whatever
we can. We try again. We're not going
to be lazy and we're not going to
give up. It's part of the plan of
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
So don't look at every scenario and say,
do you know what?
What if this and what if that? It's
a type of an anxiety.
It can become a disorder where you might
even require professional help.
Nonetheless,
in the deen and the religion of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala,
he's provided you with a coping mechanism
and he's given you something amazing. Connect with
him. Recite the Quran. Look at the meanings
of the verses of the Quran.
Take a look at the stories of the
prophets.
Go through them. Understand them. See what Allah
did for the people. And remember, challenges will
always come in your life.
You will always have certain things that will
occur, but with the help of Allah, you
will overcome every one of them. Allah says,
Allah says, Allah does not hold a person
or does not
burden someone with more than he or she
can shoulder.
So remember,
if Allah has put you through a certain
challenge,
it's because he knows you will cope and
you can manage. Even if it's tough,
Allah knows he's going to make you strong.
Where were we? Have we not been through
challenges? Have we not been through so much
in terms of
uncertainty, in terms of negativity?
Where are we today? Did Allah not provide
for us? Did we not come out of
it? Alhamdulillah,
we thank Allah Almighty.
If we look at others,
they are really struggling way beyond us.
And therefore we should accept that we owe
gratitude to Allah because of whatever he's given
us. In fact, if we want to fight
that negativity, one of the ways, yes, we
lay our trust in Allah. Yes, we believe.
Yes, we pray. Yes, we read Quran. Yes,
we engage in what is known as dhikr,
the remembrance of Allah. Because Allah says,
remember me, I remember you. Get acquainted with
Allah at times of,
ease and Allah will get acquainted with you
at times of
difficulty.
All of this is there. Remember, Allah Almighty
has favored us. He will definitely grant us
ease, and he will help us to cope.
He will open the doors for us. We
have to have that conviction.
So
this world is made up of so many
different things, different types of people,
different days, the days that were difficult,
by his will, and that is the will
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So for us to constantly think about
negatives
is definitely
a quality that needs remedying.
Allah Almighty
wants us
to thank him. He says,
If you are thankful,
I will grant you increase in goodness. And
if you are going to show ingratitude,
then I will definitely
meaning then my punishment is severe. He didn't
say I will punish you, but he says,
remember my punishment is severe.
And if you are ungrateful,
indeed, my punishment
is severe. He didn't say I'm going to
punish you because sometimes
Allah's mercy dictates that he gives you some
time.
And this is the beauty of the mercy
of Allah.
He won't punish you immediately. In most cases,
Allah will give you a long time to
repent, to turn and so on. Sometimes he
might choose to give the punishment earlier.
Remember,
gratitude is positivity,
ingratitude is negativity.
And also,
positivity
is to show gratitude and negativity
is being
ungrateful.
So thank Allah.
If something out of human nature happens to
come in your mind and you think of
the worst possible scenario,
thank Allah. I mean, you're a human. So
it's bound to creep in now and again.
I'm sure it happens to all of us.
But it depends how long you dwell on
it. If you dwell on it too long,
you become a burden upon those whom you
live with. You become
a person whom who is difficult to interact
with. You become a negative
force
that people around
you feel very low when they're in your
company because you only think of negatives.
You have to push yourself to look at
the positives and give people hope and have
hope yourself. It won't happen inshallah. It's possible
that a fire might happen. So we have
extinguishers.
We have fire hoses. We have hydrants and
everything is there. But inshallah it will not
happen. Chances are 1 in a 1000000.
Every time we jump on an aircraft, they
make an announcement.
And they tell you about the oxygen in
case the oxygen fails. They tell you in
case there is emergency, this is what you
should do. They tell you in case
of,
you know,
landing
emergency landing. This is how you open the
emergency exits, and this is what you should
look at, and this is what you should
do
Yet 99.99%
of the flights land safely.
It's not because they are negative.
It's not because they are struggling or suffering.
It's only a normal thing to give you
precautionary,
you know, precautionary measures, let you know about
them. So
in the same way, we find
Allah Almighty has kept within us a mechanism
such that
when you think of what might happen, there
would be a few negatives. Don't dwell on
them. Prepare for them and move on. Prepare
for them. Be ready. Inshallah, look. I've got
this and this and this in place if
something happens. I've prepared for a rainy day.
It may happen, but I'm going to go
ahead and I'm going to continue.
So some of these topics are interconnected because
they happen to all be
remedied
by the connection we will be having with
Allah Almighty. And this is the mercy of
Allah.
When we're connected with him, all the sicknesses,
all the diseases, all the negativity, all the
anxiety,
sadness, whatever else it may be, jealousy, hatred,
everything gets remedied
because that is Allah.
The connection with him has a holistic
growth
of positivity
that human being will always feel and appreciate.
You will build yourself into such a lovely
person by the help of Allah. With the
connection of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, you begin
to appreciate that connection and you start enjoying
your prayer and your connection with Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala. May Allah grant us all ease.
May he make us able to look at
things more
positively than negative.
May he make us a force of positivity.
And we ask Allah to protect us from
the harms of this world and the next.