Yousef Bakeer – Spiritual Strength & Mental Health
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the importance of faith practices in dealing emotions and mental health. They outline two scenarios where individuals experience anxiety and stress around tests and exams, including a study where a Prophet sall dollar was allam's friend made a beautiful note about the test. The speaker emphasizes the need for practice and practice to detox from anxiety.
AI: Transcript ©
In Al Hamdulillah Madhu who want to stay you know who want to stop
Pharaoh.
Now to be late I live in Cerulean fusina or sejati I'm Melina in the
home and yeah de la Fela medulla. Woman noodle fella had yella wa
shadow Allah Allah illallah wa sallahu lashari Kala Well, I shall
do anna muhammadan I will do who was Sulu Allahumma salli wa sallim
wa barik ala Nabina. Habib ana Muhammadan. While early he was
sabe he was telling him to Sleeman Kathira Ahmedabad, Allah subhanaw
taala says in the Quran
you have the man who can all it all. It took hello how cotton
cotton he wallet, to
Wallet more to love and to Muslim.
He says all believers have taqwa in Allah subhanaw taala which
means that we should be conscious of Allah subhanho wa Taala we
should be aware of him and we should protect ourselves from his
punishment and his wrath. And we shouldn't allow ourselves to die,
except in a state of submission to Him. The state of Islam instead of
la ilaha illAllah Muhammad Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam. I begin my whole by by asking Allah subhanaw taala first
and foremost, to send blessings and prayers upon our beloved
prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Allahumma Salli ala
Sayidina Muhammad infil Pauline was Allah Allah he will act 18 was
only Allah if Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Yama deen and my bad
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam, as salaam aleikum wa
rahmatullah wa barakatu.
About
two weeks ago, had an interesting conversation with one of our
Muslim youth
came to my office, and he had really legitimate concern about
his faith about Islam.
And he said to me, sure, I'm sick and tired of hearing
things related to mental health, when it comes to the religion,
you'll always say, Pray, and your depression will vanish, pray, and
your anxiety will be gone. And the practicality is not true. Because
prayer is not helping me go over my depression.
And subhanAllah it was it was it was a deep question. It was really
profound question that got me to think about the subject in in a
deeper level.
And my response to this brother, I told him,
first and foremost, define to me what depression you're talking
about.
Because according to what you are going to say, I will be able to
give you the right response.
Where to draw, I think the question that you need to ask, is
that where to draw the line between the spiritual strength and
mental health?
In other words, when can you say that prayer will actually help you
grow spiritually? Or you really need to see and seek medical
intervention? Just make it very simple. Does prayer? Very simple
question. Does prayer, help your mental health? I told him the
direct answer is, yes, it does.
Yes, prayer can help you in terms of your emotional growth.
And this is not only the Islamic approach, this is the secular
approach as well. Many studies, many studies spoke about how
religion and how faith activities, engaging in faith activities will
have an impact on your anxiety and your depression. There is a study
that study that was published recently from international
congress and religion and mental health. They spoke about how
practicing your own faith makes you grow emotionally, and it will
have an impact on your anxiety and depression. We say by increasing
Your faith practices, it will decrease your depression or
anxiety.
Now, he told me but in practicality I'm not seeing this.
I'm not seeing that prayer is helping me.
Didn't my answer to him I told him
there are. And this is also, you know, experts, even secular, you
know experts, Sikh, secular mental health professionals speak about
this.
They say there are three things that every one of us have
our feelings,
our thoughts, and our actions. We want you to memorize these three
things very important. Everyone experiences this, everyone has
these three things, you have your feelings, you have your thoughts,
and you have your actions.
Experts say that you have control over two of the three things, and
you have absolutely no control over one of
the things that you have control over me and you is our thoughts
and our actions, we have no control over our feelings. In
other words, we don't really control how we feel. But we do get
to control how we think. And therefore, it will have an impact
on your actions. So I told this brother, I'll give you two
scenarios. And you please tell me if that plays a role in your
mental health or not. I told him, imagine you wake up in the
morning. The first thing you do in the morning, the first thing you
do in the morning,
you are actually feeling a little depressed. You're not demotivated
to start your day. You just don't have any energy for the day.
And you're still in your bed.
Scenario A
you actually give up getting off the bed, you hold your phone, and
then you start scrolling on your phone getting to from Tik Tok to
Instagram and then from Instagram, to other apps and just going
through some videos
and you stay in your bed for you know a little while in the
morning.
And then eventually you start your day. That's Scenario A.
Scenario B.
You wake up in the morning
and you're feeling demotivated
and then you say do I always say call them in unknown? You say the
dua of the morning. You say Alhamdulillah Allah de Yanni by
them at a matinee where he lay him assure ya Allah I thank you
yeah Allah I thank you for all the blessings that you have bestowed
upon me. Your Allah I acknowledge all the blessings that you have
bestowed upon me.
And yeah, Allah, I'm grateful for you giving me life after minor
death after sleeping. Yola, I thank you for giving me a new day.
What you lay hidden issue, and yeah, Allah. I know for a fact
that to you, or you will be resurrected. You're reminding
yourself, you're refreshing your faith, you're reminding yourself
by the day of judgments. You're starting up the first thing, now
you're actually controlling your thoughts. You're forcing your
thoughts to be positive in the morning to think about the
blessings of Allah subhanaw taala and to refresh your faith, and
then you force yourself remember two things that you can actually
control your thoughts and your actions. So you force yourself and
you get up.
And you will make will do and you go and you praise Hydref
and Allah he will be amazing. If you attend pleasure in Gemma, ask
anyone who regularly attends first in JAMA. How do you feel getting
out of the masjid when the winter when you see traces of light in
the sky and it's about to be Sun sunrise. Sun is about to be
rising. Ask anyone who experiences this what how do you feel? Well
Allah he will tell you the I feel this very special feeling of
sweetness. I feel happier. Just getting out of the masjid after
fajr prayer after in engaging in in this beauty
Before activity of a federal prayer, and then getting out and
starting off my day, and before even praying Salat al Fajr. It's
sooner the Prophet sallallahu Sallam is to perform a wholesome
before any social gathering. So just imagine like this, you're
starting your day, you're making dua to Allah, you're conscious of
Allah, you are reminding yourself with your own faith, you go and
you take a cold shower. And then you head to the masjid and pray
Fajr
these are two scenarios, I want you to tell me.
Because experts say that the first thing that you do in the morning
will have an impact on you the rest of the day, the first thing,
the first, the very first thing that you do in the morning, it
will have an impact on you the rest of the day. So imagine, you
start off your day this way,
versus the other scenario
Wallahi by experience, by experience, scenario, B, you will
feel more productive, you will feel more content, you feel that
you have connected to your Rob, your Creator. And definitely that
will have an impact on you the rest of the day. Imagine you do
this on a daily basis. Imagine how your life will look like does
mental health. Does your religiosity has an impact on your
mental health? The answer is absolutely yes. Absolutely. Yes.
The way you control your thoughts, you're thinking positively about
Allah subhanaw taala many people that they go through difficult
time or depression.
One of the reasons why they're depressed is because the beat up
themselves, they go hard to hard on themselves. And they think
that's a punishment. And then the Islamic perspective will comes and
tells them no.
Islam and Allah subhanaw taala is actually rewarding you based on
this difficult time that you're thinking you're you're going
through the prophet Sallallahu sallam said, every single pain you
feel. Now you saw my OC will Muslim. He said every single pain
you feel even it's even if it's a little pain, if a little pain, it
is rewarded from Allah subhanho wa taala. So imagine you're going
through this difficult time, but yet, you're not beating up
yourself, you're thinking that Allah is rewarding you going
through this time, this this difficult time? Does Islam have
anything to deal with anxiety? Absolutely, yes. And here is the
line, there are two levels of anxiety that we're talking about.
And that was so crucial for that for this brother to to understand,
I told him there are two levels of anxiety.
There is this normal level of anxiety that every human
experiences me and you experiencing anxiety on a daily
basis. And this is this is from the realm of Allah subhanaw taala.
To actually process when we are in a dangerous position. processing
this you have to have, you have to be a little anxious. When you're
going through, you know, a position where you need to be
cautious. The idea of being cautious comes from being a little
anxious. And this is from the ROM of Allah subhanaw taala every one
of us at some point of our lives, we will experience a level of
anxiety.
Growing up, you have a test you will be anxious about your tests.
In college, you're a little concerned, you're a little
anxious, you have a little bit of an anxiety of your exams. And then
when you graduate.
People tend to be also anxious and have a lot of anxiety because you
don't know whether you will get a job your very first job is
something that you're you have an anxiety over and after this the
process of seeking a spouse and getting married, you will
experience some of the anxiety and then after getting married, after
getting married, you will have an anxiety whether you have children
or not. And after having children you still have some anxiety
whether these children will be righteous or not. You have an
anxiety over their health.
You have an anxiety over their well being.
And so you have two scenarios in the first level of anxiety. Either
you give up yourself to this anxiety to to have control over
you, or religion comes in place until you have Tokelau Allah
subhanaw taala do everything within your means. And remember,
remember that there is a Creator that has absolutely control over
your affairs.
People have an anxiety because things are
uncertain, uncertain in the future you don't know. And Muslims
believe in the sermon and that is Allah subhanaw taala over what's
uncertain which are the things that you have control, no control
over.
Now tell me if Islam has an impact on your mental health or not?
Absolutely, yes, absolutely. You know that Allah is in control
therefore you will face yourself towards Allah and you will make
the ayah Allah Ya Allah grant my children she fat your Allah grant
my shoulders success your Allah grants me a good job. Yes, you're
doing everything within your means.
within your means you're doing absolutely everything that's
needed from your side. But then there is a part that you have no
control over. And Islam comes in this moment.
Where you feel and you think you remind yourself by being you by
putting your ultimate trust in Allah subhanaw taala that he will
take care of you. Second level of anxiety that is more advanced,
more serious, measured in anxiety that's crippling you from your
daily activities.
This moment, you definitely need to seek medical assistance, you
will see a therapist and therapist will determine whether you
actually need to see a psychiatrist, whether you need
medical intervention or not.
But that's the major and anxiety and the major depression. And even
through this process, you're reminding yourself by Allah
subhanaw taala because Allah is the Sheffy. Allah is the One who
cures.
Now tell me
if Islam has an impact on your mental health? The answer is
absolutely yes. Then he told me another question. The second
question, he said, Chef, did the Prophet sallallahu wasallam ever,
you know, consider mental health as something that is really
important
that the Sahaba considered mental health.
Because nowadays you talk about religion and mental health, but
even the Prophet didn't even it wasn't even concerned about mental
health. I told him no, that's false.
The Prophet sallallahu wasallam was definitely concerned about
mental health. And there are a couple of occasions for the sake
of time I'll share briefly in sha Allah to Allah, that you know that
the Prophet sallallahu wasallam was actually concerned about his
companions mental health.
One of these incidents when Hasani beneath habits habit, while the
Allahu anhu, one of the Sahaba, one of those who used to make
beautiful poems for the Prophet sallallahu wasallam, and he was
very dear to the Prophet sallallahu Salah
and Hassan Hassan hypnotherapist came to the Prophet in one of the
battles the battle of 100 Duck,
and he said to the Prophet Rasul Allah, I don't think I will be
able to fight.
I just, I get overwhelmed.
And I don't think I'm going to be able to fight in this battle, the
Prophet salallahu alayhi salam sent him to stay in the back and
to, to stay in a castle with the children and the women. And he
have excused him from being on the battlefield.
And then some of the, you know, of the soldiers
of Quraysh, sneaked and actually were too close to attack, the
castle that has the woman and the children, along with her seventh
episode, Allah Anna, and one of the Sahaba told him, aren't you,
you know, you know, a fighter, go and defend us. And he said, I said
to her, you know, that's why the I asked the prophets Allah sent
excuse me, I don't think I'm going to be able to fight.
Thinking about her sentiment type situation. In modern psychology,
we have a diagnose for it.
This man clearly had PTSD. He cannot process any sounds of the
of the swords, because it triggers him and therefore, he will not be
able to fight the Prophet salaallah alayhi salam has
acknowledged his mental disability of being in the battlefield of
conduct.
Another situation that happened when this little boy lost his
bird.
And the Prophet sallallahu Sallam approached this little boy and
told him why are you actually you know, sitting alone.
See, like, this is how we do in chat.
When to go to hospital or go to God speak to patients is how we do
it, to start to start off a conversation to see what's going
on. And then after opening a conversation, just like the
Prophet salallahu Salam did the second step, any Chaplain will
tell you this. The second step is to actually acknowledge somebody's
feelings. And the Prophet sallallahu Sallam told him Madatha
Allah and no wife
and his name was about oh, my wife, so he told him mad foul and
no i Yeah, about oh, my is like, he came up with the beautiful
rhythm that can actually make the kid excited to engage in a
conversation.
And then the Prophet sallallahu sallam said, like, how beautiful
even the question is, he didn't tell him. What did you do to the
bird?
He told him, what did the bird do?
He did not want to overwhelm him. The guy's already crying. He's
going through a difficult time, he acknowledged his feelings.
And he did not give him any sense of guiltiness. He just told him
like, what is going on with you? What's up?
That was the approach of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam, the other man other occasion, multiple, multiple
incidents that happened at the time of the Prophet salallahu
Salam, it showed you that mental health mattered to the prophets of
Allah, Allah, your Salah when this man came to the Prophet and told
him, I'm just overwhelmed with negative thoughts and I have a lot
of debts to pay off and I'm just feeling not very well and the
prophets of Allah, Allah Salam actually had a conversation with
him acknowledged his feelings and he gives them a beautiful dua that
we all know now Allah, how many how to become an Al Hamdulillah.
Husband? Well, RGZ Wilkerson. Well, Bulkeley will jump in, why
would you become an elevated day in your career as well beautiful
da, that we can talk about later in sha Allah to Allah but this
beautiful dua the Prophet SAW Selim, give him as a prescription
to this brother, who came with a legitimate concern. Yes,
psychology, knowledge was not something very advanced at the
time of the Prophet sallallahu wasallam. But that did not mean
that the Prophet sallallahu Sallam disregarded people's feelings and
people's mental disabilities. In fact, in cutable, Burkinshaw,
Allah, Allah will enter this incredible faith.
If you open any Kitab, for
any classical fifth book, you will find that some one of the
conditions and why or whether your prayer, you're eligible for a
prayer eligible for the cavalry eligible for fasting, one of these
conditions is a lock,
your intellect, your mental ability to practice that
particularly better. And if you're not in the mental capacity, to
practice your own religion, then you are excused. And guess what
that was actually formed by the Prophet sallallahu Sallam and by
the Sahaba and by tambourine. So to wrap all of this up,
does Islam
have an impact or faith have an impact on your mental health?
Absolutely, yes. Does that disregard? You seek mental seeking
help from professionals? Absolutely not? Absolutely not.
Did the Prophet salallahu Salam acknowledge people that they have
mental disabilities? Absolutely, yes. The Prophet salallahu Alaihe
Salam did acknowledge those who are going through a difficult time
with their mental well being.
And so I encourage everybody in sha Allah, Allah, Allah, to always
constantly reminding ourselves that yes, embracing engaging in
salawat and NW sallallahu alayhi wa sallam engaging on the eyes in
the morning, engaging in our silhouette will definitely have an
impact on the way we feel and the way we process life and the way we
look at life, may Allah subhanaw taala make us among those who will
actually engaged in these beautiful acts of worship me hon.
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in a Kurata ion channel Matakana in mama welcome salah.