Using Islam to cope with anxiety and worry

Using Islam to cope with anxiety and worry

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim (بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم )
As Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatulhi wa barakatuhu

All the people I have spoken to due to my profession and people around me with what’s going on this article, I feel, is as relevant as ever. It applies to everyone that has ever had a worry about anything, no matter how big or small. So let us get straight to the matter as we all know what anxiety is and are aware that anyone can face it at any given time, some worse than others but none of you are alone.

I’ll start with an authentic hadith and dua the Prophet ﷺ had been reported to say:
Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet (ﷺ) used to say, "O Allah! I seek refuge with You from worry and grief, from incapacity and laziness, from cowardice and miserliness, from being heavily in debt and from being overpowered by (other) men." Sahih Bukhari 6369. What a beautiful invocation that the Prophet ﷺ himself used to say that could be applied daily into your life when making dua InShaaAllah

Identify triggers and turn a negative into a positive

When feeling anxious or when a thought overcomes you, you need to be able to identify your triggers warning signs. Both are different, the warning signs could be that you’ve lost focus or concentration, your heart is pounding etc. Whereas your triggers could be a thought, something you see that reminds you of a negative feeling, a word etc. Whatever it is, identify them, make a mental list and when you get that worried, anxious state about to overcome you or it has, force yourself to snap out of it by replacing it with dhikr. Do this because you need Allah to take you away from this mind-set and with what better way than adding extra reward. Start by A’outhu Billahi mini-Shaytaan-ni-Rajim ( I seek Allah's protection from Satan who is accursed.) because ultimately shaytaan wants you to worry, be sad etc. Then recite a dua or do some dhikr, an example of one is “SubhaAllahi wa bihamdihi” Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Whoever says, 'Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi,' one hundred times a day, will be forgiven all his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea” Sahih Bukhari 6405.

So not only are you replacing a negative thought with a positive one, you are reviving a sunnah, gaining reward, and invoking Allah to aim to forgive you for your sins. This is a sahih hadith and would highly recommend it especially in the face of adversity. Shift your focus on the goodness, the sunnah, the reward.

Another invocation is “Subhan Allah al-azim”. Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "There are two expressions which are very easy for the tongue to say, but they are very heavy in the balance and are very dear to The Beneficent (Allah), and they are, 'Subhan Allah Al- `Azim and 'Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi.'" Sahih Bukhari 6406. As you see 'Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi is mentioned again alongside 'Subhan Allah Al- `Azim. Both powerful invocations as the Prophet ﷺ mentions them specifically in sahih hadiths. There are many invocations but let’s start simple and aim for the sake of Allah to gain reward and rid of those negative thoughts that initially try to creep up on you.

Avoid your triggers

Once you have identified your triggers it’ll also be a point of avoiding those triggers. Physically and mentally; it can be done. Why am I so confident it can be done? “Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear” Quran (2:286). Try to remember that if you get really bad and reward yourself that calmness and reassurance you deserve.

Remember there is reward for every hardship

“Abu Sa'id and abu Huraira reported that they heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: ‘Never a believer is stricken with discomfort, hardship or illness, grief or even with mental worry that his sins are not expiated for him.’” Sahih Muslim 2573
Lets also revert back to the Quran and Allah’s ‘promise’ if you will Surah Al-Inshirāḥ ayah 5-6 “For indeed with hardship will be ease. Indeed, with hardship will be ease”
The point I am making as relayed from the hadith is the beauty of patience and being struck with the smallest discomfort that leads to reward.

Prayer and patience

Nothing more simpler and more effective than prayer. Although your mind could cloud up with other thoughts etc. Please read my article on concentration on prayer and that should help with those symptoms In shaa Allah. “O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.” Quran (2:153).

I know it’s easier said than done but add to your prayers, if you don’t already add the sunnah Mu’akkadah  prayers to your five daily fardh prayers then add more sunnah prayers; then go a step further read tahajjud prayers.

Start by praying the sunnah Mu’akkadah prayers and then add additional ones later; “Whoever prays twelve rak’ahs during the night and day, a house will be built for him in Paradise: four before Zuhr and two after, two rak’ahs after Maghrib, two rak’ahs after ‘Isha’ and two rak’ahs before Fajr prayer.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, no. 380; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6362. (This hadith refers to the sunnah Mu’akkadah prayers).

And regarding Tahhajud prayers here is a sahih hadith that should reaffirm the power behind you praying tahhajud prayers. Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "When it is the last third of the night, our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, descends every night to the heaven of the world and says, 'Is there anyone who invokes Me (demand anything from Me), that I may respond to his invocation; Is there anyone who asks Me for something that I may give (it to) him; Is there anyone who asks My forgiveness that I may forgive him?' " Sahih Bukhari 6321.

The next couple of sections I have borrowed from an article on Muslim Matters written by a licensed mental health counsellor Sarah Sultan.

Learn and practice some anxiety-reducing techniques

There are a variety of techniques that can help to reduce anxiety during moments of stress. Choose the ones that work best for you and continually implement them; gradually, they will become almost automatic inshaaAllah.

 Knowing that you will be able to regain control over your worries during an anxiety-filled time can be very calming and empowering. Some of my personal favourites techniques include: making du’aa, deep breathing, taking a walk in a natural setting, mindfulness and visualization (i.e. imagining myself in a peaceful and safe environment that makes me calm and content).

There are so many supplications the Prophet (sala Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam) taught us to use during times of worry and anxiety, since this is a universal issue, so find the ones that most resonate with you. One that never fails to lighten my heart is the following: Ibn Mas’ud reported that the Prophetﷺ said, “If any servant of Allah afflicted with distress or grief makes this supplication, his supplication will be accepted: ‘O Allah, I am Your servant, son of Your servant, son of your maidservant. My forehead is in Your hand. Your command concerning me prevails, and Your decision concerning me is just. I call upon You by every one of the beautiful names by which You have described Yourself, or which You have revealed in Your book, or have taught anyone of Your creatures, or which You have chosen to keep in the knowledge of the unseen with You, to make the Qur’an the delight of my heart, the light of my breast, and remover of my griefs, sorrows, and afflictions‘.” (Ahmad 3528; Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in as-Silsilah as-Saheehah, 199)

Live in the present moment rather than worrying about the past or future

Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) said, “Your attention must be directed to your life in the present – the time between two times. If you waste it, then you have wasted the opportunity to be of the fortunate and saved ones. If you look after it, having rectified the two times – what is before and after it – then you will be successful and achieve rest, delight and ever-lasting bliss.”

We are often so overcome with worry about the past and anxiety about the future that we completely miss out on the present. Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu ‘anhu) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “A strong believer is better and dearer to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone, but cherish what gives you benefit in the Hereafter and seek help from Allah and do not lose heart, and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you, don’t say, ‘If I had not done that, such and such thing would not have happened,’ but say, ‘Allah has ordained it so, and whatever He pleases He does,’ because ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ open the door for Satan.”(Muslim 2664).

You cannot control what will happen within the next hour nor can you change what happened during the last hour but the present moment is within your grasp. Rather than focusing on “what-ifs,” focus on “what is.” Pay attention to the blessings surrounding you- the feeling of the breeze on your face, the taste of the tea on your tongue, the sound of birds chirping nearby. When you choose to be mindful of the blessings that surround you in every moment of everyday, you will naturally start to find that you tend to feel calmer and less bombarded by anxieties about the past and future.

Lastly: never lose hope and ‘take advantage of your 5 before 5’

“So do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are [true] believers” Quran (3:139)

Work on yourself; feed yourself with positive thoughts and articles, play brain exercise games, exercise, eat healthier and appreciate different flavours, and do good to others. Do good for the sake of Allah. Do good and good will come. Just keep growing, moving forward, help others and take advantage of your five before five.

Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your riches before your poverty, your free time before your work, and your life before your death.”
Source: Shu’ab al-Imān 9575. Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani

May Allah forgive me if I have written something displeasing to him. If I've written anything wrong please feel free to message me and I shall correct it in due time ان شاء الله

Reference:
https://muslimmatters.org/2017/03/24/7-tips-to-overcome-anxiety-and-worry/