Don’t Be Sad –Wait Patiently for a Happy Outcome

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

The following hadith is found in the book of Tirmidhi:

<<The best form of worship is to wait (patiently) for a happy outcome.>>

{Is not the morning near?} (Qur’an 11: 81)

The morning of the afflicted is looming, so watch for it. An Arab proverb says, “If the rope becomes too tight, it will snap.”

In other words, if a situation reaches the level of crisis, then expect a light and an opening to appear. Allah (st) says:

{And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will remit his sins from him, and will enlarge his reward.} (Qur’an 65: 5)

{And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make his matter easy for him.} (Qur’an 65: 4)

In an authentic hadith, the Prophet (sa) relates this saying from Allah (st):

<<I am with the thoughts of My slave towards Me, so let him think of Me as he pleases.>>

Allah (st) says:

{[They were reprieved] until, when the Messengers gave up hope and thought that they were denied [by their people], then came to them Our help, and whosoever We willed were delivered.} (Qur’an 12: 110)

Know that, truly, with hardship there is relief. Some commentators of the Qur’an said (considering it to be a hadith) that:

“One hardship cannot overcome two reliefs.”

The Prophet (sa) said in an authentic hadith:

<<And know that victory comes with patience, and that relief comes with hardship.>>

An Arab poet said:

Some eyes are restless while others are in sleep,

In meditating about what may or may not occur,

So leave worrying as much as possible,

As carrying the burdens of anxiety is madness.

There is your Lord, who provided you with solutions to yesterday,

And He will similarly provide for what is to come tomorrow.

Another said:

Let events flow in their predestined path,

And do not sleep except with a clear mind.

Between the period of the blinking of the eye and its opening,

Allah changes things from one state to another.

Pause to reflect

Don’t worry about your wealth that is stored in vaults. Unless you have faith in Allah, your high castles and your green gardens will only bring you worry, grief, and hopelessness.
Don’t be sad: even the diagnosis of the doctor and his medicine cannot make you happy if you have allowed sadness to dwell in your heart, letting it permeate your emotions and your existence.
Don’t be sad: you have the ability to supplicate to Allah and thus excel at humbling yourself at the doorstep of the King of kings. You have the blessed last third of the night to invoke Allah and to rub your head upon the ground in prostration.
Don’t be sad: Allah has created for you the earth and what is in it. He has caused gardens of beauty to grow, filling them with many kinds of plants and flowers in pairs, both male and female. He has made tall palm trees, shining stars, forests, rivers and streams – yet you are sad!
Don’t be sad: you drink water that is pure, you breathe fresh air, you walk upon your two feet in health, and you sleep in the evenings in peace.

An excerpt from Don’t be Sad by Dr. Aid ibn Abdullah al-Qarni available from IIPH.