Scientific topics from sermons- lesson (228): Effect of delight and sadness on man
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- Scientific Topics from Friday Sermons
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Interpretation of the Ayah:
The remarkable thing about Allah’s Divine Words
﴾ No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz), before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah. In order that you may not be sad over matters that you fail to get, nor rejoice because of that which has been given to you. And Allah likes not prideful boasters. ﴿
Is that both Verses, particularly the second one, refer to the fact that man’s heart cannot bear excessive happiness or sadness. But what makes man’s happiness or sadness bearable is the thought that all things that befall man come from Allah, All-Mighty, Most Gracious. This is called “Islamic Monotheism”. In other words, if man is a monotheist, i.e. believes that there is only one God, Allah, All-Mighty, Most Gracious, the influence of both fortunes and misfortunes on him is eased and made bearable. This is because both fortunes and misfortunes have the same impact on man. A great many poor people are shocked dead when they receive a large fortune. That is why Allah, Most Gracious, says in the above Ayat,
﴾ In order that you may not be sad over matters that you fail to get, nor rejoice because of that which has been given to you. And Allah likes not prideful boasters. ﴿
In other words, if you are a monotheist, believing that all things come from the Lord, Allah, All-Mighty, Most Gracious, the influence of both fortunes and misfortunes on your heart are soothed and made easy. To this effect, Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), says,
“If a person that is visited by worry or depression invokes, ‘O Allah! I am your salve, the son of your he-slave, and the son of your she-slave. My forelock is in Your Hand! Your Judgment will inevitably come to pass on me! Your Decree for me is Just and Fair! I beseech You by each and every Divine Name whereby You have named Yourself, You have taught to any of Your creatures, You have sent down in Your Book, or You have kept secret with You, to make the Holy Quran the spring for my heart, the light for my breast, the relief for my sadness, and the removal of my worry!’, Allah will certainly remove his worry and depression from him, and He will replace them with delight.”
The prophet PBUH used to say that when sadness or hardship befell him.
The venerable Companion Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah, be pleased with him, says, “Each one of us is (sometimes) sad and (sometimes) happy. But he who is visited by a misfortune should turn it into patience; and he who is visited by a good thing should turn it into gratefulness.”
Most amazingly, calculations showed that during World War II, 2,000,000 people died of psychic stress in some European countries, while only 350,000 died in battlefield. This means that in the absence of Islamic Monotheism and True Faith in Allah, All-Mighty, Most Gracious, psychic stress has a very serious negative effect on man. That is why Allah, Most Gracious, says,
﴾ No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz), before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah. ﴿
To wrap up, he who knows the reality of the life of this present world does not rejoice at weal, nor does he grieve at woe. This is because Allah, Most Gracious, has made the present world an abode of trial and labor, just as He, Glory to Him, has made the Hereafter an abode of recompense. He, Blessed and Exalted, has made trial in the present world as a reason for reward in the Hereafter, just as He, Most Merciful, has made reward in the Hereafter as a recompense for trial in the present world. Therefore, He, Praise belongs to Him, takes in order to give and tries in order to reward.
