Someone called me saying he was exposed a while ago to a circumstance that caused him severe pain...regardless of the t…
Someone called me saying he was exposed a while ago to a circumstance that caused him severe pain...regardless of the type of pain, psychological or moral, and regardless of its cause.
He said to me: (As a result of this pain, a kind of objection occurred in my heart to Allah's decree. The problem is I'll soon go through a similar circumstance and may suffer similar pain even though I took precautions, and I fear this objection will occur in my heart. So what should I do?).
And I'd like to share the answer with my brothers for benefit: In addition to reminding about this world being a place of trial, and attaching the soul to reward and the Afterlife, it's important in such a case to isolate this bad feeling (objection to decree) from the self, meaning hate this feeling and don't hate yourself. For one who fears for himself from this feeling and turns to others to help him get rid of it, what drives him to that is love of Allah and reverence for Allah. So he should love this aspect of himself, and know that this aspect is authentic in himself. While objection is a passing feeling, not part of his psychological makeup, so he seeks Allah's help in repelling it, not letting this feeling distance him from Allah...address yourself: (You are not a bad person objecting to Allah, but this bad feeling "alien to you" that pushes you to Allah's protection to take refuge with Him from this feeling) occurred in your soul.
This is important because among Satan's methods is making you hate yourself so you loosen your hands from Allah's rope to fall into valleys of doubt and discontent...and he deludes you at first that self-flagellation and self-loathing is what's required regarding these negative feelings! Rather isolate this feeling and increase supplication and righteous deeds so Allah helps you get rid of it, so the feeling turns into increased closeness.
Another benefit: that if a person is afflicted with something of these negative feelings, then asking those who can actually help him is worship he's rewarded for, and your isolation of this feeling from yourself helps you not be ashamed to ask scholars, because you don't consider this feeling indicates authentic evil in you. While hypocrites' beginning of destruction was that evil actions of the heart occurred in them, from objection and hatred of religion and love of disbelief and its people, but they weren't keen on getting rid of them, and didn't ask nor turn to Allah to be saved, rather they lied to hide them and did evil so they nurtured them until they destroyed them: (In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they [habitually] used to lie).
O Allah, purify our hearts.