Is Islam Really a Religion of Sadness?!
Is Islam Really a Religion of Sadness?!
Peace be upon you and mercy of Allah.
Dear brothers, some of us believe that religion is associated with sadness, and that if one wants to be happy, he must forget his religion a little. This is one of the misconceptions that some preachers have contributed to spreading.
Misconceptions About Sadness in Islam
They rely on statements that are not proven from our leaders, such as what was attributed to Al-Hasan Al-Basri that he said: "The believer becomes sad in the morning and remains sad in the evening, and he has no choice but that." And what was attributed to Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, that he said: "How can we be happy when death is behind us, the grave is in front of us, the Day of Resurrection is our appointed time, and the path to Hell is our path, and our position is before Allah." And what was attributed to Saladin that he said: "How can I smile when Al-Aqsa Mosque is a prisoner?"
These narrations are not authentic, and even if they were, the argument is not in them, but in "Allah said and His Messenger, peace be upon him, said."
Therefore, this speech of ours is to clarify that sadness in itself is not a praiseworthy matter nor is it required by the Sharia, just as happiness in itself is not blameworthy nor is it evidence of our negligence of the Hereafter and our lack of concern for the affairs of the Muslims.
Someone may say: How can you not want us to be sad? Do you not see the situation of the Muslims?
The answer: Our Muslim brothers around the world do not need our negative sadness, but we have become desensitizing ourselves and convincing ourselves that indulging in pain and worry exempts us from some of our duty towards our brothers, while we do not translate this sadness into action.
We look at painful images and clips, then we sigh and become gloomy, then our lives become bitter, and we feel humiliated and failed by the situation of our nation, and our determination to perform our duties in our professions, studies, and family and social relationships is broken, and we feel that it is in vain, then our feelings become numb.
If our souls crave happiness, we feel that we must ignore the concerns of our nation, and even the regulations of our Sharia, and we say: "Enough sadness, enough bitterness." Phrases that have come to mean to some: "Enough religion and enough feeling of belonging to the nation of Islam." So they do not rejoice except with disobedience to Allah, because obedience is associated in their minds with sadness and grief. And thus, waiting for a new disaster to indulge in negative sadness again, convincing ourselves that we are still adhering to our religion and nation.
And the truth is that with our negative sadness, we do not obey Allah the Almighty, nor do we obey Him with our happiness that is free from the regulations of the Sharia, and in both cases, we do not benefit our nation.
The Positive View of Sadness
Brothers, we must look at sadness and worry positively, as temporary feelings that adjust the path and turn into a driving force for us to move forward in life with activity and a sense of responsibility, and raise us above the trivial, rejoicing in our obedience and striving to improve our situation, not the hysterical laughter that the heedless utter to convince themselves and those around them that they are happy while their hearts are empty.
Sadness is praiseworthy if it turns into fuel that moves in its appropriate channels and pushes you forward. If you do not move it in these channels and productive works, it will burn you.
Sadness is praiseworthy to the extent that you are awake and it hurts you when you fall short and spoils the pleasure of disobedience for you. If you disobey, you feel guilty and shortcoming towards your nation and its wounds, so you become sad, which drives you to obedience, and you rejoice in your obedience. Thus, obedience is associated with happiness and disobedience with sadness, not as is our case that we mentioned.
We must remember, brothers, that what happens to the Muslims is all by the decree of Allah the Almighty, "And if your Lord had willed, they would not have done it." Allah decreed it for the nation when it fell short in carrying out His command, and He decreed it for His wisdom, "And if Allah had willed, He would have made them victorious, but He wants to test some of you with others." We must seek the way to succeed in the test, not to indulge in sorrows.
The Prophetic Sunnah and the Scholars' View on Sadness
Sadness is not a matter required by the Sharia nor should it be associated in our minds with religion. And the hadith that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was continuously sad is not a sound hadith, and Ibn Al-Qayyim said about it in Madarij Al-Salikin that it is a hadith that is not authentic and has a narrator who is unknown.
And how can the Prophet, peace be upon him, be continuously sad when Allah has protected him from sadness over the world and its causes, and forbade him from being sad over the disbelievers, and forgave him for what preceded of his sin and what was to come, so where does his sadness come from? But he was always cheerful, this is what Ibn Al-Qayyim said.
And Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, has beautiful words in the tenth part of the Fatwas, in which he said: "As for sadness, Allah and His Messenger did not command it, but He forbade it in some places even if it is related to a matter of religion." Meaning, do not justify yourself that your sadness is not for yourself but for the situation of the Muslims, even this does not justify the dominance of sadness over you continuously.
Notice His saying, may He be glorified: {And do not be weak and do not be sad, and you are the upper hand if you are believers} [Al-Imran: 139]. This is after the Battle of Uhud, after the Muslims were exposed to what they were exposed to of calamities, and yet Allah says to them: {And do not be sad}. And His saying, may He be glorified: {And do not be sad over them and do not be in distress over what they devise} [An-Nahl: 127]. And His saying, may He be glorified: {And let not their speech grieve you} [Yunus: 65]. It is difficult for the Prophet, peace be upon him, that people disbelieve and reject his call, so the command comes to him from Allah: {And do not be sad over them}, so there is no benefit in it, and what has no benefit in it, Allah does not command it.
Then he, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that limited sadness over the calamities of the world is not a sin if it is not accompanied by sin or discontent, such as one who is sad over the loss of his child. And he explained that one who is sad over the calamities of the Muslims is not rewarded for the sadness itself, but for the goodness of his heart and his love for his Muslim brothers. So there are, my brothers, actions of the heart for which the Muslim is rewarded, such as loving Allah the Almighty and fearing Him and loving the Muslims, but sadness is not one of the actions of the heart for which a person is rewarded, so it is not appropriate for a Muslim to increase his sadness and cling to it and think that he is thereby rewarded.
Then Ibn Taymiyyah concluded his speech by saying: "But sadness over that - meaning the calamities of the Muslims - if it leads to abandoning what is commanded of patience and jihad and bringing benefit and warding off harm, then it is forbidden." Yes, this is the negative sadness that we are talking about, the sadness that breaks morale and prevents productive work, this is the sadness that our enemies want for us.
The Objectives of the Sharia and the Devil
Therefore, one of the objectives of the devil is to bring sadness to the believer, and one of the objectives of the Sharia is to bring happiness and joy to the believers. Allah the Almighty says: {The whispering of Satan is only to cause grief to those who believe, and it does not harm them at all except by permission of Allah. And upon Allah let the believers rely} [Al-Mujadala: 10]. One of the objectives of the allies of Satan is to make you fall into sadness and hardship.
Allah the Almighty says about them in global media: Our enemies hide their losses because they do not want Muslims to be happy and their morale to rise, while there is no limit or restriction on the dissemination of what consolidates worry and grief and sadness from images and clips. They spread images of the torture and humiliation of Muslims in prisons, this is not a leak from our brothers but a systematic work to break your morale, O Muslim, and make you live a continuous negative sadness, while their media does not allow the display of disgraceful images of their dead, and they limit themselves to images of funerals and tears in the amount that charges the souls of their masses and makes them feel the desire for revenge without breaking their morale.
On the other hand, bringing joy to the Muslim is one of the objectives of the Sharia. In the hadith that was graded as good by Al-Albani, the Prophet, peace be upon him, made the first act of the most beloved actions to Allah: "Joy that you bring to a Muslim."
Islam is the Religion of Joy and a Good Life
Is there a single verse or hadith that commands sadness or praises it? And does it teach us supplications that drive away sadness? Islam cannot be built on the shoulders of sad, depressed, and miserable people.
When we review what our predecessors did, who are accused by some preachers of being perpetually sad, and review their great achievements in short periods, they opened countries, attracted people to the religion of Allah, and excelled in all fields of life, we conclude that it is absolutely impossible that those who did all this were people whose souls were dominated by gloom.
"Make things easy and do not make them difficult. Give glad tidings and do not repel." Ordinary people are not attracted to the religion of Allah by anything like seeing the features of tranquility and contentment on our faces, and nothing repels them from the religion of Allah like seeing our faces gloomy, as if telling people the story of a losing deal we entered into with the religion, far be it from Allah.
A good life is the one that should be associated with obedience and piety, not continuous sadness. Allah says: "Whoever does a good deed - male or female - while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life" [Surah An-Nahl: 97].
Joy is what should be associated with obedience. Allah says: "Indeed, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve. Those who believed and were fearing Allah - for them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter" [Surah Yunus: 62-64].
The bliss of the soul is what should be associated with obedience. Allah says: "Indeed, the righteous will be in pleasure, and indeed, the wicked will be in Hellfire" [Surah Al-Infitar: 13-14]. Ibn Al-Qayyim said: "This is in their three stages, not limited to the Hereafter, although its perfection, completion, and manifestation are in the Hereafter, and in the Barzakh before that. So the righteous are in bliss in this world, in the Barzakh, and in the Hereafter, and the wicked and disbelievers are in Hellfire in this world, in the Barzakh, and in the Hereafter."
Yes, joy is what should be associated with obedience and piety. Allah commanded joy and forbade sadness. He commanded joy and said: "Say, 'In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy - in that let them rejoice'" [Surah Yunus: 58]. As for the saying of the people of Qarun to him: "Do not rejoice; indeed, Allah does not like the rejoicers" [Surah Al-Qasas: 76], it does not mean blaming joy in general, but the joy of arrogance, pride, and superiority. Allah says: "That is for what you used to rejoice in the earth without right and for your exultation" [Surah Ghafir: 75], meaning your joy that you used to rejoice in the world without what Allah permitted you of falsehood and sins.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my brothers: Islam is the religion of joy, not the wild, empty, and artificial joy, but the joy of obedience and the permissible. Sadness is not required of us, nor are we rewarded for it, nor does it exempt us from any of our duties towards our religion and nation. Therefore, it is not befitting for us to fill ourselves with more sadness, but to embark on serving our religion with high aspirations, radiant souls, and joyful hearts.
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.