Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

dear brother

i'm very depressed and feel helpless these day i dont know what to do ,

there is lot that i wish n pray to allah the creator of the heavens n earth , but i cant focus and pinpoint the problums ,as when i think( prblums) of them i realize that he has given me a lot and has helped me in so many ways and its me that isnt doing enogh and i feel guilty for that but at the same time i pray for more from him and want him to solve all my prblums , what should i do and how can i be content ,

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

The secret of being content

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: what should i do and how can i be content

The formula for contentment is given by Allah Subhanah Himself in the Glorious Quran! The one and only way to get contentment is to adopt and implement this one simple formula into our lives. If one adopts or follows any other formula to achieve contentment, be it the collection of all the wealth in the world, or all the power in the world, or all the trophies and championships or honor the world has to offer, he cannot achieve true contentment!

The simple and one and only formula to achieve true contentment of the heart is declared by Allah Subhanah in the Holy Quran:

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 13 Surah Raad verse 28-29:The people who have accepted (the Message), their hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Note it well!, that is Allah’s remembrance Alone, that brings contentment to the hearts! Blessed are those who have accepted the Message and done righteous deeds. They will have a good end.

And remembering Allah does not mean going into a cave or in a dark room for hours, and chanting, “Allahu……..Allahu………Allahu………”! Allah describes what His remembrance or ‘dhikr’ means in another Aayah of the Holy Quran:

Allah Says in the Holy Quran in Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 191:Men who celebrate the praises of Allah; standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth (with the thought): "Our Lord! not for naught hast Thou created (all) this! Glory be to thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the fire.

Any place whether one is alone, or in a gathering, etc, where Allah Subhanah is being remembered and praised and obeyed and followed in hope and in fear, will be considered the Remembrance of Allah; and it is only through this total and absolute submission and obedience of man to his Creator, that will bring him the contentment that he is so dearly searching for!

And the things that will develop this state of gratefulness in a person is three:

He looks and tries to understand and be grateful for the innumerable favors that his Merciful and Bounteous Lord has bestowed on him; and truly and sincerely begins to love this Merciful Creator in his heart.

When his heart reaches that stage of gratefulness, it is only natural, that whatever he says with his tongue, he will first praise his Merciful Lord, in private and in public. His grateful heart will naturally urge his tongue to declare the Glory of Allah (Subhan-Allah), Greatness of Allah (Allah-o-Akbar), and Praises of Allah (Alhamdolillah), etc.

And when his heart and his tongue reach this stage, it is also natural that all his deeds will be done in accordance with the Gudiance and Teachings of his Merciful Creator. At this stage, the person will completely submit his will, to the Will of his Lord and Creator, and respond unconditionally to every Word, every Call and every Command of his Merciful Lord. This is the stage, where his love and obedience for Allah Subhanah will be translated into deeds; whatever he does, wherever he does a deed, his first and only question will be: “Will my Merciful Lord be pleased with this deed or not?”. If his Lord will be pleased, he will do it without hesitation; and if not, he will abstain far away from it!

If, and only if, the person truly and sincerely fulfills the above three conditions of being a grateful servant to His Lord and Master, which are nothing but the off-shoots of one another, he will attain the ‘contentment’ that man has been searching for in vain all over the world!

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan