Mystical Mindset and Problem-Solving – Part 1
By Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam
1 March 2024
Is Sin And Disobedience The Primary Cause Of All Problems
And Tragedies?
Main Points:
1.
Everyone experiences
various worries, including those about life, poverty, position, honour,
dignity, job and circumstances.
2.
People strive for
contentment, peace of mind, and resolution by self-diagnosing problems.
3.
Mystical mindset
sees peace and comfort in obedience to God.
4.
The Qur'an and
Prophet's sayings explain the consequences of deeds in various ways.
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(File Photo)
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Everybody worries about something. Some people worry about living a short life; others worry about poverty; still, others worry about position; still, others worry about honour and dignity; the rich worry in their palaces while the poor worry in their huts; still others worry about their jobs and circumstances; still others complain about friends and family; almost everyone worries, gets restless, and feels anxious at some point in their lives. Everyone makes an effort to find contentment, peace of mind, and resolution by self-diagnosing their problems in accordance with their own brains and thinking.
People seeking comfort in office, power, or position often
face worries about responsibilities and the position's downfall, while those
with wealth often fear business loss, development concerns, and sleepless
nights due to fear of danger and fortune loss. Some seek relaxation through
dance, music, and alcohol, but anxiety and worry persist. Drugs are used for temporary
amusement, but permanent loss occurs. Even trying new fashions doesn't bring
them peace.
The mystical minded group believes that the only way to
avoid problems and troubles is to consider oneself a sinner and ask Allah for
forgiveness. They believe that peace and comfort are with the Almighty, who
owns them. When a servant gives up disobedience and sins, the Almighty God is
pleased and bestows peace and comfort on His obedient servant.
Actions, whether good or evil, always have an outcome. An
individual's actions directly influence the world's circumstances and are
linked to the pleasure or displeasure of Allah Almighty. Physical factors
during events or accidents are the apparent causes of good or bad events.
Ordinary people take preventative action by linking them to external, physical
causes after an accident or catastrophe. As Muslims, we are obligated to hold
the view that all of this is carried out at the behest of Allah Almighty, who
is beyond the reach of our senses and intellect. The prophets and divine
revelation have provided us with an explanation of this invisible system of
rewards and punishments, which holds that the real and true cause of any event
and accident is Allah's pleasure and displeasure.
Allah Almighty has connected and associated the
circumstances (whether good or bad) with human actions. Therefore, conditions
such as profit and loss, success and failure, happiness and misery, rain and
drought, inflation and terrorism, diseases, earthquakes, storms, floods, etc.,
exist according to the nature of an individual's good and evil activities.
These are all the outcomes of our actions.
Stated differently, regardless of the external factors
contributing to these situations, our actions, whether good or bad, are the
true causes. Both individually and together, such horrific and enlightening
experiences are essentially "alarms" and "warnings" from
Allah Ta'ala, intended to make one take responsibility for their deeds and
serve as a warning to their careless heart and reform themselves.
Human experience, whether positive or negative, bears
evidence to the reality that numerous individuals and nations have faced a
variety of consequences worldwide as a result of their disobedience to Allah
Ta'ala. As an illustration, consider the following: Someone was disfigured,
someone sank to the bottom, someone drowned in the ocean, and someone was
exposed to a storm. Even now, the remains of these vanished nations' towns
serve as a constant reminder that disobedience is the root of suffering and difficulties.
In the Qur'an and the sayings of the Prophet, Allah Almighty
has explained the consequences of deeds in many ways and dimensions that
correspond to the nature of deeds. Tens of verses from the Holy Quran and
dozens of hadiths from the Holy Prophet amply support this subject, as they
have warned the Ummah about the terrible effects of wrongdoing and commanded
them to repent.
Allah Almighty says in the Quran: “Whosoever acts
righteously - whether a man or a woman - and embraces belief, We will surely
grant him a good life; and will surely grant such persons their reward
according to the best of their deeds.” (16:97)
This verse clearly says that the source of a peaceful life
is goodness. Therefore, when faith and good acts are present, Allah Almighty promises
to grant "Hayaat Tayyibah," which translates to a kind, good,
and peaceful life. Upon reading this verse, a layperson can also conclude that
if a person lacks faith or good deeds, or both, he would not obtain the "Hayaat
Tayyibah," or the "peaceful life," but rather the
"troubled life."
Allah Almighty says, “And whoever turns away from My
remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on
the Day of Resurrection blind." (20:12)
This implies that whoever disobeys Allah Almighty's commands
and does not follow them will have an extremely tough time in this world,
filled with constant worry about advancement, lack of abundance, and worldly
avarice. This verse serves as another evidence that obeying the commands of God
Almighty results in peace and disobeying those commands results in trouble.
Allah Almighty says,
“Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by
[reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part
of [the consequence of] what they have done that perhaps they will return [to
righteousness].” (30:41)
“And whatever strikes you of disaster - it is for what
your hands have earned, but He pardons much.” (42:30)
These two verses also make it clear that human wrongdoing is
the root of all problems and corruption in the land. It also makes it clear
that violence, riots, and other calamities would cease to exist in the absence
of bad deeds. This leads to the conclusion that obedience is the cause of peace
and disobedience is the cause of trouble.
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Kaniz Fatma is a classic Islamic scholar and a regular
columnist for New Age Islam.
URL: https://newageislam.com/debating-islam/mystical-mindset-problem-solving-part-1/d/131824
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