I remember the first time I came across the word "optimism", after being described as "too optimistic" in my UKCAT (Clinical Aptitude Test - a medical admissions test). At that time I wasn't quite sure whether I should jump for joy or cry my medical career away.
You would think that being positive is good and being negative is bad right? But I think that there are advantages and disadvantages to both ways of thinking, both being used in moderation (as in not getting chronic depression or jumping off buildings with confidence that spiderman will catch you).
Recently (which was yesterday!) I decided to check what my buddy "Mr Google" thought about optimism. Here are just a few of the many web definitions he presented to me: "the optimistic feeling that all is going to turn out well", "the philosophical opposite of pessimism" - this one is of no use if you don't know what pessimism is either - and " expecting the best, in this best of all possible worlds". The best definition I came across was "a general disposition to expect the best in all things", the genius deserves a medal.
Reflecting on the first few weeks of Uni i.e. Fresher's weeks, I recall having lecture after lecture on student welfare, drug and alcohol abuse, counselling for students and then there was a week on anxiety. The question is, why is it that the majority of our world today is suffering from depression or anxiety related disorders? Well, the causation is pretty straight forward... financial crisis, natural disasters, poverty, mourning, loneliness, or just plain hormones. But, why is the treatment stream still murky to the medical dimension? Well, most of the drugs sure aint working... they're just making things worse!
You see, this is where religion kicks in (finally eh). Good expectation is a significant feature of belief - just one of the many wisdoms that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) passed on to us. And that is the reason behind my strange post title "Optimism in Islam". But I don't mean the just kick back, relax and watch the fire burn your house down as God will save you behaviour, no, I mean thinking positively about a difficult situation during or after the tornado has passed. Not sure what I mean? Well, it'll all make sense in a little while I promise!
I received a forwarded e-mail a while back, and the thing with this e-mail is that its not those annoying ones that block up your mail box. It's one that leaves you thinking and stays in your head for a pretty long time. So here it is, exactly the way I received it, copy and pasted from the e-mail:
A story is told about a king in Africa who had a close friend that he grew up with. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) by remarking, "This is good, Allah Almighty knows best."
One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good! Allah Almighty knows best."
To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and ordered his soldiers to put his friend into jail. About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured the king and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.
As they came near to setting fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So after untying the king, they chased him out of the village. When the king reached his palace, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.
"You were right," the King said. "It was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell his friend all that had just happened. "I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad of me to do this." "No," his friend replied, "This is good...Allah Almighty knows best." "What do you mean, 'This is good!' How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"The king's friend replied, "Remember that the Almighty knows best and if I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you on this hunting trip, and they would have eaten me!"
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"He knows what is before them and what is behind them: and all matters return to Him (for decision)" (Al-Qur'an: Surah 22, al-Hajj, Ayah 76)
Do not judge things or events by their immediate outcome!
Allah, the Almighty, the Most High, is the All-Knowledgable, the All-Knower. He chooses to show us things. But sometimes we are not shown the wisdom behind some things. When we are confronted by circumstances that are not very pleasing, we are quick to say, "This is not good...." But...is it really like that? We might not know the purpose behind it. It might turn out to be a good thing. Thus, when we are faced with any situation we should not be too quick to judge and always remember that this life, the good and the bad of it, is a test. There is nothing that happens for no resaon. Perhaps sometimes we don't appreciate this reason, but patience in hardship, and gratitude in times of ease, are qualities we must try to develop.
(Adapted from An-Noor news, Issue no 363, 16th March 2007)
Well, it was good wasn't it? Yeh, thought you'd like it!
Let me just end here with a final message . The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'How wonderful is the case of the believer! There is good for him/her in whatever happens to him/her - and none apart from him/her enjoys this blessing. If s/he receives some bounty, s/he is grateful to Allah, and this bounty brings good to him/her. And if some adversity befalls him/her, s/he is patient, and this affliction, too, brings good to him/her.' (Muslim:Suhayb)
That's all from me for now, please do leave your comments and further discussion topics. "Stay Good. Be Good. Do Good."
