Optimism in Islam

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!"

* * * * * * * * * * * *
"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."

Just a coincedence?

Something strange happened to me today.
But I don't know whether strange is quite the right word... mysterious maybe?
I have a strong belief that everything happens for a reason - whether we understand this at that exact moment in time or not - and we can always gain wisdom from our experiences, good or bad.
After having finished a long day of lectures, I hopped off the bus and was trudging home, my mind whizzing here and there in the shelf of my thoughts. I was about a quarter of the way through my journey, but walked in a steady pace, overloaded with my black "Santa-Clauses sac" as I like to call it and a massive green folder, filled with notes a fifth year medic had lent me. I caught sight of a woman in the near distance, making her way around the large bend and looking some-what confused. I just assumed that she was lost and was going to ask me for directions when we were a little closer. That's where I was wrong.
I let my observation skills kick in - something that we were told to practice in my clinical skills session yesterday. The distance between the lady and I slackened pretty quickly. I can't seem to remember what she was wearing, firstly, because I didn't think it was important and secondly, because I was too overwhelmed by her poor appearance (to put it lightly). Can I just mention here that I have no intention of saying anything mean or rude about this lady, I am just describing the event - from my perspective - for you to get a better picture.
So where was I...? Oh-yeah, the lady asked me "Are you studying to be a doctor?"
I slowed down, now directly to her side (but still able to dodge passed if needed), "Yes", I murmured.
What is still a question on my already queried mind and on the tongues of those I told the story to, is how could the lady possibly know (or even guess) that I was studying Medicine? I mean, my baby face and petite frame screams that I must be at least 13 years old. I was wearing a shawl-ly-cardigan-thingy (on top of my navy blue Jilbab - a loose dress - and head scarf), that can pass me as 17 years max. But do I have a label on my forehead saying "future doctor"... well no... so it's weird right?
The stranger, who I'm guessing is in her late 50s, then said - this is where I paraphrase - "No one understands me. My mum has lost her mind... and my sister... they're all crazy!" (My instinct - the advisory elf sitting in my ear - was telling me to leg it! But of course, I ignored it as most people do and decided to see where this was headed.) As the lady was talking to me, I noticed that - poor thing - she obviously wasn't in a healthy state of mind, and as a result wasn't able to look after herself properly. She had food stains on her jumper and around her mouth. A few of her front teeth were missing or broken, black in those places, and her left eye bobbed about lazily in her socket. This also gave me a reason to run as quickly as my short little legs would take me, but I didn't want to make her upset or angry, so I kept a little distance and listened without saying a word. Oh, and I was also thinking, has this lady mistaken me for a GP because I am SO not legally allowed to give any medical advice (besides the fact that I have limited knowledge). She continued in a sort of whiny but strong and unbroken tone "I'm on the verge of committing suicide, (and she motioned her hand across her neck in a sharp wispy way, like that of a blade, as she said the last two words) because the doctors aren't taking proper care of them." I blanked out for a bit at that point. Oh-kay then, what's going on Samia? What do I do now, am I meant to tell someone, stop her from committing suicide? The elf in my ear was telling me that she didn't really mean what she said. But still, in that frame of mind is she really allowed to walk the streets by herself? 999? But this isn't an emergency... is it? (Well, it's obviously too late now since I'm sitting here writing this!)
She continued, "When we are little... in the early stages... they put us in an incubator... in my time any way, its a crime.... (she probably said something else which I can't recall at the moment)... stay away from the criminal doctors." This sounded like a closing sentence - a bit of stern and freaky advice. So I decided to leave it at that and as I carefully walked away I said (in the most polite voice any one has ever heard) "Thank you very much... I'll try not to be like that..."
Hmm... as soon as I turned around my brain was buzzing with reflection on what had just happened. My mind began to bring in a few puzzle pieces from earlier on today, my last lecture on ethics and the different types of duties of a Doctor (that are: moral, professional and legal).
Well, I don't know why the mysterious lady came up to me, what my reaction was meant to be and how much her heavy words (whether sane or not) affected me. But what I do know, is that it definitely made me think about the life I have chosen a head (if I live that long to make it), the responsibilities and duties I have as a medical student and in a few years as a Doctor, and most importantly, all the different patients I will meet who bring along with them the "back-pack" of ethics and morality.
Let me end here with a few juvenile words. I am open for any words of wisdom and/or advice on how I should have handled the situation. Also feel free to tell me any stories that you thought were particularly peculiar.
"Stay Good. Be Good. And do Good. "