Optimism

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Allah the most high says in the Quran:



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Say: "I seek refuge with Allh the Lord of the daybreak, (1)
"From the evil of what He has created; (2) "And from the evil of
the darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness; (or the
moon as it sets or goes away) (3) "And from the evil of those
who practise witchcrafts when they blow in the knots,(4) "And
from the evil of the envier when he envies." (5). (Taken from
quranexplorer.com)

Optimism is one the keys to success, for if one is able to master

this art then it is rare for him to feel depressed or stressed in
shaa Allah, because he is able to extract the benefits from
every situation he is placed in.
Optimism is a topic that really needs to be pushed in our day
and age, it is something that should be engraved into our mind
set. The Muslims today are going through many many
hardships, it pains us to hear whats happening to our Muslim
brothers and sisters both internationally and even locally.
According to Segestrom (2006) approximately 60% of the
population is optimistic1, so we need to further develop this
optimism and use it in the right place, because optimism leads
to productivity and productivity leads to change and change
leads to success and many successes will bring victory to the
ummah. But we mustnt forget that all of this can only be
achieved by the help of Allah the most high.
The pinnacle and the perfection of optimism can only be
achieved by eeman and more specifically tawakkul in Allah the
most high. When youre in a situation where you feel that all
doors are closed and there isnt much hope, where the ordinary
person would feel distressed and hopeless. It is the tawakkul in

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Allah which leads to optimism which keeps the believers heart

at rest. It is the tawakkul in Allah and the optimism rooting from
it that pushes the believer to make dua knowing that the Most
Merciful will open a door for him from where he expects not.
Whereas the non-Muslims optimism comes from the belief that
he will find himself a way out, so how can the non-Muslims
optimism be of perfection when he himself isnt perfect?
Optimism is a characteristic pushed by The Quran and The
Sunnah:
At the start we cited Surat Al-Falaq. Interestingly there is an
amazing connection between this Surah and the concept of
optimism.
Allah the Supreme starts by commanding the prophet
(sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam):
Say: "I seek refuge with Allh the Lord of the daybreak, (1)
Then the prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) is commanded
by Allah to seek refuge in Him from four evil things, "From the
evil of what He has created; (2) "And from the evil of the
darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness; (or the moon
as it sets or goes away) (3) "And from the evil of those who
practise witchcrafts when they blow in the knots,(4) "And from
the evil of the envier when he envies." (5).
So the question is, have you ever wondered why Allah the
Supreme specifically chose the daybreak at the start?
One reason the scholars mention is that this is a symbol of
optimism. The night time is when most evil takes place, as it
gets deeper into the night the evil increases. Then when
everything seems hopeless and the evil is still increasing the
light from the sun appears by the will of Allah and rips through
the darkness and a fresh new day begins. This teaches us that
no matter what situation we are placed in, no matter how dark
and hopeless things seem, just as Allah the Supreme allows the
sun to rise after a dark gloomy night, Allah the most Merciful

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can bring light to your dark and gloomy situation. The tawakkul
in Allah is the true essence of optimism.
Ibnul Qayyim (RH):
how can this compare to righteous optimism which brings joy to the heart,
strengthens hope, quells fear, brings calm and motivates one to seek the help of
Allaah and put ones trust in Him and to be of good cheer. This is the opposite
of superstition, for optimism leads a person to obey Allaah and believe in Him
alone (Tawheed), whereas superstitious pessimism leads one to disobey Him
and associate others with Him (shirk). Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) liked optimism, and he declared superstition to be
invalid. [Miftaah Daar al-Saaadah (2/246, 247)].
(Taken from https://www.facebook.com/AbuRuqya123/posts/698659956922220)

From this we can see that our beloved prophet (sallallaahu

alayhi wa sallam) liked optimism and in fact it was one of his
characteristics:
Narrated by Abu Huraira (may Allaah be pleased with
him) reported:
Allah's Messenger ( )said, "Doesn't it astonish you how Allah
protects me from the Quraish's abusing and cursing? They
abuse Mudhammam and curse Mudhammam while I am
Muhammad (and not Mudhammam). (Saheeh Bukhari #3533).
This is a good example of the optimism of the prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa
sallam). The people of Quraish would curse the prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa
sallam) and they would call him Mudhammam instead of Muhammed, which
means sick, blameworthy or indecent. However the prophet (sallallaahu alayhi
wa sallam) would act as if they are not even speaking about him.
We are also encouraged in the sunnah to develop an optimistic mindset:
On the authority of Suhaib (may Allaah be pleased with
him) he said: The Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam)
said:
Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every
affair of his and this is not the case with anyone else except in

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the case of a believer for if he has an occasion to feel delight,

he thanks (God), thus there is a good for him in it, and if he
gets into trouble and shows resignation (and endures it
patiently), there is a good for him in it. (Saheeh Muslim
#2999)
'A'isha (may Allaah be pleased with her) reported:
I heard Allah's Messenger ( )as saying: There is nothing (in
the form of trouble) that comes to a believer even if it is the
pricking of a thorn that there is decreed for him by Allah good
or his sins are obliterated. (Saheeh Muslim #2572). (All the hadith
were taken from sunnah.com)

This is a blessing and a mercy that Allah has bestowed upon the believer. No
matter what comes his way, even if he doesn't see the benefit immediately he
hopes for reward from Allah in the next life.
Through this, even the smallest things in which you can't really find much
worldly benefit in such as being pricked by a thorn become a means for
happiness and delight due to the reward in the next life.
Being optimistic has many positive effects both on the individual and on the
society as a whole. However one must note that optimism should be coupled
with action and action should be coupled wisdom where the perfection of
optimism represents the tawakkul and tawheed in Allah the most High and the
action upon wisdom represents following the Sunnah of the Prophet (sallallaahu
alayhi wa sallam). For action upon optimism without wisdom can lead to
destruction, whereas optimism and wisdom with no action wastes great
potential, and lastly action upon wisdom with no optimism lacks consistency
and motivation.
So how does one become more optimistic? A lack in optimism can be a sign of
a lack in tawakkul. I will give you 2 ways in which you can become more
optimistic in shaa Allah:
1) Persistent dua
One of the most effective ways of increasing your tawakkul in Allah is to make
lots of dua persistently. As the slave increases his supplication to his creator, he
begins to depend more and more on Him. Then when the slave starts to see his
supplications being answered right in front of him, when certain hardships are
solved by means of his supplication to Allah. His tawakkul in Allah increases
rapidly and he quickly becomes more and more optimistic.

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2) Being around optimistic people

When you start to hang around optimistic people you have no choice but to be
optimistic too.
I ask Allah to allow us to be optimistic and to allow us to couple it with action
and wisdom so that we can benefit and progress the ummah in shaa Allah.

From page 1
1: (Taken from http://positivepsychology.org.uk/pp-theory/optimism/98-optimism-and-pessimism.html)