Adversity In Life

Dear respected readers, I am writing to you during this blessed month of Ramadan. For me, this period of time has been one of reflection on myself, my past, and consequentially my future. I do not know if there is a substantial following to my writing, but I do know that there are some people who are listening, and for that I am truly grateful. This is the window to my true being, the window to what is truly inside what I believe to be my genuine heart. With that being said, I would like to address some certain things, such as social media. I used to be a firm believer in making my point come across to others via tools such as Facebook. I am still on Facebook, and I do have a relatively significant amount of people as friends. Regardless of the amount of people, I still feel that it is a rather insignificant tool to portray your true self, instead, it is a means of presenting a facade of how you want others to perceive you, myself included. Granted, there may be some benefit in Facebook, and that I will not argue since I am on the site, and I still do wish to be heard in someway or another. The problem is that there are many distractions from other people, people who may not wish to head in the same direction as you spiritually. Ultimately, it is a way to connect to people, but from your own state, you must determine whether these connections are going to be beneficial or not. Aside from that rant, I would like to continue in the direction of my last few posts, which include the idea of adversity in the face of the believer. It is a true test from Allah (swt), to be put through periods of adverse situations, and those situations ultimately allow the person to become a stronger believer, one with great moral akhlaq, or character. This leads to ikhlas, or sincerity, within an individual. Going through struggles is a part of life, and there are psychological ramifications for going through such periods of time. But these psychological downfalls are easily reversed through a genuine understanding of why these things are happening. When these trials are over, it is a means to grow psychologically and spiritually, as these things will eventually open one's heart towards something greater. A common saying which cannot be overstated is that, "there is light at the end of the tunnel." Whether that tunnel's end is in this world or the next, there will be an end. For the believer, it is a motivating factor, the hope that Allah (swt) will change the situation that we are in, and it is only Him who can provide the ease of living without adversity. Living without adversity is not something that we all should entirely wish for. It is stated in Hadith that a person who has a weaker iman will get tested less, and the person with greater iman, or faith, he or she may be tested more. In actuality, the hierarchy of the degree to which adversity is bestowed upon individuals goes like this; the people most close to Allah (swt), i.e. the prophets, will endure the most adversity, and according to the rank that Allah (swt) has for a person, they will endure more adversity, but less than that of the prophets, since they have the most hardship. The more nearness that Allah (swt) has towards you, the more you will be faced with adversity. Also, those who endure that hardship will have a level of rank increased in Jannah (Heaven). All individuals have there own degree of adversity, and that which someone else goes through may be more or less than what you are going through. To make things seem better for yourself, it is recommended to discover what other people who are going through more adversity than you, and realize the blessings which you have. Blessings are a source for a peace, comfort, and tranquility which otherwise you would not be able to attain. Regardless of your circumstance, there is no way that you can reject counting your blessings, if you are a true believer. Although it may be difficult to ascertain at times, due to the relative discomfort you are going through, ultimately, you should see it as a blessing for so many countless reasons. Psychologically speaking, there is the concept of reward and punishment. What is intriguing about this idea from an Islamic perspective is that the punishment is ultimately the reward, given that there is an understanding that adversity does come from Allah(swt) as a test, but also, it may be the result of our own misdeeds. It could be a combination of both, but whatever it may be, there should be the understanding that in the difficulty there is an expiation of sins, regardless of the degree of difficulty. So the punishment for doing misdeeds, is also the reward of being forgiven for performing wrong acts. It is reported in Hadith that a person will go through so much difficulty, only to return to Allah (swt) free from sin, with a clean slate. Keeping this all in mind, remember, what you are going through is simply a test from Allah (swt), and that this hardship will ultimately be a means to which you earn a significant reward in the afterlife. The reason I choose to speak on this topic so relatively frequently, is because, I myself am going through personal struggle in some way or another. Alhamdulillah, Allah (swt) has lightened the burden which I have to bear, and that lightening of the burden is a great blessing from Him. Yet, still, I do face personal struggle, and I will be honest and open about it. There are many things which have gone wrong, and whether those things should have happened or not is not up to me, rather it was the Will of Allah (swt). Therefore, I believe that I, myself, am grateful for the things I have had to go through, and I do acknowledge that everything I have been doing may not have been perfect. I accept my responsibility for straying from the path at times, although I firmly believe that my heart has remained dedicated to my Creator. These afflictions which I have become a part of ultimately have many different factors, but in my heart and soul, I know it is a means of being forgiven for my sins, a means of elevating my rank in Jannah (inshAllah), and a means to test my true faith in Allah (swt). This in turn will make me a stronger person, and a more grateful servant than ever before, and I hope and pray that I will be capable of succeeding greatly in this world in both the deen and dunya. I also pray for any brother or sister going through adversity, and that Allah (Swt) may rewards them graciously for their struggles, and I urge those going through tough times to remember that it is just a test from your Creator, and that ultimately, with proper patience, you will overcome whatever it is you are going through, by the Will of Allah (swt). Sincere regards Fouzan

Returning To Fitrah

When talking about Fitrah, which is the inherent disposition that an individual has, primarily towards good, an individual must first realize that there is an inherent "goodness" that every individual has. This can be exhumed by the example of a baby when first brought into this world. There is a natural disposition towards good, towards our Creator, Allah (swt). There is no sort of corruption that is inherent within the individual, there is no natural evil that is claimed through other belief systems. The beginning of life is the stage which the spirit is fresh from its natural state, its "rooh" or spirit has just came from one phase of existence, actually that is the eternal stage, as when we will perish, that is the state that will be present. It is always naturally present, our spirit, and it is important to know that although we are in this physical state, as human beings, concurrently, our existence is maintained by our spirit, or rooh. This in itself may be an important psychological concept which may have been discussed in my previous blog posts. The reason for this post to be titled the way it is, is that I have reached an epiphany of understanding almost, something that has been rediscovered. I am having the natural tendency to return to my calling, after a long period of time. For those who have been following since the beginning, it is apparent that there has been a severe break from postings throughout the last several years. In the beginning, circa 2006, there were consistent and meaningful posts regarding various topics. Ranging from my notes about Ramadan, to some of my academic work, to a well received note regarding the issue of dealing with parents, this blog seemed very promising from the very beginning. I plan on continuing this theme, the theme of success throughout however long I am able to write. Having a meaningful calling, a desire to contribute has been within me for the past ten years at least. I was very dedicated to the field of psychology, and inshAllah, I will continue to dwell on this topic, however, it is not my academic objective, as it was when this blog first started. My field has shifted from psychology to neuroscience to what it is now, cellular and molecular biology. This is all due to my desire to become a tremendous physician, practicing medicine, as well as earning a PhD. I plan to specialize in certain areas of psychology, therefore, this blog is still extremely relevant. Hopefully, I will be able to shed light into the greatness of the deen of Islam in ways that have never been done before, through understanding of biological, in conjunction with certain psychological/sociological ideas. I want to lay out a groundwork for what direction I will head with this endeavor, and I hope there will be many important findings in this blog. One idea that has been in my mind recently is a very significant one, and hopefully, relevant to what I plan to discuss which pertains to this website. The idea of the existence of religion, and the purpose of it. Speaking from a skeptical perspective, solely for the sake of the argument, there is a lot of difficulty involved in the rational acceptance of religion, any religion, any thing that has been divinely inspired in any way. I should rephrase that to the understanding of religion that can be traced to Abraham, or also known as Abrahamic faiths. These include Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. For the sake of simplicity, and due to my limited knowledge on non-Abrahamic faiths, I will focus on the development of these religions. When I say difficulty, I am speaking from the perspective of people who reject the idea of religion based on their perceptions of this world. My main question, that I ask myself, is "what is the need for religion?" Certainly, there must be a sort of explanation for what the purpose of maintaining a belief system. An Islamic perspective will simply state the Qur'an, and the verse which clearly states, that Allah (Swt) says, "I have not created Jinn or man for no purpose except to worship Me." That is quite indisputable from a view of a devout worshiper, and quite frankly, that is enough to suffice for the understanding of the creation of man. Taking a step in another direction, what may be the worldly benefit in having a belief system such as Islam. Realistically, questions such as this are rather difficult to understand, but if you take a historical approach to understanding the revelation of Islam, then you will be able to gather a significant understanding of why it is so important to have a system such as Islam. Pre-Islamic times in Arabia consisted of much ignorance, or "jahilliya", so much so that that period of time was known as the period of ignorance. Women were mistreated so much so that daughters were buried alive simply due to the fact that they were born female instead of male. There was chaos widespread, and there were very grave injustices which took place. All of these horrible things may be attributed to the beliefs and moral systems of people who turned away from their Creator, and did not believe that there were repercussions for their actions. At that point in time, there was a great need for change, and the way that Allah (swt) brought that change is through the introduction of the world to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wassallam), and he brought the way of life known as Islam. The effect of this was that the whole world was eventually transformed, and the ignorance was not anywhere near where it was before the introduction of Islam. The idea of accountability, and moral responsibility was instilled within people, so much so, that people who were known tyrants eventually accepted Islam to become the great propagators of Islam. Psychologically, the sense of morality, and responsibility became instilled throughout the lands, because of the strong belief in accountability for actions. Due to that, people's perspectives were altered, and ultimately, lead to a new era of belief. When I last posted, I talked about hardships and difficulties, and this may prove to be a recurring topic in this website. Since, I, myself have been through many different difficult times, and have always persevered through, there is no doubt in my mind that these situations will continue in the future, with different tests. These tests all serve a sole purpose, to test my own individual connection to Allah (swt), and it should be something that is instilled within me, the idea that difficulties will arise. As I mentioned before, these hardships and adversities are a blessing from Allah (swt), there is no means to attain nearness to Him than difficulties. I would like to eventually go into biological, psychological, and sociological affects of these trials and tribulations on the believer, and expand the current knowledge base of our understanding of the connection between divine revelation and our place in this life.

Company

Listen, I don't believe in destructive behavior, regardless of where it is coming from. However, there must be something that must be understood regarding the behavior of certain individuals. Their characteristics are solely coming from molecular precursors, which go through a multitude of process in order to become genes. Now, this is not my way of endorsing the nature vs. nurture debate on behalf of the side of nature, since I do believe, that ultimately, the intuition of an individual can be significantly altered with the introduction of a mechanism to combat that innate personality disorder I like to call "Jahilliya". There are varying degrees to this disease, some intentional, some out of being naive, and other times totally intentional. The main point to come to an understanding on is that the inherent nature of individuals are what allow for our certain traits to be distinguished, and it is not all to blame on one factor. The factor which seems most relevant to me is people who use marijuana. Now, I understand that there are bad people out there. But in reality, these people are meant for us to guide towards the good. The "bad" people should not be stayed away from, rather, they should be the focal point of our attempt to bring goodness into this world in whichever way is possible. Parents normally tell us not to hang out with certain kids, and they have right reasons to be worried. They don't trust us, they don't understand totally, and they also want us to learn. But once individuals have come forward to declare that they are no longer below the influence of others, that is the exact point they should realize that other people have not all been guided, and are in need of a push in the right direction. In whatever method or mechanism is relevant to you, you must be able to guide others, it is a noble, prophetic characteristic which we should all strive to attain. In a hadith today, I learned that responsibility should not be delegated to those who do not hold the ability to handle certain situations. So, in part, everyone has their place in this society, and I solely believe that anyone who puts trust in Allah (swt) will be able to do anything that they desire, and this is my prayer. Yet, at the same time, it is understood that some people have unique characteristics, and should be considered to be one of two kinds of people, quite simply stated, leaders or followers. It is almost an oxy moron in the literal sense, because all leaders were followers at one point, that I believe, is the way that God simply made it. I wasn't always a leader, and I still do not think I am fit to be one at this point in my life. But I do have experience. I set examples for others, in ways that sometimes cannot be described, but enough about me. All I have to say is that people are not inherently "bad", they just have different experiences and genetic makeup and have not been in the relevant context of understanding as others may have. Basically, what I am saying is that if you are a well known scholar in Islam, mashAllah, may Allah reward you, but the work that I do is different, more impacting on a personal level, I equalize people and give them the rights they have over me, and I expect that to be reciprocated. Anyways, I am going off on a tangent here, I just want it to be known to you, that from my personal experience in life, never doubt your significance in any scenario. Even if others tell you otherwise, if you truly believe in yourself, and believe in Allah (swt), then He will arrange everything. I say this with heart and compassion, and I know it is hard to accept sometimes, believe me, I know what you feel for the sake of God, I know this feeling. That incessant "doubt." Once you witness the signs of the Creator, or have insight through another person, you will always remain holding on to the rope of Allah (swt). May Allah make it easy on all of us to remain consistent with our prayers, to start our prayers instantaneously for those who don't pray. No matter what, no matter how far away you are from God, He will always find ways to intercede, this is a promise.

The Benefits of Adversity Part 1

Continuing this blog has been something which has been on the back of my mind for so long, and now I feel that it is the right time to do so. Inshallah, we will start this adventure once again, and may Allah (swt) reward us in our attempt to praise him in all of our circumstances.

Adversity-

Something which we all might despise feel despair when faced with it. Medically speaking, you normally hear of medications and their adverse (unwanted) effects. To the average individual, adversity is something which is unwanted. Truth be told, to every individual, adversity is relatively unwanted, however, to the believer, it is merely a sign of the greatness of Allah (swt).

Feeling down and out? Well, you are not alone. Not only are you not alone, you are actually being blessed with a blessing in disguise. A great blessing in disguise. Though people who deal with calamities, troubles, and worries, are affected in many different ways, the way that they are most affected is not even noticeable.

You may be asking, what is this all about? How is this even possible? Hardships, worries, anxieties are all negative things, so how is there any sort of positive within this? A trademark theme of this blog is to relate the Hadith, Qur'an, and Sunnah to the principles of psychology. One of the most important hadith which intertwines the different fields, is that a Muslim must always see the positive in things over the negative. Though worries and adversity may befall you remember one thing, one very important thing:

Abu Hurayrah (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAW) said: " Whenever Allah wills good for a person, He subjects him to adversity" [Bukharee and others].

Subhanallah, is there anything more satisfying than that? In any sort of chaos, catastrophe, or adversity, you must realize that essentially, what everything means is that Allah (swt) loves you, and is willing good for you. People who are suffering may look at others who are not, and become envious and jealous, solely due to their own circumstances. But that should not be the case! In actuality, the one who is afflicted is the one whom Allah (swt) wills good for!

I just decided I will make this a series of blogs with the same topic. Until the next writing, remember, just by going through troubles, despair, hardships, and adversity, it symbolizes that Allah (swt) holds you dear to Him.

Jazakullah Khairun

Fouzan Ahmed Quaiser

From The Beginning -Surah Fatiha

I just decided that I am going to give my best effort to translate the Qur'an, with a viewpoint of psychology. My field itself is Neuroscience, which is a tad bit different from psychology, yet the principles of psychology which I have studied prove to be essential in learning, understanding, and teaching the Qur'an.

1)Auzhu Billahi Minnashaitan Nirajeem
2)Bismillah hir Rahman Nir Raheem

A Muslim begins every plight, every endeavor with these words. Scholars say that in any instance, to avoid the anger of Allah (swt), the best way to do so is saying these words.

1) I seek protection from the accursed devil
2) In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficient, the Most Merciful.


Surah Fatihah (The Opening)

1) Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen. -All praise is due to Allah, Sustainer of all the worlds.
2) Ar Rahman, Nir Raheem-The Most Benificent, The Most Merciful
3) Maliki Yau middeen-Master of the Day of Judgement
4) Iyaka Nau'budhu wa iyaka nastaeen-You alone do we worship, you alone do we resort to for help.
5) Ih Dinus Siratul-mustaqeen-Guide us on the straight Path
6) Sirautal Lazina an amta alaihim, ghairul magdhube alaihim wa la dhualeen. Ameen
The Path of those whom have earned Your pleasure, not the path of those whom have angered you (gone astray).

This is the principle of Islamic Ibadaah (worship). Knowing these sacred verses can prove to have an insurmountable effect upon your life and well being. I highly recommend committing these words to heart, as well as living your life in accordance to these. Even making an attempt to seek further meaning into these verses will improve you holistically.

More to come,


Fouzan Quaiser

Ramadan Reflections Part One

Peace and Blessings to All,

I have not posted in a long while, and I apologize for that. For some reason, I go through short periods of time where I do not write anything at all, and I am now determined to become more consistent with my efforts. For any new readers, this blog is meant to tie in Psychology with the great teachings of Islam. My eyes see life in two ways, through the perspective of psychology, and through an Islamic viewpoint. It is not hard to see that these two disciplines are highly coordinated, and I will be documenting more evidence inshAllah.
The holy month of Ramadadan of the 2007 lunar year has come and passed. All praises to Allah, the month has been a month of contemplation, as well as reawakening. At the beginning of the month I contemplated about the point of Ramadan. Aside from what people tell me that it is, for example, the month in which the Holy Qur'an was revealed, a month to fast from sunrise to sunset, etc. The truth is that Ramadan means so much more. The blessings of this month have become more and more apparent year by year.
In a blog I wrote on Facebook, I mentioned how angry I had become when I realized that some people totally misunderstood the meaning of Ramadan. After taking a look back at my spiritual state from then until now, I realized that I, myself, did not, and presently still do not understand the true meaning of Ramadan. However, I believe that I did gain some sort of deeper understanding during this Ramadan.
That blog was entitled "Not During Ramadan". The main topic of that article was my venting of frustration towards people who told me that they are not performing specific actions during the month of Ramadan. I believe that I still do have a valid point in my argument. Certain people "become pious" during the month of Ramadan, and then go back to doing the exact same things that they were doing prior to it. My teachers have taught me that the month of Ramadan should be like a charger for your battery that keeps you running, in this case, the battery is Iman (Faith). By human nature, faith increases and decreases at a fixed rate. That is the nature of life, for every negative, there is a positive, and vice versa. One of the purposes of Ramadan is to increase the positive, and raise your faith to a higher level. However, that faith should raise to a level that is higher than that of the previous year. The point of Ramadan is not to stop committing a sin for a short period of time, with no intention to stop doing that sin. At the same time, it might be a good thing to stop committing a sin for a short period of time, since there is hope that practicing that patience will further continue to develop, and will help an individual maintain their abstinence from evil. If I was wrong with what I said, may Allah (SWT) forgive me for my short comings.

Ramadhan Mubarak!!

Assalam wa alaikum wa rehmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

From the bottom of my heart, I would like to wish everyone the most sincere wishings of congradulations on the coming Ramadhan...the holy month of Muslims. I say congradulations because it is definitely a blessing that all of us, whether Muslim or not, have made it this far in life. God can take any of our lives at any time, at any place. This is the month where we constantly, thank God for His showering of blessings upon us.

With the coming of Ramadhan comes many things, things that we all at one point or another have over looked. Most of us know Ramadhan as a time where the Qur'an was revealed to prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Yes, it definitely is the month in which the Qur'an was revealed. However, it is far much more than that. It is a time where we suppress our desires to please Allah (Swt). Keep in mind, all of this is just to please Allah. If you are fasting to lose weight or something like that, you have defeated the purpose. The point is to submit yourself. (Islam literally means to submit to the will of God[It does also mean peace as well]). One of the main purposes of the holy month is to return to Allah, to return spiritually to the one who created. I don't mean that during this month everyone dies and comes back literally, but this month is an essential part of the ongoing struggle which we all call life. What Ramadhan is for is to put an end to all of our addictions.
One of the points that I would like to make is that everyone has their own addiction. See the thing is when people hear the word addiction, it is almost always affiliated with narcotics, which is not the case at all. People have addictions to things besides drugs. The truth of the matter is that different people have tendencies towards different things. For some people it is women, while for other people it is gambling, for others it is the Internet. No matter what it is, the addiction becomes something that takes them away from God. That is exactly the point where man becomes at loss. One of my objectives of this blog is to help people understand that everyone has their shortcomings, no matter how big or small the shortcoming is.
The best thing that we can do is to pray to Allah (Swt) and to hope that he forgives us for all of our sins. We should all pray that He forgives all of An-Nas (Mankind) for all of our wrongdoings and sins. Thank you and please keep me in your supplication (God-Willing).

May God's Peace, Mercy, and Blessings be upon you,

Fouzan Ahmed Kaiser