Written on 6/9/18
You know what’s so interesting about the Quran is that not only is it a religious scripture where we can gather information about faith and doing good, but it’s also a school for learning about psychology and ourselves. There are countless stories of prophets and their dealings with surroundings that teach us that a huge part of our faith is in our interactions with humanity. And what I find most interesting is the way God speaks to Prophet Muhammad in the Quran. Prophet Muhammad was a walking mercy for his people. He was chosen by God to be the final messenger. He was guaranteed eternal bliss in the highest of heavens. But still amidst all this, Allah tells him in the Quran as he faced hardship, “We know you are saddened at what they say.” When the prophet was going through a hard time and disheartened at the people’s rejection of him and faith, it could have been easy for people to tell him something like, “Hey, you don’t have anything to be sad about, you’re literally guaranteed paradise.” But instead, God validates his feelings and reaches out to his emotions. God acknowledges his pain. He tells him, “We KNOW you are sad.” And sometimes, that’s all you need: someone to tell you that you have a right to feel the way you are feeling. Just because we don’t understand why someone is sad doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to be sad. I think this is why so many people can feel so alone in their feelings. But the way God consoles the Prophet in verses like these teaches us that invalidation does no good. We see that in people of all ages who struggle with their emotions and feel invalidation from their peers. And here, in our scripture, in this glorious Quran, we see God Himself taking Prophet Muhammad’s emotions in and validating Him in the simplest yet most profound of ways. If you have a loved one struggling, acknowledge their pain, validate their emotions, and let them know they’re not alone in their feelings. They have every right to feel the way they feel, so start from there.
You know what’s so interesting about the Quran is that not only is it a religious scripture where we can gather information about faith and doing good, but it’s also a school for learning about psychology and ourselves. There are countless stories of prophets and their dealings with surroundings that teach us that a huge part of our faith is in our interactions with humanity. And what I find most interesting is the way God speaks to Prophet Muhammad in the Quran. Prophet Muhammad was a walking mercy for his people. He was chosen by God to be the final messenger. He was guaranteed eternal bliss in the highest of heavens. But still amidst all this, Allah tells him in the Quran as he faced hardship, “We know you are saddened at what they say.” When the prophet was going through a hard time and disheartened at the people’s rejection of him and faith, it could have been easy for people to tell him something like, “Hey, you don’t have anything to be sad about, you’re literally guaranteed paradise.” But instead, God validates his feelings and reaches out to his emotions. God acknowledges his pain. He tells him, “We KNOW you are sad.” And sometimes, that’s all you need: someone to tell you that you have a right to feel the way you are feeling. Just because we don’t understand why someone is sad doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to be sad. I think this is why so many people can feel so alone in their feelings. But the way God consoles the Prophet in verses like these teaches us that invalidation does no good. We see that in people of all ages who struggle with their emotions and feel invalidation from their peers. And here, in our scripture, in this glorious Quran, we see God Himself taking Prophet Muhammad’s emotions in and validating Him in the simplest yet most profound of ways. If you have a loved one struggling, acknowledge their pain, validate their emotions, and let them know they’re not alone in their feelings. They have every right to feel the way they feel, so start from there.
Aslam O Laikum , which verses is this reflection based on?
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