Positive Thinking

Jan

2016

5 Hadith on Positive Thinking

The Islamic Hadith narrations emphasize positive thinking. Even though many Muslims today choose to think negatively about the world and its inhabitants, Islam actually encourages the opposite. Reflect on these five Hadiths and begin your journey of positive change now:

Hadith #1: Think Win/Win

Amazing is the affair of the believer. Definitely, all of his life is good and this is not for anybody except the believer. If something of good happens to him, he is grateful and that is good for him. If something harmful befalls him, he is patient and that is good for him. (Saheeh Muslim #2999)

This Hadith teaches us to approach all of life positively. The good times are opportunities for gratitude, and the difficult times are tests of patience. Both situations are good for us, so no matter what happens in our lives, there is always a way to benefit from it.

Hadith #2: Think Positive About Allah

I am as My servant thinks of Me. I am with him when he remembers Me. If he mentions Me within himself, I mention him within Myself. If he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in a better assembly. If he comes near to Me a handspan, I come near to him the distance of a cubit. If he comes near to Me the distance of a cubit, I come near to him the distance of two outspread arms. If he comes to Me walking, I come to him running. (Sahih Al-Bukhari #6856 and Sahih Muslim #4832)

In this important Hadith Al-Qudsi, Allah Himself informs us of the importance of positive thinking about Him. We must maintain good thoughts about our Creator and not allow the devil to place evil thoughts in our minds. The more positively we think about Allah, the more benefits we will gain from this in this world and the next.

Hadith #3: Avoid negative thoughts

Beware of suspicion, as suspicion is the falsest talk, and do not spy upon each other, and do not listen to the evil talk of the people about others’ affairs, and do not have enmity with one another, but be brothers. And none should ask for the hand of a girl who is already engaged to his (Muslim) brother, but one should wait till the first suitor marries her or leaves her. (Saheeh Bukhari #5970)

Negative thinking about our fellow Muslims is a root cause of enmity, jealousy, and disunity. This Hadith prohibits all causes of negative thinking, whether it be unfounded suspicion, backbiting, or spying. All these sins must be avoided.

Hadith #4: Make things easy

“Make things easy for the people and do not make things difficult for them.” (Saheeh Bukhari #6125)

This simple short advice was aimed primarily at those doing Dawah and teaching Islam. The principle forms one of the primary foundations of Shariah Law i.e. the principle of ease. There are multiple narrations that emphasize this same point. Islam was meant to make life easier for people. Make sure the way you call and guide people to Islam emphasizes the positives and attracts people towards the beauty of Islam.

Hadith #5: Positive Thinking at time of death

Whoever loves the meeting with Allah, Allah too, loves the meeting with him; and whoever hates the meeting with Allah, Allah too, hates the meeting with him. (Saheeh Bukhari #6508)

Positive thinking is so important in Islam, that it is emphasized at the time of death. Muslims should not only think good about their Creator, they should think best of Him. This is especially important at the time of death, that believers be encouraged to focus on Allah’s Mercy and Forgiveness. In doing so, they leave this world in a positive state of mind. Not only should we live positive lives, but we should die in a positive state of mind too.

May Allah protect us all from negative thoughts.

Read our ebook on Self-Confidence for more details on Tawheed-Based Personal Development.

Jan

2016

25 ways to express your gratitude everyday

And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you are ungrateful, indeed, My punishment is severe.(Surah Ibraheem 14:7)

Smile
Pray five times a day
Say Alhamdulillah (All praise is for Allah)
Say Mashaa Allah (This is what Allah willed)
Say Jazakallah Khair (may Allah reward you with better)
Thank people for every little thing
Make Sajdah Shukr (prostration of gratitude)
Make a list of things you are grateful for
Hug your family members
Give someone a gift
Acknowledge someone’s efforts to help you
Be kind to strangers
Give some charity
Help an elder
Check on your neighbors
Accept your tests as blessings that you don’t understand
Help someone with a difficult task
Make dua (supplicate) for others
Let people know how much they mean to you
Work with Ihsaan (striving for excellence)
Overlook people’s flaws
Notice the small good things in life
Support a friend’s business (you can support mine by purchasing an e-book)
Keep the company of positive people
Pray Qiyam Al-Layl (the late night prayer)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“He has not thanked Allah who has not thanked people.”
(Abu Dawood, 4811)

Dec

2015

5 Ways to deal with your own mistakes

Everybody makes mistakes

“Every son of Adam makes mistakes, and the best of those who make mistakes are those who repent.” (Tirmidhi)

Everybody makes mistakes. There is no way around it and no way to avoid it. No matter how hard you try to be perfect, you will eventually make mistakes. Your life is not determined by perfection, but by how you deal with your mistakes.

For many of us, our ways of dealing with mistakes lead us down wrong paths. Some people allow their mistakes to define them, to lead them into darkness, or at the very least to sap their confidence in their ability to be better. These are the wrong ways to deal with your mistakes. The next time you make a mistake, try doing the following instead:

1. Stay calm and avoid negative self-talk

You know the feeling. You just tried your best to do something good and it blew up in your face. All you can see in front of you is the mess you made in your attempt to be good.

You feel angry, you feel frustrated, you can feel the negative thoughts flowing in: “You are not good enough!” “How can you be so stupid!” “What is wrong with….NO! No negative thoughts for me!” Shun them, Push them aside and simply accept the reality, “I am a human and I made a mistake, that’s all there is to it,” Let the calmness of accepting your human nature take over, and don’t let those thoughts in.

2. Look for the lesson in your mistakes

Now that you are calm, its time to look at what went wrong. Yes, you made a mistake but mistakes are lessons and learning experiences, so treat it as one. Analyze your moves, thoughts, and emotions.

Ask yourself three questions: Where did I go wrong? What can I learn from it? And most importantly, what steps can I take to avoid making this mistake again in future? Writing down your answers will help you to think clearer and remember the lesson longer. Turn the situation into a life lesson that you will benefit from for life.

3. Stay focused on your goal and find another way to accomplish it

Don’t allow your mistake to sidetrack you from your goal. Before you made the mistake, you were focused on something important. Do you remember what it was? Good, now get back on track and find another way to accomplish that goal which doesn’t include this mistake.

4. Apologize if your mistake hurt someone else

If someone else was hurt in the process, don’t even think twice about apologizing and fixing it. Swallow your ego and fix it immediately. You know that you are a good person who was trying to do the right thing, so stay noble and apologize. Its the only way forward.

5. Repent if it was a sin

Finally, if your mistake was doing something that is displeasing to your Creator, then seek His Forgiveness, find a way to avoid doing it in future, and move on. He is Most-Forgiving, Most Merciful and accepts all sincere repentance.

If you do these five things, you can continue towards your noble goals, and eventually accomplish them, no matter how many times you slipped along the road.

Learn more about how to overcome your mistakes in my e-book:

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