Battling Depression with Surah Ad-Duha

Life is challenge, We suffer from heartbreak, pain, calamity which drive us to depression, anxiety and stress. Allah Almighty revealed the Quran as guide for us to help us through our depression worries or anxieties. Some surahs are valuable to read during this time as they alleviate all these depression

Surah Duha is an optimism during times of difficulty. It inspires hope and optimism in the heart of the reader during difficult times. It is among the earliest Surahs that were revealed and were sent to comfort the Prophet (peace be upon him) as he began his difficult mission. The early days of Islam were a difficult time to preach the message. The number of believers was less than a hundred, and the prophet peace be upon him Himself went through a lot of hardship that he had to face with calmness

 

The background to this chapter is that the revelation had paused for a while in the early period of prophethood in Makkah. This incident was hard on the prophet (Pbuh), and the leaders of Quraysh said that his Lord had abandoned him and hated him.  The Prophet (Pbuh) was in a very disturbed state of mind, feeling negative and depressed and believing that Allah was displeased with him, had forgotten him, and did not want him to be a prophet.

We encounter similar feelings in our lives due to the whisper of shaytan.there is Times when our level of imaan  is low, our khushoo in salah wavers and we feel a drop in our connection with Allah? We feel like our duas are not being answered, our salah is not having a positive impact on our hearts, and worst of all the feeling that we’re horrible human beings, that Allah doesn’t love us or doesn’t care about us anymore.

As a response to this situation, Allah subahanah wata’ala revealed this surah to comfort His Messenger (Pbuh) and rebuke the polytheists of Makkah.

the Prophet peace upon him was saddened by the interruption of revelation while knowing full well that he ﷺ will encounter hardship and difficulty for the sake of carrying the message of Islam.

Allah already told him in surah Mmuzammil that we are going to send to you heavy message. the revelation was a test for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Will he ﷺ be eager for this new message for whose sake he ﷺ will have to leave his leisure and encounter difficulties and hardship, or will it be a sigh of relief when his ﷺ Lord relieves him of this vital mission and responsibility? In this is a valuable lesson for those who the carry the message of Islam, that they should be concerned for the call of Islam and be willing and ready to endure harm and hardship for its cause.

Sūrah ad-Ḍuḥā is a message of hope and optimism about the future. Allah begins the Sūrah by taking an oath on the dawn and the night. Just like the dawn brings light after a dark night, likewise the revelation brings hope to mankind after the darkness of ignorance. This oath creates a powerful image of Islam lighting up the horizon as the age of ignorance draws to a close.

 

وَالضُّحَى وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى

 “By the Glorious Morning Light," means the beginning hours of the day when the sun rises high in the sky and it brightens up everywhere.

2. “And by the Night when it is still:  means 'to be quiet, tranquil'; and it has also been used with the meaning of 'to cover, to darken' but, here it confers the meaning of 'quietness' and 'tranquility',

This aayah reminds us to use the night as a comfort to ease our distress.

Therefore, الضُّحَىٰ which is the light of revelation was brought first (taqdīm), before ‘the night when it is still’ which is the period of interruption of revelation and its calmness. It was claimed that this oath points to the interruption for relaxing and resting, similar to the one who is tired and relaxes during the night.

 

مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَى

“Your Lord has neither forsaken you nor has He become displeased.”

This verse is a direct refutation to the critics and enemies who were harassing the Prophet (peace be upon him).

In Arabic al-Widdaa’ means to say goodbye but at-Tawddee’ means to say a final farewell when one does not intend to return,

 is an expression of the Allah’s love of the messenger (saw) as this is not the type of farewell used when enemies say goodbye to each other but rather it is the type of farewell between people who love each other like family.

RABB:This is because Ar-Rabb is the caretaker, the guide, the owner and master. If this is the case, then how can Ar-Rabb abandon and hate you while you are His ﷻ servant and He ﷻ is your master and protector who has taken you out of the darkness to the light of the revelation?

Qallaa in Arabic is when you are so unhappy with someone that as a result you abandon all communication with them.

This is a very powerful verse from Allah telling us that He doesn’t hate us and hasn’t forgotten us– reminding the depressed person that He is always by his or her side!

One should have good thinking of Allah husnu than (positive thought about Allah). The prophet peace be upon him said that Allah Almighty says:

”أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي ، إِنْ ظَنَّ خَيْرًا فَلَهُ ، وَإِنْ ظَنَّ شَرًّا فَلَهُ“

“I am as My servant expects of Me, so if he thinks good of Me then he will have it, and if he thinks evil of Me then he will have it.” 

It is said that a sign of Allah’s love for His slave is how often He tests his faith.

Our Prophet (PBUH) also says that if Allah loves a group of people, He shall test their faith with trials.

“إِنَّ اللَّهَ إِذَا أَحَبَّ قَوْمًا ابْتَلاَهُمْ”

Allah (SWT) says in Surat Al-Baqara: It is possible you may dislike something which is good for you, and that you love a thing which is bad for you, yet Allah knows, and you know not.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says: “Pray to Allah, certain of his positive response” –

ادْعوا الله وأنتم مُوقنون بالإِجابة

وَلَلْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الْأُولَى

“And surely the hereafter will be better for you than the present (life).”

Many times when we’re depressed we think: Is this all my life is going to be? Is it never going to get better?

This aayah serves as a perfect answer to those questions, reminding us that life in this world is temporary and that Aakhira is certainly a better, more permanent place for us than this world could ever be.

This makes us look forward to attaining our place in Jannah and helps us look at any problems in our lives as temporary tests of our faith from Allah.

 

وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَى

“And soon your lord will grant you, and you shall be well-pleased.”

That is, in this world he will win over his enemies and Islam will spread all over the world, and in the Next World, he will be granted the greatest rewards.

Allah (swt) giving him the intercession of this ummah and Allah (swt) will accept the plea of his messenger (saw) until the messenger (saw) is satisfied (tardda)

 

أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَآوَى

"Did He not find you an orphan and sheltered (you)?"

وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى

"And He found you lost and guided [you]."

وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَى

"And He found you poor and made [you] self-sufficient."

 

The prophet peace be upon him was an orphan, but Allah blessed him with an amazing family. He was born into poverty but Allah provided for him and made him content. He was searching for a way to reform his society and Allah blessed him with prophethood.

the next verses command the Prophet (S) with three important instructions. Although they are directly addressing Muhammad (S), they are surely applied to everyone.

At first, it says:

فَأَمَّا الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ

So as for the orphan, do not oppress [him].: It seems as if Allah is telling the Prophet (S) that 'you, yourself, have been an orphan and suffered from the pain of orphanhood. Now, be careful of the orphans with all your heart and treat them with tender affection and respect, and quench their thirsty souls with kindness'.

This aayah is the ultimate antidote to depression!

Depressed people are mostly consumed with their situation and feel that nobody could possibly be in a worse situation.

This aayah reminds us to look at people who are in far worse situations than ourselves when we’re feeling hopeless and depressed— Look at the orphans, who have no family or loved ones and nobody to care for them. We have families and parents who love us, a roof over our heads and food on the table and we still think we’re in a bad situation? Subhanallah!

 

وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ

“And for the one who asks, repulse not",

Those who are poor in both knowledge and finances. Allah orders Muhammad (S) to respond positively to those who make a request of any type. This idea is fitting both with divine guidance to the Prophet (S) and sheltering him when he was an orphan.

وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ

“And ask for the Bounties, of your Lord, do proclaim (it)”

Announcing the bounties is sometimes done by statements, containing thankfulness and gratitude and that is far from pride and haughtiness, and sometimes by action through donation and charity from those bounties, on the path of Allah, in a way that shows He has given him much Bounty.

here means only spiritual bounties, such as, prophethood and the Holy Qur'an which the Prophet (S) was called to announce and spread

by pondering, glorifying and talking about the blessings of Allah! Either in terms of halaqas, discussions with family and friends or even da’wah! Dhikr, reading quran and listening to lectures are also great ways to keep the remembrance of Allah close to your heart!

Sūrah ad-Ḍuḥā ends with a call to action. The way to show gratitude to Allah for His Blessings is to share it with others. So Allah calls on us to give to the poor, assist the orphans and spread the message of Islam. These relate back to the three blessings mentioned earlier in the Sūrah. Allah has blessed us with wealth, so let us use it to uplift the poor. Allah has blessed us with family, so let us not forget to help the orphans. Allah has guided us to the straight path, so let’s share the message of Islam with the world.