Why is it essential for us to be hopeful?

Life has its challenges. Every life stage has its own sets of challenges.

For example, a student’s challenge is to ace his exams, a graduate’s challenge is to search for a job and build his career, a parents’ challenge is to provide for their children and nurture them to be better humans.

With these challenges, there will be obstacles. They will either make you or break you. They can even cause you to be in depression, anxiety, and a spiral of negativity. When it is too much to handle, some may even lose hope in life.

In addition to that, now we have the internet & social media. Every event happening in this whole world is at our fingertips; the good & the bad. If we choose to focus on the many disasters, wars & tragedies happening, we will think that we are doomed. All hope is lost. It is the end of the world.

This is precisely why I am writing this article. I want to share that being hopeful is essential for a Muslim.

We will explore four questions to understand more about hope being essential for a Muslim:

1- What is the meaning of hope in Islam?

2- What does our beloved Prophet say about having hope?

3- What are the benefits of being hopeful?

4- How to remain hopeful when we are feeling down?

Meaning of hope in Islam

Hope means to expect good things to happen.

However, in the Arabic language, there are two words that depict hope but in different contexts.

????????? )Ar-Raja’) and ??????????? (At-Tamanni).

At-Tamanni is to expect good to happen without any effort. This is absolutely discouraged in Islam as it may be the cause of laziness. This is like a farmer who plants his seeds but did not water them and puts fertilizers in order for the tree to grow well. At the same time, he hopes for a tree full of fruits.

On the other hand, Ar-Raja’ is to expect good to happen after putting in much effort and preparing for it. An example of this is a farmer who plants his seeds, waters them every day, and takes good care of them. Only then, he prays and hopes for its fruits. This is the hope that is essential for every Muslim.

Hope in Islam means to expect good to happen after putting in the effort. Allah has mentioned in the Quran:

Surely those who have believed & emigrated, and worked hard in the Way of Allah — they are the ones who hope for Allah’s mercy.

Surah Baqarah verse 218

Hadith of Hope

In the holy Quran, there is an abundance of verses about hope. It is sufficient to share one of them in Surah Az-Zumar verse 53:

Say, ?O Prophet, that Allah says, ? “O My servants who have exceeded the limits (Sinned) Do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy, for Allah certainly forgives all sins. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon Him is the epitome of hope & blessings. In the age of darkness, he is the one who brings light to the people of Mecca and to the whole wide world. He is being sent as a mercy for the whole universe.

Hence, let me share with you what the Prophet says on hope:

1- To ask for the best

God’s messenger says, “When one of you makes supplication he must not say, ‘O God, forgive me if you will, but be definite and hope for greater things, for nothing which God gives is burdensome to Him.”

2- To assume good of God

Prophet Muhammad said that Allah said “I am as to how my servant assume me to be, hence he can assume me how he wants”

Prophet Muhammad also said: Do not die except that you assume good of Allah.

Hence, we are taught by our Prophet to have hope and to assume good of everything that is happening to us, be it good or bad.

Benefits of having hope

You are able to move forward and try. This is the greatest benefit of having hope.

Why do we perform good deeds & acts of kindness? Because we hope that Allah will reward us & be contented with us.

Why do we repent after performing a lot of sins? Because we hope that Allah will forgive us and give us the opportunity to make amends.

Why do we continue to try after failing? Because we hope that the next time will be a better result.

Motivating people with hope will be lighter on them and more accommodating too. Hope usually involves love and care too. Though too much of it can lead to destruction, hence we will also need to balance it with fear (next article).

Ways to remain hopeful when feeling down

1- Read up on verses of hope & also hadiths of hope.

Enlighten yourself with stories of hope from the Prophet and His companions.

2- Do lots of doa daily.

The fact that you ask from Allah means that you are being hopeful.

Do lots of dzikir & selawat to our beloved Prophet daily.

3- Focus on action.

Perform good deeds & acts of kindness to people. When you give hope to people, you will be hopeful.

4- Surround yourself with positive-minded friends & companions.

I hope that this article has enlightened you that hope indeed is essential for a Muslim. Especially in these difficult times. Let’s do our best and leave the result to Allah.

Let’s move forward with hope.