How To Cope With Hard Times?

July 10, 2024

5 min read 5 min

Question

I heard from someone that Ṣafar is the month in which most of the problems (āfāt) are released from the sky and that we should do astaghfar (repent) a lot in this month and give as much Ṣadqa (in charity) as possible and pray to Allah for His kindness and forgiveness. I just wanted to ask you if that is true. If yes then what can we do to best protect ourselves?

Also, in general what can we do to protect ourselves from Nazar and ḥasad (jealousy) and such and such?

Also Sir, my husband recently has lost his Job. We just came back from Ḥajj (pilgrimage) and he got fired right after that. We all prayed a lot for his success and for honourable and lawful sustenance (Izzat wali ḥalāl and farākh rozī). Nonetheless, the economy is really bad nowadays and people are getting fired every day here. I read somewhere that when Allah Almighty shuts one door he opens several new ones better than the one he closed and He knows what is best for you. The article further added that if you lost your job it simply means that Allah has changed the means to provide you with sustenance (rozī). All of this I do believe in and also the fact that I just came back from Ḥajj (pilgrimage) and prayed a lot, I try to keep my belief strong and tell myself that everything will be ok as that is what a faithful woman (mūminah) is supposed to do accept all as Allah’s will and remember that He knows what is best for us and that He is the provider (Rāziq) and that He listens to our Prayers, specially if you pray with a true heart with belief (niyyat) and surety (yaqīn) what He will Hopefully and Inshā Allah grant our Prayers as he is the most merciful. I however was wondering is there something I might recite some tasbīḥāt, like Yā Razzāq, as that I believe, is one of the Names of Allah and then pray for pure sustenance (ḥalāl Rozi). I do pray nafl-e-ḥājat everyday and pray after.

Please guide because I never want to be unthankful or loose hope as it is not in accordance with the teachings of Islam but I think I feel more depressed day by day and am finding it hard to stand strong and supportive for my husband as I am running out of supportive things to say.

Please guide me as to what can I do in term of Prayers or recitation to help myself and my husband to get through this hard time with patience.

Answer

1.There is no basis for considering Ṣafar to be a bad month. We do not have any reliable evidences for this.

2.First, I would like to bring to your attention the fact that we do not have a reliable evidence proving that the phenomenon that you referred to as nazar really exists. The general view is that verse 68:51 refers to this phenomenon however from the verse itself we cannot deduce that. Having said that, giving regular money to charity, reading the Qur’ān and doing additional Prayers are the things we can do to generally remain in protection of God.

3.I admire you for your pure thoughts and intentions to do what you are supposed to do as a good Muslim wife and I am sure that God will reward you tremendously for this great attitude. The almighty has told us in the Qur’ān that some times He tests us by taking away the things that we have (2:155). To remain patient is the best that we can do as this is also what God expects us to do in such situations. In 2:153 we are advised to get help from two things: Patience and Prayer. Prayer here means more than only the obligatory Prayers. A serious effort to increase our patience and to read more Prayers when experiencing hardship establishes a strong relationship with our Lord. This itself opens lots of doors for us.

Inline with the above, calling your Lord and praying to Him by supplications that are reliably reported from the Prophet (sws) or supplications that are your own words, coming from your heart, are also great source of divine help. Obviously it makes sense to choose or say supplications that are relevant to sustenance (Rizq). This, as you said, also includes calling God by his name, Razzāq.

It is obvious that your family is a God obedient family and I have no doubt that you will use this opportunity to get lots of rewards from your Lord while getting the best answer for your Prayers.

I hope this helps and please do not hesitate to let us know if you have a further inquiry in this regard.

Answered by: Farhad Shafti

Date: 2015-03-26