Feeling Sadness for an Unknown Reason
Translated & Compiled
by Abbas Abu Yahya
Imam Ibn Taymeeyah -Rahimuhullaah- said:
« سئل سفيان بن عيينة عن غَمٍّ لا يُعْرَفُ سبَبُه قال: هو ذنب همَمْتَ به في سِرِّك ولم تفعله فجزيت هماًّ به. فالذنوب لها عقوبات السِّرُّ بالسِّرِّ والعلانية بالعلانية ».
‘Sufyaan bin ‘Uayaynah was asked about feeling sadness for an unknown reason.
He said:
‘It is a sin which you secretly desired to do but you did not perform it, so you were recompensed with sadness for it.’
Therefore, sins have a penalty, secret sins are sanctioned secretly and public sins are sanctioned publicly.’[1]
[Majmoo al-Fatawa 14/111]
The Dua for cure from Sadness
From al-Qasim bin AbdurRahman from his father from Abdullaah who said that the Messenger of Allaah sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said:
“Allaah does not afflict a slave with grief nor sadness, except that if the slave says: –
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي عَبْدُكَ وَابْنُ عَبْدِكَ وَابْنُ أَمَتِكَ نَاصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاؤُكَ ، أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَدًا مِنْ خَلْقِكَ أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي وَنُورَ صَدْرِي وَجِلَاءَ حُزْنِي وَذَهَابَ هَمِّي
O Allaah indeed I am Your slave, and the son of Your slave, and the son of Your female slave, my forelock is in Your Hand, Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask of You with all Your names, which belong to You, which You have named Yourself with, or which You have taught someone from Your creation or revealed it in Your Book or that which You have taken unto Your self with the knowledge of the unseen with You, that You make the Quraan the life of my heart and light of my breast and keep away from me my sadness, and that my grief goes away –
Allaahumma ‘innee ‘abduka, wabnu ‘abdika, wabnu amatika, nasiyatee biyadika, madhin fiyya hukmuka, adlun fiyya qadha’uka, asaluka bikulli ismin huwa laka, sammayta bihi nafsaka, aw anzaltahu fee kitabika, ‘aw allamthu ahadan min khaliqika, aw ista’tharta bihi fee ilmil ghaybi ‘indaka, án taj’alal-qurana rabee’a qalbee, wa noora sadree, wa jala’a huznee, wa thahaba hammee
then Allaah takes away his grief and sadness and replaces it with happiness.”
The narrator said: It was said: O Messenger of Allaah should we not learn it?
He answered: Of course, it is necessary for the one who hears it, that he learns it.
[Collected by Ahmad, Al-Harith bin Abee Usama in his Musnad, Abu Ya’ala, Tabraani in al-Kabeer, Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim. Authenticated by Ibn Taymeeyah, Ibn al-Qayyim and Al-Albaani in Saheehah no.199]
Seeking forgiveness is a cure for Sadness of the heart
From Al-Aghraa al-Muzni -RadiAllaahu anhu – who said that the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
« إِنَّهُ لَيُغَانُ عَلَى قَلْبِي، وَإِنِّي لَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ “. »
‘Indeed, my heart becomes busy so indeed I seek forgiveness from Allaah one hundred times a day.’
[Collected by Muslim]
Shaykh al-Uthaymeen said:
[my heart becomes busy] means that the heart becomes somewhat suffocated and sad and that which is similar to this.’
[Sharh Riyadh as-Saliheen]
غَمٍّ لا يُعْرَفُ سبَبُه
قال الإمام ابن تيمية رحمه اللهُ:
« سئل سفيان بن عيينة عن غَمٍّ لا يُعْرَفُ سبَبُه
قال: هو ذنب همَمْتَ به في سِرِّك ولم تفعله فجزيت هماًّ به.
فالذنوب لها عقوبات السِّرُّ بالسِّرِّ والعلانية بالعلانية ». مجموع الفتاوى: [١١١/١٤]
عن الأغر المزني رضي الله عنه:
أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال:-
« إِنَّهُ لَيُغَانُ عَلَى قَلْبِي، وَإِنِّي لَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ “. »
[رواه مسلم : 2702]
🔸( ليغان على قلبي ) يعني : يحدث له شيء من الكتمة والغم وما أشبه ذلك.
[شرح رياض الصالحين لابن عثيمين]
[1] T.N. – Shaykh ul-Islaam is saying that sins which are desired to be done but are not done still have an impact and Allaah forgives a person for them by giving some sort of affliction in this life. Then Allaah rewards a person for them by writting it down as a good deed.
And Allaah knows best.