Sadness

“Sadness is the forlornness and bitterness felt in the heart, the worry, anguish, and grief because of something desired being missed or something unwanted happened.”¹⁾

“Sadness is keeping the carnal soul from lingering in heedlessness.”²⁾

“Huzn (sadness) is an Arabic word that means sorrow or grief. Sufis use the word huzn (sadness) as the opposite of rejoicing and joy, and to express the pain one suffers while fulfilling his or her duties and realizing his or her ideals. Every perfected believer will continue to suffer this pain according to their degree of belief, and weave the tissue of life with the ‘threads’ of sadness on the ‘loom’ of time. In short, one will feel sadness until the spirit of the Muhammadan Truth has been breathed in all corners of the world, until the sighs of Muslims and other oppressed peoples cease, and the Divine rules are practiced in the daily lives of people. This sadness will continue until the journey through the intermediate world of the grave is completed, safe and sound, and the believer flies to the abode of eternal happiness and blessing without being detained by the Supreme Tribunal in the Hereafter. A believer’s sorrows will never stop until the meaning of: Praise be to God, Who has put grief away from us. Surely our Lord is All-Forgiving, Bountiful (35:34) becomes manifest.”³⁾

“Some feel sorrow because they do not perform their duties of worship as perfectly as they should. They are ordinary believers. Others, who are among the distinguished, are sad because they are drawn toward that which is other than God. Still others feel sad because, while they feel themselves to be always in God’s presence and never forget Him, they also are spending time among people in order to guide them to the Truth. They tremble with fear that they may upset the balance between always being with God and being in the company of people. These are the purified ones who are responsible for guiding the people.”⁴⁾

“Sadness and the Qur’an are two words that complement each other. ‘The Qur’an was revealed in a sad fashion.’ The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, states this in one of his hadiths: ‘The most beautiful recitation of the Holy Qur’an is that which is recited in a grave sadness.’ Reciting the Qur’an flatly may lead us to becoming insensitive. Understanding the Qur’an and its revival depends on deepening one’s grasp of its core messages.”⁵⁾

“Sadness and tears are the most important characteristic of God’s Prophets. The Prophet Adam wept for a lifetime. The weeping of Prophet Noah was like a flood of lamentation. Prophet Muhammad, the Pride of Humanity, peace be upon him, always reflected the poetry of his feelings in tears. In this respect, it would not be a mistake to call him a prophet of sadness and tears.”⁶⁾

“Sadness and weeping is the usual state of the lovers of God, and mourning day and night is the shortest path to Him. Those who reproach the lover for his or her tears can be considered to have revealed their own roughness. Understanding nothing now of the hearts burning with longing, they will spend their lives in longing and grief in the other world.”⁷⁾

“The people of tabligh (communicating the Divine message) and irshad (guidance) should internalize sadness. Sadness is a common feature in all prominent ones according to their degree. After all, if the communicating the Divine message and guidance do not have the desired effect, it is quite natural for the person of cause to bend over with sadness in such situations.”⁸⁾

“… through preoccupation with the pains (sadness) of the past and fears of the future, reason, the most precious of bounties, would continuously wound the human heart; because it muddies a single pleasure with nine pains, it would become the most calamitous affliction.”⁹⁾

“A life without belief, or with belief rendered ineffective by rebelliousness, only produces pain, sorrow, and grief that far exceed the superficial, fleeting enjoyment and resulting pleasure. This is because humanity has intelligence and, unlike animals, is connected to the past, present, and future, and derives both pain and pleasure from them.”¹⁰⁾

Türkçe