- Surah Al-Baqarah maintains your mental resilience in the face of shocks
- The most hopeful verse in the Quran for those who face trials
- From Surah Al-Baqarah, learn how to fortify yourself against disasters
- The secret to maintaining the strength of your mental structure begins here
Khaberni - Dr. Amr Khaled, the Islamic preacher, provided a Quranic recipe for protecting your mental health from disasters and trials, explaining that there is no trial except that a person is capable of enduring it.
He added in the second episode of his Ramadan program "Dalil – A Journey with the Quran" that everything that affects a person in life from trials falls within the framework of the saying of Almighty: "Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear", which means that the size of the trial is less than your capacity.
4 layers that increase your capacity to endure disasters
Khaled identified four layers that increase your capacity and ability to endure disasters, as follows:
The first: The foundation for protection: Create a spiritual, mission-oriented side to your life so that your life is not based solely on material things (eating, drinking, working, and money only), and pay attention to it as much as you do to the material side.
The second: Your psychological build to endure trials: Submission to Allah, and accepting the fate of Allah; for submission expands your capability to endure pain, and when you submit, the ego falls before the decree of Allah, thus reducing resistance, rejection, and anger.
The third: Strength and durability of your psychological build, for the fear of Allah expands your ability to endure pain, as piety bridges the gap between your outward and inward selves, and doesn't mean not making mistakes as you might think, but rather: you sin, disobey then repent and regret.
The fourth: Altruism expands your capacity to endure trials, because you believe that Allah is present with you throughout your life; at times of crisis: "Do not grieve, indeed Allah is with us", and at times of disaster: "But indeed, with me is my Lord; He will guide me", and in every movement of life "For Allah is the East and the West, then wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah".
Surah Al-Baqarah and human development
Khaled said that Surah Al-Baqarah treats the soul from its roots, and works on healing life's wounds with a scientific approach, aiding in building a robust human being protected from collapse, because it shields him from Satan and his steps to destroy him psychologically.
He added that the Surah reprograms your psyche, shaking you from within: you are a caliph, asking you to move and work for our Lord, and it trains you on submission and piety, and fills you with a passion for altruism.
Khaled highlighted many verses from Surah Al-Baqarah, which represent a methodology in building the human and work to enhance his coherence and strengthen his resilience in the face of trials: "Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear", "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority", "And We will surely test you with something of fear", "And do not follow the footsteps of Satan", "Our Lord, give us in this world that which is good", "And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good", "Yes, whoever submits his face to Allah while he is a doer of good".
He mentioned in the context of his talk about the merits of Surah Al-Baqarah that the Prophet Muhammad said about it: "Everything has a pinnacle, and the pinnacle of the Quran is Surah Al-Baqarah". It was said to the Prophet that the house of the companion Thabit bin Qais bin Shammas was shining with lamps at night, so he said: "Perhaps he read Surah Al-Baqarah". And when Thabit bin Qais was asked, he confirmed that.
The objective of Surah Al-Baqarah
Khaled outlined that the goal of Surah Al-Baqarah: a deep psychological construction from four layers that protect you from collapse in the face of disasters, and protect you from Satan.
He reviewed these layers, and initially the piety that begins the Surah: "Alif Lam Meem, that is the Book without doubt, a guidance to those who are pious", and the last verse revealed in it before the death of the Prophet Muhammad by nine nights "And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah..", and in the middle of the Surah the verse of fasting "so that you may become righteous".
Khaled pointed out that this Surah contains the word piety more than any other Surah in the Quran, because it is the protector from destructive trials and is the key to the caliph's personality, thus it was like a vertical column in every verse from the beginning to its end.
3 models from Surah Al-Baqarah
Khaled reviewed three stories in Surah Al-Baqarah, explaining the significance and meaning behind them, the first: the story of Adam and Eve, where it is said: "And We said, 'O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and do not approach this tree'", the lesson: that the caliph begins with piety, by controlling oneself, and in saying: "so they both ate of the tree", that no matter how much you err, it is easy to return "then Adam received words from his Lord, and He accepted his repentance".
The second story is about the Children of Israel, whom Khaled described as a failed model of the caliph, due to their diseases preventing them from being caliphs because of their excessive materialism at the expense of the spiritual side: "Invoke for us your Lord to bring forth for us..".
In altruism, he stated that their worship was form without soul and without feeling "And mention, [O Muhammad], when you said, 'O Moses, we will never believe you until we see Allah outright'", and they had no submission: "And the Jews say, 'The hand of Allah is chained', 'May their hands be chained", "Allah is poor, and we are rich", "Go, you and your Lord, and fight".
Khaled mentioned that all these things came together in the story of the cow they were commanded to slaughter, to face their materialism with something miraculous contrary to their method and obstinacy and lack of submission, hence it was named Surah Al-Baqarah, because it intensely summarizes all the diseases preventing the caliph.
Khaled reviewed the third story: Prophet Ibrahim, whom he described as a successful model having all four qualities, as he is filled with love for the mission "And [mention] when Ibrahim was raising the foundations of the House", for when he lived for the mission, his capacity to endure constricted trials expanded "And [mention] when Ibrahim's Lord tried him with commands and he fulfilled them".
He clarified that trial is not breaking, persecution, or God's anger at you, but rather, trial elevates you "he said, 'Indeed, I will make you a leader for the people'", as he was also submitting to God "When his Lord said to him, 'Submit..''.
He pointed out that the triad of caliphate, altruism, and submission helps to endure all trials spaciously, as Allah said: "Yes, whoever submits his face to Allah while he is a doer of good..", and he had a balance between the mission and material things, "and provide for his family from the fruits".
Watch the episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIzzQ_Vozgg
