بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The day was hot. The army was marching in the hot sun towards the battleground, dragging their feet, their lips parched with thirst and bodies drenched in sweat. They had been marching for days. What little water they could carry was coming to an end.
Suddenly their leader, Talut AS stopped them. He looked at his army and said:
Indeed, Allah will be testing you with a river. So whoever drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste it is indeed of me, excepting one who takes [from it] in the hollow of his hand.
al-Baqarah : 249
Everyone looked up in surprise. They hardly paid attention to what Talut AS had said except that there was a river nearby. They rushed forward towards river. They jumped in it, they drank to their full, they bathed in it, they splashed water over each other and cried and laughed with joy!
Everyone but a few! Those few who were equally thirsty, but they believed with all their heart that they were going to meet their Lord and answer for their actions. Those few whose eyes shone with the determination of obeying their Master, come river or hell!
The army crossed the river, and from a high ground they saw the enemy’s battalion. Rows and rows of men and beasts. The enemy was, at least, thrice in number to Banu Israel whose king was Talut AS. They all cried out in unison:
There is no power for us today against Goliath and his soldiers.
al-Baqarah : 249
Everyone but a few!
But those who were certain that they would meet Allah said, “How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah. And Allah is with the patient.
al-Baqarah : 249
The story goes on, the battle was fought and Dawood AS killed Goliath (leader of the enemy) and banu Israel won this battle. But when reading these ayaat, I always pause and reflect on this scene before the battle. And the lesson I learn from this image is that the firm belief in aakhirah and meeting Allah is a source of power for those who believe. It not only gives us the ability to stop ourselves in the face of temptation (like the river for banu Israel), it also gives us a positive attitude in life. And hope. And courage and determination and everything which we need on a daily basis.
When Allah mentions the positive attitude of these few in the face of army who said “How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah. And Allah is with the patient.” What is the characteristic Allah mentions them with? He mentions their firm belief in meeting their Lord.
A believer is not the one who will sit in a corner depressed or give up even before the battle starts. Our imaan gives us the confidence to look our enemy in the eye, no matter how big he is and say “Allah is with the patient!”
Our belief that we will go back to our Lord is the root of all positive attitude we need in this world.
(P.S. When I mention depression, I am talking about the attitude and mind frame. I am not dismissing clinical depression neither do I believe that those suffering from depression or anxiety do not have a strong Imaan.)
سبحانك اللهم و بحمدك نشهد ان لااله الّا انت نستغفرك و نتوب اليك