Anxiety

Anxiety refers to fidgeting and restlessness; it is the opposite of tranquility. Anxiety is a type of psychological illness that is characterized by tension, fear and dread, whether that is related to specific matters or is unclear. It may also become chronic.

Anxiety is something that all people go through when faced with certain circumstances, but people vary with regard to how well protected they are psychologically and in the degree of individual potential and feelings of anxiety. The circumstances and events surrounding each individual also vary.

Symptoms of anxiety

1- Pain in the heart; irregular heartbeat

2- Feelings of doom and loss of equilibrium

3- Continuous, intense headache

4- Tossing and turning; insomnia

5- Poor memory and difficulty in thinking and there are many other symptoms of anxiety.

Main causes of anxiety

1- Apprehensiveness and expecting the worst with regard to things, specific or otherwise.

2- Conflict between one's inclinations and the restrictions that prevent him from fulfilling those inclinations.

3- Mental or physical exhaustion, which are connected to one another.

The longer the period of anxiety lasts, it becomes chronic and the symptoms of exhaustion appear, as well as physical illnesses such as heart problems, blood pressure, ulcers in the stomach and intestine, and many other physical diseases.

Treatment of anxiety

As anxiety is the opposite of tranquility, in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet there is protection and a remedy for the sickness of anxiety.

Allah says:

"Those who believed (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” (Surah Al-Ra'd, 13:28)

If the cause of anxiety is fear and apprehensiveness, Islam deals with this problem. Man's fear stems from three main issues: provision, death and being doomed or blessed. Allah guarantees these matters, as He says:

"And so many a moving (living) creature there is, that carries not its awn provision! Allah provides for it and for you. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower." (Surah Al-'Ankaboot, 29:60)

"Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong.” (Surah Al-Dhaariyaat, 51:58)

 “And in the heaven is your provision, and that which you are promised.” (Surah Al-Dhaariyaat 51:22)

Concerning death, Allah says:

 “And it is He Who gives life and causes death, and His is the alternation of night and day. Will you not then understand?” (Surah Al-Mu'minoon 23:80)

Similarly, being doomed or blessed, harm and benefit, all these matters are in the hand of One and One Alone, and indeed have been written for man whilst he was in his mother's womb.

If the cause of anxiety is an inner conflict between a person's inclinations and the limits that prevent him from fulfilling those aspirations, the Qur’an guides the Muslim to follow the truth; it disciplines those inclinations and puts them in their proper place. Islam does not block the inclinations of the soul and body that are based on Fitrah (sound human nature). The Prophet of Allah (Peace be upon him) said, according to a Saheeh Hadeeth:

"I sleep and I get up (to pray at night), I fast (some days) and I do not fast (other days), and I marry women. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me.”

But each thing is put in its proper place.

Similarly the acts of worship, such as prayer, remembrance of Allah (Dhikr) and reading the Qur’an, all instill tranquility in the heart and give it a connection to the Lord, may He be exalted. They give man spiritual energy and dispel his fears and feelings of being alone, because they give man a direct connection to his Creator and Lord, the One Who is in control of his affairs. It is narrated in a Saheeh report that if the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was distressed by something, he would say:

"Let us find comfort in prayer, O Bilaal."

And he said:

"My delight is in prayer.”

Prayer was a comfort and a delight to him

The Qur’an and Sunnah are a complete way of life, in which is protection and treatment for sickness which puts an end to all traces of anxiety.