Ar-Ra'd (The Thunder)

28. “(The guided are) those who believe and their hearts are set at rest by the remembrance of Allah. Behold! By Allah’s remembrance (only) the hearts are set at rest.”

Those who acknowledge the unity of Allah and accept His attributes and the prophetic mission of His Prophet (S) and embrace whatever has been revealed from Him, and their hearts are set at rest by the remembrance of Allah, allow Allah to soothe their hearts regarding His blessings and rewards with the thought of Him, and of His grace and favors, for Allah’s promise is decisive and nothing will soothe the anxious hearts better than his Divine truthful promises.

To remember Allah does not mean merely paying lip service to Him, though it is one of the clear examples of thinking of Him. For what counts is thinking of Allah in all circumstances, in particular, at the time of committing sin.

Thinking of Allah brings with it numerous blessings, including:

The remembrance of His blessings leads one to show his gratitude for Him.

The remembrance of His Power causes one of putting his trust in Him.

The remembrance of His favours serves as the source of our love for Him.

The remembrance of His Wrath and fury inspires awe of Him in us.

The remembrance of His magnitude and greatness causes one’s humility and submission towards Him.

The remembrance of His Omniscience in the open and hidden serves as an impetus for our chastity.

The remembrance of His forgiveness and generosity serves as our source of hope and repentance.

The remembrance of His justice serves as an impetus for our austerity and piety.

Man is searching the extremes and he wants absolute perfection. However, as everything, except Allah, is finite and is accidental in itself, it cannot leave one’s heart in rest. In contrast to those whose hearts are set at rest by the remembrance of Allah, there are also some ones whose scope of mind and vision are limited and are content with so little in this world.

The prayers consist of the remembrance of Allah and are the source of one’s comfort.

The Qur’an says:

“…establish prayer for My remembrance.”1

The holy phrase:

“Behold! By Allah’s remembrance (only) the hearts are set at rest.”

might mean that by Allah’s remembering you, your hearts will be at peace. That is, once we know that Allah is remembering us and we are in His presence, our hearts will be at peace.

As Hadrat Noah (as) found peace of heart by means of the Divine words:

“And make you the Ark under Our eyes…”2

And, Imam Hussayn (as) found peace of mind while uttered it at the time of martyrdom of his son Ali Asqar, by expressing:

“It is easy over me for verily it is before Allah.”

Or, it is cited in ‘Arafah supplication:

“O Reminder of the reminders.”

Query: This verse remarks that all minds, and that of a believer in particular, find their peace by the remembrance of Allah, but some other verses denote that whenever the faithful believer remembers Allah, his heart trembles.

Surah Al-’Anfal, No. 8, verse 2 says:

“Verily believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts quake…”

Can this kind of trembling be compatible with one’s peace of mind? What is the justification for that?

Answer: To imagine how the two incompatibles, that is the peace of mind and trembling of one’s heart, can be present at the same time in one person, the following examples can be leading.

Firstly: Sometimes, one has peace of mind when he has made all kinds of preparations while, at the same time, he is anxious and fears the consequences as well. The example of it is a specialized surgeon who is confident of his knowledge and job though at the time of operation of a VIP he still has his anxieties.

Secondly: the children find their peace of mind once they are with their parents, while at the same time, they fear them too.

Thirdly: Sometimes, one is happy and has his peace of mind since he knows that whatever unpleasant happens is for his trial, development and promotion. However, he is going to be anxious for not being sure whether he will succeed in his duties or not.

Fourthly: Once the believers go on reading the Qur’anic verses of punishment, Hell or of the Divine outrage, they start trembling all over. However, once they read the holy verses concerning blessings, garden of Eden and paradise, they find a sweet kind of peace of mind which brings them warm feelings.

Imam Sajjad (as) says in Abu Hamzah Supplication:

“Whenever, I remember my sins (and Your justice and Your wrath), I cry, but when I consider Your grace and Your forgiveness, I regain hope.”

As an evidence for this meaning, the writer of Al-Mizan, the Late, quotes the Qur’an to be its documentation:

“…whereat do shudder the skins of those who fear their Lord, then their skins and their hearts become pliant to the remembrance of Allah…”3

That is, one is anxious at first though he finds peace of mind gradually.

Fifthly: He who ignores the remembrance of Allah, does not have peace of mind, in which case life becomes troublesome for him.

The Qur’an says:

“And whoever turns away from My remembrance, verily for him is a life straitened…”4

Factors of Encourage and Peace of Mind

There may be many different causes for one’s certainty and peace of mind. However, at the top of all those factors stands specifically one’s awareness and knowledge.

He who is aware of the fact that his slightest piece of work will be accounted for he is hopeful on his job properly and has peace of mind thereby.

Surah Az-Zilz al, No. 99, verse 7 says:

“So, whoever has done an atom’s weight of good shall behold it.”

He who knows that he is created out of the Divine favor, wisdom, and blessings, he is calm and hopes for and confident of Allah’s bounteousness.

The Qur’an says:

“(It will be said to some) O’ you serene soul!” “Come back to your Lord well-pleased (with Him) and well-pleasing (Him),”5

This means that the addressing of the Beneficent comes, saying:

O’ Heavenly confident and peaceful self, ‘always remembering Allah’! Return, now, to your Lord as you are pleased with His eternal blessings and He is content with your good deeds. Return and stay in line alongside My particular servants and enter My Paradise and Garden of Eden.

It is for this reason and following His remarks in this noble verse that the faithful and intimate believers are always hopeful.

He who knows that Allah is All-Wise and Omniscience, and He has not created anyone in vain, is optimistic.

He who knows that his leader and his Imam is a perfect man, elected by Allah, and is innocent of every deviance and error, will be having peace of mind.

“…Verily I have appointed you an Imam (leader) for mankind…”6

He who knows that his way of life is obvious and his future is going to be better than before, is confident in his soul.

“While the world to come is better and more lasting.”7

He who knows that Allah loves the righteous has warm feelings with regard to his righteous deed.

Factors Which Generate Anxiety and Worries

One of the most common diseases of the present century is worries and anxieties, for which various reasons have been mentioned. The symptoms of this disease include, isolation, depression, inferiority complexes and purposelessness.

A depressed person becomes so because of finding that nothing is in line with his wishes, while the one must not abandon altogether those few instances which might be in keeping with his wishes for the sake of not having obtained all that he has desired.

A depressed person thinks as to why all people do not love him while such a thing is impossible in the case that even Allah and Gabriel also have got enemies. Therefore, one must not expect that all love him.

A depressed person thinks that all people are bad, while it is not so, and Allah, addressing the angels who thought so, answered them negatively.

A depressed person thinks that all the unpleasant things come from outside his self, while the main causes of frustration have their origin in reactions generating from within ourselves.

An anxious person is worried at the onset of every activity and thus he feels lonely and scared.

For repelling such a mood, Hadrat Ali (as) says:

“When you are afraid of something, cast yourself in it.”8

This means that you may make yourself involved in whatever you are scared of, for fear of everything exceeds its own limits.

An anxious person worries as what will occur in future. This case may be treated by trusting Allah and by one’s own perseverance.

As one has been frustrated in some of his affairs, he may worry as to be frustrated in all circumstances.

As one relies on individuals and some powers which are not sustaining, one will be anxious and worried once those sources of power are shaken.

Briefly, and concisely, such cases as lack of gratitude for one’s services by the people, feelings of guilt, fear of death, being brain-washed by the family as to the lack of one’s power to cope with problems and his lack of knowledge of those things, and jumping to conclusions are some of the factors which cause anxieties and can be adequately dealt with by Allah’s remembrance, His power, His amnesty, and His favor which all bring one’s peace of mind.

The verse says:

“(The guided are) those who believe and their hearts are set at rest by the remembrance of Allah. Behold! By Allah’s remembrance (only) the hearts are set at rest.”