A Handful of Salt
By Abu Muhammad Yusuf
As humans we are prone to stress although we all wish to be immune from it. While stress may be beneficial at times however the excess of it will certainly affect our health and productivity. In controlling stress our mind set is so important.
There was once a very old Sheikh who noticed his student very depressed. The wise scholar instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.
"How does it taste?" the Sheikh asked. "Awful," retorted the student.
The Sheikh chuckled and then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and when the student swirled his handful of salt into the lake, the wise old man said, "Now drink from the lake."
As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the Sheikh asked, "How does it taste?"
"Good!" remarked the student.
"Do you taste the salt?" asked the Sheikh.
"No," said the young man.
The Sheikh sat beside this troubled young man, took his hands, and said, "The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount we taste the 'pain' depends on the container we put it into. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to take it out of your cup and place it in Allah's Lake!"
No doubt what practical measures or action that are needed in the situation must be taken, but we should then leave it to Allah Ta'ala who is ultimately in control of everything!
Always be positive and forget about the bad things or events of the past and think of good things, always having hope that it can be better. Trying to change the past is a foolish and crazy waste of time, because saying 'if only...' opens the way to Shaytan (Satan).
The Messenger of Allah (SAWW) said, "Know that victory (achievement) comes through patience, and that ease comes through hardship."
None can destroy iron, but its own rust. Likewise, none can destroy a person, but his or her own mind-set! Ups and downs in life are very important to keep us going, as a straight line even in an E.C.G. means we are not alive! The same Boiling Water that hardens the egg, will soften the potato! It all depends upon our reaction to stressful circumstances!
Allah, The Most Wise, say; "...and in Allah (alone) should the believers trust." (Qur'an 14:11).
So the next time you face a problem don't dissolve it in your small cup of water but cast it into Allah's Lake!
As humans we are prone to stress although we all wish to be immune from it. While stress may be beneficial at times however the excess of it will certainly affect our health and productivity. In controlling stress our mind set is so important.
There was once a very old Sheikh who noticed his student very depressed. The wise scholar instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.
"How does it taste?" the Sheikh asked. "Awful," retorted the student.
The Sheikh chuckled and then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and when the student swirled his handful of salt into the lake, the wise old man said, "Now drink from the lake."
As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the Sheikh asked, "How does it taste?"
"Good!" remarked the student.
"Do you taste the salt?" asked the Sheikh.
"No," said the young man.
The Sheikh sat beside this troubled young man, took his hands, and said, "The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount we taste the 'pain' depends on the container we put it into. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to take it out of your cup and place it in Allah's Lake!"
No doubt what practical measures or action that are needed in the situation must be taken, but we should then leave it to Allah Ta'ala who is ultimately in control of everything!
Always be positive and forget about the bad things or events of the past and think of good things, always having hope that it can be better. Trying to change the past is a foolish and crazy waste of time, because saying 'if only...' opens the way to Shaytan (Satan).
The Messenger of Allah (SAWW) said, "Know that victory (achievement) comes through patience, and that ease comes through hardship."
None can destroy iron, but its own rust. Likewise, none can destroy a person, but his or her own mind-set! Ups and downs in life are very important to keep us going, as a straight line even in an E.C.G. means we are not alive! The same Boiling Water that hardens the egg, will soften the potato! It all depends upon our reaction to stressful circumstances!
Allah, The Most Wise, say; "...and in Allah (alone) should the believers trust." (Qur'an 14:11).
So the next time you face a problem don't dissolve it in your small cup of water but cast it into Allah's Lake!