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Everyday questions › Mental health and mood

Mental health and mood

Depression, anxiety, anger, loneliness, guilt and self-worth, read alongside the Quran and with professional help welcomed.

Example phrasings, not quotations. Each one runs a search.

Latest answers

52 segments in 29 recordings, newest first
9 May 2023video LatestWhy do religious debates make people so defensive? Mufti Abu Layth says debates rarely change minds and feed the ego, so he prefers conversations where people can disagree. Discussionposition checkedthe backfire effectiman (faith) machine6 min 24 s15:07on YouTube
9 May 2023video LatestHow do I stop worrying about the ups and downs of my faith? Mufti Abu Layth tells the convert not to worry about turbulence in faith, which is part of the journey; faith often shows its worth later as a bedrock in hard times. Discussionposition checkediman (faith) machine3 min 20 s19:33on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video LatestWhat made Salman Rushdie so hostile to Islam? Mufti Abu Layth suggests that Rushdie's hostility to Islam is rooted in an unresolved resentment of his father, who embraced his Muslim identity and moved to Pakistan. LessonSalman RushdieAnis Ahmed RushdieIbn Rushd (Averroes)Sigmund Freud machine9 min 13 s15:50on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video Why did Salman Rushdie write The Satanic Verses? In his personal opinion, Rushdie wrote the novel chiefly as defiance of his father, did not expect the backlash, and has since been abandoned even by the left he championed. LessonSalman RushdieThe Satanic Verses (novel)Anis Ahmed RushdieImran Khan machine7 min 56 s44:48on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video LatestWhat does holding on to bitterness do to a person? After jokes about Rushdie's marriages, he says bitterness consumes the person who carries it and hurts those around them, and prays for such hearts to be healed. Lessonposition checkedSalman RushdieNelson Mandeladua machine3 min 56 s56:41on YouTube
16 Apr 2022Positive Faith LatestAm I only praying because I fear God will punish me? Mufti Abu Layth says praying only out of fear of punishment is unhealthy: salah is devotion that benefits us, bringing structure and order into our day. Question raised by Mufti Abu Laythposition checkedsalahQuran 74:42-46 (what brought you to Saqar? We were not of those who prayed ... we used to deny)Blaise PascalJordan Peterson machine8 min 20 s0:38on YouTube
26 Apr 2021MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth Do we think in words or in images? The guest argues that shapes are more fundamental than words or pictures; Mufti Abu Layth says words are also reductive, forcing profound things into limited form. Discussionguest speechLupe Fiasco (guest) machine7 min 48 s26:43on YouTube
26 Apr 2021MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth LatestDo obscene or blasphemous thoughts during prayer ruin my salah? Intrusive or blasphemous thoughts in prayer are not a reason to worry: noticing them is a sign of faith, as a hadith says. Mufti Abu Layth adds that jinn in the Quran means the unseen and possession stories are folklore. Discussionguest speechLupe Fiasco (guest)salahwuduwaswasa machine7 min 40 s1:31:29on YouTube
26 Apr 2021MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth LatestAre young people today facing an existential crisis? The guest says most people face a crisis of purpose rather than of existence, urges anyone with suicidal thoughts to seek expert help, and says young people can find value without conventional success. Discussionquoted view, not his positionguest speechLupe Fiasco (guest) machine7 min 48 s1:37:14on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth What is the most important thing to get right in life? Try never to be hurtful or hateful; Mufti Abu Layth says that validates your Islam as a human being, and that disliking what people do is not the same as hating them. Lessonposition checked machine2 min 39 s1:46:01on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth LatestCan the soul travel into the spiritual world through meditation or dhikr? Mufti Abu Layth says such practices may work for the dedicated, and that the soul is not inside the body but a non-local consciousness the brain connects to, like a phone picking up a signal. Question from live chatposition checkedlata'if (spiritual centres) [?]dhikrruhcollective consciousness machine9 min 10 s2:24:10on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth LatestAre many people's frustrations really about unmet sexual needs? Mufti Abu Layth says much bitterness comes from unmet sexual needs, that Islam itself does not see sex negatively, and that Freud should be judged on his ideas, not his character. Lessonposition checkedSigmund FreudCharles Darwin machine9 min 11 s2:43:47on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Is the pursuit of knowledge a deeper drive than sex? Yes for the conscious mind, Mufti Abu Layth says, which is driven by curiosity; and the fact that being is intelligible, as DNA shows, points to a creator. Question from live chatposition checked machine2 min 37 s2:59:31on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth I don't feel spiritual in Ramadan; am I a bad Muslim? No: Mufti Abu Layth says not feeling Ramadan's atmosphere is no reflection of your faith, since worship is not measured by how good it feels. Question from live chatposition checkedhajj machine2 min 38 s3:34:59on YouTube
6 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Donors, deathbed remarks and 'no hatred': an invitation to the critic Mufti Abu Layth says he dislikes his critics' conduct but has no hatred for them, and invites the critic to a dialogue on MindTrap. Otherguest speechWahhabi machine7 min 44 s3:45:06on YouTube
16 Feb 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth LatestWhy does Surah al-Kafirun say 'ma' (what) instead of 'man' (who) for God? Mufti Abu Layth thinks ma is used because it qualifies how God is perceived, since the Meccans also worshipped Allah through others, though he says this is his own understanding. Question from live chatposition checkedQuran 109:2-5balagha (rhetoric) [?] machine4 min 07 s1:18:37on YouTube
12 Jan 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Is tahajjud the best way to get close to God? Night prayer is one good way, he says, but God is always with you; if your lifestyle does not suit it, another practice that works for you is fine. Question written questionposition checkedtahajjuddua machine1 min 57 s2:54:37on YouTube
5 Jan 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth LatestHow do I deal with toxic people and negativity around me? Leave toxic groups and block negativity, since people can never be pleased; he adds that he finds most religious circles toxic. Lessonposition checkedJuhareport: a man built a house and people said if only he had placed the door elsewhere machine5 min 22 s31:00on YouTube
5 Jan 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth How can I make the new year a more positive one? His tips for the year: speak positively, smile, leave toxic circles and start something new, whether a skill or an investment. Lessonposition checked machine8 min 44 s1:35:51on YouTube
5 Jan 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth A preacher's video on masturbation: would you do it in front of your parents? Mufti Abu Layth plays and mocks a preacher's anti-masturbation video built on the question of whether you would do it in front of your parents. Otherguest speech machine3 min 29 s2:18:13on YouTube
5 Jan 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Is anal intercourse with my wife haram? Mufti Abu Layth says no sahih hadith makes anal intercourse with one's wife haram, and that preachers should stop guilt-tripping people over private matters. Lessonguest speechreport: whoever has intercourse with his wife in her anus allah will not look at him on the day of judgement (unresolved)Abu Ibraheem HusnaynZakir NaikImam Malik machine7 min 28 s2:23:10on YouTube
21 Nov 2020video What did classical scholars say about whether jinn can harm or possess people? Imam al-Shafi'i rejected the testimony of anyone claiming to see jinn, Ibn Hazm forbade adding to what Allah said about them, and al-Tahawi held that Satan can only insinuate, not harm; what is called possession is mental illness, and accepting it would void responsibility. Lessonposition checkedImam al-Shafi'ial-BayhaqiIbn Hazmal-Fisal fi al-Milal (Ibn Hazm) machine7 min 46 s26:14on YouTube
15 Nov 2020video Is Surat al-Falaq about protection from the evil eye? No: it seeks refuge from the harm envious people act out and from the superstitious culture around magic, not from an evil eye. The Quran's silence on the evil eye is, to him, a sign of its truth. Lessonposition checkedQuran 113:1-5 (Surat al-Falaq)hasad (envy)Ibn Ashur machine3 min 53 s1:08:18on YouTube
27 Oct 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth LatestHow do I heal my inner child, and how should I raise my children? Mufti Abu Layth says we are an extension of our inner child and that reconnecting with it can be unnerving but healing; with children, go with your heart and build a qualitative bond. Question from live chatposition checked machine13 min 51 s12:51on YouTube
27 Oct 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Mufti Abu Layth's sixth-form story: walking out and landing a college place by mistake Mufti Abu Layth tells how walking out of sixth form with a friend led, by a case of mistaken identity, to a place on a business course the same day. Other machine9 min 11 s33:47on YouTube
27 Oct 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth How do I stop hating people who hurt me? Mufti Abu Layth advises keeping hatred to a minimum, of men or anyone, because hate is baggage that harms the person who carries it. Lessonposition checked machine2 min 26 s2:44:41on YouTube
27 Oct 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Do people with schizophrenia have real religious insight? Mufti Abu Layth says an overlap between such disorders and religiosity is plausible, but it would be a correlation, not proof of cause. Question from live chatposition checked machine1 min 40 s2:52:19on YouTube
22 Sep 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Do brain chemicals shape my personality? Mufti Abu Layth says personality comes from DNA, environment and, in his personal view, the soul too, and that people can improve their predisposition through diet and training. Question from live chatposition checkedruh (soul) as consciousness machine6 min 56 s31:14on YouTube
22 Sep 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Do women have to cover their wrists and ankles in prayer? Mufti Abu Layth says relax: the deen is natural, and obsessing over whether a wrist, ankle or hair shows came centuries after the Prophet. Question from live chatposition checkedHanafiAbu YusufhijabQuran 6:38 (We have not neglected anything in the Book) machine8 min 14 s45:48on YouTube
22 Sep 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth How do I stop being obsessive and fearful about prayer? Mufti Abu Layth says pray out of gratitude, not fear: missing salah should feel disappointing, and the answer is to renew your resolve every day. Question from live chatposition checkedsalahQuran 51:56 (I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me), paraphrased machine5 min 09 s52:47on YouTube

22 more on the topic pages.