Time, Trauma and Therapy. Lessons from Surah Al-Asr

Assalamu alaykum folks. Surah, one of the most shortest compact suras in the Quran and how it serves as a blueprint in handling life. Okay, we're going to take a look at that. So, first of all, two powerful themes, time and trauma. Okay. Unfortunate, but yet so inevitable that every single one of us, it is almost a certainty will experience at some point in their lives trauma or

anxiety and [clears throat] suffering. Okay, people we will experience this. It is inevitable. What can we do about it? So that and the other briefly taking a look at time itself because time is in through which we experience these things and just taking a quick brief deep dive into a philosophical uh question of physics that does time even exist and [laughter] may sound crazy.

Many physicists argue that time does not actually exist. It's it's an illusion that we as humans experience. It's bound to our human construct that and this is what Einstein had argued that you have spacetime which is the four dimensions. So the three which we experience and the fourth which is time and some call this a block universe in which everything is kind of plotted out a map almost with all the nows that are already there.

So in some ways everything has already happened. One could argue that in the eyes of God everything has already occurred. Allah knows. Okay. So, we put that to one side when we're going through difficulty. This is a powerful surah to reflect upon. It's bring it back people and Allah swears by time

following it immediately by insan. Is this an indication of the bounded nature that time has just to insan Allahbar? And one amazing way to look at this ayah and read it is not saying that Allah is causing you to suffer or promising that you. No, Allah is describing reality that as long as there people go through life, life will inevitably contain suffering.

It will contain trauma. It is nature can be brutal and the human existence is full of struggle. Allah is describing that it is inevitable. But what c can we face this? Can we overcome this? Allah says yes. You see the power of eman this internal script this blueprint it provides you the why the meaning [clears throat] of what is going on.

Allah has a greater plan. You see pain and suffering are not necessarily the same thing. Pain is what happens to us. We can't control surrounding events but suffering is the meaning that we give to this event. You see these are two separate things. It's internal. What else is internal?

The im is internal. The blueprint that Allah has a greater plan at play. There is a greater algorithm. Right? So people can endure great pain if they have a powerful enough why. So with this im they go about they do this. But is there more? And here you see anybody who studied uh anybody who studied therapy knows that when dealing with people of who victims of trauma when dealing with uh addicts when dealing with people downspiring that there is you see you could take as

an example the the the the successful 12step program all over the world whether it's narcotics anonymous alcoholics anonymous the 12th and most important step is to help another person suffering. See you come back is on the pattern of which means between yourselves. If I say it means fight between yourselves.

If I say it means have compassion between yourselves. You give this this you give counsel between yourselves. [clears throat] What is the here? the suffering you take it. You take the bull by the horns. You tackle reality. You don't try to avoid it. You take it face. But when you do, it's difficult.

They bring patience. How? With the blueprint of im. You see that you can you have you have tremendous willpower to overcome these difficulties. See the immin will help the people who have the blueprint of im.

And this is where the words of Jigar Muradawadi the poem jump straight to mind that [laughter] that which could destroy us. Time doesn't even have this might say. [laughter] He says time exists because of us and not vice versa.

People have a blessed day. May Allah bless you.