Loneliness Or Solitude? Quranic Guidance | Mufti Abu Layth

Bismillah, people. So, we're going to tackle the question of loneliness or solitude. You decide. And before that, I'll remind you once again, if you haven't already caught up with the book lounge, that was last month's book, definitely well worth a discussion. This month's book is Awakening.

But there's this quote I thought was really timely to include by Rumi, "Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you." In many ways, it echoes the poem by Sayyidna Ali, which we cited earlier, that za'amta annaka jirmun saghirun wa fika nṭawa l-ʿalamul akbaru. Right, loneliness or being alone.

Now, this is what I want to highlight, that look, we are in a world where we will paradoxically find ourselves being more and more alone. The pandemic is a prime example. But being alone is not necessarily a bad thing. Okay, it is a good thing. It's a developing thing. Solitude is an amazing blessing.

There's been several studies that have been conducted recently, especially with young people ra- aged between 16 to 25. And they found, in fact, there was a study with over 50,000, I think maybe 55,000 people participating. And they found that people between that age range were to be more lonelier than other ge- you know, whether you want to say generations or other peers much older than them or counterparts.

And you think, well, that's strange because these young people live in a world where they're ever so connected. You know, Snapchat, TikTok, I don't know, games and uh all these kind of this this world and they live in a connected world. But that connected world is ironically isolating them.

This is by their own self-confession. And they and and and they are being challenged by the and they don't know how to deal with this. And this sometimes it can lead to depression, it can lead to phobias of, you know, not wanting to go outside, not wanting to meet people. It can lead to low self-esteem, it can lead to suicidal ideations.

And may Allah make it easy for all of these people. And in light of that, I want to share some uh Quranic guidance and and to explain that you see, it's all in the mind, people. The world is what your thoughts make of it. Solitude is an amazing gift.

But when does being alone shift into lonely? It shifts into that when people feel, because the person who's lonely, the person who's alone, but doesn't feel lonely, what is different there? And it's the mind, because the lonely person can even be amongst people and feel lonely. Because they feel that the the the indispensable ingredient is that they feel people don't want them.

Or people don't appreciate them or value them or love them. This is what creates that sense of loneliness. It's not being alone. But because we will find ourselves increasingly more and more alone, let's take a look at some guidance and some reminders.

Here we've got in Surat al-An'am, verse 94, Allah mentioning wal aqad ji'tumuna furada kama khalaqnakum awwala marra, that you have come to us at the end of life alone as we created you in the beginning. Allah. See, this being alone was never we were always alone.

This life is a journey we undertake on our own. Other people just they appear parallel to us. They may have concurrent journeys with us, but they are on their own journey as we are on our own. And Allah says, wa taraktum ma khawwalnakum wara'a zuhurikum, and you have left what we and all these everything that you collected, you amassed, that you acquired, it has been left behind you.

Wa ma nara ma'akum shufa'a'akumul lazina za'amtum annakum annahum fikum shuraka'. Those people who you claimed were so that made your world for you. Your acquaintances, your partners, business partners, your friends, your gangs, your spouses, your n- nobody.

Ma nara'akum. You know, Allah saying, "We don't see them." Ma nara'a ma'akum. These people are not with you. You claimed they were partners. Now, this can mean in many ways, but in this way that looking at life, see, where are they? You were born alone. You pass alone.

Right? And Allah says, wa dalla ankum ma kuntum taz'amun. These claims you made, they they have long gone. They've left you behind. Now, in many ways, this is an absolute it's an eye-opener.

But it's also a blessing to say, "Look, these are not bad things necessarily." I mean, the primary verse may be speaking about partners and shirk, and but by extension, it's talking about all kinds of partners as well. The verse This is the superpositional nature of the Quran. Now, having people, having support mechanisms, having whether it's going to be your acquaint- acquaintances, your friends, your your support, your spouses, your this could be a powerful thing, but just remember, a wake-up call, it is ultimately you.

Don't neglect that. And learn to be at one with yourself. And I'm going to speak about that, but let's take a look at this verse. Here in Surah Maryam, an amazing example of Maryam alayh assalam, who, when she, according to certain people, that she, at the time of labor, was on her own.

Fa'aja'ahal makhabu ila jiz'in nakhlah. Qalat ya laytani mittu qabla hadha wa kuntu nasiyan mansiyya. Now, this is important. What Now, some people say she was maybe Joseph was with her, but at this point, she was on her own. Allahu a'lam, but the point is, she felt this loneliness. She felt it because you can feel loneliness even in a crowd.

And with that the pain, and she's going through the the pains of labor. And look at the and then the exhaustion of going through childbirth. And the hunger, she's hungry. She needs food. And look at what Allah says. The the verse after that, was 23, verse 25, wa huzzi ilayki bijiz'in nakhlah.

That shake the tree. Tusaqit alayki rutaban janiyya. Allah. That shake the tree. You need help? You need assistance? You fallen down? You know, you found yourself to be that the world around you has collapsed?

And you fallen? You you're you're on the ground, you're on your back. But you can still look up. So, you can get up. The spirit of the Quran, huzzi ilayki bijiz'in nakhlah. You want this? Put some effort into it. Tusaqit alayki rutaban janiyya.

The fruits, the dates, they came showering down. Allah could have said, "It's okay, here's food from heaven. We're going to make this happen. We're going to make other means. We're going to there's going to be a group of travelers passing by that have got so much food and they don't know what to do with it." They they could be a hundred means that don't even have to be so supernatural, but they could be many means, asbab.

But Maryam alayh assalam is a is an archetypal role model for women to come. And what will people have? They will have struggles. So, shake the tree. The food, it will come. Yes, you you're alone, you're stranded. And guess what you have to do. Guess what?

You have to still put the effort in. You have to pull yourself up by the bootstraps. And then it comes. The glory, the the fruits. It all, you know, it unfolds magically. And And that is such a powerful inspiring verse.

And the final verse I want to take a look at. This was from uh Surah Hadid. I And I'll show this. That Allah's Look at how it's lining this up. That fi sittati ayyam thumma istawa ala al-arsh.

Ya'lamu that Allah created the cosmos with all its magnificence. That wa ya'lamu ma yaliju fil-ardhi wa ma yakhruju minha. Now, this is See, everything that goes and comes out of the earth, that goes into the earth, Allah knows about it. Why is this important saying this?

Allah said he created the cosmos. So, yeah, I guess we know he knows everything. It's reminding you what you're going through as well. He knows. He knows. He hears you. Wa ma yanzilu min as-sama'i wa ma ya'ruju fiha. You see?

And what comes down and what goes up. Many of things, whether you're looking at just elements, water, you're looking at the cycles of nature. Or you're looking at things like your cry, your plea for help goes up to the heavens. And what does Allah say?

You are in this moment of stranded loneliness. Allah says, wa huwa ma'akum. Allah. He's right there with you. God is with you. Wa huwa ma'akum aynama kuntum.

Go wherever you want. God is with you. Such a powerful verse. Wallahu bima ta'maluna basir. And Allah surely sees that what you do. See, reminding you what Why what you do. Because you have to do something.

Yes, Allah created the cosmos. Yes, he knows all of this. But he sees what you do. This is bringing it back. See, Allah first of all, he shows you the cosmos. Shows you everything. You're thinking, but I'm going through this. He says, I know you're going through that. And then you're like, but where is God?

Wa huwa ma'akum aynama kuntum. He's with you. Go wherever you want. Allah is with you. All of a sudden that assurance you see, because loneliness comes from this thing of not being wanted. Allah wants you.

He has chosen you. Your story will always just be your story. There isn't a single person on this globe through humanity that has your story. Like your fingerprint, like your DNA, it is unique to you. And then Allah reminds you.

Allahu basirun. He sees what you do. Meaning, do something. Have a bit of strength. You will get through this. And I thought it's so important to remind us, because when we find especially people find feeling in this age where things are becoming much more and more isolated, ironically, and they're thinking, well, damn, you know, am I worth anything?

Am I capitalize on solitude. Yeah. Let me just bring up the these. So, that was these verses I wanted to share for today.