| Answer: No, depression is not condemned in Islam. Feeling
depressed is but human; Islam does not want us to be superhuman; it only wants
us to get out of this state as soon as possible.
In this regard,
the true philosophy of life should be understood. We have been created by the
Almighty to be tested and tried (67:2). This trial is conducted through the
circumstances we are put in. If we are put through good circumstances, then our
trial is whether we remain thankful to the Almighty, who gave us without asking
and without our having any right. If we are put through bad circumstances, then
our trial is whether we show perseverance and patience in these times or not.
Both these circumstances generally come in a person’s life.
They are his real test. He cannot be given total happiness or total misery since
that would make the trial profoundly difficult.
It is evident from the Qur’ān that the Almighty tests us
through hardships:
1. to punish us for our own misdoings (42:30),
2. to shield us from greater misery (18:74, 18:79),
3. to sift out the evil within us (3:179),
4. to give us the opportunity to earn reward by showing
patience (3:142, 76:12).
In such circumstances, a person must remember that Allah is
our only Saviour and Refuge. One Whom we will never lose like our other
relations; Who is always with us and Who always thinks well for us. Our
objective as a Muslim is to surrender to His will, since we know that He always
means well for us. This is the essence of Islam. |