Positive and negative thinking has the most powerful effects on the human mind and can affect the way we look at the world. Optimism is a blessing that is taught through the Quran in stories that we can all relate to.

So then why is Optimism controlled by positive thinking? Islam teaches through the Quran that the thoughts are the power of the mind. You are controlled by the thoughts you have. Thoughts affect your outlook on life, so an optimistic view of life is dependant on positive thoughts of the world. If you have negative thoughts, you are highly likely to suffer from a pessimistic view of life. This will all have a direct influence on the quality of your life. In the Quran, Allah tells us that contentment and feelings of peace are found in thoughts, specifically thoughts about Allah.

Allah says:

“It is only in the Remembrance of Allah that the heart finds contentment”

Surah Ra’d

The word being used in this verse is ‘Dhikr’ which is translated as remembrance.  Allah, The Almighty is talking about your thoughts here, and the question is why does this give you contentment or peace of mind and heart? because this is the very thing that connects you to Allah.

That’s not to mean that we can just remain sat all day long reciting the words of Dhikr and not doing anything else in life. We should also be careful not to rush through the words of tasbeeh after salah, counting on the fingers, saying them as fast as we can without thinking about the meaning.

This isn’t the Dhikr that was intended in this verse and we lose its benefit if we’re not careful. Dhikr should be positive and intentional thoughts about Allah. To get maximum benefit from that act of Dhikr, we are required to actually say the words and think about what we say. So, you utter the words and actually reflect on what you’re saying. In modern day terminology they call this being present.

FREE 7 Day Course 21 Ways to Get Close to Allah Become the Best You with this Quranic guide

• Quranic guidance on Optimising Your Life
  
• Become the Best version of yourself this Month
  
• Learn how to deal with Problems with Confidence
  

get Instant Access

Dhikr or positive thoughts of Allah is true remembrance of Allah. Allah teaches us through this verse that we need to be in a positive frame of mind and be more optimistic. The way to do this is through remembrance and of course that means recurring thoughts on a practical level.

We can control those thoughts by remembering Allah the Most Merciful. When you remember that Allah is forever merciful to you, you become content that Allah will have mercy on you even if you make mistakes. This will make you less fearful as often as a direct result of those sins that we keep falling into, we’re prevented from turning to Allah for help.

It’s natural that when you think you’ve done something wrong, you want to avoid the person you’ve wronged. Like those times in our lives where our parents were upset with us, we would try at all costs to avoid them, so as to avoid punishment or the feelings of guilt.

We all do the same with Allah, until we remember how Merciful Allah really is. When you have positive thoughts about Allah, your expectations become very positive. You start to become optimistic. Then those thoughts are what gives you the feeling of reassurance and contentment.

Why We Always Want More

First, it’s important to understand that it’s human nature to want more. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“If the Son of Adam had a valley of gold, he would want another. Nothing will satisfy that hunger except the earth (of his grave), yet Allah will forgives those who repent.”

(narrated by Anas ibn malik, Al-bukhari and Muslim)

With that in mind you can understand why all the things in life that keep us busy such as relationships, careers, businesses, our homes and social circles, all of these things are a means of joy, happiness, and contentment. We chase after these things because the soul is yearning for one thing, to feel content. Regardless of what we gather, how many houses, cars, toys or relationships, we still yearn for more, it’s never enough.

Have you ever wondered why? I spent years trying to figure this out. Why could I never be content, even though I had everything I needed? The answer is found in the vers

“It is only in the Remembrance of Allah that the heart finds contentment”

Surah Ra’d 

I missed the point. Allah says contentment is not in anything except the remembering Him, the Most High.  It’s only then that your heart is going to be content, your heart will feel at ease only when you connect to Allah.

How to Start Positive thinking

We begin at the start of the day when you wake up. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us the very first thing you should do when you wake up is think about Allah in the most positive light. That is to be grateful that Allah has given you life and yet another day to do something great with your life.

As soon you wake up you make the Dhikr:

‘Alhamdulilah alathi ahya’na ba’ma amaata’na wa ilaihi An-nashoor’

(All praise is to Allah, Who has given me life after taking it from me, and to Him is the final return)

This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say as the very first word in the morning. The very first remembrance, the very first thought should come into your mind when we wake up, a positive thought of gratitude to Allah. Gratitude will bring you happiness in life.

So many people go to sleep and never wake up again, so this is the most amazing blessing, to have yet another chance at life. Every day is a new opportunity, make the most of it. Don’t lose yourself in the grind of life.

Remember Allah and then after you pray your Salah, remember Allah again. It’s a triple dose of positivity first thing every day. Imagine what the positive thoughts and thoughts gratitude could do for you if you have them daily. That would be enough to give you an amazing start to the everyday of your life.

I have a morning ritual, and this is something that I’m constantly working at perfecting. The best part of it is the positive thoughts that I make sure to ponder over. Thinking about these thoughts triggers happy feelings, makes me truly grateful. Sometimes it’s just to thank Allah for my senses, or the relationships in my life, or even things that I possess. Whatever makes me count my blessings in life, that’s what I’ll think about.

Follow the sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), do the morning Adhkar (remembrances recorded in the Sunnah) because this will automatically set up your mind frame so that you have an optimistic, totally positive thought process and outlook.

Things to Avoid for an Optimistic life

Gratitude and all the things you recognise as blessings in your life can be destroyed in an instant by the 24-hour news cult. You see, all the negative information you put into your mind will ruin a positive frame of mind. Avoid the news at least in the mornings and last thing at night. It has the power to mess things up.

You can pretty much guarantee 90% of the time the news will be negative, so if that’s the first thoughts of your day, it starts you off on a negative mind frame. When you go out into the world, your thoughts about what happens in your life will be affected by that negative mind frame, most of the time while you are truly unaware. 

People wake up every day without thinking about Allah, not having positive thoughts about all the blessings in their lives. Sadly that can be a normal thing for so many. Whenever they experience negative things in their day, it becomes highly stressful, often overwhelming and sometimes people actually think that life is falling apart because something is not going right or according to expectations.

If you fall into those types of mornings then the simple solution is Remember Allah, be grateful, think positive and create an optimistic mind frame. It takes effort but with this, you go into the world and when negative things happen, you are much more equipped to deal with it. You won’t feel as though your world is falling apart, you won’t be so problem focused. It will give you the ability to find a quick way out of that negative thought cycle. You will become more solution focused insha’Allah.

Don’t let those negative thought in, you can do this, I believe in you and more importantly Allah believes in you ?