A Prescription for Anxiety

And finally the last discussion here is addressed to the Prophet (peace be upon him): We know that your heart becomes constricted at what they say; that you feel anguish; that you feel anxiety on account of it. And this is a great lesson for all who suffer from anxiousness. This is a prescription given to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to remove his concern, his worry and his grief at what people say, when he is vexed by them. Allah says fa-sabbiḥ bi-ḥamdi rabbik: sit and make some tasbīḥ with the praise of your Lord.

Wa kun mina al-sājidīn, wa kun mina al-sājidīn: and be of those who prostrate. Wa-ʿbud rabbaka: and continue to worship your Lord until the yaqīn, the certainty, comes to you — which could mean a number of things, whether death or whatever the case may be; until death one must worship in any case. So remember that this is a prescription given to the Prophet (peace be upon him); and if it is good for the Prophet (peace be upon him), then it must be something very particular for us as well.

With that the chapter ends. The sūrah ends. That is the end of Sūrat al-Ḥijr, and now we begin Sūrat an-Naḥl.