| By Tabassum Mosleh |

Stress! Is there any person in the world who isn’t intimately familiar with it? We seek relief from stress in absurd ways – by shouting at our children when they don’t do their homework, or banging the desk when an assignment isn’t going right, or watching comedy movies to take our minds off it.

But there are some beautiful stress-relievers we can find in the Sunnah of the Prophet (sa), and doing these have the added reward of following the Sunnah.

1. Use perfume.

Aromatherapy has become quite a popular remedy to relieving stress, a fact being successfully utilized by cosmetics companies. Now you come across the term quite often while browsing shelves in the supermarket. Just smelling some ‘itr also relieves stress. And if you apply some new perfume every time stress gets at you, you’re spreading relief through the air to reach others around you too!

2. Smile.

Research done on the physiological the effects of smiling show that even holding a chopstick horizontally with your lips helps you deal with stress. (Kraft 2012)

     3. Do wudu.

Apart from being a spiritual cleanser, a well-performed wudu also has two of the most famous relaxation techniques– water-therapy and mindfulness. Feel the cool liquid running over your skin. Sense your heart being cleansed from sins with every falling drop. A mindful wudu will leave you clean and refreshed– physically, mentally and spiritually.

    4. Forgive.

It takes about a second to say, “I forgive you.” Nurturing hurt feelings is one of the surest ways of getting your adrenaline-taps turned on. Take a minute to remind yourself of the huge benefits of forgiving. Remember the following statement of ‘Umar (ra):

“There is no better punishment for one who has disobeyed Allah with regard to you, than your obeying Allah with regard to him.” (ibn Kathir)

    5. Recite some ayahs.

The Quran is the best remedy in the world; the miraculous sounds of Allah’s words uplift our soul. Their powerful meanings are Quranic therapy for negative thoughts. But rather than passively listening to the Quran, reciting it has the added benefits of rapidly increasing your stock of good deeds, and beautifying your voice in recitation further uplifts the heart.

Dumping all your problems and worries onto the pages of a diary is a renowned stress-reliever. But there’s a better way of getting rid of worries – share them with Allah. Complain to Him about every bad thing that’s happened to upset you, and ask Him for them. Apart from feeling relieved, you have just increased your account of good deeds, and can now rest assured that the Lord of the worlds will help you, in sha Allah.

Tabassum Mosleh is a freelance writer and a student of al-Salam Institute. She likes animals, natural beauty, reading novels and researching interesting topics. She shares her reflections at the blog sections of Understand Quran Academy, IIPH and Ibana. Contact: tabassum_mosleh@hotmail.com