By Dilisha Jafri
“Today We will preserve your corpse so that you may become an example for those who come after you. And surely most people are heedless of Our examples!” (Quran 10:92)
There are many lessons we have learnt from the story of Musa A.s. and Firaun: the lesson of pride, arrogance, misuse of power and authority, denial of Allah. However, I’m truly intrigued by the psychological perspective which can be derived from this story. How did Firaun psychologically torture and manipulate a whole generation?
“O Moses! There are enormously powerful people there, so we will never ˹be able to˺ enter it until they leave. If they do, then we will enter! (Quran 5:22) “O Moses! ˹Still˺ we will never enter as long as they remain there. So go both you and your Lord and fight; we are staying right here!” (Quran 5:24) The psychological state of the people of Bani Israel mentioned in these verses can be compared to a phenomenon known as “learned helplessness”. Martin E. Seligman introduced the concept of “learned helplessness” which explains how continuous exposure to uncontrollable stressors allow people to quit trying after some time despite options being available to them. Bani Israel were being reassured that success would be theirs, provided they placed their trust in Allah. Still, they failed to act and trust their abilities. This was not only cowardice but also a result of generational trauma, which may have led to learned helplessness.
“The people of Pharaoh, who afflicted you with dreadful torment, slaughtering your sons and keeping your women alive…” (Quran 2:49). Firaun used to kill the sons of Bani israel in alternate years. The children born during those times faced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and developmental trauma, which may have transformed them into timid and cowardly adults with low self-esteem and motivation. These people chose to remain helpless even when they had the opportunity to transform their conditions; they repeatedly refused Musa a.s. whenever they were told to take action. Bani Israel were defiant and argumentative with Musa a.s.
Allah (swt) created the son of Adam as a Khalifa (leader) in this world; the purpose of believers is to lead people towards the righteous path. Firaun tried to destroy the ability of being a leader from the men of Bani Israel through exposure of uncontrolled stressors and toxicity to them.
How is this a lesson for upcoming generations?
In the contemporary world, there are increasing incidents of suicides, rapes, and murders in the most heinous way possible. Newspapers, social media, and news channels are flooded with crimes. Videos of wars, bombs, mass murders, innocent people being tortured and killed, and young children being forced to live in rubble are circulating all across social media. This information, despite being true, can have a very detrimental effect on our brain and mind.
Exposing young generations to negative information overload, which can result in cognitive burnout, decision paralysis, heightened ANS activation, emotional dysregulation, etc., can act as a mental trap for them. Our generations are exposed to traumatic events which are beyond their control; excessive intake of such information can lead to learned helplessness, people will start falling into the trap of existential crisis and a belief that they have absolutely no control over the outside stimuli.
This can result in: low self-esteem, lack of motivation to take action, hopelessness, thoughts like, “nothing can be done about this”.
Solutions:
Trusting Allah’s plan– We are looking at this situation from a pixel, but Allah knows the complete picture. “So do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are true believers.” (Quran 3:139).
Make a schedule- Set a specific time for watching news and world updates; don’t doomscroll social media the whole day.
Mute triggers – mute or disable the graphics or audios that can negatively trigger your brain.
Purposeful life– “I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me” (Quran 51:56) . The purpose of our life is to worship Allah, enjoin good and forbid evil. Our purpose as an Ummah is social and moral reformation of society.
Muslims around the globe perceive themselves as passive recipients of the zulm they are witnessing. This perception breeds fear of accountability before Allah on the Day of Judgement. We consider ourselves as passive individuals witnessing these incidents; however, sabr in Islam is not passive. Ibn al-Qayyim (R.A.) describes Sabr ‘ala al-Qada, which means perseverance with the divine decree of Allah; this is the patience demonstrated in the face of trials and tribulations. A person is only accountable for things under their control, and right now your mental health is in your control. This body is an Amanah from Allah (swt), and preserving our mental health is our responsibility. It’s important to protect ourselves from the mental trap of negative overstimulation to protect our confidence and self-esteem so that when Allah sends a Musa for you, you will take action rather than refusing him.