Can Faith Help with Anxiety and Pain?
Can Faith Help with Anxiety and Pain?
I want to start with something honest: if you are hurting right now, it may not feel like verses, duʿā, or dhikr could possibly touch what you’re going through. Anxiety, grief, physical pain — these things live in the body. They ache in the chest, tighten the breath, and make the whole world feel smaller.
I know, because I’ve been there too.
It’s Not About “Just Calm Down”
Sometimes well-meaning advice can sound like: “Just have sabr. Just be calm.” But if you’ve ever been in the thick of a panic, or felt pain pulse through your body, you’ll know that calmness isn’t something you can force.
And the beautiful truth is — Islam doesn’t ask us to deny what we feel. The Prophet ﷺ himself cried, grieved, fell ill, and acknowledged the weight of pain.
“No fatigue, illness, anxiety, sorrow, harm, or sadness befalls a believer — even the prick of a thorn — except that Allah removes some of their sins because of it.” (Bukhari, Muslim)
Our struggles are seen. They are honoured.
What Faith Really Offers
Islamic healing isn’t about snapping your fingers and making pain disappear. It’s about creating a container — a safe space for your heart and body — and inviting Allah’s mercy into it.
Through dhikr: The rhythm of “Lā ilāha illa Allāh” or “Hasbunallāhu wa niʿma al-wakīl” softens the nervous system, slows the racing breath, and reminds you: you are not carrying this alone.
Through Qur’an: Words of Allah settle into the chest like medicine, shifting the meaning of pain from random suffering into a pathway of nearness.
Through duʿā: Even when whispered through tears, it’s a way of handing what feels too heavy back to the One who can hold it.
My Reflection
I remember a time when anxiety sat like a knot in my chest. My thoughts were spiralling, my breath shallow. The last thing I felt was “calm.” But when I picked up the Qur’an, I didn’t read much — just one verse. And in that verse, I felt held.
The problem didn’t disappear. But the way I carried it changed. My chest felt softer. My breath loosened. I remembered that Allah was with me.
Faith may not erase pain, but it can transform how it lives inside us.
You Don’t Have to Be Calm to Begin Healing
Healing in Islam doesn’t demand perfection. You don’t need to “be strong” before you come to Allah. You don’t need to “be calm” before you step into remembrance.
You can bring your anxious thoughts, your restless heart, your aching body — and simply sit with Allah in that state. Because He is Ash-Shāfiʾ — The Healer — and His mercy reaches us even when we feel most broken.