The phrases “what if” and “if only” are often used for regret or to dream of a seemingly better reality…but if you adopt a more fruitful perspective, you can use the phrases to see what you were saved from instead. Regret can be inescapable, but when we wonder “what if” that regret has the potential to turn into something worse. Why does “what if” open the doors to Shaytan, and what are positive ways to use “if only”?
“If only things had been different…” “What if I had done something else…”
The phrases “what if” and “if only” are often used for regret or to dream of a seemingly better reality…but if you adopt a more fruitful perspective, you can use the phrases to see what you were saved from instead. Regret can be inescapable, but when we wonder “what if” that regret has the potential to turn into something worse. Why does “what if” open the doors to Shaytan, and what are positive ways to use “if only”?
President | Imam Dr. Omar Suleiman is the Founder and President of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, and an Adjunct Professor of Islamic Studies in the Graduate Liberal Studies Program at Southern Methodist University.
Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research
7750 N. MacArthur Blvd
Suite 120237, Irving, TX 75063
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