The episode in one paragraph. On the Petroly podcast from Mukhtalif radio, Ahmed Attar talks with Dr. Saad Al-Arifi, a university professor and trainer in influence and persuasion, about how to hold steady when life's crises come. His starting point is that crises are built into life, so we should expect them instead of being ambushed by them. How we receive a crisis, with panic, patience, contentment or gratitude, decides how heavy it feels and how long it lasts. Contentment can be learned: stop comparing unfairly, notice what you still have, speak to yourself as you would to a friend, and take practical steps while trusting that the good in a hardship often shows itself later. He argues from his Islamic faith and from many real stories, several of them his own, and promises that the conversation will lead to "the garden of contentment".
How to use this site. Watch the episode and keep this site open beside it. Each chapter opens the video where that part of the conversation starts, sets out what was said, and (as the site grows) explains the idea behind it and gives you something to try.
The twelve chapters
- 01 Life on replay In the video · 2:28
- 02 Reward or punishment? In the video · 8:12
- 03 Two laws: things fade, people clash In the video · 17:28
- 04 Four ways to receive a crisis In the video · 25:46
- 05 The hidden good In the video · 29:04
- 06 Complain to whom? In the video · 32:50
- 07 The road to contentment In the video · 36:49
- 08 What blocks contentment In the video · 47:10
- 09 Gratitude: three blessings before sleep In the video · 59:30
- 10 Standing by someone in a crisis In the video · 1:05:08
- 11 Are we fragile? In the video · 1:15:09
- 12 Practical steps through a crisis In the video · 1:22:04
A note of care
Many of the stories in this episode are about illness, death and loss. If a crisis you are living through feels too heavy to carry, please talk to someone you trust, a doctor or a mental-health professional. The guest's advice is offered as encouragement, not as a substitute for care.
This is an independent study aid. It is not affiliated with the Petroly podcast, Mukhtalif radio or the guest.