2025-June: Dunyah, Akhirah, Consistency in Eebadah

Dunyah - Akhirah - Consistency in Eebadah

Oftentimes, due to the busy nature of my life, I’m unable to stop and reflect on how I pass my days. Be it my day job, educating and mentoring my kids and students, doing household chores - some task or the other is always there withholding my brain from stepping off from the driver’s seat and looking at life as a bystander.

When I go out on drives, or hear the world fade away within my helmet when I’m riding my motorcycle- these are the times when I get to ponder about how I have been spending my days and if I’m just on auto-pilot in this dunyah (world). These are the moments when I face a harsh reality- that perhaps I am on a trajectory that’s very deviated from the qabr (grave) and from the akhirah (the afterlife).

Remorse- guilt- dismay- sometimes even tears, follow the former thought process. But as Muslims, it is unto us to look to the Qur’an and Sunnah for every aspect of our lives instead of needless feeling hopeless. So let’s do just that.

Identifying the cause

The Prophet ﷺ explained this phenomenon eloquently:

“Eeman wears out in the heart of any one of you just as clothes wear out, so ask Allah to renew faith in your hearts.”
(Sahih al-Hakim, authentic as per al-Albani)

A lack of remembrance of our Creator and His Divinity has consequences and yes, it is only human for this to happen due to busyness, sins/shortcomings or simply the monotony of daily life. And Allah states in the Qur’an:

“And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed life...”
(Surah Taha, 20:124)

Needless to say, we certainly need to question “what are the distractions in our life that are cementing us to this short and temporary life, preventing us from preparing for the life that is endless”. Is it our enjoyment of worldly comforts? Reliance on our efforts alone for sustenance rather than on pre-destination and Allah’s will? Engagement in idle talk? Seeking out entertainment in the name of destressing?

The solution as per the sunnah

As stated before, despair and hopelessness is not the approach of a Muslim. This bodes no positive end to this journey of life. Faith in Allah’s Infinite Mercy, and familiarising ourselves with what The Most Wise has recommended us to do (through direct verses of the Qur’an or the teaching of the final prophet) is where in lies true success.

The Prophet ﷺ advised:

“The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those done consistently, even if small.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, 6465)

Consistency.

Not erratic, sporadic, bursts of productivity followed by phases of procrastination and neglect.

Consistency.

So instead of setting the goal of waking up everyday for tahajjud and failing at this goal, setting an achievable goal of waking up at least once a week for tahajjud. Then ensuring that we continue to achieve this goal, each week. After all, nothing motivates an individual more than success esp. if it’s success that results in spiritual rejuvenation. 

The goals don’t necessarily have to revolve around waking up in the last third of the night (as oftentimes this is a very challenging task). Setting achievable consistent goals such as praying on time, reading and reflecting on at least one verse of the Qur’an or one hadith, keeping silent and refraining from idle talk or backbiting - these are all trackable and achievable goals that can be life changing and highly effective in removing the despair and hopelessness that comes from a dunyah centric life.

And all the while, it is certainly mandatory that we call upon Allah for help and guidance as without His will and guidance, a life of routine and firmness on eebadah and deen isn’t possible. This is why the Prophet ﷺ frequently made the following du’a:

“O Turner of the hearts, keep my heart firm upon Your religion.”
(Sahih Muslim, 2654)

And finally, be aware of external factors

Analogies are a major part of my life. It maybe so because I’m a teacher who primarily teaches middle school and high school students and analogies make more sense to them than explanations. So here is one:

You can have the cleanest of socks but they’ll instantly become dirty once you put on shoes, with dirt in them.

So we ought to be very careful of the company we keep- company that immerses us in Allah’s remembrance instead of the daily distractions that slowly invisibly grow roots and cement us to this dunyah. We could be on a very good trajectory building good habits, being consistent in our eebadah (worship) but the wrong company can take us off orbit. The Prophet ﷺ has said:

“Verily, the parable of good and bad company is that of a seller of musk and a blacksmith. The seller of musk will give you perfume, you will buy some, or you will notice a pleasant smell. As for the blacksmith, he will burn your clothes, or you will notice a bad smell.”
(Source: Sahih Bukhari, 5534, Sahih Muslim 2628)

“A person is likely to follow the faith of his friend, so look (carefully) whom you choose to befriend.” (Musnad Ahmad)

May Allah destine all of us to live a life in His Remembrance, akin to that of rasooulullah ﷺ, surrounded by good companions with whom may we be united in jannah!