You should aim to develop the following 7 Spiritually Productive activities into habits so that you can hopefully continue benefitting from them throughout your life. I consider these activities as the spiritual ‘bread and butter’ of any ProductiveMuslim. To develop them as habits is the essence of embarking on your journey towards the love of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) and constantly increasing in your eman, inshaAllah:
1) Pray the Sunnah Prayers before and/or after Prayer:
I know it’s easier to just pray the obligatory prayers and rush out of the mosque! However, when we realise the rewards we’re missing from not praying these Sunnah prayers we won’t leave them. Over the years I have learnt there’s only ONE way of getting yourself to pray these Sunnah prayers constantly: Get into the habit of praying them! They’ll soon become part and parcel of your Salah and your Salah will feel incomplete without performing these acts.
2) Remembrance of Allah after Salah:
Again, it’s easy to rush out after Salah due to our busy lives, though if we are honest, how long does it take to recite the supplications after Salah? (The Answer: 5-7 minutes!). If you’re not sure what I’m referring to, you may find the supplications at MakeDua.com. Nowadays you’ll find pocket notebooks/or phone applications with these supplications. Get into the habit of reciting them daily after each Salah to enrich your Salah experience.
3) Morning/Evening Remembrance of Allah:
Step 2 is also included in this habit. There exists a beautiful set of duas/remembrances from the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which he used to say before sunrise and after sunset. They are true stress relievers and energy boosters which never fail to make my days and evenings feel blessed. [You can find the duas at MakeDua.com]
4) Night Prayer:
Hamdulillah, during Ramadan we have the wonderful Taraweeh prayers to attend. However, outside of Ramadan there are many opportunities to still obtain the reward of the night prayer. If you’re new to night prayer or you don’t pray it constantly during the year, make sure you try to attend prayers each and every night in congregation at the mosque (particularly brothers), and give yourself a ‘no-excuse’ policy. Develop a habit of praying Tahajjud and continuing to pray them for an entire 30 days; this will set you on better footing to continue with the Night Prayer for the rest of the year inshaAllah.
5) Duha Prayer:
Here’s a Productive Muslim’s top secret to a productive day: 2 rak’ahs known as the Duha prayer which you may pray at anytime after sunrise till before the sun reaches it’s zenith (around 30 minutes before Dhuhr). The reward of this prayer is similar to giving charity on behalf of every bone in your body, and the energy and buzz you feel during the day is amazing.
6) Supplications before you Sleep:
You’ve just had a long day and you’re super tired. You climb into bed and you want to hit the sack… but wait! Before you do, can you give yourself just 10 more minutes to recite the supplications before sleeping? That’s all. Try them and find yourself experiencing the most beautiful sleep ever and waking up for Fajr easily, inshaAllah. For more information on waking up for fajr, constantly, everyday, without fail Read How to Wake up for Fajr.
7) Reciting one hour of Quran each day:
Notice: I said here recite one hour of Quran each day and not one juz’ or one Surah. The amount of Quran you read is not as important as the quality of your understanding. If you spend one hour reciting one verse but understand it fully, that’s more important and beneficial then reciting lots of Quran at break-neck speed yet not understanding a word.
So there you go, 7 spiritually productive habits you can develop throughout the year starting from TODAY!
Note: The below worksheets can help you in developing the above habits;
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masha'Allah!! an awesome and inspiring article. jazakaAllah khair.
Btw, am I supposed to be able to see this page? ;) I got here from Google Reader lol.
Thanks for the tips….its will be good if you spread it to every1 in the world, Insha’Allah.
Congratulations about the new website….its look like wicked than old website.
Subhan’Allah to every1 for their support to the website.
Wa Alaikum Assalam from Hamza
salam
MashAllah-u-Laquwata illa billah.
I’ve checked quite a few recognized dua websites – and none of them contain transliteration. (perhaps because transliterations cannot convey the arabic pronunciation accurately).
I suggest checking with your local bookstore for a dua book that contains transliteration.
http://www.sultan.org/books/hisnalmuslim.pdf
The question is.. if one doesn’t feel blessed on the days they perform the sunnah acts, how does one motivate themselves?
1. Those who worship Allah out of fear, they do the acts of worship only to avoid His punishment in this life and hereafter.
2. Those who worship Allah as merchants, they look at “what’s it for me?” and count their good deeds and bad deeds and expect a return/profit for every good deed they do.
3. Those who worship Allah out of love – regardless what happens to them, they are in worship mode.
I guess the 7 Spiritual Habits which I write about, they are there to get someone into the ‘habit’ of worshipping Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) regardless of the consequences, and to always have this consciousness of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala). They might start off as habits, but eventually, these acts of worship become the bread and butter of a worshipper, that he/she will feel his day is incomplete without.
Imagine for someone who didn’t have these habits or didn’t them do each day, when he/she goes through a bad day, he’ll get stuck not knowing what to do… but for a believer when he/she faces something tough and realizes that a duha prayer is coming up, or tahajjud is there at night, it’s such a relief for him/her.
Now regarding why you don’t feel the difference, there could be many explanations: 1. is that sometimes our sins are a block to taste the sweetness of an act of obedience… and as the scholars say, one of the ‘hidden’ punishments of our sins is that we don’t enjoy the acts of worship anymore (or even feel the bitterness of the sin). 2. sometimes when you’re used to doing an act of worship and it doesn’t make a difference or you feel bored with it, Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) will want to “upgrade” your worship to something more, so he removes the sweetness of the obedience until you increase it in quality/quantity (e.g. doing 4 rak’ah for duha instead of just 2)..
regardless of the above.. in practical terms: just keep going!
Well dear all brothers and sisters, you might want to help my knowledge and experiences regarding Islam as i still have a lot to learn. Please check my site http://ifoundmoslem.blogspot.com you may find something different there.. and i’ll be very thankful if someone can share or teach me about islam more. Thank you.
ALHUMDULILLAH that you found the truth.. may ALLAH HELPS you in all you’r problems Ameen
really eye opening talk.. SUBHANALLAH
knowledge is rallay a power..may ALLAH GRANTS you more and may HE MAKES us as HE WANTS us
1. Those who worship Allah out of fear, they do the acts of worship only to avoid His punishment in this life and hereafter.
2. Those who worship Allah as merchants, they look at “what’s it for me?” and count their good deeds and bad deeds and expect a return/profit for every good deed they do.
3. Those who worship Allah out of love – regardless what happens to them, they are in worship mode.
I guess the 7 Spiritual Habits which I write about, they are there to get someone into the ‘habit’ of worshipping Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) regardless of the consequences, and to always have this consciousness of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala). They might start off as habits, but eventually, these acts of worship become the bread and butter of a worshipper, that he/she will feel his day is incomplete without.
Imagine for someone who didn’t have these habits or didn’t them do each day, when he/she goes through a bad day, he’ll get stuck not knowing what to do… but for a believer when he/she faces something tough and realizes that a duha prayer is coming up, or tahajjud is there at night, it’s such a relief for him/her.
Now regarding why you don’t feel the difference, there could be many explanations: 1. is that sometimes our sins are a block to taste the sweetness of an act of obedience… and as the scholars say, one of the ‘hidden’ punishments of our sins is that we don’t enjoy the acts of worship anymore (or even feel the bitterness of the sin). 2. sometimes when you’re used to doing an act of worship and it doesn’t make a difference or you feel bored with it, Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) will want to “upgrade” your worship to something more, so he removes the sweetness of the obedience until you increase it in quality/quantity (e.g. doing 4 rak’ah for duha instead of just 2)..
regardless of the above.. in practical terms: just keep going!
You should really talk about how it’s okay to say your fardh and required sunnah *only*. People have busy lives. Allah is kind. Let’s please emphasize that.
I’ve hired about a dozen interns in the past year, and a few of them have been Muslims. The Muslims suffered from anxiety attacks, guilt, and extensive worry from not being able to say “enough” sunnah along with their fardh and wajib salat ruku’uh. While well-intentioned, you might be adding to the apprehension of those whose hearts are still plagued by Shaitan’s wordly games of “I’m running out of time, does that mean a regular American life and an Islamic life are incompatible? Does that mean I have to choose?” And as always, Allah knows best.
You should expound upon the virtues of dhikr and “the art of amazement” when it comes to “daily miracles” in helping those of us with serious anxiety issues realize we’re in Allah’s care, we just need to trust Him.
The Lawgiver teaches us in the Qur’an: Whoso obeyeth the messenger hath obeyed Allah, and whoso turneth away: We have not sent thee as a warder over them. (Surah An-Nisa, 80)
The point one needs to pay attention in the verse is that the emphasis on the concept of “obeying the Messenger”. This point shows us that following the Messenger, in other words following his (s) commands and rules is a worship that God has brought upon us as a necessary pre-condition. The Sunnah is in its utmost simplicity, the embodiment of the Qur’an. It’s worth dwelling upon this point here. The Sunnah is not a concept that can be dealt with separately from the Qur’an.
Following a ‘regular american life’ and following an ‘islamic life’ are two concepts are neither mutually exclusive nor equally important. What is important, is however, to have the ability to prioritize and synchronize both lives with each other in their due proportion. Live your regular American life by revolving it around the Islamic Life. Not the other way around. It is in the following of the Sunnah and embodying the spirit of the Sunnah that will ultimately result in the: “daily miracles” in helping those of us with serious anxiety issues realize we’re in Allah’s care, we just need to trust Him.
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Sorry, one last question, I don’t really know much about Tahajjud, the night prayer, so I was wondering if you could enlighten me about it and how one prays Tahajjud.
Jazakallah khair, and once again may Allah bless you for your efforts!
- Regarding the morning/evening dua; try to read/recite them with understanding, and after one or two weeks of reading from paper, you’ll notice yourself memorising them naturally.
- Regarding Tahajjud prayers – I suggest you look through islam-qa.com for answers.
Hope this helps!
Abu Productive.
thank you for all your time and effort, may Allah swt reward you
djazakom ALlah khair
Maashaa Allah you have done well by sharing a good spiritual habit with us. May Allah Subhana Watahaala rewards you with Khair.
I will like to encourage people to also be practising the habit of performing sunnah fasting on Mondays and Thursdays as that is also a spiritual act that will get you closer to Allah. Al-hamdullah, we fast during Ramadan Months but we forget about the sunnah fasting recommended by our beloved Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W.S).
Al-hamdullah, Now i don’t feel like taking food on Mondays and Thursdays since i started performing the sunnah fasting and will like to encourage our brothers and sisters to try and perform the sunnah fast to have more Taqwa of Allah Subhanna Watahala.
Jazakallahu Khair
Abdallah
Thanku Brothers….
PLEASE GIVE REFRENCE OF DUHA PRAYERS….?
*Abu Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him)reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, “In the morning, charity is due on every joint bone of the body of everyone of you. Every utterance of Allah’s Glorification (i.e., saying Subhan Allah) is an act of charity, and every utterance of His Praise (i.e., saying Al-hamdu lillah) is an act of charity and every utterance of declaration of His Greatness (i.e., saying La ilaha illAllah) is an act of charity; and enjoining M`aruf (good) is an act of charity, and forbidding Munkar (evil) is an act of charity, and two Rak`ah Duha prayers which one performs in the forenoon is equal to all this (in reward).” [Muslim]. (2) Footnotes:1: http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/728282: http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/hadeeth/riyad/08/chap206.htm
JAZAKALLAHU KHAIR for sharing …this really works and gives happiness to life ALHUMDULILLAH …ALA BI ZIKRILLAHI TATMA INNAL QULOOB…
of habits in himself. Because it defines the direction which may lead in order
to build a strong relationship with Allah Almighty and find out the way of
Janna.
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Can i share this articles in my site?
JazakAllahkhoir…
You’re most welcome to! Please ensure to post a link back to the original article here.
JazakAllah khair!