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ProductiveMuslim’s Tips to Survive a 12+ Hour Flight

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Ever since our popular ProductiveMuslim Commuting article few years back, we haven’t visited the topic of “productive commuting” again. Here’s a different take to the topic with a focus on how to survive a 12+ hour flight. 

Flying time, especially if it’s more than a few hours, can be extremely boring since you’re disconnected from the world and you can’t really go anywhere. However, if you think about it, this ’idle’ time is actually what you’ve ALWAYS wished you had whenever you get busy in your real life. How many times have we caught ourselves saying, “If only I had a bit of free time, I’d do X”?

Shaytaan is very good at trying to make us waste the treasure of free time on a flight; but with some preparation and pre-planning, we can convert it to the most productive time ever!

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ProductiveMuslim Hobbies

Series: 21 ProductiveMuslim Hobbies Part 1

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Series: 21 ProductiveMuslim Hobbies

Some of the Companions of the Prophet (peace be on him) attained great spiritual heights. They believed that in order to remain at such a spiritual level they should always be serious, engaged in constant worship, turning their backs on all the enjoyments of life and the good things of the world, neither playing nor relaxing but keeping their eyes and their minds fixed on the Hereafter and its concerns, away from common life and its amusements.

Let us listen to what this great Companion and scribe of the Prophet (peace be on him), Hanthalah al-Usaidi, has to say about himself: Abu Bakr met me and asked, ‘How are you, Hanthalah?’ I replied, ‘Hanthalah has become a hypocrite.’ He said, ‘Subhanallah! What are you saying?’ I replied, ‘When we are with Allah’s Messenger (peace be on him), he mentions the Fire and the Garden until it is as if we can see them. But when we leave the Prophet’s company and play with our wives and children or busy ourselves with our properties, we forget much.’ Abu Bakr said, ‘By Allah, I have experienced the same thing.’ He and I then went to visit the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him), and I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, Hanthalah has become a hypocrite.’ He asked, ‘And how is that?’ I replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, when we are with you, you talk about the Fire and the Garden until it is as if we can see them. Then we go out and play with our wives and children and deal with our properties, and we forget much.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) then said, ‘By Him in Whose hand is my soul, if you were to continue at the same level at which you were when with me and in remembering Allah, the angels would shake hands with you when you are resting and when you walk about, but, O Hanthalah, there is a time (for this) and a time (for that).’ He repeated this phrase three times.(Related by Muslim)

As ProductiveMuslims, we should heed this advice of our Prophet and give ourselves time for leisure and time for work, moreover, we should try and invest our leisure time in activities and hobbies that not only help us relax, but develop ourselves by pursuing interests and passions that stimulate our creativity hence making us ‘sharper’ more ‘active’ Muslims.

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