As we get busier at work or other commitments, it’s easy for the days to fly by. This unfortunately has an impact on our faith.
Below are six things we can try during the day to stay spiritually connected:
1) Utilise the morning: The Prophet (saws) made a du’a “O Allah, bless my nation in their early morning.” (Tirmidhi).
Start with the prayer and fit in some additional recitation of the Qur’an as the Angels especially witness this. It sets things nicely for the rest of the day inshAllah.
2) Carry a book: It can be anything of benefit – on spirituality, history, tafseer etc. Keep it in your bag or car and refer to it during the day.
I’d say generally it’s good practice to have two/three books one should be reading on and off anyway, so always keep one accessible.
3) Resist the urge for social media: A 2022 study indicates average social media usage worldwide amounted to one hundred and fifty one minutes per day (Statista, 2022). That’s over two hours!
We all get accustomed to check at any spare moment, which removes focus. Instead, try to keep the phone at arm’s length or temporarily turn off wi-fi at key times.
4) Do dhikr regularly in the day: Recite Astaghfirullah, SubhanAllah or any variations. This can be whilst waiting for a meeting, walking or even whilst driving to work.
I had a friend who really went for it by taping quranic verses to his car rear view mirror and would memorise whilst the lights were red!
5) Spend time with good people: It’s often said we are the average of the five people we spend time with the most.
Imam Al-Ghazali indicates five things one should look for in a good companion: ‘Piety, good character, absence of greed, intelligence and truthfulness.’
Align with people like that and of course we should try to emulate that with others.
6) Protect the prayer: When busy in the day, it’s tempting to cut corners with the prayer. Try to ring fence the Dhuhr and ‘Asr prayer with presence of heart and composure.
The Shaytaan will always try to convince you that you are too busy, but in reality one prayer is only ten/fifteen minutes each out of an eight hour working day.