By Abdullahi Jamaa
Occasionally, when we meet over a cup of tea, we debate about how things are getting tough in our modern lives. It’s as if we rarely have blissful moments. Our little minds and hearts are overwhelmed, giving us endless consternations.
We tax our lives with a lot of forethoughts, worries, and endless anxieties about achieving all our ambitions in life. Knowing that no one has ever achieved all his ambitions in life, isn’t it a lovely idea to reflect on our modern lives as Muslims?
In our search for success, honor, wealth, and prestigious careers, we tire our bodies and forget our souls while chasing life so hard. Unable to balance our demands from work and family life, we struggle to find inner peace.
Modern life is taking a toll on us. We are aging before our real age. We carry a heavy load of worry, breaking our mental and physical strength. We seem to make little headway with our unfinished businesses every single day.
We just get lost in all the false vibes of living in a world where everything is changing so fast that there is always one more new thing to catch up with. Life is a race against time, and until we lick the dust in the sod, we will never get a clue about it all.
We have so many stresses in life. Stress of topping our career, stress of becoming financially stable, stress of having a good partner and family, and stress of looking progressive. We are so engrossed in this modern life that we forget to enjoy the little things we have.
As we push and fight in the turbid stream of modern life, our insatiable appetite for solace and success in this fleeting dunya cannot be achieved without having a strong understanding of the purpose of life. Our worries and seething frustrations can only be terminated by coming back to where we belong as Muslims.
We can no longer walk in the shadow of fear, put on fake smiles, and hide our pain. Because if we don’t lead a real life, we may end up cheating ourselves. What we may think of as success may indeed be a thunderous fall into a dangerous abyss of life.
Modern life, with the intrigues of western culture, is full of satanic temptations. Haram is more vibrant than halal. There is more to fear about prevailing enticements and the insurmountable urge to follow society and not the Sunnah.
But there is an easy way to clear our mind and find some glee while still living life in a very organized and beautiful way. Knowing the patterns of life while adapting to them as a modern Muslim is a lesson that we must learn; that is why we really need reflection.
Let’s not forget about our spiritual responsibility. The secret to a blissful life starts with a dedication to acts of worship. A successful mindset is born out of obedience and loyalty to the creator—the epitome of true satisfaction.
In the magnificent Qur’an, Allah (the Most High) says:
“And do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. It is they who are truly rebellious.” Quran 59: 19
When we forget Allah in our daily lives, we end up having an all-pervasive misunderstanding of the world around us. The consequences of this can be manifested in how we carry ourselves in work and family life.
“When man forgets that he is a slave to the Almighty, he will inevitably form a wrong view of his position in the world, and his whole life will go wrong because of this basic error.” Interprets the verse, Abu Ala Maududi
“Man’s remaining firm and steadfast on the right path entirely depends on his remembering God at all times. For as soon as he becomes heedless of Him, he becomes heedless of himself, and this very heedlessness turns him into sinfulness.”
Therefore, the most important and vital thing to do in life, and more important during this contemporary era of confusion, is to remain steadfast in one’s religion. No matter how fast the world moves, you can never catch it.
Legendary scholar Imam Ibn Jawzi said:
“The knower of God stays in His presence when he is alone, and if a blessing comes into his life, he knows from whom it comes, and if he experiences something that would have been bitter, it tastes sweet in his mouth because of his knowledge of the One who sent it as a test.
Moving forward, make sure your commitment to Allah is a non-negotiable priority in every single day of your life. Whenever you fail to make headway in life, ask Allah for his support and facilitation.
Our righteous predecessors have left nothing to chance in integrating their lives fully with the deen. For them, what we see as simple acts of life today were indeed hard to do or achieve without invoking and involving Allah.
“We used to ask Allah for his support and facilitation, even when tying our shoelaces,” said the mother of believers, Aisha (ra), in an authentic hadith.
Whenever you face daunting ambivalence of which way to jump in this modern life, you must know that no one is ever closer to us than Allah. With this, we shall gain salvation from worry and anxiety and fresh enthusiasm to tackle life with confidence and courage.
Turn to your creator and say:
“I start with your name, the Lord of the World. I am stuck in life, unable to know where to start. Ya Allah, guide me to that which is beneficial for both my dunya and akheerah. O Allah, help me stay from haram in achieving the best of this world.”
