Assalmualikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu!
I Hope you all are well and in the best of your health and fitness. I am a student of Alhuda Online, Taleem al Quran Diploma Course, Allhamdullilah I am blessed with such knowlegable teachers who guide you in every aspect of your life. Currently we are on a winter break, I live in Perth, Western Australia and here its Summer Season though, But in many countries winter is on its peak, many people are having their winter break so our Ustazah gave us some valuable and practical tips on how to be more productive during our winter holidays and how to beat laziness.
I am already following few of these tips, found them really beneficial and will follow the rest as well inshallah and I am currently reading this interesting book “The Productive Muslim” by Muhammad Faris, this is highly recommended. I really loved the content that I am actually reading it for the second time. So this is about my plan for summer holidays in Perth. I just thought of sharing few of these important tips with you. Intention behind sharing these tips with you guys is to share something which I’ve benefited from and if anyone of you follow this, it can be a source of sadaqa e jariya and can increase my reward inshallah.
TIPS FROM MY USTAZAH:
During Your Winter Break It is a good time to make up for your missed fasts as days are short.
Alhamdulillah, Companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would welcome winter with a lot of enthusiasm due to all the rewards that they could gain from it. Winter can only be a blessing to the believers, as the time we spend during it can become very valuable. It has a lot of benefits and the most obvious one is fasting. Fasting becomes easier in winters as the days are shorter and nights longer. With nights being longer comes another benefit, and that is of being able to pray at night, while still getting some rest. It is reported from Abû Hurayrah – Allâh be pleased with him – he said:
Shall I not point you to comfortable proceeds? People responded, “And what is that o Abû Hurayrah?” He replied, “Fasting in winter.”
This beautiful season gives us a chance to get closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى , and a chance to reflect on the seasonal changes and the power Allah سبحانه و تعالى has over the entire world. If none of these do it for us, then the reminder of the extreme cold of the hell fire is sure to make a believer want to seek refuge from it. Seeking refuge by making dua is another form of Ibaadah which will increase the good deeds of a believer.
In order for us to succeed in our ibadah, we need to efface that feeling of lethargy. A few tips which will help do that are the following:
1. Stop believing that you are lazy
Stop calling yourself lazy! Mo’min cannot be lazy, tell yourself that you are not lazy and also BELIEVE in it. By doing so, we set a bar for ourselves which we need to live up to. Make lots of du’a to protect you from this disease. Our Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم has taught us the beautiful du’a:
اَللّٰھُمَّ اِنِّیْ اَعُوْذُبِکَ مِنَ الْعَجْزِ وَ الْکَسَلِ
“O Allah, I seek refuge in you from incapability and laziness.”
Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم taught us to make this du’a to protect us from the disease which is laziness. Laziness is actually a disease of the heart which we cannot see by our naked eye, but this disease has a very bad prognosis which can lead to other problems.
2. Plan and organize
There is nothing more appealing than planning and organizing things. Plan what to do and within what time frame to do it. Make check lists. Use sticky notes. Set reminders on your phone. Make posters to hang around the house. All of these things should be used to remind you that you are fit and fine, and it should motivate you to keep thanking Allah سبحانه و تعالى and seeking forgiveness.
3. Exercise/Walk
One of the best ways to beat lethargy and laziness is to activate your body. This can easily be done through exercise/walk. Most people stop exercising in winter due to the cold mornings. This is not a good excuse and is not a reason to stop exercising! As believers, we need to take care of our body. This does not mean that we overdo it and stress ourselves out either. It just means we need to be moderate in how much and how often we exercise.
Salah, by itself is the best exercise and prescription from Allah for better health and fitness who offers it regularly. Salah provides the ultimate satisfaction and peace to the mind thus save you from many diseases and disorders. It enhances your concentration and reduces the level of depression. SubhanAllah!
4. Pay attention to the times you feel energy within you
Another way to perform ibaadah perfectly is to check the times when you are most energized, and use that time to perform acts of ibaadah. We need to put this sugar rush into good use.
5. Brain storm and De-Clutter
Get rid of all the clutter around you, both literally and mentally. A cluttered space is sure to set you back and make you feel lazy. Clean up and stir up the thoughts in your head which will tell you what you are best at. This is Shaitaan’s another dirty tech tick to keep you away from Tayyab, clean and healthy surroundings. Remember Cleanliness is half the faith!
6. Get some sunlight
Vitamin D is essential for us. Alhamdulillah, the blessing of Sunlight is very beneficial due to the fact that it helps us stay energized and keeps us in the mood to do things. Spend some time in the sunlight without having negative thoughts and see the difference it can make. It will at least give a signal to your brain, that “it is morning now, time to bring khair and blessings into our lives, and we need to start working!” 🙂
7. Stop the enmity with your alarm
Do we not all hate hearing our alarms go off, and love that snooze button?! If this alarm is the only thing that helps you wake up for fajr, then keep it very far away from your sleeping area, and loud enough so that it can be heard. Continuously hearing that annoying alarm will make you want to get up and shut it off. By the time you get to the alarm, you are half way up!
Best thing to do is to sleep early. This is the best way to wake up. Otherwise the matter will remain difficult in most cases. Also cooperate with your family on this matter. Above all, ask Allah سبحانه و تعالى to help you and guide you, and always do wudoo’ and recite dhikr before you go to sleep, and cleanse the house of images and other things that prevent the angels from entering. Remember Allah and recite the dua as soon as you wake up. Some people may initially wake up, then they go back to sleep again. But if a person remembers Allah straight after waking up, this will loosen one of the knots of Shaytaan, and will motivate him to get up. When he performs wudoo, his determination becomes stronger, and Shaytaan is driven further away, and when he prays, his shaytaan is defeated, his balance (of good deeds) becomes heavier, and he will feel happy and energetic. Remember don’t let Shaytan win!
8. Be Thankful
All Praise is for Allah SWT who continuously provides opportunities for His servants to increase their hasanat and wipe away their sayyi’at. Be thankful for this beautiful time of the year in which we get another chance to gain His Raza and to get closer to Him, Be Idhnillah. Gratitude helps increase one’s blessings and makes you more productive, Alhumdullilah.
Allah says: “And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: ‘If you give thanks (by accepting faith and worshiping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings); but if you are thankless, verily, My punishment is indeed severe’” Let’s, therefore, make thanking Allah part of morning and evening adhkars to get more of Allah’s blessings in our lives, In Sha Allah. May Allah SWT bless us this Taufeeq and accept all our efforts to please him, Ameen
These are just a few tips to help us overcome the laziness that we may feel during the winter season. These tips are to give us an idea of how we can use the winter time to increase and improve our ibadah. And to benefit from this winter season to attain the ultimate raza of our Rabb, In Sha Allah
Enjoy your Winter break with your family and spend quality time with them. May Allah swt shower His endless Blessings and Rahmah on us always. Ameen
Much Love
Noureen Razzaq