The following 7 daily habits will benefit you throughout your life, promise! Begin embarking your journey by affirming your sincere love for Allah, our beloved Messenger PBUH and for this beautiful religion. Alhamdulillah.
- Pray all of your Sunnah prayers before and/or after the Fard prayers:
We often get so caught up with our work and heavily absorbed in to daily tasks that we begin to neglect the One who is in control of the outcome. Sure, Fard prayers are obligatory but the Sunnah prayers carry great virtue. In fact, we learn from our beloved Messenger PBUH in Al-Tirmidhi who said that: “Whoever prays twelve rak’ahs during the night and day, a house will be built for him in Paradise: four before Zuhr and two after, two rak’ahs after Maghrib, two rak’ahs after ‘Isha’ and two rak’ahs before Fajr prayer.” That’s right, a house for us in Paradise! Now let’s put that in to perspective. We work so hard, often get two jobs or even borrow money from friends and family just to put together a deposit for a house in this world. Now, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that but by understanding how easy Allah has made it for us to earn a house in Paradise, we learn how merciful our Lord really is. So how do we do it? There is only one way to develop a habit to pray our Sunnah prayers and that is through consistency. Once your Sunnah prayers become a habit, your Salah will feel incomplete without them.
- Remembrance of the Most High after Salah:
How long does it take to recite the supplications after Salah? Maybe 5 minutes? There are plenty of resources online and mobile applications where you can find supplications. Enhance your Salah experience by remembering Allah after each Salah. This will also improve your focus and increase patience. Examples of these supplications are:
“Alla’humma antas salaam wa min kas salaam taba rakta ya dhal jalaa li wal ik raam (O’ Allah, You are the Peace, and You are the Source of Peace, You are Blessed, Oh Possessor of Glory and Honour)” and “Allahummaa’inni ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni ibadatika (O’ Allah Assist me in remembering you, in thanking you, and worshipping you in the best of manners)”.
- The remembrance of Allah in the morning and the evening:
A wonderful way to make both your mornings and evenings feel blessed are by reciting the morning and evening Duas from the Sunnah of our beloved Messenger PBUH. These Duas really do help relieve stress, provide comfort and bring about energy. After all, we are told in the Qur’an where the key to happiness lies: “Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” (13:28)
No amount of money, power or fame will bring us happiness. Sure, it may do so in the short term but even the richest of people feel an empty void in their hearts. One of the greatest gifts and forms of meditation for a Muslim is the ability to remember Allah. Examples of these Duas are:
“Allaahumma bika ‘asbahnaa, wa bika ‘amsaynaa, wa bika nahyaa, wabika namootu wa ‘ilaykan-nushoor. (O Allah, by You we enter the morning and by You we enter the evening, by You we live and and by You we die, and to You is the Final Return.)”
- Night prayer:
During Ramadan, we have the beautiful Taraweeh prayer but outside of Ramadan, we still have the opportunity to earn rewards from the night prayer. Develop a habit by praying Tahajjud continually for an entire 2 months. According to Phillippa Lally, a health psychologist, it takes on average 2 months before a new behaviour becomes automatic. The benefits of the Tahajjud prayer are endless. Allah’s Messenger PBUH said, “Our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, comes every night down on the nearest Heaven to us when the last third of the night remains, saying: “Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?”
- Duha prayer:
Al-Bukhaari and Muslim narrated from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (RA) that he said: “My close friend PBUH advised me to do three things: to fast three days of every month, to pray two rak‘ahs of Duha, and to pray Witr before going to sleep.” Salah offered in rak’ahs of 2 known as the Duha prayer can be prayed fifteen minutes after the sunrise until ten minutes before Zuhr prayer. The energy and buzz you will feel throughout the day is indescribable!
- Dua before you sleep:
I get it. It’s been a long day and you want to head straight to bed but what if I told you that you can experience the most wonderful sleep ever and rise up for Fajr comfortably. Spend 10 minutes each night reciting Duas before bed. Examples of these Duas include:
“Allaahumma qinee ‘athaabaka yawma tab’athu ‘ibaadaka. (O Allah, save me from Your punishment on the Day that You resurrect Your slaves. (Recite three times in Arabic)).” And “Allahumma Bismika Amutu Wa Ahya. (O Allah, with Your name, I die and live).”
- Reciting Qur’an one hour each day:
Not one surah or one juz’ but rather one whole hour. The quality is far more important than the amount you read. To recite a single verse in an hour with complete understanding is far more important and beneficial than reciting a lot of Qur’an very fast without understanding anything.
We hope this article was of benefit to you. Please kindly share with family and friends so that they may benefit too!
Reference
productivemuslim.com/7-daily-spiritual-productive-habits-to-develop/
