- Understanding and Accepting Qadr (Divine Decree): Qadr is a fundamental belief in Islam, acknowledging that everything that happens, be it good or bad, is by the will of Allah. This belief helps Muslims find contentment in every situation, knowing it’s part of a larger divine plan.
- Practicing Patience (Sabr): Patience is a highly valued virtue in Islam. It is particularly important when facing difficulties or influences that cause distress. Sabr isn’t just passive waiting or enduring; it involves actively turning to Allah, seeking His help through prayer (dua), and trusting His plan.
- Regular Remembrance of Allah (Dhikr): Staying connected to Allah through regular prayer, reading the Quran, and making dhikr (remembrance of Allah through specific phrases or supplications) can provide a sense of peace and contentment, despite external or internal challenges.
- Maintaining Gratitude (Shukr): Gratitude in Islam is about recognizing and appreciating all of Allah’s blessings. Regularly expressing gratitude, even for small blessings, can shift your focus from problems and difficulties to the positive aspects of life.
- Practicing Self-reflection (Muhasaba): This involves taking time to reflect on one’s actions, thoughts, and feelings. This can help in understanding one’s internal influences and how to better manage them.
- Engaging in Beneficial Knowledge and Actions: Seeking knowledge and engaging in actions that are beneficial to oneself and to others can give a sense of purpose and contentment.
- Trusting in Allah (Tawakkul): This involves entrusting your affairs to Allah and relying on Him for the outcome, after exerting your own effort. This reliance can bring about a sense of tranquility and contentment, irrespective of the results.
- Adopting Forgiveness (Afuw): Forgiving others for their wrongs, whether perceived or real, can bring about inner peace and contentment. This includes forgiving oneself for past mistakes and learning from them.
- Maintaining Good Character (Akhlaq): Treating others with kindness, honesty, and respect can lead to harmonious relationships, which can significantly contribute to one’s contentment.
- Balanced Lifestyle (Wasat): Islam encourages a balanced lifestyle. Maintaining balance in one’s duties towards Allah, oneself, and others, in work and leisure, in physical and spiritual activities, helps in achieving overall contentment.
Awareness of one’s awareness
Mindfulness is a form of metacognition (“awareness of one’s awareness”), a self-awareness of what is really going on inside one’s mind and heart. When we are in a state of unmindfulness, we react to thoughts and emotions in knee-jerk fashion and let them lead us wherever they wish. By contrast, cultivating a state of mindfulness gives us the ability to follow or not follow our thoughts as we choose. Muraqabah necessarily includes mindfulness of one’s own intentions, thoughts, emotions, and other inner states. Al-Murta’ish said, “Muraqabah is observation of one’s innermost being (al-sirr), to be aware of the hidden with every moment and utterance.” In every word we speak and in every thought that we choose to pursue, we should be aware of our thought patterns and emotional states in order to react to our inner experiences in the best manner. As put by Ibn al-Qayyim, maintenance of inward muraqabah is “by guarding thoughts, intentions, and inward movements.Being mindful of Allah
This non-religious approach, by itself, still produces health and wellness benefits in people’s lives. Neutral mindfulness practices can be potentially utilized for evil by people ungrounded in an ethical worldview. In the Islamic context, mindfulness is the virtue of muraqabah, a word which is derived from the root meaning “to watch, observe, regard attentively.” It is a complete state of vigilant self-awareness in one’s relationship with Allah in heart, mind, and body. As the Prophet ﷺ defined in the famous hadith of Gabriel, spiritual excellence “is to worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He certainly sees you.”, as a consequence, we develop greater attention and care for our own actions, thoughts, feelings, and inner states of being.Spiritual Excellence
It is not simply a recommended character trait, but rather it is the realization of the supreme character trait, spiritual excellence (al-ihsan). In other words, spiritual excellence is to be completely aware and mindful of Allah at all times—the very peak of faith. Spiritual excellence is the essence of faith, its spirit, and its perfection by perfecting presence (al-hudur) with Allah Almighty, and mindfulness of Him (muraqabatihi), encompassing fear of Him, love of Him, knowledge of Him, turning to Him, and sincerity to Him.Silence is a cure for bad thoughts
Silence is also a means to help us defeat the devil and his satanic whisperings which come in the form of evil thoughts. The Prophet ﷺ said, “You must observe long periods of silence, for it will drive away Satan and help you in the matter of your religion.”
When in silent reflection or mindfulness exercise, we have time to simply be present in the moment without worrying about what is past or future or elsewhere in creation. It is an opportunity to nourish presence before Allah (al-hudur), the same type of presence that we are required to have in prayer. The point of learning to be present in silence is to limit our thoughts on the past or future only to what is necessary and beneficial. Certainly there is an appropriate time to think about the past or the future—to learn from our mistakes, to plan action, to live daily life, to reflect on our fate.
Seclusion is a cure for bad feelings
Seclusion is a cure for bad feelings in the heart, as Ibn al-Qayyim said, “In the heart are disorders that cannot be remedied but by responding to Allah, in it is a desolate feeling that cannot be removed but by intimacy with Him in solitude (khalwah).” Imagine for a moment how much better our life situation would be if we could sit silently alone in our room, content with simply being in front of Allah. No need for smartphones, or games, or television, or electronics, or addictions, or distractions. Indeed, were every person disciplined enough to enjoy the inner life without an incessant desire for external stimulation, the world would be a much better place for us all.The stages of thought
- Al-Suyuti, the first stage of a thought is al-hajis, a sudden and fleeting thought that comes and goes before one can consider it. We may not even notice it was there at all.
- The second stage is al-khatir, a thought that we give attention and consideration. At this stage we have a choice to continue down this train of thought or to ignore it.
- The third stage is hadith al-nafs, our inner dialogue or “talking of the self” as we pursue the thought and seriously consider acting upon it.
- The final stages are al-ham and al-‘azm, the decision and determination to put the thought into action.
Disassociating from your thoughts
As we become more cognizant of our thoughts, we begin to perceive a distance between ourselves and our thoughts. We disassociate and disidentify ourselves from our thoughts; our involuntary thoughts are just “happenings” (hadath) and do not necessarily reflect who we are. Initial thoughts (al-hajis) can originate involuntarily from the self, as Allah said, “We created man—We know what his soul whispers to him.” Thoughts also originate from an external source, the whisperings (al-waswasah) of a devil or an angel. Then the Prophet ﷺ recited the verse, “Satan threatens you with the prospect of poverty and commands you to do foul deeds; God promises you His forgiveness and abundance.”
We are not bad people for having bad thoughts; we all have bad thoughts no matter how righteous we are. It is harmful and counterproductive to burden ourselves with guilt because we experience bad thoughts. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Verily, Allah has pardoned my nation for their bad thoughts within themselves as long as they do not speak of them or act upon them.” We are only held accountable for our thoughts if we consciously choose to act upon them. By training ourselves to become more aware of thoughts, this gives us some space between ourselves and our thoughts so that we have time to react properly, to ignore what is bad and to pursue what is good.
Consider your mind as if it were a still pond and your thoughts are ripples and waves in this pond. We cultivate mindfulness by becoming aware of the ripples and learning to ignore them or engage them at will. If you touch it, or engage it, it only makes the waves stronger. You cannot beat back the waves with a club; you must learn to let them float away. Through silent mindfulness exercise, we let the waves and ripples simply dissipate.
Mindfulness exercise is not about experiencing spiritual ecstasy, even though sometimes the practice leads to pleasurable feelings. Mindfulness exercise is a means of accumulating mental strength and, in conjunction with an Islamic framework, spiritual strength. Mindfulness exercise is not about supplanting our regular primary acts of worship either. Among other benefits, it functions as a type of preparation for the main acts of worship, similar to how some Muslims prepare for Ramadan by eating less on non-fasting days. The mindfulness exercise is the rehearsal, and the salah is the performance.
Mindfulness Exercise in Islam
To begin, choose a time of the day when you can be in a quiet place alone. Some Muslims prefer the time before the dawn prayer (fajr) or another prayer, before or after work, at lunch break, or even before bed. A quick exercise right before prayer is particularly beneficial as mental preparation for prayer. It is good to pick a regular time for daily exercise, but it can be done at any time of the day to suit your schedule. It can also be done for as long as you want, an hour or even five minutes a day. Beginners who want to advance their practice should commit to at least five minutes every day, to solidify it as a long-term habit, and gradually increase it over time as they see fit. As you begin to see the cumulative positive effects of the practice, and learn to enjoy silence and stillness and simply being present, you may eventually want to do the exercise for longer.
Next, choose a posture that you find comfortable. You can sit up in a chair, on a comfy cushion, or even laying on your side or back in bed, as Allah praises those “who remember God standing, sitting, and lying down.”
Now, begin by focusing awareness on your natural breathing. Progressively relax the muscle tension throughout your body: your arms, your legs, your core, your jaw. You can close your eyes or simply lower them. As you start with relaxed breathing, feel for a sense of your state of heart and mind in this moment. What are you feeling? What are you thinking? Is your mind racing or calm? Try to settle your mind by bringing awareness to your natural, relaxed breathing, simply feeling the life and energy Allah gave you throughout your body. Feel a deep sense of gratitude to Allah for your breath, your living and being in this moment.
He knows everything going on inside you right now and at all times. Focus on the feeling ofmuraqabahin this state of inner silence (samt al-sirr). Try to stop talking to yourself (hadith al-nafs) or pursuing trains of thought. Silence your inner dialogue as much as you can and simply focus on being present with Allah in the moment. Know and feel that He is watching you, “He is with you wherever you are.”
Even the Prophet ﷺ would sometimes experience short periods of forgetfulness, so he would seek the forgiveness of Allah (he would say “astaghfirullah”) as a way to bring himself back into the state of muraqabah. “The best remembrance is to declare there is no God but Allah (la ilhaha illa Allah), and the best supplication is to declare all praise is due to Allah (al-hamdulillah).”
It is not necessarily an object of intensely focused concentration, repeated over and over again. Rather, it is a calming phrase that your mind will come to associate with the state of muraqabah, both inside and outside of the exercise.
Fruits of Mindfulness Exercise
- You will notice that having presence in prayer becomes easier and more natural than before.
- You will be able to better relieve stress and attain calming relaxation,
- better focus your attention when needed,
- have an easier time dealing with life’s difficult moments
- experience more compassion with others.
- You will gain a measure of control over our thoughts and emotions.
- We become more aware of the distance between a feeling and a reaction to it.
- The habit of referring back to our anchor (remembrance) gives us just enough breathing room to confidently say “no” to the self’s or the devil’s evil suggestions.
- A state of tranquil calm leading to contentment. It is said that contentment is the jannah of this life.
- Reward of eternal Paradise in the Hereafter
Contentment is the Jannah of the World
- Understanding and Accepting Qadr (Divine Decree): Qadr is a fundamental belief in Islam, acknowledging that everything that happens, be it good or bad, is by the will of Allah. This belief helps Muslims find contentment in every situation, knowing it’s part of a larger divine plan.
- Practicing Patience (Sabr): Patience is a highly valued virtue in Islam. It is particularly important when facing difficulties or influences that cause distress. Sabr isn’t just passive waiting or enduring; it involves actively turning to Allah, seeking His help through prayer (dua), and trusting His plan.
- Regular Remembrance of Allah (Dhikr): Staying connected to Allah through regular prayer, reading the Quran, and making dhikr (remembrance of Allah through specific phrases or supplications) can provide a sense of peace and contentment, despite external or internal challenges.
- Maintaining Gratitude (Shukr): Gratitude in Islam is about recognizing and appreciating all of Allah’s blessings. Regularly expressing gratitude, even for small blessings, can shift your focus from problems and difficulties to the positive aspects of life.
- Practicing Self-reflection (Muhasaba): This involves taking time to reflect on one’s actions, thoughts, and feelings. This can help in understanding one’s internal influences and how to better manage them.
- Engaging in Beneficial Knowledge and Actions: Seeking knowledge and engaging in actions that are beneficial to oneself and to others can give a sense of purpose and contentment.
- Trusting in Allah (Tawakkul): This involves entrusting your affairs to Allah and relying on Him for the outcome, after exerting your own effort. This reliance can bring about a sense of tranquility and contentment, irrespective of the results.
- Adopting Forgiveness (Afuw): Forgiving others for their wrongs, whether perceived or real, can bring about inner peace and contentment. This includes forgiving oneself for past mistakes and learning from them.
- Maintaining Good Character (Akhlaq): Treating others with kindness, honesty, and respect can lead to harmonious relationships, which can significantly contribute to one’s contentment.
- Balanced Lifestyle (Wasat): Islam encourages a balanced lifestyle. Maintaining balance in one’s duties towards Allah, oneself, and others, in work and leisure, in physical and spiritual activities, helps in achieving overall contentment.
