Establishing Routines to Find Peace in a Turbulent World
by Tarek Ezzat & Waleed Ahmed Najmeddine
In an environment where external peace is difficult to find (conflicts, protests, struggles, natural disasters and human tragedies) a Muslim can at least search for inner peace. People have many worries, including debts, finding good friends, dealing with other people, dealing with injustice, not having enough time, too much work, worrying about the future, dealing with life’s problems, and in general being dissatisfied with what they have. Each of these worries has a remedy- there are elements needed to reach a state of inner peace and knowing the main ingredients required for finding peace makes it easier to reach the right destination. For instance, a positive outlook on life including patience & contentment; lowering expectations of this worldly life; and working to build a close relation with Allah (swt).
“With the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace” (13:28)
Setting priorities and establishing balance in our lives is an important aspect of Islam. Priorities start with the fard (obligatory acts of worship and deeds). This means that we have responsibilities towards Allah first, the One Who created us and provides us with everything we need in this life. We need to obey Him because we trust that He will only command us what benefits us and only forbids us to do those things which cause us harm.
The importance of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is that he provides guidance and interpretation of Allah’s commands. The Qur’an provides guidance for all of mankind but cannot give us information regarding all of the details we come across in our daily lives. Prophet Muhammad has encouraged us to hold fast to the Qur’an and then to follow his ways to the best of our ability.
We need to build our own faith and understanding of Islam, and then work on our surroundings. As mentioned above, we cannot do everything all at once. Our bodies have rights over us. Getting enough nutrition, sleep, and exercise are very important, but we do not spend all of our time in these things. Our families and friends have rights over us, but we do not spend all of our time and efforts trying to please them alone. Our society has rights over us, but we do not devote ourselves to serving it at the expense of neglecting ourselves and loved ones. It is better to pick a cause to strive for and become excellent in it, rather than to spread yourself too thin working for many causes at once and therefore failing to give each one the attention and effort it deserves.
To summarise, the priorities we need to set as Muslims for having order and purpose should be as follows:
1. Allah: following His commands and worshiping Him
2. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): implementing his Sunnah (traditions & habits) as much as possible
3. Parents: obeying and being kind to them
4. Spouses and children: cherishing and protecting them
5. Extended family: honouring and being kind to them
6. Fellow Muslims and friends: loving them and encouraging them to do what is right
7. Society: working to improve its condition and guiding it towards Allah.
This does not mean that we cannot focus on more than one thing at a time, only that we should never exert too much effort on things lower down on the list at the expense of those things higher up on the list.