Habits

Cont'd from page 3

Your god is whatever occupies your mind most of the time.

We really need to consider this question: “Who is your god?” Idols can be our children or spouse, our business, money, our ego. We have to get in the habit of doing the things that will make certain that God is our god all the time.

[33:41] O you who believe, you shall remember GOD frequently. [33:42] You shall glorify Him day and night.

To put this commandment into practice, we must establish certain habits whereby we guarantee that God occupies our minds more than anything else. The Quran helps us establish soul-saving habits:

1. The Contact Prayers (Salat): those who observe the 5 daily prayers come a long way towards commemorating God a significant proportion of their waking hours. Salat helps us remember God not only during the few minutes of prayer, but also throughout the times of anticipation.  

It’s not just the actual prayer but time leading up to the prayer, thoughts of God. We get up for the dawn prayer, even if we’re tired.

 

We do all 5 of our prayers, not 3, not bunching them all together at the end of the day. The habit we develop is because of what God tells us in:

[29:45] You shall recite what is revealed to you of the scripture, and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), for the Contact Prayers prohibit evil and vice. But the remembrance of GOD (through Salat) is the most important objective. GOD knows everything you do.

2. Commemorate God before eating: Verse 6:121 enjoins us to mention God’s name before we eat:

[6:121] Do not eat from that upon which the name of GOD has not been mentioned, for it is an abomination. The devils inspire their allies to argue with you; if you obey them, you will be idol worshipers.

Often I take a bite or two, forgetting to mention God’s name, and then I remember. I’m trying to do better, but I got in the habit in the military of wolfing down my chow. They gave you 5 minutes to eat, so you better hurry up or they take it away. I need to do better, get rid of that bad habit and replace it with appreciation. God is the Provider.

3. God Willing (IN SHAA ALLAH): “You shall not say, ‘I will do this or that tomorrow,’ without saying, ‘God willing’. If you forget to do this, then apologize and say, ‘May my Lord guide me to do better next time.’ ” (18:24). This is a direct commandment that we must carry out, no matter who we are talking with.

We must develop this good habit.

 

5. Glorify God day and night: When we eat anything, we shouldn’t be like animals.

I was thinking of my dog, who slopped his water and food all over the floor. He paid no attention to what he was eating. I love to consider the small oranges and their bite-size pieces, all wrapped in a beautiful peel. We need to be appreciative of this gift from God—how it’s created and packaged. I used to just go out and watch the sunset and it made me so appreciative. When we see the beautiful things that God has created in our world—a flower, a sunset, an animal—we need to glorify God. Take every opportunity to remember and appreciate God’s gifts. This habit helps make God our God.

6. First Utterance: Make it a habit to say: “In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. There is no other god besides God,” the moment you wake up every morning. If you establish this good habit, this is what you will utter when you are resurrected.

We all have bad habits that we need to overcome; that we need to replace with good habits. These steps can help us slow down and think more and more often of God, be more appreciative. I implore God to help me in all areas—especially reverence during our Contact Prayer, to keep Satan’s thoughts out of my head. To help me when I can’t sleep, to meditate, read or listen to Quran. To help me not be distracted by this lowly world. To commemorate God day and night. It’s a commandment. I need to do this.

May God help us all to practice these good habits that God wants us to do.

Frank