Friday night sit at home and read quran?

‘Do you want me to sit at home and read Qur’an on a Friday night?’

Me: ‘Yes’

‘What? Are you mad? No way! I had a difficult week’

Me: ‘How was it difficult?’

‘I have been at work 8 hours a day, everyday. I have been taking care of the kids, cleaning the house and cooking food and taking care of your parents every day and I need a break’

‘What do you want to do?’

‘I want to relax. Chill out. Meet some friends. It’s all halal. I want to eat out tonight. My friends and I will wear proper hijaab. Its all sisters. I will lower my gaze from looking at women, but I need this time. Its all brothers. No free mixing. It will be my clocking out time. My own pick-me-up time. To get my energy back for the week ahead. To relax my head and body because I have to work/take care of the kids tomorrow’

Me: ‘When will be time between you and Allah happen?’

‘Tomorrow. The whole weekend is left. I promise. Tomorrow’

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SubhanAllah…

Is this what happens on a Friday night? The weekend starts and there is a internal struggle within yourself?

A part of you – wants to remind yourself how little time you have left before you have to stand before Allah.. The Other part of you – is horrified to consider reciting Qur’an, or listening to an Islamic lecture on a Friday evening? Or doing anything remotely ‘Islamic’?

Who will win? Who has won? Just look at the last 4 weeks, not more – just 4 weeks, and decide who won these 4 times? Did you end up socialising with your friends, Facebooking and chatting on Whatsapp, OR, did you go to sleep early on Friday night so you could pray 2 rakats of Tahujjud before Fajr?

Tahujjud on a Saturday morning? Right! Reading an Islamic book on a Saturday evening? As if! Never! That’s not fun. Weekends are for fun.

Where are you going, my dear sister in Islam? Where are you going, my dear brother in Islam? Where are your priorities? When will you find time for Allah?

Please think about it. Only you and Allah knows. But His knowledge is enough as a Witness for or against us.

Islam *As* Entertainment

When we have imaan (faith) in our hearts, then learning about Islam and gaining knowledge about the deen of Allah becomes something we look forward to. It becomes our *relaxing* time. Learning about the seerah of the prophet saw and the stories in the Qur’an becomes our *form of entertainment*.

When we have islam, but imaan has not entered our hearts, then praying salah (even 5 times a day!) and reading Qur’an once in a while feels like it’s enough. We believe in Allah and His messenger saw and we mostly stay away from the major sins, surely this is enough? Our learning becomes stagnant. Our tears stop flowing. We stop living and start existing. This is dangerous. No one can guarantee that imaan will always stay at a constant level. No one can claim that they have “high” imaan all the time. That they are safe.

Faith needs to be nourished. Regularly. Daily. The exact way the prophet saw and his companions used to. Take more interest in the deen. Learn fiqh of a simple topic. Learn Tajweed. Learn seerah. Talk about Allah with your family. With your spouse. With your children. At dinner table. When you are at the park. Randomly and casually. It doesn’t have to be like a formal learning class all the time.

Make learning the deen something that relaxes you. Excites you. Pleases you. Not a chore or just a responsibility. That is when we have both imaan *and* islam fully in our hearts.

(Inspired by a lecture by Br. Nouman Ali khan on ‘Maintaining Imaan’)