We don’t have to be ascetic to follow ISLAM

By Guest Author Nourin Ibrahim

We don’t have to be ascetic to follow ISLAM

Yes you heard it right…!!!We are not supposed to live for only for the akhirah (afterlife) forgetting and neglecting the dunya (the life of this world)…

Allah (swt) ordered us to live a normal human’s life but remembering Him in every walk of life.

The Prophet(peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Facilitate things to people (concerning religious matters), and do not make it hard for them and give them good tidings and do not make them run away (from Islam).”

This hadith brings a combination of questions and answers in our mind. Right???
We are all created to live our life in such a way so as to gain the akhirah, working hard and completing the needs of this dunya  by obeying the Divine Commandments.

Allah never over burdens us nor does He want us to keep aside our life for Him. Allah wants us to live an ordinary life, as a child go to school, college gain knowledge, grow up get a job etc.
Islam insist us to get married when we are young 
and says regarding marriage as a way to acquire spiritual perfection.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said, “One who marries, has already guarded half of his religion, therefore he should fear Allah for the other half.”

It is not a sign of a muimin(believer) to stay without marrying as it increases his chances of falling into sins.
Allah loves the kind of  man who takes care of his wife, is kind to his children and works hard for them.

A Believer is obliged not only to do his daily prayers, read Quran, take fasting, pay Zakat and do hajj, but to follow Islam, one has to pay attention to each moment in his life. Allah set our beloved Prophet (saw) as an example for us to follow. The Prophet’s (saw) life is an open book from which we have tons to learn and practice.

Some of our sisters and brothers get so involved with Islam that they forget their responsibilities towards family, work which eventually causes many difficulties.

Found in the public domain

That is not what Islam teaches us… Allah asked us to fulfill all our needs while certain regulations and sunnahs have to be followed in order to gain more rewards. There are supplications to be done while waking up, going to wash room, looking into the mirror, before eating…and so many more so that we remember Allah in every task we do. (May Allah help us do as much supplication as possible).

Thinking of death and life in grave increases our imaan but we should not allow these thoughts rule our life by departing us from our loved ones. Allah’s prophet taught us to love our kids and parents and show mercy on them so that Allah showers His mercy on us. That shows, that when we are taking care of our children and folks we are getting closer to Allah (swt).Every good deed no matter how small it is matters in our Religion..

I am not saying we should value dunya for akhirah.. NO
We have to give importance to our deen first and when we do that we find that we are not only benefiting for our akhirah but for the dunya as well.

Both lives are interlinked because Allah created us here and will recreate us after death In sha’ Allah.

The message I am trying to convey is that we should not be extremist living only for Akhirah forgetting the dunya which is not the way Our Prophet (saw) showed us.

That does not mean we can involve ourselves in watching and hearing haraam stuff, intermingle with opposite sex without observing modesty, waste time gossiping and having fun in ways Allah won’t be pleased with, spending money for unwanted and unnecessary things etc. We have to keep in mind whatever we have is due to Allah’s mercy on us. So it is our duty to spend our time and money in halaal ways but at the same time not stopping us from fulfilling our needs in dunya.

Before doing anything just ask yourself if its forbiden for me by Allah or will Allah be pleased with me if i do it..I hope and pray all those who are reading this got the idea of what im trying to convey. If not listen to this saying,

Prophet(saw) said, “Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded; and gain strength by worshiping in the mornings, the nights.”

Many people think Islam is a religion difficult to follow and hence stop learning about it.

If you know anyone like that please do tell them and help them come back to Islam and make them understand how easy it is to follow it. Islam is a lifestyle, you just live fearing and loving Allah, and following the sunnahs of the Prophet (saw).