Ihsaan Magazine May 2020 Issue - Living your best Life | Page 39

means and all the means that Allah has presented to us are part of His Mercy. The Prophet
has instructed quarantine, not placing a patient with a healthy person and regular hygiene as
precautionary measures. Another holistic perspective is what the Prophet taught in this hadith,
for example, narrated ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amir :
“I asked the Messenger of Allah ‏,(ﷺ)‏ “How can salvation be achieved?” He replied, “Control your
tongue, keep to your house, and weep over your sins.” [At-Tirmidhi].
The advice here can’t be more relevant today:
Keep to your house/Stay at home: This is the global request of health officials, and it has been
recommended by the Prophet 1400 years ago. Staying at home allows one to collect his thoughts
and emotions, and protect himself and others from any potential harm.
Hold your tongue: Neither flood others with every thought you have, nor open your soul
to receiving every thought they present thus overwhelming and stressing your soul. Phone
addiction and 24h exposure to media can be very troubling to the soul. Instead, make it a time of
peace by unfollowing toxic/unfruitful content, and embrace the quietness and what it’s meant to
bring internally.
Regret your sins/Cry over your sins: Just like the body is purified with water, the soul is purified
with tears; the sincere humble tears of acknowledging one’s weakness and shortcomings. This
humility brings in the powerful aid of The All-Powerful, The Most Merciful Himself. As the
Prophet said, “no one will humble himself for Allah’s sake except that Allah raises his status.”
The imposed confinement and quietness we’re in calls for introspection and self-accountability.
It opens room for reflection on one’s purpose in life, shortcomings and the way forward to mend
one’s affairs and evolve from this situation as a better version of oneself.
The purpose of this article is not to negate the importance of taking the means, rather it’s about
balancing between taking the physical means while connecting the heart to The Wise, All-Capable
Healer Himself. This is a holistic approach that serves the body while attending to the needs of
the soul, thus providing the much-needed balance, peace, and tranquillity.
Final Thoughts
Before this pandemic, we were hustling. We were rushing, we were not being present in the
moment. But now we’re in lockdown. The whole world is in lockdown. Allah has limited our
bodies so that our hearts can move.
This is the time to return home in the physical and spiritual sense. Return home with our bodies,
and return to Allah with our souls, because our souls too, need to connect with its home.
“Indeed we belong to Allah and indeed to Him, we will return”
“Those who have faith and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of Allah- truly it is in the
remembrance of Allah that hearts find peace” (Qur’an 13: 28)