TOWARDS A BALANCED

L I F E

“...and moderation lies between these [extremes]”

AL-FURQAN (25) : 67

Prepared for Yaseen Educational Center Muharram 1432

BALANCE IN ISLAM

Balance and Moderation in the Words of the Ahlul Bayt

(a)Imam Ali (a): The believer has a balanced lifestyle.

Imam Ali (a): One who forbears is not extreme in his affairs and lives among people in a praiseworthy fashion.

Imam Ali (a): From the traits of the muttaqeen: Their speech is truth, and their clothing is balanced (meaning that they are balanced in all of their affairs).

Imam Ali (a): Every ignorant person is either excessive (mufriṭ) or lax (mufarraṭ).

A Society out of Balance

All around us we see individuals who seem successful but whose lives are plagued with problems.

Health issues, marital and family problems, depression, dissatisfaction; these are just some of the issues we face

What is missing from our lives?

Possible SolutionsWork harder, longer days so we can earn for our families and allow them to lead a comfortable life

Pursue further education, additional degrees, so we can advance in the workplace

Devote our lives to our children in the hopes that their lives can be better than ours

Devote our lives to community service; this way we can make a difference in the lives of others

Stop paying attention to food, sleep, and exercise for these are just material diversions – spend all extra time in ‘devotional’ activities

Proposed Solution

Understand what our responsibilities are with God and rearrange our schedule accordingly

Take a balanced approach to various aspects of our life

Take the Ahlul Bayt (a) as our guide in all matters of life

Inspiration

Prophet (s): When Allah (swt) desires goodness for a family, He

Gives them deep insight into the religion

Gives them an balanced lifestyle

Makes their expenditures balanced

Makes their young respect their old

but when He wishes otherwise, He leaves them

BALANCE IN TIME MANAGEMENT

The Universe Operates According to Schedule

Surah Yunus (10): 5

It is He who made the sun a radiance and the moon a light, and ordained its phases that you might know the number of years and the calculation [of time]. Allah did not create all that except with reason. He elaborates the signs for a people who have knowledge.

→ Observing a universe with so much precision encourages us to operate according to plan and precision as well in order to achieve our purpose

Surah Mulk (67): 3

He created seven heavens in layers. You do not see any discordance in the creation of the All-beneficent. Look again! Do you see any flaw?

→ Why should I be the odd one out and try to work against the system?

Qur'an (ii)

Surah al-Layl (92) : 4 - 11

Your endeavors are indeed [many and] unlike [= uncoordinated].

As for him who gives and is God wary

and confirms the best promise,

We shall surely ease him into facility.

But as for him who is stingy and self-complacent,

and denies the best promise,

We shall surely ease him into hardship.

→ God promises ease and desired results to those who have coordinated efforts

→ Tawhid in a practical sense = aligning a set of different actions according to a single purpose

A Believer Has an Organized Life

Imam Ali (a): I enjoin upon you to have taqwa of Allah and that you should be organized in your

affairs.

Imam Ali (a): Finish a day's work within that day, as every day is (allocated) for whatever (you have

planned) for that day.

Attaining taqwa relies on being organized

Finishing a day's work requires planning for that day

Our time is not our own, it is a gift from God.

We are accountable for how we use this gift

Dividing the Day

Traditions from 1st, 6th, 7th, and 8th Imam (a) indicate that the day should be divided into four parts: Worship, securing one's livelihood, in the company of good friends, and enjoying halal pleasures.

→ Ahlul Bayt (a) wanted us to enjoy the highest quality of life, in this world and the hereafter

→ Dividing a day into parts requires planning and not mixing one part with the other

→ The division of time into these parts does not need to be equal!

Practical Strategy for Scheduling

Activities are divided into two categories:

Activities whose time is fixed and can't be moved (Sleep, eating meals, salaat, career-related: work / school / home)

Activities that need to be scheduled:

Increasing Knowledge

Acts of worship (other than salat)

Exercise

Social relationships

Cleanliness

Entertainment

etc.

Before Proceeding Further...

Surah Room (30): 8: Have they not reflected in their own souls?

Personal Reflection: List all the activities that you do in a typical week. See handout.

Balance in Dealing with the Material World

The delicate balance

Imam Sadiq (a): One who leaves aside his worldly affairs for the religion is not among us – nor is one who leaves aside his religion for his worldly affairs.

Imam Sadiq (a): Give yourself from the dunya what you long from those pleasures which are halal as long as you are not a) excessive b) present where you have been prohibited and absent where you have been commanded.

This World is Necessary in Order to Achieve Perfection

Imam Ali (a): The material world is the marketplace of the special friends of Allah (swt)

Imam Ali (a): Whoever uses it as a means of perceiving [the reality of what lies beyond], it will grant him that insight...

But there are those who drown along the way

Imam Ali (a):...And it will blind whoever looks at it [independently and not as a means].

Luqman (a): The world is a deep ocean and many are those who have drowned in it. So take as your ship “Faith in Allah” and let your provision be “Taqwa of Allah”...

→ Drowning: Using the material world to rebel against God or becoming overly occupied with it

Balance in Earning a Livelihood

Good Wealth

Acquired in a halal way

Spent in a halal way

Mustahab, sometimes wajib!Support family: Hadith of Imam Sadiq (a):

One who strives to accumulate wealth in order to support his family is like one who does jihad in the way of Allah.

Charity

Bad Wealth

Wealth is haram if:Acquired in a haram way

Accumulated in a halal way but religious dues are not paid on it

Excess wealth needs to be used in the way that Allah (swt) has specified

Importance of Striving to Acquire Halal Wealth

Prophet (s): There are some sins that cannot be atoned for through prayers or charity but can only be atoned for through serious efforts put forth in seeking a [halal] livelihood.

Imam Baqir (a): I toil in farming some of my property until sweat pours down my face – despite having sufficient wealth – so that Allah the Majestic should know that I am seeking halal sustenance

Poverty is not Desirable

Imam Ali (a): I married Fatima (a) when I did not have anything but a bed but today I have wealth such that if I were to divide it over all of the Bani Hashim it would suffice them.

→ The Ahlul Bayt (a) were not (always) poor!

Prophet (s): The state of poverty is close to being a state of kufr.

Desiring Wealth is Commendable

Du'a of Imam al-Sajjad (a): O Allah! I ask you for the best of provision, with which I can take care of all of my needs, and use as a means of arriving at You in this world and the hereafter, without my becoming excessively affluent such that I use it to rebel, nor excessively needy such that I despair...

How Hard should I work?

Imam al-Sadiq (a): If people had everything already at their disposal, life would no longer be satisfying or pleasurable.

The Ahlul Bayt (a) would bequeath land and housing to their children, not cash.

From the Islamic scholars: Anything that distracts you from Allah (swt) is your idol.

→ Hard work is pleasurable and can help an individual and society in achieving perfection

→ Hard work is good as long as one does not become occupied from it and practically and spiritually turn away from Allah

→ Being focused at work can result in big gains with minimal effort

Importance of Charity

Imam Ali (a): Indeed Allah (swt) has placed the daily sustenance of the poor in the excess wealth of the wealthy. A poor person will only go hungry when a wealthy person holds back from giving. And Allah the Exalted shall ask them regarding that!

A General Strategy for Spending

Prophet (s): The believer can take a line of action [with respect to spending] from Allah. When Allah expands his provision to him, he spends in a moderate way, and when He holds back, he spends more conservatively.

Aside from spending which is wajib, being generous with the family is also recommended.

From the Prophet (s): Whoever enters the market, buys a gift, and takes it home to his dependents, it's as if he has taken charity to needy people

Balance in Sleep

Sleep to Live – not for Recreation!

Imam al-Sadiq (a): Excessive sleep destroys one's practice of religion and his worldly affairs.

Shaykh al-Sadooq in al-Khisal: There are four things of which a little amount is plentiful: A little amount of fire is plentiful, a little amount of sleep is plenty, a little amount of sickness is plenty, and a little amount of enmity is plenty.

From Imam Ali (a): Whoever oversleeps at night, will miss out on performing deeds that he will not be able to make up in the day time.

But Make Sure to Sleep Enough

Imam Sadiq (a): Whoever stays awake at night til the pre-dawn in order to earn money and does not grant his eyes their fair portion of sleep, his earnings [for that night] are haraam.

→ Haraam here does not mean that he can't use them. Perhaps it means makrooh or that what he earns won't profit him

→ “Enough” is relative. Average person needs 6-7 hours of sleep in order to not feel sleepy during the day

→ Food, exercise, and others factors can decrease / increase amount of sleep that is “enough”

When to Rise

Imam Al-Hadi (a): Rising in the pre-dawn results in sweeter sleep and hunger increases the quality of taste in food.

Hadith of the Prophet addressing `Āisha:

Rise! For indeed rizq is distributed at this time and sleep between dawn and sunrise prevents rizq.

Other bad effects: yellow face, ugly face

If can’t stay awake the whole time, at least cherish what is possible!

How to Sleep

Remembering Allah (swt): Surah Room (30): 32: And of His signs is your sleep by night and day, and your pursuit of His grace. There are indeed signs in that for a people who listen.

Surah al-Naba' (78): 6, 9-11: Did We not make the earth a resting place?...And make your sleep for rest? And make the night a covering? And make the day for livelihood?

How to Sleep

Etiquette:Perform wudhu after relieving oneself

Balance in Food and Drink

Balanced Approach to Food and Drink

Imam al-Kadhim (a): If only people were balanced when it came to eating, their bodies would become well-formed.

Imam Sadiq (a) tells a doctor from India: What I have with me is better than what you have … I apply what the Prophet (s) said and I know that the stomach is the house of all sickness and its remedy is moderation.

Attributed to Imam Ali (a): Eat to live and don't live to eat

Guidelines

Eat halal, meaningIt is not coming from an illegal source

doesn't intrude on other people's rights

has to be pure (according to what's acceptable in society)

shouldn't be harmful

shouldn't cause societal corruption (like eating at a table where alcoholic drinks are being served)

Effects of Overeating

Heedlessness and feeling remote from God

Disinclined towards acts of worship

Hard-heartedness

Unhealthy, both physically and spiritually

Increases Shahwah

Body odor

Dulls the aql

Makes the soul dark

Causes troubled sleep

Being full in the dunya → being hungry in the hereafter

Benefits of not overeating (but still eating “enough”)

Healthy body

Clear thinking

Illumination of the soul

Escaping from the trap of Shaytan

Benefiting from the malakoot of existence

Getting closer to Allah

Inclination towards worshiping

The houses of such a family to be illuminated

Angels yearn for you

Freshness of the face

Longer life (story from Allamah Majlisi)

Putting it into Practice

Prophet (s): Eat when you are hungry and stop eating when you are hungry

How many meals a day?

And therein they will have their provision morning and evening (Maryam (19): 62).

Summary of traditions: Breakfast (before leaving home) and dinner (in the nighttime) are two primary meals that are recommended

Consequences of not eating breakfast: Sickness

Consequences of not eating dinner (even a small amount): Premature aging, body gets destroyed, and weak.

Recommended to go to sleep having recently eaten (especially for one who is aging)

Keep third meal Simpler

Switching to having only two meals a day can cause severe problems, such as standing out in the crowd, disrupting the system, and troubling one's family. This is not recommended by teachers of spirituality.

Better to keep three meals but keep one of them simple and the other two primary

BALANCE IN LEARNING

Importance of Learning

Imam al-Baqir (a), Imam al-Kadhim (a): If I were to find a young person from our Shi`ah who is not pursuing knowledge of the religion I would surely punish him.

What to learn

Islam is divided into three categories:

Beliefs: Need to arrive at certainty regarding the fundamentals

Practice: Need to know the laws that apply to my current situation

Ethics: Need to be aware of the ethics that apply to me. For example: ethical issues relating to spousal interaction for those wanting to marry.

BALANCE IN RECREATION

Importance of Halal Recreation

Imam Sadiq, Imam Rida (a): The time spent in pursuing halal pleasures helps someone with the other aspects of life (including worship)

Prophet (s): Enjoy yourselves and be playful for I despise that roughness should be seen in your religion.

Examples of halal recreation: travel, meeting others

BALANCE IN TRAVELING

When is it good to travel?

The Prophet (s): It does not befit a rationally thinking man to travel except at three times: 1) when earning a livelihood 2) [for spiritual reasons] in order to stock up for the hereafter 3) for halal pleasure.

→ Examples of spiritual reasons to travel: religious education, hajj, ziyarat, visiting family, maintaining family ties (silat al-rahim), going to see a place struck by a major natural disaster

Establishing Family Ties

The Prophet (s): Even if your parents are a journey of two years away from you, go to visit them and do good to them. Even if your womb relatives are a journey of one year away from you, go and maintain your ties with them...

→ When maintaining family ties, being there for them when they are in need is more important than merely visiting

What to Avoid when Traveling

Imam Ali (a): One should not go on a journey in which he fears [losing] his religion or [missing his] prayer.

Imam Khumayni would only agree to travel on Fridays with his friends if a) they recited prayer on time b) there was no gheebah

BALANCE IN VISITING ONE ANOTHER

Our Imams (a) Instruct Us to Visit One Another

Hadith Qudsi: When a Muslim visits another Muslim, it is not him that he visits but rather he visits Me – and his reward is Paradise.

Imam al-Sadiq (a) to his companions: Be brothers to each, doing good to one another, loving one another for the sake of Allah, keeping up ties, showing mercy, visiting each other and meeting, remembering our affair and enlivening it.

Advice Regarding Such Gatherings

• Should not be خداعا or استبداال:– When it is not out love but rather to dupe him

– When it is with an expectation of something in return

• Should be for the sake of Allah (swt) and not simply to just do something

• Remember and keep their affair alive: Not committing sin, and remembering their ahadith / teachings in our gatherings. Hadith from 6th Imam (a): Whenever a group gathers together and does not remember Allah (swt) and does not send blessings on the Prophet (s) and his family, that gathering will be a source of regret for them on the Day of Resurrection.

Providing Food to Others

• Prophet (s): A group of people is a source of blessing in which food for one person will suffice for two and food for two will suffice for four

• Should not become an obstacle from visiting and inviting others

BALANCE IN WORSHIP

Having a Program of Worship

• After wajibaat (obligatory acts of worship), the most important act of worship is to be watchful of one's self throughout the day. Can be performed while performing other acts.

• Complementary (not primary) means of attaining perfection. Example of watering seeds or charging a battery.

• Other than that, necessary to have a program of worship that:

– Small (at least at beginning) and manageable / moderate

– Is consistently performed

– Is well-rounded

– Is checked by qualified individual

Consistency

5th Imam (a): The most beloved of deeds to Allah the mighty is that which a servant consistently performs though it may be small.

Contents

• Relating to salat:– Praying on time

– Adhan + iqamah

– Tasbeeh of Fatima al-Zahra (a)

– Reciting in congregation

– Reciting in the masjid

– Ta`qibaat

– Salat al-Layl

• Regular recitation of the Qur'an

– With attention to the meaning

• Muraqabah and Muhasabah

Contents

• Relating to du`a:

– Munajaat

– Daily duas

– Dua Kumayl

• Relating to tawassul– Daily ziyaraat

– Dua tawassul

– Majalis

• Relating to serving others– Charity

– Social work

– Community building

Balance When Serving Others

From Imam Sadiq (a): The best interpretation of al-Maidah (5): 32 whoever saves a life is as though he had saved all mankind is one who steers a misguided soul to righteousness.

From the Prophet (s): Prophet (s): The creatures of Allah are His dependents, and so the most beloved of the creatures to God is He who benefits the dependents of Allah and causes happiness to enter upon the people of the house.

Serving in Moderation

Do not keep your hand chained to your neck, nor open it altogether, or you will sit blameworthy, regretful. 17:92

[The servants of the Most Compassionate are] those who, when spending, are neither wasteful nor tightfisted, and moderation lies between these] extremes. 25:76

Revisiting our Day-to-Day Activities