dhikr while you work

to the tune of whiste while you work from Snow White:

Just dhikr while you work (la il-la-ha il Al-Lah*)
Put on that grin and start right in
to dhikr loud and long
Just move your tongue and lips (la il-la-ha il Al-Lah)
Just do your best and take a rest
and praise Allah right now.

*the whistle that went here in the original has 7 consonants.  La ilaha il Allah has 7 consonants.  Kapeesh?

Ah yes, corny, corny, I hear the groans.  But here me out.  My La TV campaign has lost it’s umph.  I try to focus on doing something else, but I get bored easily, and inevitably end up plopped on the couch in front of the tube.

So I need new things to occupy myself with:

1. Taking courses at Sunnipath.  Just got off the phone with the husband, and he’s actually encouraging me to take Ramadan and You course that starts this weekend.  Alhamdulilah.  Usually, I’ll mention I want to take a course, he looks at it and says it costs too much.  Alhamdulilah, this time he actually realizes how good it will be for me and that it’s worth the $$.  inshaAllah I’ll sign up when I get home tonight

2. Ok, this actually explains the post title and corny song, dhikr while you work.  The goal is constant dhikr in all (ok most) actions. 

Salman Farsee (ra) said, “If a person remembers Allah in times of peace, pleasure and prosperity, then whenever he is in trouble and difficulty, the angels, being familiar with his voice, recognize him in his helplessness and intercede before Almighty Allah (for his forgiveness); but, if one who does not remember Allah in his time of pleasure and happens to pray for help at the time of difficulty, the angels find his voice to be quite unfamiliar and therefore do not intercede for him.” (source)

To further that goal, I’ve taken up cross stitching.  Um, yeah, and that relates to dhikr how?  See, when one is stitching, each stitch is the perfect opportunity for a praise of Allah (swt).  If you’re doing a project that uses 2000 stitches, there are 2000 opportunities to praise Allah (swt).  Instead of counting your dhikr on beads, you’re counting them in your stitches.  And, when you’re done with the project, it will be full of barakah. 

Since I haven’t stitched since I was a child, I’m currently working on an uber easy Allah pattern in kufic.  I’m about a third of the way done, and when I finish, I’ll post a picture inshaAllah.

I figure that during Ramadan, I can lay out a schedule.  Come home, read Qur’an for x minutes, listen to a lecture for x minutes, then stitch and make dhikr until iftar.  After dinner, read an islamic book with the husband, then force him to read to me to practice his english.  Chock full of time for Allah (swt).  No time for tv.   inshaAllah.

Spiritual Goals

I got some medical test results back and it looks like my cholesterol has crept up into the not so hot range, which in my family means heart attacks and whatnot. So, I’m making a chart of health goals to get started on before my doctor’s appointment next month, like daily walks, going to the gym 3 times a week, fish twice a week and recording my vegetable intake each day.

That got me thinking. I’m worrying about my physical health, but what about my spiritual health? I mean, it’s great to take care of my body in the dunya, but what have I done for myself in the akhira? Why not make a chart to track religiously oriented goals?

So, here are the things for my spiritual health chart:

Salat - 5 times a day, inshaAllah add some sunnah once I have everything set with my fard.
Dhikr - write in whatever I do that day. I don’t really have a problem with avoiding dhikr. I love it.
Listening to Qur’an - I subscribe to a spiffy Qur’an weekly podcast that has the Qur’an recitation in arabic followed by a decent reading in english. I try to listen to some each day on the bus ride to and from work, so why not track it?
Reading Qur’an - I’ve been reading through the 30th Juz of the Qur’an, reciting the arabic as well as I can, followed by the english and then reflecting on Muhammad Asad’s commentary. I think however, I’m going to start from the beginning, and read a few pages each day inshaAllah.

There are a ton of variations on this - one could track the components of salat, to check that they’re doing everything correctly, follow their sunnah fasting, or they could track a Qur’an memorization goal. I think for the moment though, I’ll stick with these 4 things, things I already do, but would like to create a habit for and do more.

One of the things I hope to accomplish to to actually see and realize how well (or not) I am doing in deen-y oriented things I’ve been saying I will do. I know I read some Qur’an, I know I listen to some on the bus, I know I pray, but how much do I miss? If it’s there, on a chart, on the front door to the house, I have to face my shortcomings several times a day. inshaAllah then I can improve.

inshaAllah I’ll keep this up, and hopefully post updates on how I’m progressing.