The power of slowing down with rituals
I recently started taking running more seriously, and one common advice you hear from runners is that you need to slow down at the beginning of your run to speed up towards the middle and end of your run.
I found this a great metaphor for life.
Often, you want to ‘go go go’ and speed up to get things done quickly and out of the way… but sometimes you need to slow down so you can check where you are going and properly fuel before you can speed up towards where you need to go.
In Islam, we’re blessed with so many moments where we are given opportunities to slow down in life, from the five daily prayers to the morning and evening athkar, to reciting the Quran, to fasting during Ramadan or on Mondays/Thursdays. These in-built opportunities in our daily, weekly, and annual calendars force us to slow down so we can recalibrate our lives and move faster in the right direction towards Allah SWT.
It’s tempting to ‘rush’ through the rituals or skip them altogether in the name of hustle culture and the fast-moving world we live in, but if we sincerely take the moment to slow down for the sake of Allah, come back to our purpose and role of life, and that is to be worshippers of Allah, we’ll notice the Barakah in our life helping us achieve things much faster by His Mercy and Tawfeeq than the sheer grit of our efforts.
Take a moment this week to slow down:
- Slow down and pray fajr on time and stay in the mosque till sunrise
- Slow down and go to dhuhr early and pray the extra sunnah before and after
- Slow down and recite the Quran peacefully
- Slow down and go for a walk remembering Allah, talking to Him, making supplication to Him
- Slow down and have a mindful meal, truly savoring the meal and being grateful for it
- Slow down and truly listen to those around you, to what they say and what they don’t say
Slow down, and everything written for you will come faster than you think insha’Allah.
~Mohammed Faris
MyLife MyLegacy 