How to Navigate Living in This Dunya
The Key to Surviving This Life
Mindset and expectations are two of the most important things that need to be established for life to flow smoothly. They are often the root of problems because so much depends on them, and many issues result from them.
I realized that if I don’t start with the right mindset, I either don’t succeed or I struggle to do so. I’ve experienced having high expectations (almost being certain they would be met) and then being let down, which led to a year filled with depression and melancholy.
So for many things to work out, or for even the sake of our health, we have to make sure that we have the correct mindset and expectations.
A few days ago, I heard something that diagnosed the illness whose symptoms I’ve been observing all around me, and sometimes experiencing myself. Not surprisingly, the diagnosis was related to the expectations and standards we set.
As Muslims and believers, we struggle a lot:
We don’t want to wear the hijab.
We don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night for fajr prayer or stop our day for asr prayer.
We desire to do forbidden things, and we may resist following some of Islam’s rules and pillars. And when we do want to follow them, we sometimes find it challenging.
It’s valid, there are so many tempting things that we want to do and sometimes we do not want to do the obligations we have to do as Muslims.
We feel like we’d rather be doing so many things in life, we’d rather be sleeping all night, going to the movies for the whole day, wearing revealing and immodest clothes and so many more tempting things. Right?
This is where we should stop and see what the hadith Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying about the life of a believer in this dunya (life):
“The world is a prison for a believer and Paradise for a non-believer.”
What does it mean that this world is like a prison for a believer? Well, it means that we’re prisoners in it, and a prisoner is one who is bound or restricted, it’s someone whose range of movement and freedom is limited to the place they’re confined in and that is exactly the case of a believer in this world. We are restricted by a) Islam’s rules and b) Allah’s tests. So when either of them hinders or limits us from doing certain things, we shouldn’t be surprised or sad. We already know that we have limitations in this life, hence we’re “prisoners” in it.
There is so much that we’ll face and are facing in this life that requires us to acknowledge our limitations and know what they are. Knowing this, for Muslimahs, don’t wait for the “right time” to wear the hijab when it’s an obligation to you. Because it’s in our nature to want to dress up and adorn ourselves with accessories, and Islam is here to limit this desire when it comes to non-mahrams (people you’re allowed to marry).
Therefore, fixing our mindset and understanding that we sacrifice things in this life for the afterlife should make it easier for us to fulfill our obligations as Muslims and remain resilient in facing Allah’s tests. It is also comforting to know that, yes, wearing the hijab is hard, and getting ourselves to pray may be difficult, but it should be that way. It’s supposed to be challenging.
If you’re a good believer, someone who is very devout, and you’re blessed with many things in this life, you should expect that Allah will test you with them, with your money, family, job, etc.. That is because you know from the start that this life is not one where you get to swim in pleasure or where you get rewarded for your actions and faith. It’s also because “Allah gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers.”
So you shouldn’t think: “Why did Allah do this to me, I am a good Muslim,” you should be ready to face these tests that will inevitably come your way. Having this expectation or knowing that as a “prisoner” in this life you’ll be tested, it should be easier for you to survive said challenges and tests. And vice versa, if you’re not equipped for these challenges, you may fall or struggle with life a lot more than you should have.
Fixing your mindset and expectations for this dunya, life, should make us see everything in it differently, and it should give us the necessary strength and patience to succeed in it.
To remind you, dear believer,
Jannah, Paradise, is surrounded by obstacles, hardships, and many things we might dislike;
while hell is surrounded by what we desire and find pleasure.
عن أنس بن مالك قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حفت الجنة بالمكاره وحفت النار بالشهوات (صحيح مسلم)
“Paradise is surrounded by adversity, and Hellfire is surrounded by lusts.” (Sahih Muslim)
So all of the hardships and limitations we come across shouldn’t come as a surprise to us, since facing and surviving them with our faith intact is what is required to go to heaven, Jannah. And since we need hard work to reach what we want, our challenge is to stay away from the tempting path that ultimately leads to hell.
The disease as I mentioned in the beginning is our flawed mindset and standard for life, the idea that we’re here to enjoy life and all its worldly pleasures. And the medicine is knowing the way life is to us believers — through the hadiths.
The symptoms though, are many and are different for everybody. Examples Include: not wearing the hijab, not praying fajr or skipping prayers, cursing, bad behavior, befriending the opposite sex, doing haram things, and neglecting obligations.
There is nothing we’ll face in this life that we cannot survive or overcome, so don’t be discouraged. Check and reevaluate your mindset and expectations for this temporary life so you can remain resilient and find success. Keep your eye on your end goal, don’t fall into the trap and be distracted.
What are some challenges you are facing and do you think adopting this mindset or knowing these hadiths helps to cope with these issues?
Thank you for reading!
