Salaams,
Over the past year, I've suffered from the typical Muslim Burnout.
Just a year ago, it wasnt a big deal for me to teach 7 classes a week, and work and study at the same time..nor was it a biggie for me travel for hours during Ramadan just to do talk and then attend a lecture in Uni in the evening.
I'd work, study, go out with friends, spend time with family...and STILL have time to attend, lead classes, travel, write and the rest of it...
I was never 'too tired' and always 'had time'.
I have now started work as a full time teacher - I love it. But its physically and mentally draining. I'm also engaged to be married in a few months which means my spare time consists of family get togethers, shopping, make up trials etc
Islamically, I dont do half as much as I used to do before.
I tell myself I'm tired...I come home from work and just collapse on the sofa...I tell myself that I'm busy...every weekend consists of something wedding related.
However, I know for a fact that being 'too tired' or 'too busy' was never an issue before.
I'm aware that its a lame excuse.
My question is, do people lose sight of whats important when they grow up?
Is a shift of priority neccessarily a bad thing?
Isnt earning a halaal living, making time for family also ibadah?
Or is Islamic zeal, passion temporary and only something that youngsters experience?
Has anyone managed to strike a balance?
Wasalaam
yes.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
Is that a 'yes' to having managed to strike a balance or a 'yes' to youthful zeal burning out?
My opinion on the topic is that it is not necessarily linked to age. My energy and drive to do good deeds goes up and down (and further down) with every changing of the wind, rising of the sun.
My iman is like a london road: full of bumps and potholes.
Don't just do something! Stand there.
I wanted to say that over exerting yourself can have side effects, but thought the one word answer was more apt.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
Zeal and passion can intensify with age. However, as we are not Sufi we are easily seduced by this world. It has great power and pull, it cannot be ignored, it would take the iron will of the Sufi to erradicate any attraction for this world. That is why Allah has allowed us do the bare minimum (the five pillars) and it would suffice. Yet we may feel guilty at neglecting the duties and extra ibadat we have prescribed for ourselves, this guilt will after a while nag some and lead them to an even more zealous and passionate love for Islam.
I pray that our love for the Prophet(pbuh) only increases with age and never wanes, I would hold on to that and everything will fall into place. Once you have the Islamic heart it is not easy to get rid of and although its light may dim at times, it can grow bright again, and I pray it never dies.
Ameen!
'Allah gives and forgives
Man gets and forgets' Baba Ali
http://halfDate.com
Salam
Laila. Are you royalty?
Omrow
Salam
Told you so.
And if you dont get your act together...very soon, say within 3 years,
you're going down even further.
What did Prophet say: God loves the things that you do regularly, even if they be small.
Most muslims put their foot down hard on the
accelerator only at certain times and end up crashing the car.
God does not decire pious ladies to crash.
He wants them to cruise through the journey of life.
Omrow
Thank you, Professor Omrow.
Chin up, mate! Life's too short.
Every individual has high points and low points in their life, its part of human nature.
No not the gum drop buttons! – Gingy
I think you mean part of life... not human nature. :doubt:
Back in BLACK
yeah you know what i mean
The brain doesnt function properly when i havent had enough sleep lol.
No not the gum drop buttons! – Gingy
What I've found is that..wordly stuff and religious stuff is SO incompatible. One can not strike a balence...one will always take priority.
I think it depends where you are in life...I suppose its easier to be more passionate when you have more time on your hands.
Maybe timeout shouldnt be percieved as burnout..
No Sir what I mean is 'we' - the common folks - you may choose to exclude yourself from the 'we'
Earlier you said you were busy but still had the time, then the world and religion worked well, so having more time may have nothing to do with it. Its just that different priorities may have surfaced now.
About Balance - Islam is all about balance, so it is utterly possible and indeed necessary to strike a balance, Allah has made it so.
True, but it is very hard to strike that balance.
'Allah gives and forgives
Man gets and forgets' Baba Ali
http://halfDate.com
Theres a hadith about a man who spent all day and all night in ibadah at the mosque. The Prophet
saw him and asked someone "How does that man eat?" The reply was that the man's brother used to work and bring him food. "That man's brother is better than that man," said the Prophet (saw).
I see no incompatability between worldy matters and religious matters. That is the beauty of the 5 daily prayers, all set at different times.
In other religions, there is a clear distinction between 'sacred' and 'profane'. They don't/rarely/shouldn't interrupt with each other. e.g. in (traditional) Christianity and Judaism, there is one sacred day per week where working is forbidden.
In my opinion, with this approach, it is easy to forget God and commit sins all week, only to try to 'make up for it' in the Holy Day.
But in Islam, the prayers become very much part of your regular daily routine, and because of this it is more difficult to forget about God in your normal life. This is where the balance comes in. We do less than one full day of formal worship per week, but spread it out over every day and so it becomes more interspersed into our individual charater.
Attending lectures/ reading Qur'an does not, in itself, make someone a 'better' Muslim. If you are really busy and find it difficult to find time/energy for more than a little ibadah, then try to start everything (and by everything, I mean EVERYTHING) by saying 'bismillah'. That is a great way to keep your intentions pure and your focus always on Allah (swt). It also very easy to do and doesn't take much energy/time.
Don't just do something! Stand there.
GReat advice, man!
Chin up, mate! Life's too short.
I agree. Lovely, very apt post!
I find it difficult to manage between deen and dunya as well sometimes (particularly as I work 9.00 - 7.30pm almost every day :x ) Its not easy, especially in the fast-paced world we live in today. It requires training. Allah aza waj'al created us knowing what our capabilities and potential as human beings would be. Just a matter of striving and struggling to always better ourselves.
May Allah shine sweet faith upon you this day and times beyond. May your heart be enriched with peace, and may your home be blessed always. Ameen.
I can relate to what muslimsister said and I feel your pain Amal, my day starts at 5 or 6am without fail, depending on the time of the year it's earlier for fajr. I don't spend as much time in worship as i did before I got married and had children. Having children is really a huge test of many things, patience comes to mind every day..believe me.
But although the number of physical acts of worship may be reduced I hope that my rewards on not reduced. I mean Allah (swt) can see that I am juggling the needs of my children whilst praying salat. So I may not always be able to pray at the start of prayer times, but I can still prayer within the set limits without making it Qadha, and Allah (swt)can see my difficulties. I may not always have the tranquility during salat, compared with when I was single, but Allah can see that I am praying with babies who are crying or trying to scale my back. I may not be able to read a chapter of the Qur'an like before, but I can manage a few pages without neglecting my children.
Ramadhan this year was like an extreme sport. my day started at 3am finished at 11/11.30pm. . I never focused on the hunger, didn;t have time. Last year was a doddle one newborn and a toddler this year two toddlers who are constantly on the go it was really demanding. But somehow Allah got me through the month, it;s so true Allah burdens no one more than they can bear.
So I'm back to my 5 am starts and Ramadhan has taught me to be greatful for the little sleep i do get. 5ams are a relief compared with 3am starts.
So if you're having one of them days where you feel deadbeat you should try and focus on times that were more difficult for you, or think of those who are more worse of than you. I/E with all my complaints my husband was telling me about poor ppl he knws in our native land. He said they are lucky to get like a cabbage to eat, and they boil that into a stew eat it on it's own. These ppl still fast in Ramadan, no sehri for them no lavish meals at iftar. 1 meal a day, if you can call it a meal. That made me quickly check myself from focusing on my so called hardships
If you feel like you have no time for worship make time. Like don't rule out not reading the Quran at all. Rather than reading a chapter, read just 1 page a day if that's all you can fit in.
Don't focus on doing extra nafl prayers if you are having difficulties doing the fard prayers. Focus on them first including the highly recommended sunnats for each salat.
Make time for an islamic book like a seerah or something like that, again just read a few pages rather than a chapter. the key is do whatever small actions you can. A small repeated act of worship is better then no worship.
You may not be doing as much as before but I don't think it's about the quantity of worship, quality control matters more, and sincerity and good intentions.
“O my people! Truly, this life of the world is nothing but a (quick passing) enjoyment, and verily, the hereafter that is the home that will remain forever.” [Ghafir : 39]
I gotta say in my current crappy job TM, it is a real pleasure when I finish the day... at 1pm!
After work I have the whole day ahead of me to do.. erm... stuff. Like sleep.
It does make me feel good even after the low pay because I know that if I ever wanted to utilise the time in a productive manner, I could potentially do that.
Subhanallah.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
I finish at 10.00 a.m. beat that
You think your job is bad, trust me it cant be worse than mine. Alarm clock went off this morning at 4.30. Got up switched it off. The thought of having to go to work was too much, plus i was really tired and it was extremely cold so i went back to sleep deliberately
Im gonna get a telling off for it tomorrow. Actually no it will be Monday coz no managers are in on a Sunday.
You work in a bakery?
Don't just do something! Stand there.
lol no. Id probably end up eating all the cakes
. I work for scumy Asda 
No not the gum drop buttons! – Gingy