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Bismillahirahman niraheem Asalamualykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu my dear respected sisters and friends. Jazakallah khair to you for attending today and I pray you benefit from this session. Introduction: I was asked to choose a topic to speak about today and I thought what issue to I feel that is concerning our community right now. I feel like our personal, social, religious wellbeing is being compromised as we are unable to identify the balanced path in many matters.So, in todays session we will be discussing what is the balanced path of moderation in Islam, how moving from it affects our wellbeing and most importantly tips on how to maintain our wellbeing at the highest point inshallah! Let’s start from the Quran - Allah says: We have made you (true Muslims) a moderate nation so that you could be an example for all people and the Prophet an example for you. (Surah Baqarah V 143)Moderate – Wasataa – Middle – Allah has made us the best of nations by making us moderate – what does that mean? If we have a middle path then there must have two extremes. Middle is the centre between any two opposites; one opposite is commendable while the other is not. Between these two lies the “middle” which is always the best part in the equation like the pendant is to the necklace. If we look at the past nations there were the nations that made their prophet the son of God – and those that never even listened to their prophet despite his 900 years of dawah, even those that killed their prophets. Our nation, in every era however has a huge deep love for Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessing be upon him) and ready to sacrifice themselves for him. If we compare the nations practises of their religion, there are those scholars of religion who were paid and changed the words of their scriptures for a small price and those at the other extreme who imprison themselves in monasteries and refrain from marriage and social life. However, our nation, adopts the middle path where both extremes are not allowed, there were those nations who buried their daughters and neglected human rights. Islam and Shariah came to create an equilibrium and a just order. Even in current modern day – There are two visible extremes of Islam- At one extreme – Give up on their salah/ zakat and turn away from Allah and on the other extreme are people who use religion to force their own way and get into the worshipping Allah so deeply to the extent that you are not fulfilling your social, personal and worldly duties. E.g. Coming to see you will take me away from the dhikr of Allah. Our religion Islam teaches us to complete our fard, practise the sunnah and have a balance between our worldly pursuits and aims for the hereafter. With so many extremes we are consistently trying to find a middle path for us to follow. In our day to day personal lives there are so many things we try to keep in moderation – Our eatingOur sleepingOur shopping Our work life balance Social media usageIn our spending Our religious and worldly commitmentsOur parents and parent in law commitments Time for ourselves compared to time for others Islam encourages moderation in all thingsModeration in Islam Story – At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), when a group of men got together and one of them said, “I will pray at night and never sleep.” Another said, “I will fast and never break my fast.” The third one said, “I will never marry women.” News of that reached the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he said, “What is wrong with people who say such and such? I fast and I break my fast. I sleep, and I marry women. Whoever overlooks my Sunnah does not belong to me.” These people had gone to extremes in religion, and so the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said he would disown them, because they overlooked his Sunnah which includes fasting and not fasting, praying at night and sleeping, and marrying women. Even though they are religious extremes, they would be doing good acts by worshipping Allah is not recommended because other duties will get sacrificed. Negligence on the other hand can be seen in neglecting our acts of worship (obligatory or voluntary), or estranging ourselves from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) by not caring much for practicing his tradition. It can also be seen in lack of remembrance of Allah, being undutiful to our parents, abandoning mosques and the Qur’an… etc. The one who is falling short is one who says, “I do not need to do voluntary (naafil) actions, so I will not do them. I will only do the fard actions. He may even be falling short in the fard actions, so this person is lacking. The moderate person is one who follows the path of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Moderation in religion means that one does not exaggerate and go beyond the limit set by Allah, and that one does not neglect it and fall short of the limit set by Allah. Moderation in religion means following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Exaggeration means trying to do more than he did, and negligence means not reaching that minimum levelTo cut it short, this is a middle nation! Middle in words, middle in actions, middle in perceptions and in attitudes! When we say middle here, we do not mean compromises. The middle path has to be within the laws and boundaries of Islam. E.g. Theres 5 prayers in the day ill pray 2.5 – that’s the middle path. That’s not the middle that’s negligence! But the moderation we’re talking about here means to say the right thing according to the Quran and Sunnah. Now coming to the main title of this talk, when we do not have moderation that is when our Wellbeing if effected. When our attitudes, our eating, our conduct, our mindset are not adopting moderation. Our mental, social, religious and physical wellbeing. Usually when one is disturbed so could the other. So, we are going to give you 5 tips to keep our wellbeing at its peak, for us to feel good, be good and think good inshallah. In light of Quran and sunnah 1 – Keep learning Keep Learning – Without a huge introduction we all know the many virtues of learning /gaining knowledge in our religion of Islam. As far as the first verse in the Quran to be revealed as Iqra….to write…. ‘Seeking knowledge is compulsory on every Muslim’ Due – ‘Oh Allah increase me in knowledge’ = Learning does not just start and end with the academic education of how to read and write, then KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4 – GCSE’s, A-Levels, a degree, masters and if your brave enough a PHD! That’s what we have confined learning into these spheres. Learning is acquiring new knowledge, this could be Islamic knowledge, learning a new hobby, learning to drive, trying out a new dish. We as Muslims should be continuously improving ourselves. Learning new things that will benefit us in this world and next. How many people in the room have tried? Have you tried………origami, making biryani, boxercise, cycling, mountain climbing, speaking Arabic, sewing etc… the list and support in our online/physical community is tremendous!We live in the best of times – from one perspective because of all the information available to us. You can just You tube something and learn how to do it, follow the step and in a few hours, you’ll have the right product. E.g. When I wanted to make macaroons – had heard the disastrous stories – searched, researched, learnt from others mistakes attempted it with help and they came out perfect subhanallah. Why should we keep learning? Research shows that learning new skills can also improve your mental wellbeing by:boosting self-confidence and raising self-esteemhelping you to build a sense of purposehelping you to connect with othersEven if you feel like you do not have enough time, or you may not need to learn new things, there are lots of different ways to bring learning into your life. Reading a new book = simple things Some of the things you could try include:Try learning to cook something new. Find out about healthy eating and cooking tipsTry taking on a new responsibility at work/school, such as mentoring a junior staff member or improving your presentation skillsWork on a DIY project, such as fixing a broken bike, garden gate or something bigger. There are lots of free video tutorials onlineConsider signing up for a course at a local college/Islamic institute. You could try learning a new language or a practical skillTry new hobbies that challenge you, such as writing a blog, taking up a new sport or learning to paint2. Keep Active – So now she’s going to tell us to join the gym! We all want to live healthy, disease free, happy lives – so that includes self-care! Being active is not only great for your physical health and fitness. Evidence also shows it can also improve your mental wellbeing byraising your self-esteemhelping you to set goals or challenges and achieve themcausing chemical changes in your brain which can help to positively change your mood - HAPPY hormones – endorphins Getting outdoors – national trust = in your youth if you been outdoors = mental health Find a hobby and engage with it! Meet new people accomplish new tasks Ibn ‘Abbas narrated that the Messenger of Allah ?allallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “Two favours that many of the people waste are health and free time.” [Jami` at-Tirith]In a?hadith narrated from Hazrat Ibn Umar (R.A) in which our beloved Prophet said??”Teach your children swimming, archery and horse riding”.? ?What’s your hobby? Pleasantly surprised to hear your hobbies? In the limits of Islam – In moderation – through it you are not neglecting your duties then its fine. Hobbies for a purpose – not to kill time – Actions are according to Intentions. 3.Give to othersHow does it feel when you receive a gift? How does it feel when you receive your report for sponsoring an orphan or your charity report once you have built a water well? How does it feel once you have visited a friend and had a good deep conversation? How does it feel when you see the smile on the face of a child/old person’s face? Priceless moments – Its two ways though - By helping and giving we: creating positive feelings and a sense of rewardgiving you a feeling of purpose and self-worthhelping you connect with other peopleFrom an Islamic perspective we get rewards and from a psychological perspective a feel-good factor. WIN WIN situation Giving charity - “Allah, the Exalted, says: ‘Spend, O son of Adam, and I shall spend on you.’” – (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).Giving time to friends and family – Abu Hurayrah (radi Allahu anhu) said that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever removes a grief from a believer from amongst the sorrows of this life, Allah will remove a grief from him amongst the sorrows of the Day of Resurrection.?(Sahih Muslim)Visiting the Sick - Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When the Muslim visits his (sick) Muslim brother, he is harvesting the fruits of Paradise until he returns.” (Sahih Muslim)Giving gifts – Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Give presents to one another. Presents remove malice from the hearts, and a female neighbour should not regard the gift of a trotter (hoof) of a goat to another female neighbour as of no value.” (Tirmidhi)Gratitude - Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever failed to give thanks to anyone who did a favour to him failed to give thanks to GodSome practical examples: Saying thank you to someone for something they have done for youAsking friends, family or colleagues how they are and really listening to their answerSpending time with friends or relatives who need support or companyOffering to help someone you know with DIY or a work projectVolunteering in your community, such as helping at a school, charity organisation, hospital or care homeStay connected Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “A Muslim has five rights over another Muslim: to return the greeting of peace, to visit him when he is sick, to follow his funeral procession, to answer his invitation, and to respond to his sneeze.”??? ???????? ?????????? ??????? The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,“The one who severs his family ties will not enter Paradise.”(S?ah?i?h? al-Bukha?ri? and S?ah?i?h? Muslim)Good relationships are important for your mental wellbeing. They can:help you to build a sense of belonging and self-worthgive you an opportunity to share positive experiencesprovide emotional support and allow you to support othersThere are lots of things you could try to help build stronger and closer relationshipsMindfulness What is mindfulness?Professor Mark Williams, former director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, says that mindfulness means knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment."It's easy to stop noticing the world around us. It's also easy to lose touch with the way our bodies are feeling and to end up living 'in our heads' – caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behaviour," he says."An important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience. This means waking up to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment. That might be something as simple as the feel of a banister as we walk upstairs."Another important part of mindfulness is an awareness of our thoughts and feelings as they happen moment to moment."It's about allowing ourselves to see the present moment clearly. When we do that, it can positively change the way we see ourselves and our lives."Does it sound like anything we are familiar with? Awareness v. automatic pilot Much of the time we are unconscious of our thoughts and the mind seems to run on automatic pilot. Concentration needs practice. Focused attention often comes naturally: watching a film, using the computer, reading a book, for instance. However, to develop mindful awareness paying close attention needs to be cultivated. Being mindfully aware enables us to observe our patterns of thought — those which can be helpful or harmful to our daily life, and the choices we make. However, unless we intentionally focus on a task = we are on autopilot. sitting silently allows us to realise how active our mind is. How it is constantly full of Doing thoughts. The mindfully with a raisin exercise demonstrates the way to get the most out of any experience. How often do we put a handful of raisins into our mouth and hardly taste them? How often do we eat dinner without tasting our food -? Let’s try some? Right now, and right here…. (GIVE OUT ONE RAISIN TO EACH ATTENDEE) Mindfulness exercise – Raisin or breathing RAISIN EXERCISE Add a 10-second pause between phrases and deliver instructions in a matter-of-fact way, at a slow but deliberate pace, asking the class to do the following:SEEING AND TOUCHING Take the raisin and hold it in the palm of your hand, or between finger and thumb… Paying attention to seeing it, looking carefully as if you have never seen such an object before… Turning it over in your fingers… Feeling the texture between your fingers… Examine the highlights where the light catches the surface, the darker hollows and folds and the colour. Letting your eyes explore every part of it.SMELLING Now holding it beneath your nose, carefully noticing any smell… Taking another look at it… Putting it to your ear… Does it make a sound? And now taking it to your lips, maybe noticing how your hand and arm know where to put it… Perhaps noticing your mouth watering…and gently placing it in your mouth without biting it, just explore the sensation of having it in your mouth, its texture and flavour…TASTING AND SWALLOWING When you are ready, taking a bite with curiosity, noticing the taste it releases… slowly chewing it, noticing the saliva in the mouth, the change in consistency… Then, when you feel the desire to swallow seeing if you can first detect the intention so that even this is experienced consciously before you actually swallow... Finally, see if you can follow the sensation of swallowing, feeling it moving down your throat… to your stomach, realising that you are now one raisin heavier.Mindfulness in Islam - As the Prophet ? defined in the famous?hadith?of Gabriel, spiritual excellence is “to worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He certainly sees you.” (Al Bukhari) As Muslims, when and where do we practise mindfulness? Salah = Ultimate mindfulness: Be ever mindful of prayers, especially the middle prayer; and stand before Allah in total devotion” ( 2:238)Mindful regarding its times Mindful regarding what we are reciting in Prayer Mindful of our concentration in prayer – Khushoo Mindful of our state of purity Mindful of our actions Mindful in our Dua So being more mindful will not only just help us to have a better quality salah but also being mindful in our daily lives – listening to the wind, tasting our food, spending cheisrsable moments together (no devices) will help us to lead happier more satisfied lives. Recap 5 step! Keep Learning Be Active Stay connected Give to others Mindfulness ................
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