Daily Lives of Muslims ( or Islamic way of life )
Islam covers everything a person needs to go through from the cradle to the grave and these have been covered in specific teachings and regulations for the believers. As a Muslim, we are obliged to follow the practices to the best of our ability. They help a Muslim to do good deeds in their daily lives and help attain closeness to Allah SWT.
A Muslims’ day starts with a morning prayer. Salah is the Arabic word to signify a direct connection between a believer and Allah. More specifically, in Islam, it refers to the obligatory five daily prayers and is a very important pillar of Islam.
What’s involved in a Muslims’ Life?
We aim to look briefly into a typical day of a Muslim and what it may consist of. Although there are 5 pillars a Muslim must follow, are all not necessarily required to be carried out in a single day. The main obligatory act carried out daily is the 5 Prayers.
A Muslims will most likely adhere to the following tasks:
- Daily Prayers
- Recite Quran
- Learn about the religion
- Do Good Deeds
- Fair dealing
5 Daily Prayers
The very first act a Muslim does upon waking up in the morning is thank to Allah for giving him life. He or She then will make ablution (wudhu) in order to perform the morning prayer before sunrise which is known as Fajr Salah.
In addition, there are 4 more obligatory prayers;
Dhuhr Salah – midday, after the sun passes its highest
Asar Salah – the late part of the afternoon
Magrib Salah – Just after sunset
Isha Salah – Between Sunset and Midnight
The prayers will be performed around a person’s normal timetable, whether they are studying, working or carrying out household duties etc.
A Muslim should try to offer the salah with full devotion and on its prescribed time. A salah which is offered on its time is better.
When the belief of a Muslim increases in Allah and that he is the Almighty and sole provider, the chances of their success increase naturally as Allah is the supreme and everything comes from Him.
Allah says in Quran:
‘’Even so, there are some who choose to worship others besides God as rivals to Him, loving them with love due to God, but the believers have a greater love for God.’’ (2:165)
Reciting the Quran
The Holy Quran is a source of divine guidance from Allah and every Muslim should find time in their daily routine to read and act upon the teachings. It is like nourishment for the faith of a Muslim.
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “Indeed Allah, through this Book, raises some peoples and lowers others.” [Muslim]
Recitation of the Quran over and over never exhausts the reader, neither does the reader lose an enthusiasm by understanding it again and again. The Noble Quran contains a wide range of standards of statement of faith, deeds, and morals that will cause a man to accomplish genuine euphoria throughout everyday life.
Allah mentioned in the Quran: “And this [Qur’an] is a Book We have revealed [which is] blessed, so follow it and fear Allah that you may receive mercy.” [6:155]
The Quran does not just encourage us to take care of our everyday life issues yet in addition gives us direction to live and have a fruitful life as it is the book of guidance for us all. The Quran has the solution of every single matter of life that a Muslim could encounter in his/her life. For that reason, a Muslim should always try and find time to recite, learn and implement from the Quran daily.
Learning About Islam
In addition to recitation of the Quran, there are teaching from the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that a Muslim must act upon to as this will show them the practical way of living their life. Not every person can be a scholar of the religion, but every person is obliged to learn about their faith through any avenues available to them to the best of their ability.
The teachings of the Prophet have been conveyed through many narrations that are referred to as ‘Hadith’. There are many authentic books on Hadith which a Muslim can read and learn more about the life of the Prophet (PBUH). They can also learn more about Islam by attending their local Mosque and any education systems available.
Allah mentions in the Quran “Certainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error.” [3:164]
He gave the Prophet (PBUH) 4 responsibilities; Recite the verses to the people, purify the people, teach the people the book and lastly teach wisdom to the people. Without the messenger of Allah, Muslims would not be able to practice and interpret everything in the Quran, so it is important for a Muslim to look into the practices of the Prophet (pbuh) so that they can lead a successful life.
Doing Good Deeds
Carrying our good deeds is necessary for your own health and inner peace. As a Muslim it is our moral duty to be kind towards others and show good manners as we have been commanded by Allah and shown through is messenger (pbuh).
Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds [that] for them there is forgiveness and great reward. [5:9]
One must try to do as much good as they can to others and make their life easier, as the reward of it comes from Allah Almighty and is equivalent reward to the deed if not greater. Regarding the reward of good deeds,
Allah also says in the Quran: “For them who have done good is the best [reward] and extra. No darkness will cover their faces, nor humiliation. Those are companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally’’. (10:26)
Being caring is a humble and easy act and at the same time is also regarded as a form of charity, as the Prophet (pbuh) said “Every good deed is charity” [Bukhari]. So, it’s not just the monetary contribution that is seen as charity, helping others also comes in this form.
Another example of an act of charity can be to assist an elderly person crossing the road or helping them carry their shopping. Allah has made it so easy for us in this life to increase our weights in good deeds.
Good deeds are so important in Islam, surely we can take maximum benefit from this and gain immense rewards. Through the mercy of Allah our good deeds alone can take us to paradise.
Fair Dealing in Trade
A Muslim is commanded by Allah to be true and honest. This includes fair dealings in a Muslims professional life too. We should try to benefit the creation of Allah Almighty in addition to ourselves and do so in a humble manner.
It was narrated from Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “May Allah have mercy upon a man who is easy-going when he sells and when he buys and when he asks for payment.” [Al-Bukhari (1970)]
We learn from this hadith that Allah’s mercy will descend on a person that is honest and easy-going when it comes to trade.
To expand further on this, in some instances a person who is out to sell their product, would most likely want to hide the defects knowingly in order to get the sale and perhaps a higher price. A true believer would not do this because he knows that these are against the conduct of Islam and a few extra pennies or pounds will not benefit him much if he lost Allah’s pleasure because of his unfair dealing.
These cover the main aspects in the daily lives of Muslims. However, in addition to the points mentioned above a Muslim will need to follow all of the 5 Pillars and so the daily routine may change in certain times of the year. For example, a Muslim will also Fast for 30 days in the Month of Ramadan.
In addition, they need to pay zakat once a year (alms given to the poor from a persons’ wealth) if they meet the requirements for Zakat. Also perform Hajj (Pilgrimage) once in their lifetime if they can afford to do so and are in good health.
See also this great article from Al Islam org about the daily life of a Muslim woman
