Reminders for those who remember.

Common Daily Mistakes Exploited by Shaitaan

Our lives can seem like a whirlwind of hectic, chaotic, unpredictable situations and occurrences that keep us busy. Struggling to do what we need to do to maintain our obedience to Allah Allah Subhanahu-wa-Taala and surviving in a complex world at the same time can be very difficult. Yet, we all have patterns, habits and daily routines we fall into as we maintain some stability, sanity and normality to our lives. The longer one makes daily mistakes, the more harder it will get to survive Shaitan's trappings; making his temptations difficult to resist and easier to fall into.
The various addictions Shaitan wants to trap a person can move from one level to the next. An addiction locks one into a vice, sin or foul activity. Without the ability to escape from shaitan's trappings, we are unable to free ourselves, making us not only slaves of Shaitan, but we might also end up working to spread his foul causes and agendas.

So clearly the first step one should take is to stop Shaitan in his tracks before any of these weakening factors occur. Then turning to the Qur'an and the Sunnah will answer the strategy to avoid each pitfall.

#1: Getting too busy for acts of worship
Even though we must work to survive, Islam has been made it easy for us to practice our religion simultaneously. We cannot neglect obligatory acts of worship because of complications in the world. The only occasion where the Prophet SAW missed a prayer was a situation of life and death, when in the battlefield. Even at that time, he cursed the enemy for causing him to miss his 'asr prayer.

Narrated 'Ali radi-allahu-anhu: When it was the day of the battle of Al-Ahzab (i.e. the clans), Allah's Messenger said, "O Allah! Fill their (i.e. the infidels') houses and graves with fire as they busied us so much that we did not perform the prayer (i.e. 'Asr) till the sun set." Sahih al-Bukhari 2931.

We should also try to keep our fellow brothers and sisters from being too busy by assisting them.
It was narrated that 'Abdullah bin Ja'far radi-allahu-anhu said: "When news of the death of Ja'far was brought, the Messenger of Allah said: 'Prepare food for the family of Ja'far, for there has come to them that which is keeping them busy or something which is keeping them busy." Sunah Ibn Majah Vol. 1, Book 6, Hadith 1610.

#2: Eating or drinking a poor diet
The expression "you are what you eat" is not too far off. The modern diet has become so bizarre that the field of medicine has created a massive industry, thanks to a majority of people who fall sick due to their own slow poisoning.

You might have heard a lot about including fresh fruits and raw vegetables in your diet, but it has been a part of Sunnah since our Prophet's SAW time. Black seed (habbatus sauda), raw unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar, hearty grains like barley, and yogurt and such are all part of the Prophetic diet.

Overeating and overindulging is extremely common amongst the Muslims today and it's a tragedy even in the circles of scholars as it is very hard for us to control the environment we are in. Learning how to use the supermarket and seek out the correct kind of foods is vital to our success here.

Once Umar ibn al-Khattaab radi-allahu-anhu saw a man with a big belly and said, "What is this?!" The man replied, "This is Barakah (a blessing) from Allah." Umar said. "No, it is a punishment from Allah!" (Mu'jam al-Shuyookh Ii Taaj al-Deen al-Subki).

Things to eliminate in this regard are:

i) All white bleached/polished products lacking nutrition including white flour, white rice, white sugar, white salt which can be replaced with their nutritious equivalents of wheat flour, brown rice, brown sugar or honey or molasses, sea salt and such.

ii) Eliminate artificial chemicals and products ,sugar, food fried in oil except as twice a month treat.

Certain bad patterns of eating must be eliminated. Here is one example of self-restraint from food in the Sunnah.