Shakirah Hunter

High highs and low lows are often a great characteristic of our Ramadhan and post Ramadhan relationship with ibaadah. We tend to exert ourselves during Ramadhan and try to hold on to our ibaadah post Ramadhan but somehow – slowly but surely, we always regress and find ourselves unable to keep up to the same level. Islam, as a religion, looks at Ibaadah as small acts that are done with extreme constancy. Nabie (s) advises us in a beautiful hadith:

“قل آمنت بالله ثم استقم

“Say, I believe in Allah and then remain constant”. This act of constancy in your good deeds is an incredible sign of faith and it is in reality a gift from the Almighty. In the previous religions it was encouraged to practice aestheticism and complete abstinence from marriage etc. yet Islam came as the perfect religion to perfect all other faiths and brought with it a moderation and balance in our ibadah. This is what istiqaamah brings to our lives – a constant ability to hold on to the acts of worship that become a beautiful part of our lives.

Consistency and Constancy should be balanced throughout our lives:

1. Consistency in doing good deeds and constancy in the obedience of Allah Ta’ala
2. Constancy in gaining the correct Islamic Knowledge
3. Consistently checking our sincerity of words and action which is the very soul of our acts of worship and the main reason for the soul to become consistent. Allah Azza wa Jalla draws our attention to this in the Qur’an قال تعالى: (فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا).
4. Consistency in our recitation of the Holy Qur’an and our memorization of the Holy Qur’an as well as reflecting on its verses.
5. Consistency in our life choices creates balance in our lives and allows us to make balanced decisions

The Benefits of Consistency:

1. Allah promises a deep sense of tranquility to those who have istiqamah in their lives. قال تعالى: (إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُواوَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ)،

Surely those who say, “Our Lord is Allah,” and then remain steadfast, the angels descend upon them, ˹saying,˺ “Do not fear, nor grieve. Rather, rejoice in the good news of Paradise, which you have been promised.

2. A widening and spaciousness of one’s sustenance

 (وَأَلَّوِ اسْتَقامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ لأسْقَيْناهُمْ ماءً غَدَقاً)Had the deniers remained constant, We would have certainly granted them abundant rain to drink—

3. A life that is wholesome, pure and satisfied. قال تعالى: (مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ). Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds.

How to develop Consistency in these acts of worship.

We must recognize our own weaknesses and our own abilities. When we are totally honest with ourselves with regards to our abilities, we can place structures into place to assist us in gaining consistency in our lives. We need to attach our acts of worship with habits that are already a massive part of our lives. For example, of we always wake up at a certain time, we attach our morning zikr to that time. If we are doing pick-ups at midday – we attach our Salah to that time as well as a little bit of our daily recitation. Work our practical strategies that work for you and allow you to develop your routine with your current lifestyle. Taking all of your many responsibilities into consideration we must built acts of khair that will become a long-lasting path of our lives.