#stuckathome

9 Things to do when you're stuck at home! Woof!

as muslims, our deen teaches us to seize every moment we’ve been given.

the Prophet ﷺ said, “take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth before you become old; your health, before you fall sick; your wealth, before you become poor; your free time before you become preoccupied, and your life, before your death.” {Musnad Imam Ahmad}

Therefore, with the latest restrictions placed upon us in response to the coronavirus, we should attempt to make the most of our time at home. 

here are some suggestions to do just that:

make up any qadha salah you may have- before giving to charity, be sure to pay your debts. a missed salah doesn’t just go away, you have to make it up, and now is the perfect time to do just that. use this opportunity to become saahibe tarteeb (someone who has less than 5 missed prayers in their account) so that your duas are more accepted and you can move onto praying nawaafil

read an abundance of quran- the quran is the equivalent of oxygen in terms of our spirituality, we must breathe it in and out throughout our day. however, we often times get so distracted by our worldly lives that we begin to neglect the quran. this is our opportunity to reconnect with the words of Allah aza wa jala and establish a habit of daily recitation, especially with ramadan right around the corner.

spend time with your parents- an oft-forgotten fardh, islam teaches us to treat them with absolute kindness. if you’re fortunate enough to have your parents in your life, prioritize your time together. care for them, learn from them, and just be there. it means the world to them, and it will make your aakhira

(almost) spring cleaning- we all know the hadith, “cleanliness is half of faith” {Sahih Muslim}, so it’s time we bring it front and center. use your extra time at home cleaning and organizing those nooks and crannies you don’t usually get to during your everyday cleaning. try to throw away or donate items that aren’t adding value to your life or that might be better suited for someone else. personally, i try to maintain a minimalistic attitude with regards to how much i keep in my home. if i were to pass away tomorrow, my family would probably throw away most of these items anyways, so i’d rather be the one to do it and maybe gain some reward while i’m at it.

take a class- many classes have been transferred online in response to this worldwide pandemic, in addition to the multitude of institutes that are already fully online. whether you’re practicing yoga or learning tafsir, it’s a great idea to get your mind, body, and soul into something new while stuck indoors. on that note, there are lots of islamic subjects to explore such as tafsir, hadith, aqeedah, fiqh, and seerah. and focusing on any one is a step towards a more enlightened you.

tashbeeh and azkaar- along with daily recitation of the quran, we should have a certain amount of azkaar we recite every morning and night. if you don’t already have these, i’d recommend starting with reading the kalimah, durood, and istighfaar 100 times a day. this will help you remember Allah aza wa jal throughout your day, and soften your heart. if you already have your own set of tasbeehat, stay firm and perhaps attempt to add some new azkaar to your daily routine. there is a lot we can recite, but whatever it may be, we should follow through with consistency and sincerity. 

make dua- in difficult times like these, we are encouraged to turn back to Allah aza wa jal and to seek His tala assistance. we should utilize this opportunity to make sincere tawbah and dua for the entire ummah, as well as our pious predecessors. we should contemplate on death, life, and how closely the two are related. in addition, i would highly recommend keeping a dua journal, in which you can write duas and names that you want to keep in mind during your prayers. this will come in handy during ramadan, on umrah, and throughout your life. and while praying for the prosperity of the entire ummah, please spare a moment for this lowly servant.