How to live a Mindful Life as a Muslim

3. Hold Yourself Accountable (Muhasabah)

I love that Islam places a great emphasis on self-reflection and accountability. If we want to grow, we need to regularly assess our actions, intentions and spiritual progress. This practice is known as Muhasabah and fosters a deeper understanding of our own selves so we can align our actions with our values and duties. 

You could journal about this, but personally I just love spending time on my own, ideally in nature. Don’t get me wrong, I love community moments where I get to talk for hours about Islam with amazing sisters, but I found that it’s also in these moments of isolation from people that I feel deeply connected to Allah. I actually feel that I’m not alone Subhan’Allah, am more inclined to really talk to Him, detach myself from this dunya and once again, be in the present moment. It is during these moments that I reflect upon my faith goals and try to evaluate how I’m doing so far, or upon my past mistakes, which I’m learning to forgive myself for. 

I would also highly suggest listening to this khutbah to learn how Prophet Muhammad ﷺ actually used to do it. 

4. Your Consumption should be Mindful too

This one won’t come as a surprise for you coming from me, but of course, Islamic teachings advocate for mindfulness in consumption. As a matter of fact, you don’t need to constantly be stimulated or rewarded by the pleasures of this dunya. The latter should be experienced in moderation so you can appreciate their benefits fully.

This applies to food, clothes, money, and even time! The concept of Halal and Haram guides us to consume what is pure and beneficial, avoiding excess and harm in all the resources Allah blesses us with. He also invites us to truly enjoy these things by slowing down, being content with little, whether it be mindful eating by savoring each bite, giving sadaqah regularly to purify your rizq and not always spend it on materialistic things, taking care of your clothes so you keep them for a long time or limiting your time on social media (I touch upon this topic in this video).

5. Practise Kind Speech to Others and Yourself 

We know how harsh words can be. That is why Islam teaches the importance of mindful speech, advocating for a communication that is truthful, kind, and beneficial (something that tends to be often forgotten in the Ummah unfortunately…). 

I rarely get angry Alhamdulillah. When I do though, my words often translate emotions that I feel but am not able to communicate properly or have been keeping for too long… Therefore, I end up hurting the person and myself. I’ve become way more conscious of that and have been working on it, telling myself that I should either speak good or remain silent. Now I’m trying to pause and consider the impact of what I want to say. I then communicate clarity once the anger has passed. 

I also believe that when Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said to be compassionate, it wasn’t just for us to show empathy and be active listeners to the people around us but also, show ourselves some mercy. I’ve touched upon this before: a lot of us can be incredibly kind to everyone but themselves. Mindfulness implies that you acknowledge your worth as a person and are certain that you are loved by Allah so you can show yourself some love too.