This was posted on my Facebook on 25th February 2016. But I’ve deleted my account and wanted to read it again. Thankfully it was saved in my Medium draft. Now you can read it too.
Last night I attended a talk on mindfulness in Islam by Emil Ihsan-Alexander Torabi. The event was put together by the wonderful people of UNRIBA and TalentLounge. Below are some key takeaways that I find interesting:
• 5 times prayer a day to reconnect with Allah. Pray as if we see Him. Allah is everywhere, we should feel Him all the time.
• Islam is transformation, progressive. If nothing changes in you for the past years than something is wrong.
• Seek for knowledge to better oneself, not to be arrogant. Follow prophet Muhammad’s akhlak, humility. Allah is compassionate, loving.
• Technology promises to save us time. But instead we have less time. The more you rush, the more you have to rush. The more you succumb to dunia, the more you distance from Him. We have to slow down. Don’t let dunia enslave you.
• Spend at least 10 mins a day to zikir. Increase gradually 15, 20 mins. Don’t just say it with your mouth. Say it with your heart. Feel it and relax.
• Basic form of zikir is aware of breathing. Every breath is a wilful of Allah to sustain you. With each breath Allah says He loves you. Breathing is our connection to Allah. It’s a spiritual exercise itself.
• Tension in body is a tense mind. Relax body = relax mind
• If you’re stress, it’s as if Allah is not in control. Let it go. Trust and surrender. Remind yourself Allah is in control.
• Mind has to be still. When you’re internally in a state of surrender, you’re closest to Allah. Get out of the head a lil bit. Listen to your heart to seek solution to problem.
• Allah created this whole universe. We are but a tiny speck. Don’t think solat is for Him to be happy. Don’t look it in a childish way. Solat is for you.
• People used to be excited to leave dunia to solat, but now we rush solat just to get back to dunia.
• To benefit from solat is to be real in changing ourselves. The reward for ibadah is the ibadah itself. Allah will be happy when you’re happy. His way leads to happiness, joy, peace. Real ibadah brings joy to the heart.
• Surrender is internal. External is to be more aware.
• Fear is slowing you down. Not making you effective. Be alert, capable, successful.
• Do one thing at a time. Multitasking is the bane of productivity. Technology can be tools of total distraction. Think about how you wanna live your life. Is this comfortable?
• Stop doing things mechanically. Do it with your presence. When you do what you do in presence, it will be fulfilling.
• To truly remember Allah, you have to let go of everything. Be absence of creation. Allah will be all that’s left. You don’t need to remember Him if you don’t forget Him. Empty yourself. In that state there will be nothing but Allah.
• (When asked about how to clear one’s mind of distractions when zikir and meditating) You are not your mind. The only thing that will continue in after life is your soul. Heart is the door to the soul. The more we resist thinking the more they become powerful. Let them be and they’ll be gone.
• Shift from thinking to feeling. Rasulullah SAW said “Consult your heart because it knows.”
• Mindfulness will teach you to listen. All conflicts are result of inability to communicate. Commune means “to become one with”.
• We don’t realise we’re self-centred. Love is about giving and becoming one. Be real in all relationships.
• Rumi understood that Islam is love. Love in oneness of Allah. Absence of self.
• Take the first step, Allah will take the next step. You walk to Him, He’ll run to you.
• We have to rediscover the reality of Islam because the world is waiting. Biggest barrier of our understanding of Islam is our understanding of Islam. We have the appearance of Islam, but not reality. Going farther than Islam without realizing it.
• Allah said “You’re the best of people”. Allah gave you the deen. We have to evolve. Seek perfection of our character.
For more info about Emil Ihsan-Alexander Torabi and his work, visit: ihsanalexander.com
islamicmeditation.com
soulofislamradio.com
For more info on Unriba’s next event, visit facebook.com/unriba
(Justin, anyone from Unriba or whoever attended the talk reading this, please let me know if there are any mistakes in my notes and I will correct them. I hope the message of the talk gets across intact. Thank you for reading.)
