De-Clutter your Mind
Sunday, July 26, 2009 Part of being productive, is focussing your mind on what’s beneficial and de-cluttering it from unproductive thoughts.
If we can record our inner thoughts and replay them to ourselves each day, we’ll be shocked at how much junk there is and how much brain power we waste on futile things that neither benefit or harm us. These thoughts can be in the form of replaying old “movies” in our heads of things that happened to us in our past and repeating them in our minds over and over again, or going to some extreme future dreams that are never attainable nor part of reality, or keeping thoughts which we shouldn’t keep that we’re not happy to reveal to anyone, or having doubts/back-bites about people which we needn’t have... all these thoughts need to purged if we’re ever to relieve ourselves and de-clutter our minds.
How do you know if you have so much clutter? Notice your actions and speech. If you see them both very focused, very productive, very thoughtful, and have little gossip, then you’re mind is de-cluttered. If not, and see yourself all over the place and your tongue incontrollable, then your mind surely needs a cleanup exercise.
Unfortuantely, we pay little attention to our thoughts and what goes on inside our mind, even though it’s crucial to our well-being, productivity and ultimately how good/bad Muslims we become. Ibn Al-Qayyim has a profoundly powerful statement in his book Al-Fawaid, referring to negative/sinful thought, he said:
“You should repulse a thought. If you do not do so, it will develop into a desire. You should therefore wage war against it. If you do not do so, it will become a resolution and firm intention. If you do not repulse this, it will develop into a deed. If you do not make up for it by doing the opposite thereof [the opposite of that evil deed], it will become a habit. It will then be very difficult for you to give it up”
“You should know that the initial stage of every knowledge that is within your choice is your thoughts and notions. These thoughts and notions lead you into fantasies. These fantasies lead towards the will and desire to carry out [those fantasies]. These wills and desires demand the act should be committed. Repeatedly committing these acts cause them to become a habit. So the goodness of these stages lies in the goodness of thoughts and notions, and the wickedness of these thoughts lies in the wickedness of thoughts and notions.” [Al Fawaid, Ibn Qayyim]
May Allah be pleased with him! A deep insight into something so subtle. We should all memorize these words and used it whenever we feel unable to control the tsunami of negative thoughts overtaking our minds.
There’s a verse in the Quran that should send shudders through any Muslim’s spine, in which Allah (swt) speaks of Him taking into account our inner thoughts, Allah says:
“To Allah belongeth all that is in the heavens and on earth. Whether ye show what is in your minds or conceal it, Allah Calleth you to account for it. He forgiveth whom He pleaseth, and punisheth whom He pleaseth, for Allah hath power over all things.” (Surat Al-Baqarah, verse no. 284).
In an age, where people are fighting for privacy, some people might find the above verse “intrusive”! But who are we to judge what Allah does?! We’re His slaves and He’s our Master! He can do what He wills. The reason I'm saying this, is because believe it or not, the Companions of the Prophet, also found the above verse difficult to swallow (but in their case, they understood the implication, we unfortunately, rebel due to arrogance). So they went to the Prophet with a heavy heart regarding this verse, but the Prophet told them “Say, we Listen and Obey”. As soon as they said that, Allah revealed 2 of the greatest verses in the Quran:
"The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His angels, His books, and His apostles. "We make no distinction (they say) between one and another of His apostles." And they say: "We hear, and we obey: (We seek) Thy forgiveness, our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys."
On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns. (Pray:) "Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden Like that which Thou didst lay on those before us; Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; Help us against those who stand against faith."
So, listen and obey and work out how to control your thoughts and Allah will not overburden you.
Here are some simple steps you can follow to de-clutter your mind and control thoughts, but they need to be constantly followed in order to develop a disciplined mind:
- Dua - First and foremost, ask Allah for help and guidance on this issue. Remember "You Alone we Worship, and You alone we seek help from".
- Practise focussing your mind - especially during Salat - so that you at least de-clutter your mind, even temporarily.
- Listen “into” your thoughts and don’t let them just wave by unnoticed. A strong Muslim is the one who can control his inner self as well as his limbs.
- When a bad thought comes, fight it! And when a good thought comes, act upon it or at least write it down!
- Be constantly watchful of your mind, like a predator, always ready to pounce on any unwanted thoughts and cutting evil from its roots.
May Allah (swt) help us de-clutter our minds and make our thoughts, actions and words sincerely for Him. Ameen.
Let me know your "thoughts" on the above ;).
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Reader Comments (3)
Masha Allah great article! One knowledgable brother I know was recently asked about how to have khushou in salaat, he answered with the following great advice:
This is an issue that almost every Muslim faces, which can be due either to the whispers of Shaytaan or the lack of focus during Salaat.
If you notice and review the hadeeth that are related to Salaat, you will realize that the Prophetic guidance directs us to free ourselves from any dunya matters. That is why you find many Hadeeth which advise Muslims not to pray if they were hungry or when they need to relieve themselves. The wisdom behind it, in these two simple examples, is that one needs to begin his/her salaat while there is nothing else busying his/her mind. That does not mean however to abandon the Salaat because your mind is busy with other things or because you cannot focus. This process of Freeing Mind and Thoughts normally takes time and hence one should not rush results.
The following are some thoughts on how to manage to attain khushou' (comfort and tranquillity):
- When you hear the Adhaan ( if you could hear it) repeat after him and think of the meaning of each phrase i.e. when it says Allah Akbar it should give you goosebumps as this is the call for you to soon meet and be in the presence of Allah the Greatest and it is to remind you that regardless of whatever you are busy with at that moment that Allah is Greater. Similarly the other parts of the Adhaan, when it says come to success it is an invitation that every reasonable person should enjoy and attend. So, if you prepare yourself psychologically and emotionally from that second then you have just made your first step toward perfect salaat.
- At the time you are making your wudu, think of the following: with every drop of water that flows on your limbs due this wudu the sins will fall off. So, think of yourself being in the process of purification and that you will soon be in the presence of Allah as pure as He wants you to be.
- While walking to the prayer, remember the advice of the Prophet that you need to walk humbly and in comfort. It is a way to control your thoughts and your heartbeat so that by the time you are about to start you will be indulged with an experience that will take you to another world.
- At the time you stand, think that this could be your last Salaat and act as if you will die upon saying tasleem in the end. Even if you do not know the meaning of what you recite , just keep in mind that what you recite are the words of Allah, the One whom you are standing before.
I always view Salaat as being the minor pre-day of judgement..Subhan Allah...I cannot write further, my hands are failing me here but I hope this can help.
Wallahu A'lam
MashaAllah, JazakiAllah khair for the wonderful contribution! Very practical steps that would truly transform how we pray!
This workshop was excellent in decluttering the mind.
http://www.discoveryourself.info
this course really teaches you shut the inner voices.. plus Islamic :) To see what it is all about and how this workshop to declutter your mind has changed many lives around the world
http://www.youtube.com/user/UmmHProductions
Another trick I heard to snap out of all the mental noise is to put a rubber band around your wrist and every time you find yourself in that vicious cycle of negativity snap the rubber band and SNAP OUT IT.