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8 Beautiful Things You'll Learn From Doing Ibadah At Home

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Faruq Senin •  Apr 01, 2020

Over the past few weeks, many Muslims have been saddened by the closure of mosques around the world due to the COVID-19 outbreak. With the suspension of Friday prayers, religious classes and community events at the mosque, it has definitely changed the way we perform our ibadah.

Credit: Giphy

The beautiful thing about Islam is that Allah is omnipresent. If anything, this experience has given us an opportunity to do more ibadah at home, to keep calm, stay positive and have faith in Allah. One important thing to note is that every cloud has a silver lining and COVID-19 has definitely taught us several life lessons. To lift your spirits up, we've rounded up these 8 beautiful lessons you'll learn from doing ibadah at home ❤️

1. Strengthening ties with your family

Staying at home means spending more time with your family. Have you ever felt so caught up in your busy schedules that you don't have enough time for your family? We've all been there before ? But during this time of social distancing and self-quarantine, here's your chance to perfect your relationship with your family. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

"The best of you is the one who is best to his own family, and I am the best of you towards my family."(Sunan At-Tirmidhî, Sunan Ibn Mâjah)

Take this time to increase acts of ibadah with your family. Even though you can't perform congregational prayers at the mosque, you can still do so with your family. Other acts of ibadah like reading the Quran, dhikr or making dua can also be done together as a family.

With the possibility that mosques might still be closed during Ramadan, you can still continue the Ramadan spirit at home. If anything, it's a great time for you to iftar with your family and perform Terawih prayers or Qiyamulail together at home ❤️

2. It protects your home

One of the amazing things about doing ibadah at home is that it protects your home and keeps syaitan away. In several hadiths, the Prophet (pbuh) has been quoted to encourage us to allocate some prayers and ibadah at home, particularly Sunnah prayers. Ibn Umar quotes him as saying:

“Offer some of your prayers in your homes so as not to make these homes like graves.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).

The aim is to keep the house alive and well and for its inhabitants to actively worship Allah. What's more, the Prophet (pbuh) himself practised this sunnah.

It's also a great reminder that Islam regards the whole Earth as a place of worship. Performing your prayers and other acts of ibadah should not only be confined to the mosque. In fact, prayers can be done anywhere, so long as the area is clean.

P.S. Check out these stories of Prophet Muhammad's love and mercy which will inspire you. 

3. Perfect time for introspection and tawbah

By doing ibadah at home, it also gives us a lot of opportunities for introspection and tawbah (repentance). With fewer worldly distractions, we can spend time alone with Allah and do more Istighfar (seeking forgiveness from Allah).

With each difficulty that we face (like the COVID-19 outbreak), it's a reminder for us turn to Allah and seek forgiveness for our sins. Allah has promised to respond to our call upon Him:

Your Lord has proclaimed, “Call upon Me, I will respond to you” (Surah Ghafir, 40:60)

Here are 5 du'as every Muslim needs for protection and well-being during this difficult period. InsyaAllah, Allah will grant forgiveness and provide relief for our troubles.

4. Gratitude and being mindful of Allah

With introspection and tawbah comes gratitude. The closer we get to Allah, the more we feel His presence and realise how grateful we are. We might have a roof over our heads and enough food to eat but what about those who are suffering from poverty? We might not be able to leave the house now but what about those frontline medical workers who have to put in a lot of sacrifices?

Being able to perform our ibadah in the peace and safety of our homes will surely make us realise that there's always something to be grateful for. Allah says:

“And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favour]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.” (Surah Ibrahim, 14:7)

P.S. Here are 10 easy ways to remember Allah even when you're busy!

5. You'll be rewarded by staying at home during a pandemic

Did you know that you can be rewarded by staying home during a pandemic like COVID-19?  In a hadith from Sahih Al-Bukhari, it was narrated by Aishah r.a. (the wife of the Prophet):

"I asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about the plague. He told me that it was a Punishment sent by Allah on whom he wished, and Allah made it a source of mercy for the believers, for if one in the time of an epidemic plague stays in his country patiently hoping for Allah's Reward and believing that nothing will befall him except what Allah has written for him, he will get the reward of a martyr."

The hadith actually explains the wisdom behind a plague which happened; that it is a blessing for believers. It suggests that those who pass away due to the plague will receive the rewards of a martyr. But it also implies that if you stay home (or in the land where the plague is in), hope to attain Allah's rewards, remain patient and trust in His plans, you will also get the reward of a martyr.

Staying home (or in the land where the plague is in) also means having good, sincere niat (intentions)  and increasing our faith in Allah that nothing bad will happen to us unless Allah wills it. If we carry this to the relevance of the present-day, we'd realise that staying home is also a form of helping frontline medical staff who are tirelessly working in hospitals, by not adding more patients.

6. It teaches you about humility

Doing ibadah and praying at home also teaches us more about humility. Besides compulsory prayers, the Prophet (pbuh) encouraged us to pray in our houses. In Sahih Bukhari, Zaid bin Thabit r.a. narrated:

"Allah's Apostle made a small room in the month of Ramadan (Sa'id said, "I think that Zaid bin Thabit said that it was made of a mat") and he prayed there for a few nights, and so some of his companions prayed behind him. When he came to know about it, he kept on sitting. In the morning, he went out to them and said, "I have seen and understood what you did. You should pray in your houses, for the best prayer of a person is that which he prays in his house except the compulsory prayers."

Several other hadiths and opinions from Islamic scholars also seem to suggest that performing Sunnah prayers at home is better as the aim is to sincerely get closer to Allah (to attain His rewards). The fact that it is done in secret and away from the public means that we can let go of riya' (doing religious deeds to show off). Even though compulsory prayers are more encouraged to be done at the mosque with other congregants, the situation now does not allow for it. Hence in this case, by doing ibadah at home during this time, we can learn the value of humility and work on sincerely getting close to Allah.

7. Finding new ways of performing ibadah

While the closure of mosques has definitely saddened many of us, the flip side is that we are being exposed to new ways of performing our ibadah and gaining knowledge. We can get close to Allah by making use of technology. Alhamdulillah!

There are plenty of online classes and lectures available, from Quran recitation classes to Islamic studies courses. From podcasts like Muslim Central to Quran recitation apps, there will be a topic that you enjoy listening to. Many asatizah have also gone online to conduct their religious classes and Q&A sessions. Check out this list of 8 free online Islamic classes compiled by Muslim SG!

8. Complete vulnerability to Allah

The last point (and perhaps a very important lesson!) is a reminder that we are completely vulnerable to Allah and doing ibadah at home has definitely drawn many of us closer to Allah. We might make plans all the time, but Allah determines what will happen. In tough times like this, He is our saviour and only to Him can we seek help. Allah says:

 “They plan, and Allah plans. Surely, Allah is the Best of planners.” (Surah Al-Anfal, 8:30)

Perhaps this is also a good time for us to reflect and to appreciate things that we take for granted, such as having a loving family, a home, good health, enough food to eat, so on and so forth. Having more time at home also means having more time to completely submit ourselves to Allah, and that in itself is a benefit that has come out of this trying time.

We hope these 8 lessons from doing ibadah at home have given you some strength to spending your days during this COVID-19 period. While it seems like the situation will continue for many weeks ahead, remember to always see the silver lining in everything that happens and place your trust in Allah. To end this article, let us leave you with this uplifting verse from the Quran:

“Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear…” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:286) 

And Allah knows best ❤️