Gaining a lot of information about your roles/ responsibilities as a Muslim from the Quran and Sunnah is all great.

But how do you simplify all of that heavy info and then bring it in your day-to-day life? How do you ‘practice’ those roles and responsibilities without feeling so overwhelmed with all the information? Those are the questions I’d ask myself. 

We all know that the Prophet’s (SAW) day is a perfect example of the best kind of balance. But how can we relate to that? How can we, as professionals working a day job, relate to the life of our role model?

So today, I want to show you what a good balance really looks like for a Muslim professional. And I don’t plan on just showing you the Prophet’s daily routine and telling you “go figure”. Because that doesn’t help you bring the Sunnah balance in your life if you’re advancing in your career or have a day job.

Prophet’s Sunnah is a set of guidelines – a framework that serves as a guide for all Muslims. But the real work for the working professionals is trying to follow the Prophet’s Sunnah in a way that you can excel in your deen while also pursuing your dream goals in dunya. 

Stick around if that sounds like something you’d be interested in. Because I plan on making that work really easy and stress-free for you. : )

Truth be told… I’ve been a little busy-bee, studying the Tafseer, psycho-analyzing everything that our Prophet did in his day, talking to all kinds of Muslim professionals and trying to figure out the framework of a good balance for a 21st Century professional.

And from my extensive years-long study and research on this subject, I’ve learned that there is a clear criteria for balancing deen with dunya, that Allah SWT has revealed in the Quran and the Prophet SAW has shown us through his Sunnah. 

• In this post, first we’ll talk about what an “ideal balance” looks like for a Muslim. This might be a lot of information in one place but don’t feel overwhelmed because at the end, I’ll show you how to apply this info in your day-to-day life using the ‘Starter Kit’. 

• Next, we’ll take the opposite approach and see the indicators of “poor balance” between deen and dunya. You can see which ones apply to you so you know exactly where to begin.  

• And finally, you’ll follow a ‘shortcut’ step-by-step plan to start creating balance in your day using the balance deen with career starter kit. 

You ready? Let’s begin!

According to the Islamic literature and the study of Scholars, the ‘specific’ rights of Allah that will be asked from each one of us on the Day of Judgement fall under 3 sections:

Most of us here (Muslims striving to learn more about Islam) have a strong belief system so it’s safe to assume that this isn’t the part which is causing a poor balance of deen and dunya.

This is where many of us are struggling – especially the Fard Salah. This is the part of Ibadah that gets neglected the most in our pursuit of dunya goals – hence, contributing to a poor balance.

This includes staying away from all things that the Prophet has told us are haram and staying within the halal boundaries. 

“Whatever the Messenger has given you – take; and what he has forbidden you – refrain from. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.” (Surah Al-Hashr: 59:7) 

This is where many of us are struggling. We may be doing the fard acts of Ibadah but we don’t actively stay away from sins and repeatedly fall into the same kinds of sins.

(NOTE: There are extensive resources in Islamic literature that talk about the different roles/ responsibilities of a Muslim that we might have to fulfill from time to time – for e.g. as a neighbor, citizen, friend etc. Those extensive roles are beyond the scope of this article. Here I’ve only mentioned our roles in the family and as a member of the Muslim community because those are challenging roles that each of us have to fulfil every single day.) 

A RESPONSIBILITY UPON EVERY MUSLIM –
PLAYING YOUR ROLE IN THE FAMILY

Prophet SAW taught us through his Sunnah to give time to our families in the following 4 ways:

“And be careful of [your duty to] God in whose name you demand [your rights] from one another, and [to] the ties of relationship; surely God is ever watchful over you!” (Quran Surah 4: Ayah 1)

For a Muslim man, providing for the family by earning a halal income is a prime responsibility from Allah.  

According to our Prophet (PBUH), “Men are the guardians of their families and it is the responsibility of every guardian to guard those who fall under his own guardianship.” 

For a mother, the prime responsibility Allah has given her is the upbringing of children according to Deen. 

Abdullah ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah SAW said, “Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. The leader of people is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects. A man is the guardian of his family and he is responsible for them. A woman is the guardian of her husband’s home and his children and she is responsible for them. The servant of a man is a guardian of the property of his master and he is responsible for it. No doubt, every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock.”

For children, the responsibility Allah has given them is treating parents with respect and kindness.  

“Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him and that you be kind to parents. When one or both of them attains old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor repel them but address them in terms of honor.” (Quran Surah Al-Isra’, 17 – ayah 23). 

This is where many of the career Muslims are struggling – our professions get in the way of fulfilling our roles as Muslims. 

“Verily, Allah enjoins Justice, and Ihsan and giving help to kith and kin,…” [Surah Al-Nahl (16 ): Ayah 90]

Aisha reported: She was asked, “What did the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, do in his house?” Aisha said: The Prophet was a man among men. He would remove fleas from his clothes, milk his sheep, and serve himself. [Ahmad]

Aisha reported: The Messenger of Allah S.A.W said, “The best of you are the best to their families, and I am the best to my family. When your companion dies, then do not abuse him.” TIRMIDHI 

Again, this is where many of us are struggling because of our professions. We barely have time or energy to give to our mandatory roles, let alone going out of our way to give ‘extra time and help’.

“O you who believe ! Save yourself and your family from hell fire..” [Surah Tahrim 66: Ayah 6]  Allah also says in another place in the Quran, “And warn (O Muhammad) your closest kindred.” [Quran Surah 26: Ayah 214]

The Prophet (S.A.W.) said, “Any act devoid of the remembrance of Allah is void except four: shooting, training a horse, playing with one’s family and swimming.” (Recorded by Bayhaqi and at-Tabarâni with a good chain of narrators)

 

Aisha (R.A.) narrated that while she was on a journey with the Messenger of Allah, she had a race with the Prophet (SAW) and won. Later, after she had gained some weight, she again had a race with him, and he won. He said, “This is for that.” (A sound hadith recorded by Abu Dawood)

A RESPONSIBILITY UPON EVERY MUSLIM – CALLING PEOPLE TO ISLAM BY DOING DAWAH

Doing dawah is an important duty assigned by Allah upon every Muslim.

“And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful.” [Quran, 3: 104]

Allah tells us the criteria of a ‘successful Muslim’ in Surah Al-Asr:

وَالْعَصْرِ

By the passing time

إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْر
Indeed, man is at a loss (for he is losing his valuable lifetime),

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ

Except for those who believe and do good deeds and urge one another to truth and urge one another to patience (in the face of hardships and afflictions that are faced whilst preaching the Deen of truth).

Notice that one of the four criteria of entering Jannah mentioned in Surah is Al-Asr ‘calling people to the truth and patience’. In other words – doing dawah.

This criteria applies to every Muslim. So doing ‘basic’ dawah is fard upon every Muslim. Basic dawah can mean sharing whatever you learn with your fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. It can also mean calling the non-Muslims to Islam by educating them about our Deen.

The reason why I say ‘basic’ is because there are different levels and different methods of doing dawah. One can write books, give talks, create an organization, give funding to dawah programs, travel the world and call people from different cultures and religions to Islam… or one can simply convey Allah’s message to the people in their life (Muslims and non-Muslims). To non-Muslims, doing dawah would mean calling them to Islam.

Among Muslims, doing dawah would mean ‘inviting each other to doing good deeds and staying away from bad deeds.’ 

Allah says: {the men believers and the women believers are responsible for each other. They enjoin the good and forbid the evil } (Surat al-Tawbah’ (9), ayah 71)

There is no one ‘perfect’ way of doing dawah. But at the heart of all forms of dawah is ‘conveying the message of Allah’.

Not everyone has the ability, knowledge or the skill-set required to do dawah at an advanced level using advanced methods and tools.

But everyone can relay the message to the next person and share what they learn about Deen in their family and social circle. That kind of basic dawah is fard upon every Muslim according to Dr. Zakir Naik and many other scholars of our deen.

Almighty Allah says: “Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious.” (An-Nahl 16:125) 

For the men, this could include the extra responsibilities they’ve taken up. Let’s say you’re working on a part-time business along with your full-time career to make extra money and because you want to. Whatever the reason, since you’ve taken up an extra responsibility, as a Muslim you have to make sure that you’re doing justice by your employees or that your customers are given their due rights. 

Another example that applies to both men and women would be volunteering for an Islamic organization… in that case, making sure you’re carrying your responsibility properly and not neglecting your work. 

Taking up extra responsibilities and projects is completely allowed in Islam as long as they’re not compromising your mandatory responsibilities/ roles that are from Allah.

There are so many examples of women from the time of the Prophet SAW who would take up extra responsibilities as an act of service to the Muslim Ummah. 

Al-Bukhari and Ahmed cited Al-Rabiyya’ the daughter of Mu’awadh as saying: ‘We used to participate in the battles with the Prophet of Allah. We gave water to the fighters, served them, and returned the dead and wounded to Medina.’

Also Muslim, Ibn Majah and Ahmed (in their narrations) said that Umm Ateyya, the Ansari, said: ‘I accompanied the Messenger of Allah SAW seven times, guarding the camp, making the food, treating the wounded and caring for the sick’.

For the Muslim women especially, this shows us that we can take up ‘extra’ responsibilities other than the mandatory roles Allah has assigned us if we want to. But doing justice by those roles is an important part of attaining balance and barakah in your day.

The Messenger of Allah SAW, said: “Verily, Allah has enjoined excellence (ihsan) with regard to everything. So, when you kill, kill in a good way; when you slaughter, slaughter in a good way; so everyone of you should sharpen his knife, and let the slaughtered animal die comfortably.” [Muslim] 

4. Improving yourself in the light of Quran & Sunnah

Growth as a Muslim includes setting Islamic goals for yourself such as improving your education about Deen by learning Quran and hadith, improving your habits so you can be an example to your family and social circle.

The Prophet  (SAW) said: “The best believers are those with the best character.” [Abu Dawood and others]

The question is – how can you be among those with the best character unless you’re ‘actively’ trying to be better Muslim? You can’t.

Shaiytan will use his negative force to pull you in the opposite direction… so you could be a very learned Scholar of Islam but if you’re not putting all that knowledge to change your behavior then Shaiytan will use the ‘arrogance‘ trick on you.

If you don’t have the right kind of knowledge of our Deen, Shaiytan will use the ‘ignorance‘ trick on you.

No matter how many ways you look at it – there’s no winning unless you actively stay in the struggle of improving yourself as a Muslim.  

“He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself. And mentions the name of his Lord and prays.” (Quran Surah 87: Ayahs 14-15)

So that was the criteria of a good balance according to our Deen. 

If a Muslim is showing up in all of those areas in the best way he/ she can, then they have a really good balance between deen and dunya. 

It looks overwhelming right? But the truth is – it might only be that way because you’re trying to give your best to all areas at once. In a moment I’ll show you exactly where you can start in a completely stress-free way and work your way up to a good balance. 

For now, I think you’ll agree with me when I say that it’s much easier to create balance when you know exactly where you’re messing up!

BTW, I cover all these steps in a ‘shortcut’ way in the starter kit. You can download it below, it’s free > 

Indicators of a poor balance between Deen and Dunya

Before we begin creating balance, let’s first find out the areas of our life that are suffering more than others – hence, contributing to a poor balance.

Below, I’ve put together all the indicators of a poor balance with real-life examples. Have a look at them and see which of them apply to your personal situation. You can also use the ‘balance deen with career starter kit‘ to check off the areas that are weak for you. 

Rights of Allah (Fard Ibadah) are being compromised

Neglecting Ibadah because of dunya duties (such as profession) is a classic indicator of a poor balance. 

“O you who have believed, let not your wealth and your children divert you from remembrance of Allah. And whoever does that – then those are the losers.” [Quran Surah 63: Ayah 9]

This can also include repeatedly committing sins and falling into that which our Prophet SAW has declared haram for us. If our dunya goals (career choice, fun activities, hobbies/ interests or other goals) are causing us to step outside the halal boundaries, then that is another indicator of a poor balance between deen and dunya.     

Rights of your family are being compromised

You’re always overwhelmed and not in a state to GIVE. You feel cranky and irritable when they demand your time or attention. 

You can barely hold on to your bare minimum duties (such as managing the house work), let alone ‘having fun’ with them or ‘learning Islam together’.

Your responsibilities are being poorly executed because of the lack of time & energy (overwhelm) 

For e.g. We learned that for a Muslim man, providing for the family by earning a halal income is a responsibility from Allah.

“And when the prayer has been concluded, disperse in the land and seek the bounties of Allah and be grateful to Allah so that you may be successful” (Surah Al-Jumuah, Ayah 10)

But say he’s taken up other projects on the side (a second job, Masters, other life projects) that he’s always trying to take some time off your job and spend all that time on his other life projects. He’s missing work frequently, rushing home early, clocking in at work late, not giving his best to his job and compromising his work relations (customers/ employees/ patients etc.)… in other words, his ‘work duties’ are being compromised because of all his ‘extra goals’. This is an indicator of a bad balance.

Doing less but doing it well contributes to a better balance and makes you a better Muslim than trying to do everything and doing a crappy job at everything – especially your responsibilities.

Responsibilities ALWAYS come first – that’s how Allah knows you are investing in an Akhirah by giving your best to fulfill His direct orders. 

And yes, this holds true even if all the other goals and projects that you’ve taken up are Islamic or for a good cause. 

Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said, “The deeds of anyone of you will not save you (from the (Hell) Fire).” They said, “Even you (will not be saved by your deeds), O Allah’s Messenger (SAW)?” He said, “No, even I (will not be saved) unless and until Allah bestows His Mercy on me. Therefore, do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and worship Allah in the forenoon and in the afternoon and during a part of the night, and always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course whereby you will reach your target (Paradise). [Sahih Bukhari]

Now, after giving your best to your duties and responsibilities, if you have time and energy left, you can choose any goal you like in the world. Any goal? Errr… maybe not. I don’t want to make things overwhelming for you but I want to give it to you like it is in our Deen. 

You can choose any goal you like in the world as long as it follows the 4-Factor Goal-Setting criteria according to our Deen. Because we have to remember our purpose of life while setting goals:

“And I (Allah) did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Surah adh-Dhariaat, Ayah 56),

We’re allowed to pursue all kinds of goals in Dunya, as long as our goals fall under the umbrella of Islam >  

1. Setting goals that are within the halal boundaries 

Example of a goal that falls outside the halal boundaries is playing music or creating and selling music.

Example of a goal that falls within the halal boundaries is taking culinary classes or creating paintings without facial features. 

2. Setting goals with Akhirah-focused intentions

Example of a goal that has no Akhirah-focused intentions is a Muslim woman taking up dancing classes. Even if she’s not dancing in front of non-Mahram men, she’s still spending a big chunk of her time ‘perfecting her dancing skills’, a goal that is purely dunya-related with no link to Akhirah. 

Example of a goal WITH Akhirah-focused intentions is taking an online course on developing the Sunnah healthy lifestyle or participating in a writing program to improve your writing skills so you can write more engaging articles for your dawah work.

Another example is volunteering for charitable organizations. These goals directly align with your purpose in life and help you in securing an Akhirah for yourself. 

PRO TIP >> You can convert many of your goals into akhirah-focused goals just by shifting your intentions and aligning your goal to your purpose in life. I teach that in detail to my Balance Deen and Dunya students in the workshop ‘Spiritual Compass Technique’.

Let’s say you have an extra 7 hours a week after being done with all your responsibilities. You can decide to set any goal but the teachings of our Deen are that you should be more inclined to pick goals that are productive in nature – ideally Islamic goals. Or you could be spending that time with your family – which is Sunnah and definitely NOT a waste of time. 

When you stay away from time-wasters and activities that are laghw in nature, barakah starts following you.

Allah SWT specifically advises us to stay away from all things that are ‘LAGHW’.  

“Certainly the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer khâshiʿûn. And they who turn away from laghw.” [Quran Suran 23: Ayah 1-3]

What is laghw?

This is an excerpt from tafseer ibn kaseer, explaining the meaning of laghw. Have a look…

“Allah, The Exalted, says (what means): {And they who turn away from Laghw.} [Quran 23:3] It means that they do not attend gatherings in which falsehood occurs, and this includes Shirk (polytheism), as some scholars said, and sins, as others said, as well as words or deeds that are of no benefit. As Allah, The Exalted, says (what means): {…and when they pass near Laghw, they pass by with dignity.} [Quran 25:72] Qataadah said, ‘By Allah, there came to them from Allah that which kept them away from that (evil).'” [Tafseer Ibn Katheer]

An example of laghw is going out with your friends every day for an hour and having meaningless conversations (gossiping etc.). This doesn’t mean you can’t spend time with your friends.. Not at all! It only means being intentional with your time and not wasting hours and hours talking about useless stuff. If you’re having productive conversations, discussing Deen, Islamic history etc. then it becomes a gathering that’s blessed by Allah. 

Another example of laghw would be spending hours on social media doing nothing productive – such as, liking random posts, commenting and posting pics to highlight every event of your life. 

A good balance requires that we cut out the time-wasters (laghw) from our life and spend more time on Islamic goals. 

All the time that one is wasting could be spent gaining knowledge of our deen (improving your Quran tajweed, learning Arabic, tafseer, hadith, fiqh, history etc.) as well as improving yourself as a person by learning new skills.  

Example of goals for self-improvement would be ‘stress management’ or ‘managing negative energy in a better way’ or ‘building sunnah habits’ or ‘increasing your strength and stamina by doing physical training’.  

Without investing time and energy in actively becoming a better Muslim (which is the ongoing purpose of life from Allah), it’s impossible to keep moving forward. There’s so much external fitnah today that either you’ll stay stuck or Shaiytan will pull you back into the depths of low emaan.

I show you exactly how to invest time in your goals in the right order of priority in the Balance Deen with Career Starter kit. You can download it for free here >

Finally, the last factor of the 4-Factor Goal-Setting criteria is to follow the Prophet’s Sunnah in the goal/s that you’ve decided to pursue.

Whether it’s a health-related goal, an academic goal to advance in your career or an Islamic goal – whatever goal you pick… there’ll be a set of guidelines from our Prophet’s SAW Sunnah that’ll show you the right way of doing everything. 

Allah SWT talks about Prophet Muhammad SAW in the Quran > “Indeed you stand on an exalted standard of character.” [Quran: Surah Qalam 68, Ayah 4]
“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.” (Quran 33:21)

WINDUP OF THE CRITERIA OF GOAL-SETTING IN ISLAM:

Whenever you’re thinking of what to do with your time, follow the 4-factor goal-setting criteria in Islam to decide between your goals in the correct order of priority.

Also, make sure you’re not setting goals separately from your deen because when you do that, then your goals will have no link to Akhirah and you’ll be missing out on heaps of reward that you can get just by ‘fixing the niyyah and aligning it to your purpose in life as a Muslim’. 

You have no time for yourself (you’re constantly feeling overwhelmed and tired, with no energy left to GIVE)

For you to be able to give your best to your responsibilities and roles as a Muslim, you have to be in a positive energy state. And you can not be in a positive energy state if you keep your sleep, rest and self-care as a last priority.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith: Allah’s Apostle (SAW) said: ” Have I not been informed that you offer prayer all the night and fast the whole day? I said ,”yes.” He (SAW) said, “Do not do so; offer prayer at night and also sleep; fast for a few days and give up fasting for a few days because your body has a right on you, and your eye has a right on you, and your guest has a right on you, and your wife has a right on you.“

A Quick Summary…

Click on the image to view it on a larger scale.

1. Ibadah
2. Roles and responsibilities in the family
3. Other responsibilities – whether mandatory/ voluntary (includes work and dawah)
4. Self (self-care and self-growth)

So when we’re neglecting one or more of the four areas, that’s when we feel guilty and not satisfied with ourselves. That’s our conscience telling us that something needs to be changed. 

Winding up this monster of a blog post (:D), remember that a good balance is when you don’t keep deen and dunya separate –

• If you do everything with the niyyah to please Allah,
• Show up in all the important areas of life,
• Do right by your responsibilities with ihsan
• And use the rest of your free time intentionally in the best possible way…

… then all your dunya goals become Ibadah and everything comes together to create a beautiful balance. 

I hope you learned a lot in today’s post. : )

Now I know all of this information can be a little overwhelming. After all, if you’re here, you’re a professional Muslim who’s looking to balance their time, you’re probably already overwhelmed and don’t want ‘more overwhelming info.’ 

Now that you have a clear set of guidelines, you might be wondering how do I apply this to my life? Where do you even start? What do you do next? 

If you’re anything like me, you want a clear direction and a step-by-step plan of creating balance in your day, starting TODAY.  

If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, then you’ll absolutely love the “balance deen with career” starter kit! 

I’ve put together a step-by-step plan to help you get started on creating balance in your day. I’ll walk you through all the crucial steps of managing your time well between your job, all your roles/ responsibilities as a Muslim as well as strategically taking up other goals in life without feeling overwhelmed all the time.