Why do we wait for a wave of motivation to hit us so we can get our lazy self off the slumpy boat? 

We become immovable boulders buried under the weight of our own lethargy. 

I’d say if you need constant motivation, you lack discipline. 

With that said, even the most disciplined can get sucked in an inactive slump. In that case, the Islamic way of helping each other “brush off and get up” would be to share some useful reminders.

So here are a few great motivational Islamic quotes that are bound to get that thinking-clock ticking. 

I wrote them in the following order for a reason. They are aligned to trigger that rusty thought process back into action!

1. “The Prophet (ﷺ) said: There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) health and free time for doing good.”

 [Sahih Bukhari]

The brutal truth is that when we are “free”, we are too “lazy” to get up and do some good.

And when that free time is taken from us, we say we’re “busy”. 

So we are only deceiving ourselves into thinking that we are the victims of “Time”. When in reality we are the victims of our lazy Nafs. 

It isn’t easy to beat laziness and be proactive. I feel your pain. I do. So here’s a du’a for getting rid of laziness and some other things.  

2. “O Allah! I seek refuge with You from worry and grief, from incapacity and laziness, from cowardice and miserliness, from being heavily in debt and from being overpowered by (other) men.”

‏” اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْهَمِّ وَالْحَزَنِ، وَالْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ، وَالْجُبْنِ وَالْبُخْلِ، وَضَلَعِ الدَّيْنِ، وَغَلَبَةِ الرِّجَالِ ‏”‏‏.‏

 [Sahih Bukhari]

Read this du’a every time you feel like you need an energy drink.

A point to note here is that you only seek refuge with Allah S.W.T from things that are making you uncomfortable and causing you pain. This dua marks laziness and incapacity as a form of pain. A big problem. It’s not something as bland as “I feel sleepy” or “I feel tired”. It’s something to keep at bay. And this dua will help you do just that.

3. “When a man says I cannot, he has made a suggestion to himself. He has weakened his power of accomplishing that which otherwise would have been accomplished.”

 [Muhammad Ali]

Uh, I love this one.

You say “You can’t” and it’s no longer a mystery that “You won’t”.

The FIRST step to achieving anything is believing that Allah S.W.T has given YOU the capacity to do it. The second step is to put sincere effort into it. To work for it. And the last step is to have Tawakkul in Allah S.W.T and trust Him.

If you say you can’t, you’ve already lost. You never gave yourself the chance.

4. “Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.“

 [Quran: Surah Ar- Ra’d 13: Ayah 11 ]

Are you waiting for the “right moment” to take the first step towards change? Or maybe you’re waiting for someone else to help you?

If you can’t get up and help yourself, why should someone else bother helping you? 

Think about that every time you wish someone around you should drag you out of a slump. 

Even Allah S.W.T, the Only One who is truly in Power, says He won’t help you unless you help yourself. You can ask Allah S.W.T to give you strength and patience, but the active work can only be done by you and you alone. 

5. “And whoever fears Allah – He will make for him a way out and will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him…“

 [Quran: Surah At-Talaq 65: Ayahs 2-3 ]

This is one of my favorite Ayahs of The Quran. When a Muslim has Taqwah– fear of Allah S.W.T, Allah gives him opportunities and opens doors for him that he didn’t even know existed. 

Then Allah S.W.T talks about the next great quality a Muslim can possess- Tawakkul. Trust in Allah and His plans. 

So make Taqwah and Tawakkul your new best friends. Life will get easier.

6. “And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives“

 [Quran: Surah Najm 53: Ayah 39]

Again, Allah S.W.T is ushering us to work hard for the things we want in Dunya and Akhirah. 

We might not get what we want, despite our efforts and persistent hard work. That’s another painful truth. That’s another way Allah S.W.T can test us.

But the takeaway is that: If you want good- you gotta do good. 

7. “So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it.” 

 [Quran: Surah Zalzalah 99: Ayah 7]

Here Allah S.W.T is encouraging us that doing good will NEVER go wasted.

Atom’s weight? What could be more encouraging than that? 

So don’t ever hesitate to listen to your conscience. There’s goodness behind every whisper of your Dhameer and there’s reward behind every good deed- no matter how small.

Take smiling for example: Hardly takes more effort than flexion on the part of a few facial muscles. (err… that was a little too anatomical). 

8. “Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately and know that your deeds will not make you enter Paradise, and that the most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and constant even if it were little.”

 [Sahih Bukhari]
 

Did you notice the part where Allah S.W.T says “your deeds will NOT make you enter Paradise”. Umm… wasn’t that the whole point of doing good deeds in the first place? To gain entry points for Jannah?!

It’s actually not like that at all.

We will only enter Paradise with the mercy of Allah S.W.T no matter how cool our track record is. And Allah S.W.T is giving us a clear chance to take up on that offer by doing good deeds regularly and consistently. No mention of “abundantly” or “excessively”.

Isn’t that the most challenging part though? Being consistent? 

It’s not that challenging when you start small. So let’s start by doing the bare minimum before moving up the value chain. That would be the daily 5 times of obligatory prayers- regularly and consistently.  

9. “Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way.”

 [Sahih Bukhari]

This is another hadith to cut you some slack. The only way you can move up the success ladder is by giving yourself room to breathe.

For example; If you lift weights beyond your physical capacity, you will not only pull a muscle and become temporarily debilitated, you’ll also slowly develop a resentment towards lifting weights especially if you keep pulling your muscle because of it.

So do yourself a favor- don’t overburden yourself with more Spiritual acts of Ibadah than your personal situation and individual responsibilties allow you to.

Like we learned earlier, it’s not about the abundance of good deeds, it’s about consistency. And you WILL lose consistency if you pull your muscle repeatedly.

10. “O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful.“

 [Quran: Surah Ali-Imran 3: Ayah 200]

Finally, the last nugget of motivation I have collected for you is about building endurance.

In the beginning I said that if you NEED motivation on repeat mode, you lack self-discipline. This Ayah reveals that Allah S.W.T is defining success as a reward for those among us who have believed and who endure.  

Self (Nafs) Discipline = Endurance. 

Self-Discipline = Consistency

Self-Discipline = Success. 

It seems like the root cause of all the problems caused by our Nafs is the lack of self-descipline. Fix that and everything else will fix itself for you.