By Asma Bint Shameem
Here are some tips to help you get rid of laziness and get a grasp on your productivity.
1. Strengthen your relationship with Allaah:
One of the best ways to fight laziness and strengthen your resolve is by strengthening your faith and building a strong relationship with Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala.
The quickest and most effective way to achieve that is by reading the Qur’aan along with its translation.
Understand what your Rabb wants from you. KNOW ‘WHO’ your Rabb is; how Merciful, how Loving, how Forgiving.
The more you know Allaah, the more you would love Him and the more you love Him, the more you would want to please Him.
This love will drive you to do acts of ibaadah, acts of kindness, acts that will please Him.
And in turn, help you stay away from laziness and apathy.
Allaah says:
“And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer – those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged even a speck on a date seed.”
(Surah an-Nisaa’:124)
2. Strive against your soul:
Human nature or the Nafs is inclined towards laziness, desires and wrongdoing.
And if we let go of our Nafs and don’t strive against it, we will be doomed and will fall pray to all kinds of vices and harm including apathy, negligence and laziness.
So we must strive hard against the Nafs and keep curbing it.
We must PUSH ourselves to do deeds that will benefit us.
That’s Allaah’s Order to us.
He says:
“And strive hard in Allaahs Cause as you ought to strive.” [al-Hajj 22:78]
And the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“The mujaahid (warrior) is the one who strives against his own self for the sake of Allaah.”
(al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibbaan. Al-Saheehah, 549).
So PUSH yourself and STRIVE against the soul.
Umar ibn Abd al-Azeez said:
“The best of deeds are those which we FORCE ourselves to do.”
Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mubaarak said:
“The souls of righteous people in the past used to push them to do good deeds, but our souls do not do what we want them to do except by force, so we have to force them.”
Qutaadah said:
“O son of Adam, if you do not want to do any good except when you have the energy for it, then your nature is more inclined towards boredom and laziness. The true believer is the one who pushes himself.”
3. Keep your eyes on the Ultimate Prize and Goal....nothing but Jannah!
Knowing what is in store for you at the end of the tunnel, at the end of all this hard work in the dunya, will push you to be consistent and help you overcome sluggishness.
Allaah says:
"And those who strive in Our cause, we will guide them to Our ways, and verily, Allaah is with those who do good."
(Surah al-'Ankabūt; 69)
Sufyaan al-Thawri said:
“Faith is not wishes or pretence, rather it is what settles in the heart and is proven by ACTIONS.”
4. Make your goals manageable.
Setting unrealistic goals and taking on too much can lead to burnout.
So do something that’s consistent even if it’s small.
Someone asked the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam:
“Which deed is dearest to Allaah?
He said: “That which is done persistently, even if it is little.”
(al-Bukhaari and Muslim)
5. Pray all your prayers on time especially the Fajr Salaah.
One way to keep laziness away is to be punctual for the five daily prayers, especially the morning prayer.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“Shaytaan puts three knots at the back of the head of any of you if he is asleep. On every knot he reads and exhales the following words, ‘The night is long, so stay asleep.’ When one wakes up and remembers Allah, one knot is undone; and when one performs ablution, the second knot is undone, and when one *PRAYS*, the third knot is undone and one gets up *ENERGETIC with a good heart in the morning*; otherwise one gets up LAZY and with a mischievous heart.”
(al-Bukhaari 243)
6. Know the value of TIME; then *manage* it:
Laziness wastes time and causes us to be unproductive.
But remember that one day we’ll have to answer to Allaah how we spent our time, our life, our youth.
So manage your time wisely and avoid all distractions
The Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
"The feet of the son of Adam shall not move from before his Lord on the Day of Judgement, until he is asked about five things: about his life and what he did with it, about his youth and what he spent it, about his wealth and how he earned it and what he spent it upon, and what he did with what he knew."
(at-Tirmidhi-= saheeh by al-Albaani)
And the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam also said:
“There are two blessings which many people waste: health and free time.”
(al-Bukhaari)
7. Wake up early and make use of that blessed time:
The morning time is a special time, a blessed time and you can get a lot of things done in the morning.
That’s because the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam made duaa for his Ummah to be blessed in the morning time.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“O Allaah, bless my ummah in the mornings.’ Whenever he sent out troops or an army, he would send them at the beginning of the day.’”(Abu Dawood- Hasan)
Thats why some of the pious predecessors didn’t like sleeping after Fajr.
Al-Zubayr used to forbid his children to sleep in the morning.”
And Urwah said:
“I do not hear of any man who sleeps in the morning, but I lose interest in that person.”
And that’s one of the reasons why the students of knowledge and Huffaadh start memorizing and studying early in the morning, seeking this Barakah.
8. Keep an account of yourself and check your progress regularly
Know that you’re human and there will be times when your Imaan and energy will be high.
But there will also be times when your Imaan and energy will be low.
In times like these, don’t give up. Rather keep trying.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“There is no heart that does not have clouds like the clouds that cover the moon. When the cloud covers it, it is dark, and when the cloud moves away it shines.”
(al-Tabaraani in al-Awsat; saheeh by al-Albaani)
So the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam is telling us that the heart of the believer is sometimes covered with a cloud and its light is hidden.
But if he is patient and keeps at it, striving hard to increase his faith, while seeking the help of Allaah, then that cloud will go away and the light in his heart will start to shine again.
That’s why some of the salaf said:
“It is part of a person’s smartness to check on his faith and be aware of what affects it.”
It is also part of a person’s smartness “that he recognizes how the Shaytaan whispers to him.”
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“A strong believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone, (but) cherish that which gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allaah and do not lose heart. (Muslim)
9. Keep company with *productive* people:
Human beings are greatly effected by the company they keep.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“A man is upon the ways of his best friend, so let one of you look at whom he befriends.”
(Abu Dawood - hasan by al-Albaani)
And the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam also said:
“The likeness of a good companion and a bad companion is that of one who carries musk and one who works the bellows. With the carrier of musk, either he will give you some or you will buy some from him, or you will notice a good smell from him; as for the one who works the bellows, either he will burn your clothes or you will notice a bad smell from him.”
(al-Bukhaari, 1995; Muslim, 2628)
This means that the friend will INFLUENCE you.
And you’ll take on the characteristics of your friend.
And that’s why the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam warned us from making friends with those that are not religious or righteous.
He Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
“Do not keep company with anyone but a believer and do not let anyone eat your food but one who is pious.”
(al-Tirmidhi, 2395; Abu Dawood, 4832; hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2519)
In other words, we are who our friends are.
People who are energetic in worship and who keep themselves busy with beneficial activities will have a positive effect on you and will make you more active, while lazy people will have a similar slowing effect on you.
So keep company of achievers and go-getters. And avoid the sloths.
Allaah says:
“And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance.” (Surah al-Kahf:28)
If that was the order of Allaah to the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam. So what about me and you?
10. Be positive
A positive mindset will give you motivation and help you achieve plenty.
Instead of saying “This is too much for me” or “I’ll never get this done”, say something positive like “I’ll do the best I can and Allaah will help me achieve that”.
Then get to it.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“Allaah Almighty says: I am as my servants expects me. If he thinks good of me, he will have it. If he thinks evil of me, he will have it.”
(Ibn Hibbaan 639; saheeh by al-Albaani)
And he said:
“I am amazed by optimism, the good word, the kind word.” (al-Bukhaar 5422, Muslim 2223)
11. Thank Allaah for your accomplishments.
Know that whatever of good that you’ve accomplished was because Allaah blessed you and enabled you to achieve it.
The credit goes to Allaah.
It is only He Who deserves praise and thanks.
The more you will thank Allaah and appreciate His blessings, the more He will give you; the more He will increase you.
Allaah says:
“If you are grateful, I would certainly give to you MORE...”
(Surah Ibraheem:7)
Al-Fudhayl ibn ‘Iyadh said:
“Whoever *recognises* the bounties of Allaah from His heart, and thereupon thanks Allaah with his tongue, he would not finish thanking Allaah, except that he sees MORE (of Allaah’s bounties), for Allaah Ta’ala said:
“If you be thankful, We will increase you (in bounty)” (Surah Ibrahim: 7)
12. Remember death often.
No one knows how long they will live for. Death can approach us at any time.
So keeping death in mind will push you to make the most of the time you have on this earth and do good deeds while you still have that chance.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
"Make the most of five things before five others: life before death, health before sickness, free time before becoming busy, youth before old age, and wealth before poverty." (Saheeh al-Jaami')
Imam Ahmad advised:
"Whatever good you are able to do then do it- perhaps you will not be able to tomorrow.
And do not postpone today's deeds for tomorrow, perhaps tomorrow will come and you are deceased."
13. Make lots of DUAA:
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam made duaa every morning and every evening as part of the daily adhkaar, asking Allaah to protect him from laziness and unproductive behavior.
He Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ
“Allaahumma inni aa’oodhu bika min al-ajzi wal kasal”
“O Allaah! I seek your refuge from incapacity and laziness.” (al-Bukhaari 6363)
And Allaah knows best.
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