Spiritual Winter Self-Care
I absolutely love the heavenly fragrance of oudh, also known as agar-wood or aloes-wood, usually sourced from Asia or Africa. It is a resinous wood that comes from the heartwood of trees.
There is something mesmerising in watching the pieces of wood sizzle upon a heated bamboo charcoal disk, as resin begins to bubble to the surface and the smoke starts rising high in mystical spirals. Benzoin, with hints of decadent vanilla, myrrh, highly coveted for its healing properties, frankincense, once worth its weight in gold, and other delightful resins such as amber and copal produce a delightful mix of scents that can be healing while purifying the air.
When I burn oudh, it reminds me of my childhood, when on the eve of Jummuah (Friday), my grandmother would walk around her home carrying an old rustic brass skillet like burner with a handle, filled with the glowing embers of coconut shells, sprinkled with aloes-wood resin, perfuming the whole home, including all the corners in every room.
The elegant swirls of fragrant smoke would diffuse through the home, wrapping us all in a comforting embrace. The closing of the windows, the drawing of the drapes and the burning of the oudh would be a gentle reminder that night had fallen, and the blessed day of Jummuah had begun, bringing spiritual blessings into the home, as the inhabitants engaged in prayer and the recitation of Surah Al-Ya’seen, the 36th Chapter of the Qur’an. Nostalgia is bittersweet. Alhamdulillah for the beautiful memories of the sweet days of childhood.
1. A Place of Prayer
We should all have a beautiful space set up in our homes for our daily prayers. It can be as small as the space it takes to unroll a single prayer mat. It is a place where we can quiet the noise of the world, find silence and stillness, so that every part of our being can return to Our Creator in complete submission. It is the place where we take our burdens of the world and hand it over to the One Who is Entirely Capable of Handling them for us. It is a space where we prostrate in gratitude with our foreheads to the ground, and a place where we raise our hands in supplication to beg for what is innermost in our hearts.
Our place of prayer within our home is a space where there is much love, comfort, and healing, especially throughout the darkest hours of the night, when the rest of the world sleeps.
2. The Miraculous Quran
Right beside us, by our place of prayer, we should also keep our instruction manual of life, Al-Qur’an. It is The Book (Al-Kitab), The Criterion (Al-Furqan), The Revelation (At-Tanzeel), The Guidance (Al-Huda), a Remembrance (Adh-Dhikr), a Light (An-Nur), a Healing (Shifaa), a Mercy (Rahmah), and so much more.
The Qur’an is a living book, meant to be read throughout the day. In the book, are stories with profound lessons, parables, wisdom, laws, and an abundance of nourishment and healing for mankind.
The Qur’an is meant to be recited, reflected upon, listened to, learnt, memorized and taught to others. The beauty of listening to the Sublime Qur’an in the most eloquent language of the world, Arabic, is unlike any other melody to the ear.
3. The Morning & Evening Adhkar
The morning and evening litanies are a beautiful way to begin and end our day, with the intention of seeking Allah’s Mercy, Blessings and Protection for our inward and outward matters. The adhkar are a collection of healing invocations the Prophet ﷺ taught us, as a means of seeking Allah in every need, situation or state, for healing, goodness, provision, safety, security, and well-being.
A very comprehensive litany for the morning and evening is the Wird-Al-Latif by Imam Al-Haddad and is available in PDF format or on audio on YouTube.
Allah says “Celebrate the name of your Lord morning and evening.” [Surah Al-Insan, The Man, Verse 76:25]
4. Seeking Forgiveness
Turning back to Allah, repenting, seeking forgiveness and making restitution to those we’ve wronged should be an integral part of our day.
Abu Huraira narrated: The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, said, “By Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah and I repent to him more than seventy times in a day.”
Abu Huraira also narrated: The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ , said, “Verily, when the servant commits a sin, a black mark appears upon his heart. If he abandons the sin, seeks forgiveness, and repents, then his heart will be polished. If he returns to the sin, the blackness will be increased until it overcomes his heart. It is the covering that Allah has mentioned: No, rather a covering is over their hearts from what they have earned.” [Tirmidhi].
Anas ibn Malik narrated: The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, said, “Allah said in a hadith qudsi (a sacred hadith where Allah speaks directly through the Prophet ﷺ): O son of Adam, if you call upon Me and place your hope in Me, I will forgive you despite what is within you and I will not hesitate. O son of Adam, if you have sins piling up to the clouds and then ask for My forgiveness, I will forgive you without hesitation. O son of Adam, if you come to Me with enough sins to fill the earth and then you meet Me without associating anything with Me, I will come to you with enough forgiveness to fill the earth.” [Tirmidhi].
The Prophet ﷺ reminds us: “All the children of Adam constantly err, but the best of those who constantly err are those who constantly repent.” [Tirmidhi]
5. Sending Salawat
Sending our salutations upon our Beloved Prophet Muhammad, ﷺ, especially on Fridays, should also be part of our daily practice of worship.
Allah says, "Indeed, Allah showers His blessings upon the Prophet, and His angels pray for him. O believers! Invoke Allah’s blessings upon him, and salute him with worthy greetings of peace.” [Surah Al-Ahzab, The Confederates, Verse 33:56].
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever sends blessings upon me once, Allah will send blessings upon him tenfold and will erase from him ten misdeeds and raise him ten degrees in status.” [An-Nasaa’i].
6. The Practice of Dhikr
The remembrance of Allah in the form of dhikr is an essential part of the worship of the tongue and the heart. The Qur’an reminds us to remember Allah in every state whether standing, sitting, or lying down on our sides.
“[They are] those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth [and pray], “Our Lord! You have not created [all of] this without purpose. Glory be to You! Protect us from the torment of the Fire.” [Surah Al-Imran, The Family of Imran, Verse 3:191]
Dhikr is the key to the purification of the heart and the key to building a strong relationship with our Lord. We have to keep our tongues and heart moist with the remembrance of God.
Al-Hasan al-Basri (Rahim’Allah), said: “Seek the sweetness in three things: prayer, dhikr, and the recitation of the Qur’an.”
I find the movement of my finger over my beautiful black ebony prayer beads or tasbih, to be soothing and comforting, as my tongue moves with Subhan’Allah x 33, Alhamdulillah x 33 and Allahu’Akbar x 34, while I do my best to engage my heart in the practice.
7. The Power of Duaa
Duaa is one of the keys of success. When we recite Surah Al-Fatihah, the Opening Chapter of the Qur’an, we remind ourselves that “You alone alone we worship, and You alone we seek for help.” [Al-Fatiha, The Opening, 1:5].
There are many powerful duas that have been beautifully recited by many of the Prophets and can be found under the category of the ‘Forty Rabbana Duas’ with a quick online search.
8. The Attributes of Allah
It is so important to know who our Lord is. The key to knowing who Allah is, is by studying and reflecting upon His Divine Attributes. This will not only enhance our worship but also build a firm connection with Allah, so we can hold on to His Rope when the journey becomes difficult and treacherous. For every single need we have, there is a Divine Attribute to match to call upon our Lord.
As Allah states in a hadith qudsi (a sacred hadith where Allah speaks directly through the Prophet ﷺ), “I am as my servant expects me to be.” [Bukhari]
9. Knowing & Loving the Beloved
Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, said, “None of you have faith until I am more beloved to him than his children, his father, and all of the people.” [Bukhari, Muslim]
How do we love the Beloved if we haven’t taken the time and made an effort to get to know our Prophet ﷺ and his life intimately?
To be able to follow this hadith, we have to know him ﷺ. We get to know him through his Sunnah (his actions), Hadith (his sayings) and Seerah (his life story), so that we too can walk in his footsteps and be people of Prophetic Character.
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: A man came to the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, and he said, “O Messenger of Allah, what do you say about a man who loves a people but his deeds do not compare to theirs?” The Prophet ﷺ said, “A person will be with those whom he loves.” [Bukhari].
A man asked the Prophet ﷺ about the Hour saying, "When will the Hour be?" The Prophet ﷺ) said, "What have you prepared for it?" The man said, "Nothing, except that I love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet ﷺ said, "You will be with those whom you love." We had never been so glad as we were on hearing that saying of the Prophet (i.e. "You will be with those whom you love.") Therefore, I love the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar, and I hope that I will be with them because of my love for them though my deeds are not similar to theirs. [Bukhari]
10. The Quest for Knowledge
There is something so incredibly sweet about seeking spiritual knowledge. It is the nourishment of the spiritual heart and soul, while exercising the intellect by use of logic, reason and critical analysis under the Criterion of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
Abu Darda reported: The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, said, “Whoever travels a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him the path to Paradise. Verily, the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge. The inhabitants of the heavens and earth, even the fish in the depths of the water, seek forgiveness for the scholar. The virtue of the scholar over the worshiper is like the superiority of the moon over the stars. The scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets. They do not leave behind gold or silver coins, but rather they leave behind knowledge. Whoever has taken hold of it has been given an abundant share.” [Abu Dawud]
11. Contemplation in Nature
In a time where life moves at a frenzied pace, retreat, stillness and silence are vital to the human soul for the human heart to find comfort. Verily in the contemplation of Allah and His Creation in Nature do hearts find rest.
12. Beautiful Companions
We must choose our companions on the Road to Jannah wisely. The people we spend time with have an immense influence on who we are and what we do. We must never underestimate the power of this influence by those we surround ourselves with.
Allah reminds us, “And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect.” [Surah Al-Kahf, The Cave, Verse 18:28]
The Prophet ﷺ was reportedly asked: “Which of our companions are best?” He ﷺ replied: “One whose appearance reminds you of God, and whose speech increases you in knowledge, and whose actions remind you of the hereafter.”
Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet, ﷺ, said, “A man is upon the religion of his companions, so let one of you look at whom he befriends.” [Tirmidhi]
The Prophet ﷺ further reminds us of the importance of good company when he said: “A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift, or you might buy some from him, or at least you might smell its fragrance. As for the blacksmith, he might singe your clothes, and at the very least you will breathe in the fumes of the furnace.” [Bukhari, Muslim]
13. Gratitude & Patience
There is much benefit in gratitude and patience as exemplified by this narration…
“Wondrous is the affair of the believer for there is good for him in every matter and this is not the case with anyone except the believer. If he is happy, then he thanks Allah and thus there is good for him, and if he is harmed, then he shows patience and thus there is good for him.” [Sahih Muslim]
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