A Muslim’s guide to surviving a lockdown

Are you overwhelmed, frustrated, and stressed out as you spend your time in isolation?  The reality is that most of us are uncertain and worried as to how we will survive the days ahead, let alone a potential lockdown.   But before you do panic, here are a few things to keep in mind to help you make it through.  

1. Social Media Distancing

  With all the hysteria and drama taking place at the moment, it’s so easy to be swept into the social media frenzy that comes along with it. While it’s important to be informed, we should be careful not to be dragged into mindlessly scrolling through news feeds, sharing non-beneficial content and involving ourselves in debates we have no business to be in. So while you are busy practicing social distancing, let’s begin practicing social media distancing. Not only will this free up your day for useful activities, but it will also help relieve your mind from anxiety and stress.  

2. Quarantine vs Quran time

While spending your hours in Quarantine, ensure you have a dedicated Quran time. This is the perfect opportunity for us to return to Allah and reinvigorate our relationship with His words. Allah states that this Quran is a ‘shifaa’, a healing, and no doubt this is a time where most of us are in need of such healing.  

وَنُنـزلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

  Let the Quran be your companion in this time of isolation and don’t forget to do your Athkaar, to make Duaa and to continuously seek forgiveness.

3. Turn your home into a Masjid

  As much as heart aches to see Masjid around the world be placed under lockdown, including the Two Holy Mosques of Makkah and Madinah, this doesn’t mean that our homes cannot be places of worship. Infact, the Prophet ﷺ said:  

جعلت لي الأرض مسجداً وطهوراً  “The entire Earth has been made for me a Masjid and a purifier”.  

So when the Salah time enters, call the Athaan in your homes, make the Iqama, gather your family and pray in congregation, on time, without delaying. Let us turn our homes into masajid.

4. Working from home

For those that are “working from home”, please make sure that you actually are working. While it is easy to get carried away with all the distractions of what is going on and while this is understandable, if you have been entrusted to work and are being paid to work, please make sure you fulfill this trust. As Allah states in the Quran:  

وأوْفُوا بالعَهْدِ إِنَّ الْعَهْدَ كَانَ مَسْئُولا  “And fulfill [every] commitment. Indeed, the commitment is one that you will be questioned about.”

 

5. Check on your neighbours

  Lastly, as supermarkets around the world are left without stock due to panic buying and hoarding, it’s quite easy for many to be left without their essentials. This is an opportunity for us to revive the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, of looking after our neighbours, especially if they are eldely or vulnerable.   The Prophet ﷺ states:  

 وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاَللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَلْيُكْرِمْ جَارَهُ   “Let he who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbour.”

  So while we all work towards surviving our time in isolation, I pray that these tips will help us make the most out of the days ahead. With our faith and trust in Allah, and love and care for one another, by the will of Allah we will make it through this difficult time. _____________