Ramadan: The month of “burning”
It’s been over a week since Ramadan has arrived all over the globe. Allah has blessed us with yet another chance to truly transform our lives for the betterment of our lives and the hereafter. There is no better opportunity for us to truly change our day-to-day habits for the good than this blessed month. After all, the word “Ramadan” literally means to “burn”. What does Ramadan burn? Ramadan burns off the sins and impurities of a person so much so that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
With an enlightened sense of piety and spirituality and with being free from the shackles of the devil , this is without doubt the best time of the year to hasten towards goodness and righteous actions. However, many a times people face with two challenges even with the best of intentions: lack of consistency and the lack of motivation. These two challenges are not mutually exclusive but are rather synergistic in nature. The lack of motivation prevents consistent thriving for goodness and vice versa. By now, Some of the readers might have started to experience the lack of zeal which they had initially.
In this blog, let us apply the science of habit formation as explained in the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear to create sustainable habits that will last beyond Ramadan. We will also integrate the valuable lessons and insights shared by Dr. Tesneem Alkeik of Yaqeen Institute from her series “Habits To Win Here And Hereafter”.
Living A Life Without Regrets
Before we discuss how to form sustainable habits, we must encounter and tackle a greater question: Why should I form these habits? In general, all successful people (from a worldly perspective) are famous for their routine habits which made them successful in this world. It is the compounding of their daily habits which sets them apart from the rest of the crowd. What motivates these people? Different individuals have different sources of motivation. In general, people are motivated by either fear or hope. Some of us are motivated by our hope of goodness at the end of the road we choose to pursue. Others get their things done straight due to the fear of failure or the fear of consequences that awaits them.
A true believer in God is motivated by both fear and hope. He or she has hopes of a good ending to this life and yet at the same time fear the consequences of being accountable by their Lord. Personally, I am motivated by the fear of regret. One of the most striking quotes I ever read was from American author and entrepreneur, Jim Rohns. He said :
We must all suffer from one of the two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is that pain of discipline weighs ounces while the pain of regret weighs tons.
A believer, however, has a greater source of motivation to form sustainable habits than Jim Rohn’s words. They are blessed with the Divine Revelation for deriving purpose in their lives. And there is no better reminder for the humankind to live a life without regrets than the following verse in the Quran which describes the thought-process of human beings on the Day they will meet their Lord (Quran 89: 21-23).
When the Earth is entirely crushed over and over, and your Lord comes to judge with angels, rank upon rank, and Hell is brought forward on that day. That is when every person will remember (all of their sins they have committed). But what is the point of remembering then? They will cry, “ I wish I had sent forth something good for my true life”.
According to the Quran, every person will be filled with regret on that day except for the righteous on that day to whom Allah will say (Quran 89: 27-30):
Therefore, every time we feel like giving up on our newly formed habits this Ramadan, always remember and reflect over this verse. For certainly, successful are the believers.
The Pursuit To Ultimate Greatness via Atomic Changes
Before understanding how to maintain our habits this Ramadan, we need to understand about the relevance of the size of our habit. Are you a person who rarely recites the Quran outside of Ramadan but wishes to complete the entire recitation of Quran thrice this month? Are you trying to pray the night prayer for the first time but struggling to maintain it now? Has your initial excitement to thrive for goodness in this month died? If the answer is No, keep going and May Allah Bless You. But if your answer is yes, then you need to learn about consistency and identity change.
In his book, “Atomic Habits”, James Clear introduces the idea of tiny habits which produce remarkable results over time. He argues how improving 1% everyday in a habit would make a person better at that habit by 37 times by the end of one year using simple math. He also produces the counter argument: worsening in a habit by 1% everyday would depreciate to nearly zero after a year. This is the power of small habits. It is impossible to see 1% improvement in our lives externally but as time progresses, they keep compounding to produce a “new” form of ourselves. This idea of compounding habits which ultimately shape ourselves is so instrumental for a believer to understand in his or her day to day life.
Many a times, we often fail to realise the importance of how small things affect our religiosity especially in a negative sense. Often we fail to realise how our friends circle and social media create new habits of distractions (which are unnoticed initially) that would ultimately make us amongst those who are filled with regret on the Day Of Judgement. This can also apply to our religiosity in this blessed month of Ramadan. No matter how well you have planned your goals for Ramadan, you will fail to maintain them if you remain in the same environment as before. The only way to understand the impact of atomic habits is by regularly indulging ourselves in a state of contemplation. Contemplate about our present and past so that our future and final destination are in safe hands!
Coming back to our question: why has your initial excitement died? There are probably two reasons why. Firstly, you must have set hard, unrealistic goals for yourselves in the midst of excitement. Secondly, you have not changed your identity or system to accommodate your habits and be who you want. Let’s discuss the first reason now.
If you are a person who decided to read 3 parts of Quran a day this Ramadan from zero, there is higher likelihood of you giving up your religious zeal by now. As much as it is important for us to strive and exert ourselves in the way of Allah during Ramadan, it is important for us to be consistent and not give up in the middle of the month. The Prophet ﷺ taught us:
It is best for one to upgrade his or her recitation of Quran in a way that is sustainable. Excess of action may lead to laziness and creates a sense of burden. Therefore, strive for good deeds in a way that would not just transform your Ramadan but also transcend beyond it.
Creating A System That Transcends Worldly Gains
Let‘s now analyse the second reason. It will be difficult to sustain good habits if we do not have the system to accommodate it. What constitutes a system? The system includes our environment and our identity. Often we mistake ourselves by thinking that “goals produce results”. It is a false belief. As James Clear states in “Atomic Habits”: Winners and losers have the same goals. It is the difference in system that produces the change.
The reason why our resolutions are dying is due to the presence of cracks in our systems. Like mentioned earlier, it would be very difficult to practice Islam when surrounded by a non-religious, liberal environment. Therefore, it is important to be cautious of our the environment we chose to spent time with. Changing environment to circles that would add to the faith of a person produces a drastic improvement in the sustenance of our good deeds. As we will see later, changing environment is also the first step to form a new habit.
Our identity also play a key role in our habits and systems. James Clear explains that behaviour change occurs at three levels:
- Change at level of outcome: This type of change focuses on end results and goals. Most people focus on outcomes but without having a proper system, they will eventually fail.
- Change at level of process: This type of change focuses on your actions than goals. For example, if you are focused on ourcome-change, you will set a goal to recite one part of Quran. But if you are focused on change in the process, you will decide to change your environment to reach your goal of reciting one part of Quran. This would include setting up a proper timetable for reciting Quran, choosing people with similar goals and ensuring an environment that allows recitation of Quran.
- Change at level of identity: This type of change focuses on being who you want to be. For example, here you focus on being a reciter of Quran rather than being the one who recites one part of the day. This is the change that we must try to attain.
How can one attain the identity change? The answer is by consistency. Like James Clear said,” Habits and identity reinforce each other”. Your Habits shape your identity and your identity shape your habit. This is also the key to build a system filled with habits that transcends beyond Ramadan. This is how one upgrades himself from being a person who recites Quran thrice a year in a month to being a regular reciter of Quran.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed why we must maintain our newly formed habits: to seek the pleasure of our Creator so that we do not end up in regret on the day we meet him. We have also discussed about the power of tiny habits and how they can benefit remarkably in our pursuit. Finally, the reader must understand that sustainable habit formation occurs at the level of identity.
May Allah Bless This Month of Ramadan And Forgive our Sins.
Want to know more habit formation and how to maintain them? The key to maintaining habits is to know how they are formed. click here to know how.