You should aim to develop the following seven spiritually productive activities into habits so that you can hopefully continue benefiting from them throughout your life.
I consider these activities the spiritual ‘bread and butter’ of any productive Muslim.
To develop them as habits is the essence of embarking on your journey towards the love of Allah and constantly increasing in your faith:
1) Keep the Sunnah Prayers
I know it’s easier to just pray the obligatory prayers and rush out of the mosque!
However, when we realize the rewards we’re missing from not praying these Sunnah prayers, we won’t leave them.
Over the years, I have learnt there’s only ONE way to get yourself to pray these Sunnah prayers constantly: get into the habit of praying them!
They’ll soon become part and parcel of your prayers.
2) Remembrance of Allah After Prayers
Again, it’s easy to rush out after prayers due to your busy lives, though if we are honest, how long does it take to recite the supplications after prayers? (The answer: 5-7 minutes!)
If you’re not sure what I’m referring to, you may find the supplications online.
Nowadays, you’ll find pocket notebooks or phone applications with these supplications.
Get into the habit of reciting them daily after each prayer to enrich your spiritual experience.
3) Morning/Evening Remembrance of Allah
Step 2 is also included in this habit.
There exists a beautiful set of duas, or remembrances, from the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), which he used to say before sunrise and after sunset.
They are true stress relievers and energy boosters that never fail to make my days and evenings feel blessed.
4) Night Prayer
During Ramadan we have the wonderful Taraweeh prayers to attend. However,after Ramadan there are many opportunities to still obtain the reward of the night prayer.
If you’re new to night prayer or you don’t pray it constantly during the year, make sure you try to attend prayers each and every night in congregation at the mosque (particularly brothers), and give yourself a ‘no-excuse’ policy.
Develop a habit of praying Tahajjud and continuing to pray them for an entire 30 days. This will set you on a better footing to continue with the Night Prayer for the rest of the year.
5) Duha Prayer
Here’s a Productive Muslim’s top secret to a productive day: Two rak’ahs are known as the Duha prayer, which you may pray at any time between after sunrise and before the sun reaches its zenith (around 30 minutes before Dhuhr).
The reward of this prayer is similar to giving charity on behalf of every bone in your body, and the energy and buzz you feel during the day are amazing.
6) Supplications Before You Sleep
You’ve just had a long day, and you’re super tired.
You climb into bed, and you want to hit the sack… but wait! Before you do, can you give yourself just 10 more minutes to recite the supplications before sleeping?
That’s all. Try them and let yourself experience the most beautiful sleep ever and waking up for Fajr easily.
For more information on waking up for Fajr, constantly, every day, without fail check How to Wake up for Fajr.
7) Reciting One Hour of Qur’an Each Day
Notice: I said here recite one hour of Qur’an each day and not one juz’ or one Surah.
The amount of Qur’an you read is not as important as the quality of your understanding.
If you spend one hour reciting one verse but understand it fully, that’s more important and beneficial then reciting lots of Qur’an at break-neck speed yet not understanding a word.
So there you go, seven spiritually productive habits you can develop throughout the year, starting today!
The article is from our archives and was originally published at ProductiveMuslim.com.