We should aim to develop the following seven spiritually productive activities into our habits so that we can hopefully continue benefitting from them throughout our lives. These activities are the spiritual ‘bread and butter' of a Muslim. To develop them as habits is the essence of embarking on a journey towards achieving the love of Allah and constantly increasing your Iman, Insha Allah: 1) Pray the Sunnah prayers 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 Sunnah prayers, we will never leave them. There's only one way of getting yourself to pray these Sunnah prayers constantly: Get into the habit of praying them! They'll soon become a part and parcel of your Salah and your Salah will feel incomplete without performing these Sunnah prayers. 2) Remembrance of Allah after Salah How long does it take to recite the supplications after Salah? Around five to seven minutes. If you're not sure what supplications are being referred to, please purchase a copy of Hisnul Muslim (Fortress of the Muslim), published by Darussalam. Nowadays you'll find applications for these supplications. Get into the habit of reciting them daily after each Salah to enrich your Salah experience. 3) Morning and evening supplications There exists a beautiful set of Du'as and Dhikr from the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) which he used to say after sunrise and after sunset. They are true stress relievers and energy boosters which will never fail to make our days and evenings feel blessed. 4) Night Prayer Alhamdulillah during Ramadan we had the wonderful Taraweeh prayers to attend. However, outside of Ramadan there are still many opportunities to obtain the reward of the night prayer. If you're new to night prayer or you don't pray it constantly during the year, try to pray Tahajjud at the mosque every night 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 better footing to continue with the Night Prayer for the rest of the year Insha Allah. 5) Duha Prayer Here's a top secret to a productive day: Two rak'ahs known as the Duha prayer which you may pray at anytime after sunrise till before the sun reaches it's 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 is 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 find yourself experiencing the most beautiful sleep ever and waking up for Fajr easily, Insha Allah. 7) Reciting one hour of Qur'an each day Notice that what is being said is: recite one hour of Qur'an each day and not just 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 just one verse but understand it fully, that's more important and beneficial than reciting lots of Qur'an at breakneck speed, yet not understanding a word. So there you go, seven spiritually productive habits you can develop throughout the year starting from today!
