Balance is the key; you don't have to be an extremist~!

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Salam alaik and greetings to all,

I will be sharing with you guys a post by an ikhwah(brother-saudara semuslim). Hope you will enjoy and benefit from it as well.

By ikhwah Jazli Aziz, link to post: http://alittlereminder.blogspot.com/2010/12/balance.html

Are you leading a balanced lifestyle? =)

Last week I attended the 3rd International Conference on Advancement in Science and Technology (iCAST) and I even presented a paper. So while preparing for my presentation, I showed my slides to a friend asking for an opinion, and he asked me "Is this an Islamic conference or something?", while referring to my slide with Quranic verses that I used to incorporate an Islamic perspective into my presentation. I said no. It may have been organised by IIUM, but it was open to everyone including non-Muslims, we even invited non-Muslim speakers and students to the conference. I told him "Just because it's a scientific conference, doesn't mean we should ignore the Islamic aspect of science". He told me "You should put that in your blog", so I did.

As Muslims we need to remember that Islam is more than just a religion, its a way of life, and everything we do can be related to Islam, even science. That's what IIUM means by Islamisation of knowledge I believe. Islam should not be practiced only in masjids and suraus, not only on Friday, and not only in Ramadhan. We should not act "Islamic" only when we pray or mengaji.Being Muslim is a full-time thing, not part-time and not based on a contract. We tend to forget that sometimes.

However, there are some people who take the "full-time" thing a bit too far, and live only for Islam and neglect every other worldly thing. No music, no "western dressing", no standing for the national anthem even. True Islam is and should be #1 on our priority list, but moderation works both ways; we can't be too duniawi, and we can't be too Islamic (some may term this as extremism). Balance like I say all the time, is the key to everything. Students shouldn't be too nerdy and study around the clock, at the same time they shouldn't be too laid back either. Its OK to eat junk food and fast food once in a while, as long as we stay fit and eat healthy every other time. The same should go with our way of life, its OK to have fun, as long as we do it how Islam teaches us. We should work towards jannah, but at the same time not at the expense of a comfortable life. The concept of balance can be summed up by the following verses;

"O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic): That is best for you if ye but knew! And when the Prayer is finished, then may ye disperse through the land, and seek of the Bounty of Allah. and celebrate the Praises of Allah often (and without stint): that ye may prosper." Quran 62:9-10

So remember, Islam is a part of everything we do, but remember to maintain a good balance, like Hannah Montana said, "You get the best of both worlds".

Wallahu'alam.

Liana