Islam and congruent living
(Continued from the previous post)
Congruent living is best explained as a way of life in which everything is aimed in the same direction. For example, if it is really important to you to keep healthy physically, living a congruent life would require, among other things, that you
- Walk or bike to work instead of driving
- Locate a natural store and only buy things there or at farmstands (no supermarkets)
- Work a job that requires physical activity
- Run up the stairs, two steps at a time, rather than walking up
The second article I read was Steve Pavlina’s article on congruent living, which describes this concept in fuller detail. It’s not just about doing things that help you attain your goal; it’s about changing your life so that eventually, out of habit, everything within it naturally fits together and you don’t have to try to make it so, because you’re already doing it.
All faiths lay down sets of rules for how to live life in the most fulfilling way possible. The Islamic perspective, however, puts a lot of emphasis on getting the stream of activities of all different areas of your life to line up—which is a lot easier to do under an Islamic society, in which everybody is lining their daily activities up with what the Qur’an declares to be a holy way of living.
Do I believe Muslims should go around establishing Islamic states wherever they go? Absolutely not. Besides, just as in every other faith, there are many, many different interpretations of how the Qur’an and Hadiths should be applied, and not everybody will agree—that’s why there are scholars, imams, and other holy figures designated to figure it all out. But the sense of ceasing to struggle in life and just yielding to a unifying, harmonious way really works for a lot of people, and Islam’s insistence on this is not a call to arms. It’s a call to the soul, a call to get closer to God. We should be appreciative to have such an example just as much as we appreciate any other example. And if for some reason you struggle to see Islam’s role in our world, you might like to see Muslim Girl Magazine’s take on things.
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[…] The overwhelming majority of Muslims would not twist their faith into this. The thing about Islam, though, is that it is regarded as not just a faith. It is a social system, a society, with its own rules and norms, and these norms are at peace and in harmony with each other. Bombings are not the way to achieve this; however, the peace and harmony many people experience as Muslims is very powerful as a motivator to take great measures to strengthen Islam. This harmony in life is best explained by liberating concept of congruent living. […]
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