Slow Living Explained From an Islamic Perspective

Globalization and the Western hustle culture have acquired many of our lives over the years. Ever since the pandemic, many lifestyle trends have boomed up, and slow living has gained significant importance with time. In this blog, we will understand it in depth and learn how slow living is explained from an Islamic perspective. It is because we live our lives at the end of the day, but how meaningful we spend our lives and live in the present matters.

Slow living explained from an Islamic perspective

Islam encourages its believers to live a life of moderation, contentment, and dignity. Our religion focuses on slow living, reflecting on our thoughts, and staying away from unnecessary distractions. Since the current trends talk more about slow living, Islam already explained this concept fourteen hundred years ago.

« Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or who listens while he is present (in mind). »

[Surah Qaf, No.50, Ayah 37]

What is slow living?

Slow living entails focusing more on the present than the future; it is the mindset of taking a dedicated and mindful perspective on everyday life. Instead of trying to fill every vacant space and time slot in your life, slow living is about embracing silence. Instead of doing more and more, it’s about doing less but with more meaning and intention.

It questions the hustle culture and revolves around reducing our commitments so we can emphasize things according to our values. A slow lifestyle also includes prioritizing our physical and mental well-being, living in the present, and adopting slower tasks in life: reading, cooking, gardening, baking, etc.

Why is slow living essential for you?

Slow living teaches you to explore a new way of life that is less chaotic and more peaceful. It doesn’t mean that you should avoid the daily activities of life. Instead, it is based on the idea that we must pause for a while and reflect on our actions and thoughts. It involves spending a more fulfilled and peaceful life instead of a hustle culture that does not benefit us.

Why slow living is essential for you, we have listed down some of the reasons:

• More gratitude and praise
• Better and peaceful lifestyle
• Increased time to do things that you enjoy
• Lesser commitments
• Boost in productivity
• Stronger connections
• Stable health

Slow living is about keeping a balanced approach to life. Rather than constantly running and chasing things, it lets us spend a content and minimal lifestyle. It’s about doing things at a specific pace, avoiding chaos, and taking out time to rejoice.

How to practice it in your life?

Slow living demands us to take a slower approach to life activities; hence we can strive for a quiet time, less chaos, and more connected hours with our loved ones. We can see things from a more transparent and better perspective when we accept quietness. Instead of running after chasing more and more, we can do less work but with more dedication and wholeheartedness.

If you would like to embark on this journey of adopting a slower lifestyle, we have compiled some powerful ways to help you align your routine around this trend. Once you settle with this mindset, you will be doing things according to the said approach; slow and intentional.

You can start following these tips for a positive and calmer living.

1. Move away from fast-paced living

If you are too engrossed in a massive pile of tasks, this might be a challenging task, to begin with. But that is the idea; you must slow down and step back from the hustle mindset. Start aligning your tasks according to priority, and make a to-do list of arranging tasks in order of priority. Complete one task at a time, then move to the next. Instead of multitasking, try single-tasking and witness better results in your productivity and overall performance.

2. Slow living practice

Dedicating your open hours to doing nothing is crucial in this fast-paced world. Understandably, we are occupied with many obligations, but if we don’t free up time for ourselves, it will go wasted. Keep as many plans as possible; no need to overschedule and stress out later. Make necessary boundaries and prioritize yourself and your family before anything else.

3. Buy from local sources

Buying locally from small businesses is a great way to practice a slow lifestyle. It is beneficial for us as well as supports the small business community. This practice might be a new idea for some people because of our dependency on weekly shopping from online or physical stores. But once we start shopping local, it creates a beneficial impact on us. Avoiding readymade food and replacing it with healthier and healthy options is a great idea to prepare, eat and spend quality time with family.

4. Adopt slow activities

Taking out time for slow activities is another crucial tip to practice slow living. We can start with many slow hobbies that need our dedicated time and allow us to be mindful of the specific task. A few examples of slow activities could be:

• Writing
• Journaling
• Baking
• Painting
• Gardening
• Cycling
• Doodling
• Handcrafting

5. Embrace mindfulness

Slow living essentially redirects us towards mindfulness which we can practice through various activities. Yoga and meditation, volunteering at a local old house, and gardening are some ideas to seek mindfulness.

6. Trust in Allah

As we practice slow living and spend quiet time reflecting and recalibrating, we become more associated with Allah (SWT). It allows us to converse with the Almighty and share what has been in our hearts. We might seek closeness with our loved ones, but the kind of peace we can seek through relying on Allah (SWT) is exceptional. It removes our worries and helps us experience a more spiritual approach to life.

Allah (SWT) says in the Holy Qur’an: « He is with you wherever you are. » [57:4]

« The heart is tarnished by two matters: unmindfulness (al-ghaflah) and sin. And it is polished by two matters: seeking forgiveness and the remembrance of Allah. » [al-Qahirah: Dār al-Ḥadith, 1999), 1:40]

One of the most significant benefits of slow living is sparing time and peace to build meaningful relationships. It could be with people, nature, and our hearts and minds.