An Inspired Life of Flow
For a long time, I didn’t quite completely understand what it truly means when we claim all forms of rizq come from Allah. For the most part I believe I only understood the idea intellectually. However, clearly that isn’t enough because the heart must deeply understand for a belief to become truly embodied within a person.
I believe deeply understanding this idea is key to cultivating a life of truth, purpose & flow with Allah’s tawfeeq.
Here is what I’ve come to understand & believe in my quest to understand this idea:
In one’s heart of hearts, one must *truly* and *sincerely* seek *only* the pleasure of Allah and the home of the akhira. This must be the *main* concern every single day. There can be NO OTHER CONCERN that trumps this. Every other concern one may have must be secondary to this primary concern.
This obviously means one must remain mindful of everything they consume and surround themselves with in addition to being fully committed and relentless in turning away from anything that would take them off this path. This is where one hopes to become one of the mukhlaseen (chosen/select) mentioned in the Quran.
Among others, the immediate consequences of this singular internal focus are:
“selfishness”: healthy self-focus on one’s path to Allah, personal sovereignty, detachment
congruence — the heart, words and actions are aligned
This process also includes working to shed all societal narratives that are in conflict with the Islamic paradigm and connecting to the beliefs encapsulated within la ilaha illalah muhammad ar-RasulAllah. That’s simple enough since that’s what it means to be a Muslim after all.
When this work of clearing the way so to speak becomes an established way, now the heart can witness the big picture and understand its unique purpose and what Allah wants from it in this life.
At this point, life can go from being a life of effort to a life of inspiration and flow. Now, a life of inspiration and flow will still include plenty of effort and “hard work”. It is the internal experience that ultimately differentiates one from the other. A person who choses to live a life of flow experiences increased peace, feelings of expansion and a surge of positive energy. You can call it bliss, contentment, or joy.
Conversely, a life of effort is accompanied with resistance because at its core a person follows a path *they* are choosing to commit to *without* Allah’s full involvement in it & ignoring signals to correct course.
A life of flow involves following a path which *Allah* guides to AND one on which *Allah* is the *only* guide.
It is on *this path* of truth, purpose and flow that everything a person then works for, receives or enjoys of the dunya is ultimately wholesome for them and comes with ease and flow. This is the rizq we are meant to enjoy vs taking detours off the path to Allah to chase various forms of rizq.
And Allah knows best.