Don't Get Stuck in the Rat Race

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The Rat Race is a lifestyle that is lived by countless people, oblivious to the very nature of it, to a degree that even when called upon, vehemently deny it.

To summarize the Rat Race, it involves subjecting one's self to a time-consuming job, saddling one's self with heavy mortgages/rents, bills, children, and liabilities, forcing the individual to work his socks off.

It is also a misconception that getting more money will solve financial distress, but those who subject themselves most voluntarily to the race, just spend more and more, digging themselves the same hole. "I'm not interested in money." They will say. If they aren't, then why are they thanklessly toiling their lives away and constantly complaining about their financial scarcity?

It involves a variable combination of self-induced fear of poorness, a lack of choice, horrible spending habits, or the inability to adapt to the new changes in the work force.

There exists many options for financial gain and exit of the rat race. Remember, the definition of insanity also entails doing the same thing over and over again, in an attempt to make things change.

In our struggle and rush to earn a living, we have somehow entered the rat race and forgotten to live like real humans.

We work our socks off for our boss and yet refuse to play for a minute with our child. We smile at other people and yet we haven't really smile at our spouse, children, parents for months. We obey our boss to the letter, and we have forgotten the Lord of the Universe and that He should be obeyed too.

We do not find time for ourselves or our hobbies, because we are there earning a living and trying to make more money. And yet we are depressed, sad, moody and cranky. Is this the life we want?

In our race to make a great life, we have failed to appreciate the greatness of what we already have.

We race with others and try to have a great life. We need the newest phone, the newest laptop, the fastest internet, the newest car... We search for the most beautiful of houses and the most amazing of holiday destinations.

And yet, through all this rush, we fail to appreciate the people and the things that Allah has already blessed us with. We never thank Allah for our health, for our parents, for our children, for the food that He puts on our plate. We moan about the roof over our head, forgetting that others live under the open sky.

In our search for the extraordinary, we have passed over the amazing things found in simplicity.

We look for the next big thing, and the next super gadget, and the next best holiday, and we forget all that Allah has given to us in our simplicity. How a walk with our children down the park can be among the most fulfilling of things. How going to prayers in the masjid could be something that enriches us.

We lose out on the glorious sunrises and sunsets and the amazing skylines because we are too glued on finding things that are extraordinary.

In our incessant drive to succeed, we have somehow failed to be happy and content.

We are succeeding. Lives are improving. Cars are better, roads are better, transportation is better, global communication is better, internet is getting faster and faster, healthcare is better. Every material thing is better, and yet mental health is the worst that it has been in history.

With the gift of WIFI and social media, we are connected with everybody 24/7 and yet we are not fulfilled.

We have succeeded everywhere but in keeping ourselves happy. We do not know what makes us happy anymore. We search for happiness like it is an elusive thing, forgetting that happiness lies in the palm of our hands. It is in aiming for the best, but also being content with what you have.

Imam Ahmad Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) was most happy when he woke up with no food to eat because he saw an opportunity to thank Allah and had full faith in Allah Almighty.

In trying to please people who do not care, we have hurt and alienated those closest to us.

We do our best to impress our boss, impress people who have big names, impress the wrong friends, and we try over and over again. But through it all, we neglect our parents, our spouses are not cared for, our siblings and relatives are left by the wayside, and our children are forgotten, being raised by day care providers, maids or nannies, a norm rather than an exception. It is no wonder you find more and more families are falling apart and so many children are acting up and rebelling. We are indeed a generation of too many dysfunctional people walking around.

Friends who have stood by us for a lifetime are not valued, while those who have money and power are chosen even if they are fake.

Somehow, somewhere we have lost our priorities in this journey called life. And we have forgotten the Lord who has given it to us as well. And through it all, we have forgotten to live.

Allah Almighty reminds us in the Qur'an,

وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّـهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ أُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ ﴿١٩

And be not like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. Those are the defiantly disobedient. (19) [Qur'an, Al-Hashr 59:19]

Part of our daily lives are led almost on autopilot, without remembering Allah. We go through life, and, as Allah said, we forget our own selves.

So, how do you get out of this rat race? Allah Almighty says,

فَاذْكُرُ‌ونِي أَذْكُرْ‌كُمْ وَاشْكُرُ‌وا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُ‌ونِ ﴿١٥٢

So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me. (152) [Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:152]

Remember,

Allah says,


وَفِي السَّمَاءِ رِزْقُكُمْ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ ﴿٢٢﴾ فَوَرَبِّ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ مِّثْلَ مَا أَنَّكُمْ تَنطِقُونَ

And in heaven is your provision, and that you are promised. (22) So by the Lord of heaven and earth, it is as surely true as that you have speech. (23)

[Qur'an, Adh-Dhariyat 51:22-23]

Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

At every womb Allah appoints an angel who says, 'O Lord! A drop of semen, O Lord! A clot. O Lord! A little lump of flesh." Then if Allah wishes (to complete) its creation, the angel asks, (O Lord!) Will it be a male or female, a wretched or a blessed, and how much will his provision be? And what will his age be?' So all that is written while the child is still in the mother's womb.

[Reported by Bukhari]

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said:

Had you relied on Allah as He should be relied upon He would provide for you as He provides for the birds; they leave the nest hungry and return satisfied.

[Reported by Tirmidhi]

"It is not happy people who are thankful, it is the thankful people who are happy."

O Allah! O Allah! O Allah! O Latif! (The One Who knows the finest mysteries and secrets of things) O Razzaq! (The Bestwower of Sustenance) O Qawiyy! (The All-Powerful) O Aziz! (The Exalted and Might): to You do belong the keys of the treasures of both the heavens and the earth: it is You Who enlarge sustenance for such of Your servants as You please, and restrict it for such of Your servants as You please. So O Allah, enlarge livelihood for us out of Your sustenance such as to enable us to have access to Your Mercy, and out of Your Mercy such to keep us away from your Wrath and Anger, and out of Your Forbearance such as to have Your Pardon extend over us; and end our lives with happiness with which You end the lives of Your devotees; and make the best and the happiest of our days that on which we will meet You; and remove us in the world from the fire of lusts and desires, and admit us with the help of Your Bounty and Generosity, to the large fields of mercy.

May Allah give life to our hearts again and make us among the thankful and successful, and may Allah increase our provision both spiritually and physically.

Ameen.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

Wassalaam