I was born in Cox’s Bazar and grew up in Chittagong for most of my life. Until 2008, Chittagong was quite a lovely city to live in (the traffic situation is slowly getting worse than Dhaka now I hear). However, when I moved to Dhaka, one of the worst things I had to learn to get used to was the mad world of traffic. I had only started taking Islam seriously back then and it was turning into a nightmare trying to keep my cool. And soon after I came to Dhaka it was Ramadan. I was drained, dusty and hardly had the strength to do much worship during a few of those precious Ramadan days.
Two Ramadans went by and I was quite crushed really. I thought to myself that there had to be a way that we could utilize this time beneficially. Allah will only put us through a burden if at the end of the tunnel there is potential that we find benefit in it. And to that end, I devised for myself personally a way of combating the traffic issue in a way that perhaps we do not lose out in the barakah of time. To that end, it requires a few attitude shifts, and knowledge of a few easy good deeds inshaAllah.
The Four Attitude Shifts
One of the most important things we need to do is to approach this issue from a different angle. Yes, the insane traffic is a serious problem that needs to be sorted out. But as Muslims there are things we can fix and some things that we cannot. So here are a few things necessary to take into account.
1. Understanding that this is a test of our faith, and people are tested by far greater than traffic jams. Many people wake up to the sound of bombs, thousands others wake up hungry and with nothing else to eat either and so many wake up without a home to live in. Compared to all of that, our tests really are miniscule. If we understand that this is a test for us and that if we pass it, we will be rewarded, then we will approach it with the intention to gain more from it.
2. When we understand that it is a test, we try our best to be patient. “Most certainly for the patient will be paradise without accounting.” [Quran 39:10].
Is Traffic So Bad That We Give Up The Opportunity Of Paradise Without Accounting? Let Us Learn To Be A Bit More Patient With Life!
3. The Prophet ( PBUH) said, “Whoever among you wakes up secure in his property, healthy in his body, and he has his food for the day, it is as if he were given the entire world.” [Tirmidhi] The issue of being stuck in traffic is more a problem for the middle class and upper class people. Poor people are either too hungry, in too horrible a house or not safe in their homes to be wondering about the traffic. This in and of itself should make us more thankful for where we are. And the more thankful we are, the more Allah will give us. “If you are thankful, I will give you more.” [Quran 14:7] Moreover, Allah knows what is best for us, and even if we do not see it, this traffic jam is what is best for us in that particular time and place, for that is what Allah willed.
4. The Prophet ( PBUH) also said, “No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that.” [Bukhari] Look again at what he is saying. Even fatigue and tiredness expiates our sins. We always want our sins to be forgiven. Through this difficulty of being stuck in traffic, we can potentially have our sins forgiven! If we compare the torment of traffic to the torment that we are potentially being saved from, the torment of hellfire, we will take it with much more ease and understand that we might have been handed the nice end of the bargain, Alhamdulillah.
Traffic Jams Into Ibadah?
When I first tried to think of this idea, it felt quite weird. How can traffic be ibadah? I asked myself. But that was only because I kept looking at the word “ibadah” in its English equivalentworship. Worship entails a set of rituals, but ibadah is much more comprehensive.
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah said, “Ibadah is a collective term for everything which Allaah loves and is pleased with from among the sayings and inward and outward actions.”
So from that perspective, we have already learnt from our attitude shifts,
Four Different Types Of Ibadah For Traffic Jams-Being Patient, Being Thankful, Getting Our Sins Forgiven And Trying To Pass The Test!
However, there is so much more than can be done during this time to maximize our time and here are just a few.
1. Dawah has become such a neglected part of our lives today. “And who is better in Speech than the One who calls to Allah, works righteousness and says “I am one of the Muslims.” [Quran 41:33] And yet, while stuck in traffic we are in the best of times to make dawah. If you are brave enough, I’d suggest going for dawah with a fellow passenger on public transport that you do not know. Even if it is not public transport, whoever there is in your car is probably bored. This is one of those times when they could be open to the idea of having a conversation about Islam. You will not have another time when you have three hours of non-stop chatter with someone else! Make use of it!
2. Dawah is calling others to Allah. But there is another calling that we can do, Dua- calling to Allah Himself. We can make lots of dua while we are stuck in traffic, it is a time when we can be sincerely speaking to Allah without much of a distraction. Dua is worship itself, and is rewarded. Not to mention, if it’s raining, like it often is in Bangladesh, duas are more likely to be accepted as well!
3. Carry a pocket Qur’an or even a bigger Qur’an with you, and recite it and read the translation and contemplate on the meanings of the Qur’an as you sit in the traffic. For those of you hoping to finish the reading of the Qur’an but you feel like you can’t manage the time at home, trust me, traffic jams are the ideal situations for you to up your reading of the Qur’an and reach your goal of finishing it!
4. Make use of audio and headphones. Load the Qur’an or beneficial lectures onto your phone and listen to them while you are stuck in traffic. It will help you get over the boredom, learn Islam and increase in your imaan, all at the same time! Technology is marvelous if used well! Invest in a power bank for your phone as well, so that you do not have to worry about the charge depleting while you are on the move.
5. Remember Allah. These idle times are one of the best times to remember Allah. And in His remembrance there is so much reward. “And in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find tranquility.” [Quran 13:28] I will list down some easy remembrances that can earn great rewards in mere minutes. However, there are lots more that can be available:
1.6 Billion Good Deeds In A Few Seconds- Make Dua For The Ummah’s Forgiveness.
The Prophet ( PBUH) said, “Whoever seeks forgiveness for the believing men and believing women, Allah will write for him a good deed for each believing man and believing woman.” [Narrated by Tabarani] – The Prophet ( PBUH) said, “Whoever says, ‘Subhan Allaahi Wa bihamdihi, {Allah is free from imperfection and to Him belongs all praise}. One hundred times a day, will be forgiven all his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea.” [Bukhari] – The Prophet asked once, “Is anyone of you incapable of earning one thousand rewards a day?” Someone from the gathering asked, “How can anyone of us earn a thousand rewards?” Prophet said: “Glorify Allah a hundred times by just saying “Subhanallah” and a Good deed will be written for you, or a thousand sins will be wiped away.” [Muslim]
– The Prophet ( PBUH) said in a hadith that whoever says “Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi subhan Allahil adheem” a date palm tree will be planted for him in paradise.” [Tirmidhi]. In a few minutes, how many hundreds of date palm trees can we plant? Let’s set up our paradise while we are stuck!
– The Prophet ( PBUH) said, “Are any of you unable to recite a third of the Qur’an in a night?” That was difficult for them and they said, “Which of us is able to do that, Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Qul hu Allahu ahad” [Surah Ikhlas (112)] constitutes a third of the Qur’an.’” [Bukhari]
– The Prophet ( PBUH) also said, “Whoever recites Qul huwa Allaahu ahad [Surah Ikhlas] ten times, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.” [Tabarani] Allah has ordained this upon us and He will make it easy. Let us make our precious time in traffic a time of remembrance and a time where we turn ourselves to Allah and earn His pleasure!
