As Muslims, we must strive to implement simplicity in every area of our lives, as it is a very important virtue in Islam. Simplicity can have many positive influences on our lives. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) said in a hadith:
“ Simplicity is a part of faith.” (Abu Dawud)
Living a simple life is better for us as it involves not needing to worry about having to live up to society’s expectations about different parts of life. For example, there are expectations about timeframes in which milestones should generally be achieved in, standards about the possessions we own, types of career, status and reputation in the community, and so on. The more we focus on the opinions of other people, the more likely it is for those opinions to essentially dictate our lives. We read in the Holy Qur’an:
“ And the worldly life is not but amusement and diversion; but the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah, so will you not reason?” (Qur’an 6:32)
As we continue to go further into this mindset of worrying about the opinions of others rather than on trying to live a simple life, we will feel trapped. Living simply will make us feel calmer and less stressed.
Simplicity in our lives also ensures that we are grateful for each blessing that Allah Ta’ala has granted us. We will think about our families, our homes, the food we have, and so many other blessings. There are blessings like these that we normally may not notice as much. However, the more we do focus on them, the more we will realise that we should be grateful for what we have. We read in the Holy Qur’an:
“If you are grateful, He is pleased with you ” (Qur’an 39:7)
When we remember more often that everything in this world is temporary, we will try to live a simple life. We will cease chasing the expectations imposed upon us by a materialistic world and turn away from accumulating excesses. We read in the Holy Qur’an:
“ Everyone upon the earth will perish, And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honour.” (Qur’an 55:26-27)
Living simply also helps to improve our physical health as we are not stressing about many things. We are not putting ourselves under unneeded pressure to meet standards that have no relation to the deen.
Confidence is another virtue that comes with living a simple life. As we detach ourselves from the generic expectations of what success means in society, we only relate our self-worth to our connection with Allah Ta’ala. We read in the Holy Qur’an that Allah says:
“ …I am your Lord and Cherisher, therefore fear Me and no other.” (Qur’an 23:52)
Living a simple life also means that we can try to spend more to help those in need, rather on things for ourselves that we don’t really need. We read in a hadith:
“ The believer’s shade on the Day of Resurrection will be his charity. ” (Tirmidhi)
May Allah Ta’ala make it easy for us all to live simple lives, Ameen