What are the things that pre-occupy your time and your mind? Is it work? School? Family? Friends? Good stuff? Bad stuff? In other words, what are you conscious of? If you were honest with yourself, how many times in a day do you remember Allah? God- the source of your life? The One Who placed you in this world; Whose mercies surround your every moment of life? The One who granted you everything that is good in your life and presented you with every challenge you’ve had so that you would be able to grow and find your inner strength?

One way to know how much Allah remembers you is to reflect on the ayah (verse) Sura Baqara (2:152): “Then if you remember Me; I will remember you.” Consciousness is the core of worship. People sometimes restrict their understanding of worship to the ritual aspects of prayer and other acts that are required of us. And while these form the cornerstone and provide a foundation for our lives, it is important that we do not limit our understanding of Islam to this.

Potentially, all of our actions can be classified as a form of worship. When we clean our homes, go to work, learn and study, enjoy time with family and friends and face, look after the environment, give charity, enjoy simple and complex moments in our lives, are thankful for the good and the challenges that face us and look after the needs of the community, these are all forms of worship.  Moments to remember God, to be thankful, to supplicate and ask for His help and for his forgiveness.

This is why Islam is not considered to be merely a religion but in fact looked at as a complete code for life.  

So how do we live this deen (way of life), do we remember our duas (supplications) as we move from one thing to another,  do we make our intentions knowing when we go to school and work, we are doing so as a form of worship? Do we measure our words and actions? When was the last time we spent time doing work to benefit people other than ourselves- in our schools, work places, communities? 

 How do we raise our families to understand that we are here for a purpose greater than collecting “trinkets”, that we have a Divine Purpose and that collectively if each individual, each family maintained their consciousness of Allah, then that consciousness would only push them to re-prioritize their time, their goals and their lives because they would understand that we are only present on this earthly journey for a limited time.

Our goal should be to not fall into the typical routines that erase our time and make us lose the value of living completely and meaningfully. It should be to work hand-in-hand starting in our own families, to Know Allah and to serve His creation. Each a vital component of worshiping Him.

Allah has given you and I an opportunity to reach a personal potential higher than we can imagine, to elevate our souls and to own this world with our hands not our hearts because a conscious heart submits only to God not to jobs and tasks. We begin to see each thing as a part of the total whole and start developing ourselves and our family to work towards attaining the goal of God’s Pleasure.

Let us start reprioritizing our consciousness, remember our divine duties to transform ourselves and to serve society and make those the driving principles in our relationships.

True consciousness can only lead to freedom and eternal happiness.