10 Ways to Feed Your Soul

Taking care of your soul is as important, if not even more, than taking care of your body. Emotions come from and impact your soul. How do you feel when you’re angry? A purpose of anger is protection, not to adversely impact others. So, as Principal Wadud Hassan advises, the best way to respond to anger is with patience, compassion, and forgiveness. He shares the example of how our prophet Muhammad ﷺ respnded to a bedouin who grabbed the prophet ﷺ by his collar as a means of introduction and attention. Our prophet’s ﷺ response was to turn with a smile to then understand what the bedouin’s need concerned. We often think of our soul as if it’s within our heart, in our chest. It’s not really an incorrect way of thinking as how you view your heart and your chest is a physical manifestation of your emotional state. Principal Wadud gives the example of the famous dua of Moses (as) which Allah shares in Surah Taha 20:25 – 28 as his prophet asked of Him: “O my Lord! Open for me my chest (grant me self-confidence, contentment, and boldness.) And ease my task for me. And untie the knot (the defect) from my tongue (i.e. remove the incorrectness from my speech). That they understand my speech.” Start feeding your soul by remembering Allah, ask of Him and know that Allah is with those who are patient and mindful of Him. Remembering Allah is actually a form of positive self-talk. Indeed, Allah has built a home for every human in paradise. This life is a test to earn this eternal reward, in part by developing ourselves and our souls with these habits: Make wudu – cleaning yourself and asking Allah to wash away your sins and have the body parts you’ve washed shine with light to guide you on the Day of Judgment Frequently say “In the Name of Allah, The Most Beneficient, The Most Merciful.” Such as when you start, are in the midst of and when you end anything. Pray. Worship is our conversation with Our Creator with the effect of calming us from daily distractions. Ask of Allah by making lots of dua. Allah loves when His servants ask of him. Don’t not talk with someone for three days when you are experiencing conflict with them. Do greet them and resolve to end the issue before 72 hours have passed. Shake hands, of course, while observing hygienic protocols. Humans benefit from touch. Greet others with a greeting of peace. End your day ensuring you are not harboring grudges; it’s easiest to do this by forgiving others. Read. The first command Allah sent in the revelation of the Qur’an is “Read.” Build a connection with Allah’s Book by starting with a translation of the Qur’an and you will begin to understand the value of learning to understand its Arabic. Write, whether it’s an email, post, journal or letter. Writing is cognitive and cathartic.