Without a doubt, the religion of Islam is a religion of utmost consistency. The first thing that comes to mind when addressing this topic is the Muslim’s daily prayers and the regularity which accompanies them. It immediately strikes us that Islam guides one to an organized lifestyle, where all aspects of life balance smoothly and fall in harmony with each other. Islam is truly a way of life. A greater and more magnificent resemblance of this consistency is seen during the days of Hajj. Annually, people from all across the globe assemble in one sacred land to perform the obligation of the pilgrimage and it is just stunning to see their uniformity and structured demeanor whenever a pillar is to be fulfilled. This just proves that consistency is not impossible, not even when millions are crowded for the same particular reason.

As the prophet Mohammed SAW said:

“The most beloved of deeds to Allah are the most consistent of them, even if they are few”   1.

This hadith clearly indicates that it is the consistency of our deeds that counts more than anything else. Even if they are few, the fact that you are constantly performing them for the sake of Allah shows your commitment and devotion to your Creator hence proving your love for Him. It is this that causes Allah swt to be pleased with us; our dedication and determination to gain His love, mercy and countless bounties.

Nonetheless, a very crucial point that needs to be addressed is the misunderstood, hence, misuse of the word ‘consistency’. We have started to parallel this word with ‘repetitiveness’ which has negative connotations.

According to the Oxford dictionary, consistency is the quality of achieving a level of performance which does not vary greatly in quality over time. In simpler words, it is performing a deed regularly but with the same quality, passion and enthusiasm.

When something is performed regularly, such as the daily prayers, a person starts to treat it as a repetitive act, thus, is performed with no passion or enthusiasm. Unfortunately, that is the state that our prayers have reached today, they are performed regularly but with no khushoo’ (calmness, serenity and tranquility). This is because, brothers and sisters, we have altered the definition of consistency through our daily practices. We no longer find comfort in our prayers because we do not practice it with sincerity; it has very sadly become a takleef rather than a tashreef to serve Allah, a burden rather than an honor, and for this who should we blame but ourselves?

To achieve consistent quality in our ibadah we have to renew our intentions every time we embark on a task, and always keep in mind that it is Allah swt who deserves our time and attention and not the distractions of this life.

On the authority of Abu Ya’la Shaddad bin Aws RAu that the Messenger of Allah SAW said:

“Verily Allah has prescribed ihsan (proficiency, perfection) in all things…” 2
And in another hadith:

Narrated Abu Huraira RAu :

“…What is Ihsan (perfection)?’ Allah’s Messenger SAW replied, ‘To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you….” 3

Blog_Nov_01_insideThis means that the point is not just in performing a good deed regularly, but rather in performing it regularly with ihsan, which is the Arabic word for excellence. Let us strive to fulfill our obligations with pure intentions and consistent quality, because it is that which will pour upon us Allah’s mercy and love, and what better could we ask for?

To conclude, consistency is about performing to the best of our ability every time we have to do something. Through being consistent in our ibadah, we naturally gain the capability to be consistent and coherent in our lives such as when interacting with people and when accomplishing our daily, monthly and yearly goals. This can be achieved by purifying the intentions on a daily basis as well as keeping in mind that it is Allah swt, The King of all kings, whom we are serving hence, that should motivate us to continue to seek His pleasure and approval of our deeds. Furthermore, let us make it a habit to continually ask Allah swt for His support so that we may achieve consistency and quality in all aspects of our lives.

Golden tip:

Whenever one feels that they simply cannot improve the quality of their worship e.g. prayers, just imagine that it is your last prayer, wouldn’t that drive you to make it THE best one you have ever performed?

What are some of the easiest yet consistent deeds which we can perform on a daily basis? Please share them in the comments below. 🙂

  1.   Al-Bukhari no. 6464 and Muslim no. 2818
  2.   Narrated by Muslim- 40 Hadith Nawawi
  3.   Sahih Bukhari

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35 replies on “Consistency in Islam”

  • eliz_stusit@yahoo.com'
    eliz
    November 24, 2015 at 5:44 am

    alhamdulillah! it’s a beautiful reminder and is important to be kept in heart and minf.. in sha Allah.

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:09 pm

      Indeed, may Allah help us implement it!
      JazakAllah khair for the feedback eliz 🙂

  • serajp21@gmail.com'
    serajparay
    December 3, 2015 at 5:29 am

    Just revise ur progess at every disgression and make it the leverage for the propulsion in the pursuit for persistence , consistency, .consistency is the art and easy for muslums under the umbrella of quran and hadith to master..

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:17 pm

      BarakAllahu feek for your input!

  • Abimbola147@gmail.com'
    Ola
    December 22, 2015 at 7:38 am

    Absolutely amazing reminder for mankind. May Allah bless you and increase your knowledge.

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:24 pm

      Ameen ya Rabb wa iyyakum 🙂
      JazakAllah khair for the feedback!

  • bukara177@gmail.com'
    ayyub
    December 22, 2015 at 7:43 am

    Good observation

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:25 pm

      May Allah allow us to implement it
      JazakAllah khair for the feedback

  • aureliabanguih@yahoo.com'
    yasmeen
    December 22, 2015 at 8:19 am

    Consistency of performance is not only devoting yourself to do it regularly but your eagerness and willingness to do it coz of your intention to please the concern party whom your performance ought to be. In serving Allah, one must be consistent even he has only few knowledge but his intention is pure and clean happy to serve to serve Allah

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:29 pm

      Absolutely true sister Yasmeen, we must strive for the pleasure of Allah no matter what!
      JazakiAllah khair for your valuable input 🙂

  • alvina_anis94@hotmail.com'
    ALVINA
    December 22, 2015 at 8:31 am

    Amazing reminder! I think one more consistent deed could be reading Quran after fajr, even if it is just a page, out of love for Allah, or memorizeone Ayah per day. You’ll eventually end up reading more than a page or more than one ayah 🙂

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:30 pm

      BarakAllahu feek for your input, amazing suggestions!

  • jaz1785@yahoo.com'
    Ja'far
    December 22, 2015 at 8:43 am

    May Allah (SWT)make it easy for us to perform every single deed with sincerity.Jazakumullahu khairan!

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:32 pm

      Ameen!
      JazakAllah khair for reading

  • shuvo4729@gmail.com'
    ahmad shovo
    December 22, 2015 at 8:44 am

    Jajhakallah. May Allah please on your efforts and to benefit us with these precious words. Ameen.

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:32 pm

      Ameen!

  • msbah1000@hotmail.com'
    sheriff
    December 22, 2015 at 8:59 am

    May Allah grant us the mean of perfection

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:33 pm

      Ameen

  • uzunnurain79@gmail.com'
    Usman M U
    December 22, 2015 at 11:44 am

    Jazakallahu Khairan, may Allah (swa) continue to increase you in knowledge, good health and wisdom. MaShaAllah.

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:34 pm

      Ameen wa iyyakum

  • Fuar4real@gmail.com'
    Abu zubayr
    December 22, 2015 at 12:51 pm

    Má sha Allah… This is indeed a message to ponder on. May Allah accept our deeds and forgive us all of our misdeeds. Aameen.

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:36 pm

      Indeed, may Allah allow us to implement it
      Ameen JazakAllah khair

  • alveed_28@hotmail.com'
    Alveed
    December 22, 2015 at 2:50 pm

    Great read alhamdulillah. 🙂

    One easy consistent deed that I try to perform every Friday is post a verse of the Qur’aan or hadith on social media or with friends. It takes no time to share a verse or hadith and it helps to spread the word of Islam as well.

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:39 pm

      Alhamdulillah
      Ma sha Allah that is a great idea! JazakAllah khair for sharing

  • Sadsuya@hotmail.com'
    December 22, 2015 at 3:08 pm

    MashaAllah! May Allah increase us in knowledge and help us to act upon it Ameen

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:39 pm

      Ameen!

  • imran20487forums@gmail.com'
    Imran
    December 22, 2015 at 3:17 pm

    Jazakallahu Khairan.
    One tip which i Liked to gain Khushoo is to process the meaning of each word you are uttering while Namaaz. This way your mind will not get any time to wander.

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:41 pm

      JazakAllah khair for the feedback, that is absolutely true!

  • Alamfam@gmail.com'
    Nasim Alam
    December 22, 2015 at 3:20 pm

    Assalam Alikum brother………excellent article about consistency.In the beginning when I started to offer Salah,i must confess that it was ..takleef… but later in life as I consistently offered Salah it became…Tasreef.. My eman in Allah and in His mercy has increased with practice. Things started falling in places as I started to realize that in my 67 years of life in this world only Allah was the most consistent to me in His Blessing. May Allah Bless you brother

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:44 pm

      Wa alaykum alsalam wa rahmatullahi wa baraktuhu,
      Alhamdulillah, it is great to hear of such a development, may Allah make us steadfast upon His path..
      BarakAllau feek for your feedback

  • ssjamil06@gmail.com'
    Samira
    December 22, 2015 at 3:51 pm

    Nice reminder!

    It is consistency in Amal of Prophet Mohammad due to which the concept of Sunnah came in Islam.
    Most of the habits of Our Prophet were done with great consistency.
    In addition to our duties, we should maintain consistency in adopting Sunnahs too.

    • Ibtihal Al-Khalifin
      December 25, 2015 at 6:46 pm

      Absolutely true!
      JazakiAllah khair for your input Samira 🙂

  • […] Ramadan feels like it was eons ago.  I’ve realized that in order to stay connected I need to continue this journal.  It’s now my “rest of the year not just Ramadan reflection journal” in shaa Allah. Today I’m reflecting on my struggles during Ramadan and on my blessings. It’s not thorough to reflect just one month a year, it’s something that I need to do on a daily basis, in Shaa Allah.  After all Allah loves consistency. […]

  • afeefa.rahman@mccacademy.org'
    afeefa rahman
    September 19, 2022 at 5:01 pm

    is there any quranic verse on this? or that supports this? I need it for a project.

    jzk, ty