Image by Abdülkadir KALAY from Pixabay
Mindfulness is a rapidly growing trend which is being explored for its many benefits. Western mindfulness is described as the practice of paying attention to the moment with a particular attitude of curiosity, warmth and acceptance.
Some authors have suggested that mindfulness in islam is muraqabah, which linguistocally means “to watch, observe, regard attentively.” In spiritual terms muraqaba is the servant being aware that his Lord is constantly watching his inward and outward states. And as a consequence the servant aims to be constantly attentive to his actions, thoughts and inner states.
“Remember that God knows what is in your souls, so be mindful of Him.” Al-Baqarah Verse 2:235
As the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) informed us in a hadith “ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He certainly sees you.” In other words, spiritual excellence is to be completely mindful of Allah at all times : the very peak of faith.
Mindfulness and meditation are at the core of Islamic spirituality, but unfortunately are not often given the attention they deserve. In Islam we are taught to pray with a present heart, to read the Quran with a present mind and engage in the remembrance of Allah with a present heart too. We are taught to repeat Allah’s names, surrender and submit to Him, practice muraqaba and muhasabah and much more. The Prophet(prayer and peace be upon him) would spend hours in the Cave of Hira essentially in mindful meditation. It’s clear that mindfulness and meditation were second hand nature to the Prophets and pious predecessors. They used many of the tools taught today in modern mindfulness and meditation to enhance their salat and dhikr.
Why teach mindfulness to children?
Teaching children to just pray and read the Quran mind-lessly is not sufficient. It is important to teach them to pray and read the Quran mindfully. Not only are there many spiritual benefits to mindfulness, but research shows that the benefits of mindfulness and meditations extend beyond just one’s spiritual life, but appear to help children succeed academically and socially.
In fact, neuroscience shows that mindfulness actually brings about physical changes to the brain.
- by SLOWING DOWN age related loss of the brain’s white matter.
The white matter areas that are triggered in mindfulness show slower decline. (3)
- by INCREASING the brain’s grey matter density.
(Grey matter density is linked to one’s IQ!) .
Mindfulness for children can help with many areas:
- Cope with stress, low mood, anxiety, disruptive behaviour, and resolve conflicts
- Increase focus, attention and improve academic performance
- Learn compassion, empathy, and self control.
Children who can acquire these tools at a younger age have a better chance of growing to be resilient people which is a key to success and happiness.
Mindfulness helps children acquire tools specifically with
- Paying attention and remembering information
- Going back and forth between tasks
- Behaving and interacting in an appropriate manner with others
These skills are known as executive functions and are essential for more advanced tasks such as problem solving, planning, reasoning and socialising.
Teaching our children salah and quran are important but perhaps we can also teach them some simple mindfulness and meditation techniques to enhance their focus in salah, presence with the Quran, improve their academic performance, teach them self control and build their resilience!
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