Consistency is Key

Like pieces puzzling together, I often catch myself trying to find studies in science and psychology and extract similar concepts from religious scripture. Though we are believers in God first and foremost, our tendency is to legitimize scripture through those studies, and not the opposite. We like to confirm God’s words only after science proves it, when God doesn’t need that proof to begin with. At the end of the day, I believe it’s a struggle we can all have including myself more often than not.

Today I caught myself in a similar dilemma. I scrolled through a book written by a neuroscientist where she proved through research that performing a certain activity to overcome anxiety for a few minutes every day is better than doing it for a much longer period of time at once. I immediately remembered our beloved prophet’s words which I often only attribute to religious practices. But today for the first time I saw its ability to play out in broader forms, including overcoming my own anxieties and fears. 

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon Him said, “The most beloved deeds to God are the ones that are most consistent, even if small.” (أحَبّ الأعمال إلى الله أدومها وإن قلّ)

Discovering this saying in a scientific book about overcoming our deepest fears was exceptionally humbling to say the least. Consistency is key. I knew that, but suddenly today I am more prone to apply it. Why? Because science proved it. 

I pray that we as a community can take the gems of advice that God and our prophet have laid out for us and use them as tools to help us build our character, ease our hardships, and remove our fears, with full conviction that their advice is both scientifically and morally evident. Consistency is key.