Usman Ali - Mastering Substance & Behavioural Addiction

Never miss Salah again 👇



I used to think meditation was the only thing I needed in order to perfect the practice of salah

It helped me a LOT

Meditation taught me to be more present in salah and every day life

No longer drifting off into thoughts about the future or past

Rather… being present in the here and now

But I was missing something CRUCIAL

Salah isn’t “just” improved through being present

It is mastered through the intention of wanting to perform salah AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to the way of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

To bring sincerity to every word uttered

To have stillness in the body during each position (not fidgeting)

To have remembrance of the akhira at the front of mind leading up to, during and after prayer

There are many dimensions to considering when mastering Salah

And he (peace be upon him) had them all maxed out

So although what I’m offering in this video is indeed beneficial…

It will serve you even greater to embark on a study of how the prophet peace be upon him performed salah

And to do you best in embodying that as close as possible

May Allah grant us tawfiq (guidance) and proximity to Him and His beloved (peace be upon him)

Ameen

Muslims + false god? 👇



There is a rise of Christianity in the west

And in all honesty… I love seeing it

People coming to God from Godlessness…

That’s what the world needs

But there’s a bad smell in the air…

A lot of those finding Christianity are “internet Christians”

They get their religion from the internet

They don’t question what they see and hear genuinely

And they buy into false narratives, then start firing hate at Muslims

It’s just as important that we aren’t “Internet Muslims”

That we surround ourselves with people who are of true knowledge, wisdom and proximity to God

Muslims and Christians worship the same God

Yes… when you deify Jesus (peace be upon him) that’s where we differ

But so what?…

Are we not told in the qur’an that instead of debating we should compete in good works?

Making this world a better place

And on the day of accountability all we be made clear upon that which we differed

“...To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way. If Allah willed, He would have made you one nation, but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so compete in good deeds. To Allah is the return of all of you; and He will then inform you about that in which you used to differ.” — Qur’an (5:48)

There it is…

Clear as day

Brothers and sisters in monotheism…

Let’s compete in good works and acts of service. Not theological debates.

For such debates will only ruin us

May God protect us all from ourselves

Keep reading here 👇



Some weeks ago this insight came through. Alhamdulillah

I was stressing about money

After a month off coaching, having paused all my clients I was about to start back up from essentially zero

I found myself overthinking and stressing continuously

So much so that I turned to Allah in prayer

One morning during Fajr in sujood I asked Allah to free me from the idolisation of creation

From the association between money and peace

Money relationship has been a big part of my spiritual journey subhan’Allah

As I requested this freedom from Allah… I indeed felt freedom wash over me

Why? And how?

Allah gave me an insight right away… Subhanallah

An insight that showed me how I was essentially (unconsciously) associating money WITH peace

And in that moment I saw how untrue that was

I saw how weak that associated was making me

For sooner or later another financial stress would arise, and I’d be back anxious about it again

I also had another insight

No matter how much money I make, it will make NO DIFFERENCE to my akhira

This hit me the hardest

And then I thought to myself…

Well if that’s the case, what a WASTE of time it is trying to earn money simply for the sake of having more of it!

Security won’t come through that

Security will come in securing an expansive akhira (may Allah grant all of us that)

From that moment something shifted

Now I’m recalibrating my heart daily and asking for Allah to continually turn it back to the akhira

I’ve noticed already how it’s made me less needy, less harsh, less stingy, more lenient

There’s nothing wrong with earning money and charging for a life transforming service

But if money gets associated with security… that’s anxiety waiting to happen

Alhamdulillah

May we live for the akhira and bring that awareness into everything we do

☁️Comment your thoughts — and say AMEEN

💫

Where is Allah? 👇



Beyond beyond, language can not get there…

But one way of attempting to use language is to say..

BEHIND

Allah is behind EVERY aspect of creation

Even your very thoughts and feelings… There HE is


Qur’an [2:115]: “And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing”

There is the Face of Allah

Not that his face is physical

Not in the human sense of the word

But more like… the face of the mountain

The face of the clock…

The simplest of creation can be a way through which we remember Allah

Let this be your reminder today, from Allah, through me, to you

☁️Comment your thoughts and insights

Yeah this just happened… 👇



After finishing Isha prayer I was making dinner

I thought about the 2 rak’at sunnah and whether or not I should do them

Of course, I went ahead and performed them

However on so many occasions in the past I would have chosen not to

Something dawned on me mid salah

Here it is…

🤯 Every SINGLE aspect of creation is being CONSTANTLY sustained Allah

Including thoughts

Including my thumbs typing right now

Including every sensation in your body, sound you hear, object you see…

EVERY SINGLE DETAIL is supported by Allah in EVERY SINGLE MOMENT

Be aware of that

Right now

And enjoy the trip 🍄

(By the way, I promise im not on any substance… this is pure recognition subhan’Allah)

Important details here 👇



I remember being at my absolute lowest

ROCK BOTTOM

Zero will-power, no hope, no power…

In that moment I called out to Allah

I hadn’t prayed for years

I was too ashamed to pray and felt like God was mad at me. But I gave it a go

To my amazement I felt His presence with me

A presence that made me feel understood, when nobody around me seemed to get it

Conversations with God unfolded every day after that point

Soon I realised Ramadhan was round the corner

And for me that was THE SIGN

To quit once and for all, no moderation, pure sobriety, with the help of Allah throughout the sacred month

AND IT WORKED!

Qur’an became my best friend

Sure it was testing a few months in

And that’s where I’m honesty… having a ni****ne v**e REALLY helped

I used that for 6 months as a transititory tool

Then I ditched it

7 years SOBER

Alhamdulillah what a blessing

Allah really does answer duahs

You can’t do it alone

You can’t do it with discipline or will power alone

You need GOD in your life

Without Him we are nothing, and no change is possible

That is the big realisation I had

☁️Comment if you relate to what I’m sharing

Comment your perspective 👇



If you know people of great wisdom and knowledge, tag them so they can respond too!

I really want to clarify my understanding on this matter

So far here’s what I understand it to mean…

Not idolising success or attainment in this world as THE SOURCE OF PEACE… but rather finding peace in pleasing God / getting ready to meet Him

But here’s the thing…

That can mean a lot of things!

Charity, prayer, fasting, praise, pilgrimage…

And the other things like smiling at a stranger, acts of kindness, fulfilling one’s rights and responsibilities in marriage, doing fair business, forgiving those who have wronged you

Honestly sometimes I still get caught up in the world

Ideally I’d like to live a life centred in Akhira

So help me out (and help others too)

What does it mean to live for the afterlife vs. This one?

💫

More help here 🧠👇



Here’s a summary (and some more help)

BIG PROBLEMS LEADING TO SCATTER-BRAIN:

1️⃣ Overstimulation - screens, junk food, high reward for low effort… not good. This is the killer of concentration

2️⃣ No practice - concentration is a muscle. Without training (especially in today’s world) you’re bound to fail

SOLUTIONS

1️⃣ Reduce overstimulation - this is easier said than done. Thanks to my dude and his new app .app you can get all the help you need in de-fogging your brain and prioritising Deen Time — go try the app out (this is not a paid promotion)

2️⃣ Non negotiable practice - 5-10 minutes a day to begin with

Gentle concentration on the breath, counting the number of breaths. This is how you start training your mind to be here and now.

Present… not absent

☁️Comment if this helped you

👁️Keep your eyes on my story — I’m taking questions and making free content to give the best answers possible

Read insight here 👇



Acts of DEVOTION!

That’s what I’m talking about

Serving God… and making that your purpose

As opposed to serving your nafs (ego)

A life lived in servitude to the ego will surely lead to great misery

A life lived in servitude to God leads to peace, contentment, and ultimate success

Alhamdulillah

Hang in there. Allah has got you

Why I AM NOT a Sufi 👇



In the west Sufism is seen as separate to the religion of Islam

People admire those like Rumi and Ibn Arabi for their mystical teachings, yet forget these people were Muslim… not “Sufi”

There is no separation between Sufism and Islam

People with religious trauma and an aversion to authority try to take Sufism out of the religion and treat it as its own entity

Rumi performed his 5 daily salawāt

Ibn ‘Arabi emphasised the importance of fundamental theology (‘Aqidah)

A Muslim does not get to such spiritual heights that the obligations are transcended

Rather, the more one develops spiritually, the more one SUBMITS to the Divine Commands

So when people ask me if I’m Sufi… I laugh and smile

What does that even mean?

I am Muslim

In the sense of the full meaning

Islam, Imān, Ihsān

Religion, Faith, Spirituality

God is The Greatest