notifications_active Weekly Meshkat-e Noor Session: Thursdays at 20:30 at Haj Reza Mosque
Imam Ali, peace be upon him, says:
غیروا العادات تسهل علیکم الطاعات
“Change your habits, and acts of obedience to God will become easier for you.”
Hello. Could you please explain the hadith above?
The hadith “Change your habits, and acts of obedience will become easier for you” means that changing harmful habits that get in the way can make acts of worship and obedience to God easier. By replacing unconscious habits with good, thoughtful ones, we make the path of obedience to God smoother and more rewarding, and strengthen our resolve to follow it.
Habits that do not serve the worship of God become obstacles to it. Replacing obstructive habits with beneficial ones smooths and eases the path to acts of devotion, while strengthening our resolve to perform them. By beneficial habits, of course, I mean making certain good actions second nature, so that they serve to reinforce our efforts.
Habits involve returning to an action and repeating it consistently. Bad, unreflective habits deplete our inner capacities; good, mindful habits, by contrast, are themselves acts of obedience to God and make other acts of worship easier.
We may also infer from the hadith that replacing blind, obstructive habits with obedience to God—and making that obedience a habit—makes the path of devotion easy, smooth and pleasing. In other words, we should make obedience to God our mindful habit.
O Refuge of all who seek shelter with You, may I ever remain in Your company, blessed by Your gifts, as You continue to deal with me in Your accustomed kindness and generosity.