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Another item mentioned were rites. I think of rites as the exercises. If you’re like me, you might get a list of exercises upon joining a gym. You might laminate the list, put it in a frame, put it on the wall, but never actually do the exercises! That’s not how it works. In order to strengthen our muscles, we need to do the exercises. Joining the gym of submission gives us rites. Abraham’s prayers were answered when he said: [2:128] “Our Lord, make us submitters to You, and from our descendants let there be a community of submitters to You. Teach us the rites of our religion, and redeem us. You are the Redeemer, Most Merciful. We are hopefully one of the communities mentioned in this prayer!
After we finish our workout, which may last an hour in the case of the gym; we don’t forget all about our health and rush out to find unhealthy food to eat. In that same way, when we complete a rite like prayer, we don’t forget God after we finish. [2:200] Once you complete your rites, you shall continue to commemorate GOD as you commemorate your own parents, or even better. Some people would say, “Our Lord, give us of this world,” while having no share in the Hereafter.
Are we appreciative of the efficiency of GOD’s gym? A 5-minute prayer may improve our mood more than if we spent that long at a gym. [22:32] Indeed, those who reverence the rites decreed by GOD demonstrate the righteousness of their hearts. [22:34] For each congregation we have decreed rites whereby they commemorate the name of GOD for providing them with the livestock. Your god is one and the same god; you shall all submit to Him. Give good news to the obedient.
The third part mentioned was accountability. Gyms and fitness programs can give you a sense of responsibility.
The author mentions: “Some of these fitness programs are even using social media for greater accountability. November Project, which doesn’t require a financial investment, keeps people accountable with online ‘verbals,’ which are commitments to attend a workout. People who don’t show are then featured on their ‘We Missed You’ section. Nothing like a little social-media peer pressure to get you out of bed and working out!”
He mentions that his accountability is that people miss him when he is not in attendance. For us, we can and do miss seeing submitters, and the rite of Friday prayer provides that accountability and opportunity. [62:9] O you who believe, when the Congregational Prayer (Salat Al-Jumu’ah) is announced on Friday, you shall hasten to the commemoration of GOD, and drop all business. This is better for you, if you only knew.
The fourth idea is discipline. The gym of submission, like other gyms, instills in us the discipline and requires of us discipline. The author says, “Orange Theory straps on a heart-rate monitor before your workout. The goal is to get your heart rate high for a portion of your workout (into the ‘orange zone’), which not only burns calories during the workout, but also boosts your metabolism a full day beyond. That’s right—your body is still working out after you’re done!”
What is our submission zone? How do we know when we are in it? Can we monitor it and get into it? I know for me, slowing down, doing one thing at a time while remembering God, focusing on the gift of my breath, Quran reading, appreciation, are all tools and workout equipment for me. I know one of the ways I’m in the zone is when I’m present.
Then there is Community. The gym of submission can bring people together. The author says, “Forget about going to the gym alone: these popular fitness programs are all about group participation.
And this might be the most important part. They bring people together and emphasize a spirit of community. All of the fitness programs mentioned involve workouts done in groups, from Yoga sessions to CrossFit WODs. At a Tough Mudder, people hang out at obstacles to help other people get through them, or even just to cheer them on.”
Could you imagine submission where we might look out for obstacles others may face and cheer them through it? [90:17] And being one of those who believe, and exhorting one another to be steadfast, and exhorting one another to be kind. [103:3] Except those who believe and lead a righteous life, and exhort one another to uphold the truth, and exhort one another to be steadfast.
Let’s think of a pushup as when we could say something to boost our ego, and instead stay silent or praise God instead. Let’s think of a bicep curl as each time we submit to what is happening in this moment. The up curl is when we stop and refrain from objecting, the down curl is when we let go, to allow God to use this moment for our own good.
We can’t flex our souls in the mirror and admire them. So how do we know when our soul muscles are growing? We can flex our smiles. We can admire our Creator’s gift of contentment that He gives to those who grow their souls. A quote by Marcel Proust reminds me that we must take responsibility for our own works in the submitter gym: “We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world. The lives that you admire, the attitudes that seem noble to you.”
Reference: https://thejesuitpost.org/2014/10/5-reasons-to-avoid-the-gym-or-why-i-go-to-church/