When traveling becomes an act of worship

When Traveling Becomes an Act of Worship

وشرُّ الأمورِ محدثاتُها، وكلُّ محدثةٍ بدعةٌ، وكلُّ بدعةٍ ضلالةٌ، وكلُّ ضلالةٍ في النار

When it comes to traveling, this is the season for it. Summer is when most people make their plans — they want to go somewhere. People travel for so many different reasons: some for business, some for recreation, some for ibadah and ta'ah, and many other reasons, good or bad.

But travel — it's part of the sunnah that Allah established in mankind. Almost every prophet mentioned in the Quran had to take a journey. Think about Ibrahim alayhi salam, think about Nuh alayhi salam, Musa, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — almost every single prophet had to go through a journey.

They took journeys for different reasons. Even Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam undertook these journeys before he became a prophet, and then after that. He was a merchant. That journey he used to take during the winter time, heading south to Yemen, and in the summer time heading up north into Ash-Sham.

So when it comes to traveling, Allah says about it in the Quran:

That if you go and strike your path into this earth — or through this earth — which means when you travel. It's not if you travel, it's when you travel. Because it happens that people do travel. Alhamdulillah, it's mubah, it's permissible. It is permissible for people to take a journey, to go visit friends, relatives, recreation and so on.

But how can I make that halal journey into an act of worship? How can I benefit from that? I'm going out, I'm spending money even — how can I get the return of this money in hasanat, in reward from Allah? This is a question we should really ask ourselves. Instead of just going there, spending money and time, and coming back with nothing but exhaustion and fatigue — come back with reward.

I'm going to share with you seven things you can do, insha'Allah, in your summer journeys that will give you reward in the dunya and in the akhirah.

Seven Ways to Turn Travel into Worship

1. Make Time for Reflection

What does that exactly mean? Reflection over the creation of Allah. Allah says in the Quran:

Allah is commanding — to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — Ya Muhammad, tell them: travel throughout the land. For what reason? Go and search and look at how this creation all started. How Allah made this creation to begin.

Where would you see that? You see it when you travel around in different areas you've never been to, and you just look at the waterfalls, the mountains, the rivers, the green — and just SubhanAllah, just Allahu Akbar. What is this? Sometimes you see some animals, some birds, some unique flowers — and you have absolutely nothing else to say but SubhanAllah. What an unbelievable creation of Allah.

Make a moment like this. Instead of just focusing on a destination, sometimes enjoy part of the journey — make some of these stops. The rivers, the mountains — just look at the mountains, just like, unbelievable. Comparing yourself as a human being, the creation of Allah, to this magnificent creation — realize how little you are. And yet we go arrogant in our behavior and our actions with other people. Who are we, when this creation of Allah is so much greater?

Allah also says:

You will find signs in the earth for those who are muqinin — those who have certainty of faith in Allah. And look at yourself — don't you see the magnificent creation of Allah?

2. Let Travel Be a Reminder

A reminder of those nations who existed before us — Allah made them an example for us, whether positive or negative. Sometimes you travel around and you see ruins. Those ruins that you see and take pictures of and selfies with — they once were magnificent civilizations of their own time. Mighty, powerful nations. Where are they? They're gone. They themselves, in their magnificent time, never thought that they would cease to exist. But now, hundreds and thousands of years later, we look back and we're just like: where did they go? I wonder how it looked like back then. We marvel, with all our technology of our time, and we cannot even match what they've done back in those days.

You reflect on this and say: look at the might, the power of Allah. But you also see the achievements of great nations and people — the monuments they left behind, the masajid, the institutes, the organizations. You think: look at the reward they're reaping all these years for the khayr they left behind for us.

Not just reflecting over the good things you see — Allah also says: go around, travel, and look through the earth. See how We punished those nations who were before you. Make sure to make a moment to reflect on that, insha'Allah.

3. Cross-Cultural Communication

We travel sometimes to experience cross-cultural communication. We want something new, something different. And it's okay — it's halal. The Sahaba radiyallahu anhum — they went to Ash-Sham, they went to Yemen, they went to Abyssinia. They traveled to different places, some of them spoke different tongues. And that's part of Allah's design for this creation. He says:

O mankind, We made you from a man and a woman, and We made you into peoples and nations — so that you could get to know each other, to learn from one another.

It is so interesting when you go somewhere else and start learning something new, experiencing something different. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam always wanted to have these experiences as well. Even when it came to cuisine and food — whenever food was presented to him, he would ask: "What is this? What is it made of?" Not because he wanted to investigate the ingredients the way many people do today — no, he just wanted to experience what this unique thing was.

One of the most famous examples is when the Prophet was about to eat dabb — one of those desert lizards they used to eat in the Arabian Peninsula. He was presented with this roasted animal, and this time, only this time, he didn't ask — because it was presented by someone local to him. He was about to start eating, but then he was told: "Ya Rasulallah, innahu dabb" — this is dabb, just to let you know. And the Prophet pulled his hand back.

Khalid ibn Walid was present and asked: "Is it haram, Ya Rasulallah?" The Prophet said: "No — it's just not common in my hometown, so I don't like it." Which means it's okay to dislike some cuisines and cultural differences. Sometimes it's a personal preference. So Khalid said: "Can I have it?" And the Prophet said: "Go ahead." So he took it and ate it completely while the Prophet watched. But the point is that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was willing to introduce himself to these different things.

Even the Sahaba radiyallahu anhum, who traveled the land, would come back with stories about their experiences. Like Umm Salama radiyallahu anha, the wife of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — she lived in Abyssinia for some time, came back, and was telling the Prophet about the churches of Abyssinia, the drawings she saw there — just speaking about their experiences, something very unique for them.

4. Pure Recreation

What does that exactly mean? I have absolutely no plan, no goal. I'm going to just put a backpack with clothes and bismillah — and go. Make different stops and just enjoy the scenery. Is that permissible? Absolutely. Allah even commands us to do that sometimes, because this connects you with Allah as well. He says:

Who really created the heavens and the earth? And He sends down from the heavens rain upon you, and from this rain We cause delightful gardens to grow — hada'iqa dhata bahjah. You look at it and just say SubhanAllah — it's amazing. I walk through some gardens and I can't help it. As you walk around you say: if this is the dunya, how is the akhirah going to look like? How will jannah look like? With all this beauty that you see in this world, can you imagine the beauty of jannah? May Allah make us among the people of jannah, يا رب العالمين.

5. Increase Your Ibadah and Worship

Sometimes we go for umrah, we go for hajj, we go to al-Quds to pray at al-Aqsa. May Allah return al-Aqsa to the Muslims, يا رب العالمين. You might also travel to a different country just to meet certain scholars, to learn from them — meeting someone of certain value that you can benefit from in your dunya and in the akhirah, بإذن الله عز وجل. And the Sahaba did exactly that.

Allah commands us in the Quran:

O My believing servants, My earth is truly spacious — so worship Me alone. Go and worship Allah. Look for opportunities where you can increase your iman, increase your deen. Some people get exhausted here — it's a spiritual retreat. Go for it. Travel. Rejuvenate. And come back again.

6. Seek Allah's Provision

Why do people travel? To seek Allah's provision that He prescribed for them. He made this provision — you need to pursue it. Allah says:

Whoever makes that journey and travels for the sake of Allah shall find in this earth muraghaman kathira — yes, there will be some hardships, but also havens, protection, and resources as well. Sometimes you've just been stuck in one place for years and years. Maybe it's about time, you know what — maybe I should actually make that journey. It's scary, a lot of uncertainty. But Allah promised you with khayrat. Just make that journey for the sake of Allah.

7. Go and Learn Something New

Learn about people. Meet other people. Make friends. It will open doors of opportunities for you. Imam al-Shafi'i rahimahullah ta'ala says in his beautiful poetry:

(Poetry of Imam al-Shafi'i, rahimahullah)

You need to travel — leave home and travel if you're looking for al-ula, those high, lofty positions and status in life. You have to make a journey. Travel, because in travels there are five benefits. He mentioned them:

First — تَفْرِيجُ هَمٍّ — some of your hardships and constrained feelings about this life will simply be eliminated and become easier for you. Some of your concerns will be removed just by going out and seeing other things in life. Alhamdulillah.

Second — وَاكْتِسَابُ مَعِيشَةٍ — you might find a job, better opportunities, or business opportunities.

Third — وَعِلْمٌ — you will learn something new.

Fourth — وَآدَابٌ — etiquette, akhlaq, and manners might be polished during travel.

Fifth — وَصُحْبَةُ مَاجِدِ — you might find people who become new friends to you. And in this journey we had just this month, I met people — and I thought, it's not random. This is impossible to be random. Allah's plan — SubhanAllah — when you make that journey, He will put certain people on your way to meet with them, so you can have specific signs from Allah on your journey to Him.

May Allah make our travel to Him easy for all of us. يا رب العالمين.

You Are Already on a Journey

My dear brothers and sisters, as we speak about this journey in the dunya — whether we travel in the summer, spring, or any time of the year — don't forget that you are already on a journey. Since the day you were born, you have been on a journey. You are going back home — back home to Allah.

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned this in a hadith. Abdullah ibn Umar radiyallahu anhu reports:

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam held my shoulders and said to me: "Live in this world as if you are a stranger or a abir sabil — a traveler always passing through." And if you are a traveler, what do you do? You are not going to make this temporary place your best location. If you go to the hotel, you are not going to decorate your hotel room as if it is going to be your home. It's just for a few days. It doesn't even matter how big or small it is — as long as you can find space to sleep, and then you move on.

Treat this dunya like this, because you are on a journey. It doesn't mean you don't take time to enjoy it — but still, make sure this is not your permanent stay. You are on a journey to Allah.