When a student of a pious Shaykh asked how he can improve his concentration during prayer, the shaykh counseled him with a few powerful words, “you are in prayer what you are outside of prayer.” The meaning behind this counsel is very profound. Upon reflection, one can infer that the lesson of this counsel is that we can’t expect to commit sin, not be in dhikr, and commit sinful atrocities and then come to salat expecting to transform into a pious Muslim whose heart readily connects with Allah. The shaykh continued and advised the student to increase his dhikr outside of prayer and in his everyday affairs which would thereby improve his concentration in prayer.

From this lesson, we can conclude that our spiritual life is not (nor is it intended to be) independent from our daily life – the two are intertwined and inseparable. In sight of this verity, this article shares my experience in driving.

Having grown up in NY, I am not accustomed to exemplary cases of good driving habits and manners. However, I had the opportunity to work for a large corporation in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. In my six month stint in the area, I noticed a few differences between life in NY and life in NC.

I admit, I was not by any means a safe driver nor a polite driver – I frequently cut other vehicles closely, refused give others space to cut me, tailgated cars to tell them to get out of “my” lane and always tried to be in the fastest lane at any given time in an attempt to get to the destination as quickly as possible. This is something I feel silly about now considering the time I saved would probably not even be equivalent to a bathroom break, and secondly, being 15 minutes early to work is an accomplishment I regret accomplishing. What I noticed about people in North Carolina though, is that for the most part most people were very polite and passive (aka defensive). Most drivers would try not to block lanes unnecessarily, I rarely exhibited tailgating or rude cutting of other vehicles. People were not only polite and patient on the road, but not surprisingly they were polite and patient at work, in stores, and in other environments. I will not argue that polite drivers are necessarily polite people, however, this shows that going back the earlier point, there is natural consistency inherent in each of us as human beings. Our behavior as drivers on the road inevitably affects our behavior elsewhere.

Practical Steps for Change

The title of this article is “Driving While Muslim” and the intention is to start using driving as an arena where we can practice and implement our deen. Here are some practical steps to implement the ideas discussed above and improve our driving habits which inshaAllah will rub off on our characters.

1. When driving, exercise patience. Try not to change lanes, if you are in the slowest lane, just relax and wait. Its possible that your lane is about to become the fastest lane. If that’s not the case, don’t worry. Changing lanes and trying to figure out which is fastest is just a burden on you while you drive. Try sitting back in your seat, relaxing and going with the flow.
2. Instead of mindlessly listening to music and filling the heart with junk, listen to Qur’an and lectures (excellent source of lecture CDs). Some people listen to music to keep them awake and they may feel that Quran doesn’t give them enough energy. In this case, try listening to an interesting lecture on Islam. There are many CD Sets that discuss contemporary issues in Islam on a wide range of topics. Not only will this help you learn, but its dhikr (remembrance). May Allah reward you for remembering him while you drive.
3. Over the span of a two hour drive, we can calculate how much time going 70mph instead of 80mph saves you. Here is some simple math to tell us how much time you saved in 1 hour: 10 Miles/Hour * 2 Hours = 20 Miles
   How much time is 20 miles worth? Even if you were traveling the slower speed of 70mph, 20 miles takes 17.14 minutes to travel. Is saving 17.14 minutes over the span of a two hour drive really worth it? What is 17.14 minutes worth to you? A phone call? A coffee break? A better question – is it worth breaking the law? A speeding ticket? Endangering the lives of others?
4. Control your emotions when dealing with poor adhab (manners) and show restraint. Islam teaches us that the strongest amongst us aren’t those with great physical strength but those who can control their anger.
5. Our behavior in any particular environment has an impact on our behavior outside of that environment. If you attend public schools, just watch the behavior of students who are on the football team. You will find that members of the football team are not only the most vicious on the football field, but also tend to be the most vicious off the field – readily getting into confrontations and being more prone to exhibiting aggressive behavior (and I assure you its not just because of the steroids). Show good behavior while driving and it will help us show good behavior while not driving, inshaAllah.
6. We need to avoid looking at those ladies on the billboard and the girls crossing the street.

Please leave comments and suggestions, even and especially if you disagree.

Please make dua that Allah forgives our sins, beautifies our character, and grants us Jannat-al-Firdous.