Islam Is Not Hard

Blog Post 88

Safar 21, 1448 – August 5, 2026

With the way the world looks and feels, we must stand up for and pray to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala to relieve the suffering of the people of Palestine. The level of depravity which the zionist state and its backers, especially the US, is submerged in is beyond horrid. The atrocities underway in the US against innocent people and the brutality of the conspiratorial attacks on the Islamic Republic and the shahadat of Imam Ali Khamenei and his family, may Allah bless them greatly, among many other criminal actions worldwide, are not only proof of the hatred against Islam and Muslims, but also end up being a means of sifting believers from unbelievers and hypocrites. It is crucial that we always remember Imam Husayn, his family and supporters, peace and blessings be upon them, during Muharram and Arbaeen, which we just commemorated, and throughout all the days of our lives. So it may seem that this blog post is simple. But there’s a powerful point to it, inshallah. Don’t miss it! (This blog post was originally written as we approached the holy month of Ramadhan. It was withheld due to the need for more editing. Read it now and reread it before every Ramadhan as a refresher, inshallah.)

“And the moon, We have ordained for it phases

until it returns like the old date stalk.

It is not permitted for the sun that it overtakes

the moon and the night cannot outstrip the day,

but they are all in an orbit, floating.” (36:39)

 

“They ask you about the new moons (hilal).

Say, ‘They are indicators of periods for the

people and for the Hajj.’” (2:189)

People, including Muslims, think Islam is hard to practice. They say there’s so many haram things that we can’t eat, drink, do... They say there’s so many wajib things that we have to do or else. They say there’s so many recommended things that we should do. They say there’s so many unrecommended things that we should not do. They say our worship of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is too hard.

One Sunday, over 35 years ago, when I was teaching madrassah in a high school in Scarborough, Ontario, while in the washroom, I overheard two early teen Muslim sisters talking. One of them said, “There’s too many haram things that we can’t do.” The other one said, “There’s way more halal things that we can do. You can’t even count them all.”

That second sister’s statements are pure truths.

It’s not Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala who made Islam hard for humanity.

It’s us who does that.

 

“Those who turn in repentance, those who worship,

those who praise, those who fast, those who bow down,

those who prostrate, those who enjoin the right

and those who forbid the wrong,

and those who observe the limits of Allah –

And give glad tidings to the believers.” (9:112)

Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala sent Guidance via the Prophets and Messengers to humanity through the centuries. The final Messenger, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, brought the final Sacred Scripture, the Majestic Qur’an, to humanity. All that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, from Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is the pure truth and the straight path. It contains all that is good and explains the way to get to that good in this life and to salvation in the Hereafter.

There is nothing within Islam that is against our fitrah (our innate nature, our natural constitution, our original disposition). Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala created us and knows what we need and do not need. If there is anything that a person feels or thinks that Islam is about that is wrong, they are wrong. There is nothing wrong in Islam – the final and complete religion and way of life.

For example, some people think salat is too much, too often, too long, too repetitive, too burdensome, too obligatory, too hard. They may be comparing salat to some other ways people worship Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala or Prophet Isa, peace be upon him, or idols, astagfir Allah. They may be comparing salat to the fact that some people do not worship Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala at all. Of course, if you don’t worship Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala at all, then salat would look like a jihad. It is only people (and jinns) who do not worship Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala at all. All the angels, animals, plants, mountains, water, etc., all the universes worship Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. The difference between us and them is that we have the choice to worship Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala or not to.

Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says in the Holy Qur’an:

“Indeed, I am Allah. There is no god except I,

so worship Me and establish the salat for My remembrance.” (20:14)

Muslims are obligated to worship Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala by performing five daily salats, fasting in the month of Ramadhan, making Hajj once in a lifetime, paying zakat and khums, doing jihad, enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong, loving the lovers of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala and Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and disassociating with and detaching from the enemies of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala and Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family. If there’s anything hard about that, it’s all in one’s head.

Throughout my 46+ years living as a Muslim, Al-Hamdulillah, I have witnessed many phenomena in Muslim and non-Muslim communities, many opinions of many Muslims and non-Muslims, many attitudes, many misconceptions, many falsehoods, etc. As well, I have witnessed a plethora of piety, kindness, sacrifice, correct thinking, faith, worship, activism, love and so on. What I’ve discovered is that if you’re not on the straight path and the right line politically, you may be liable to get sucked into the downer of believing Islam is hard. That’s a ploy of shaitan and his minions.

Let’s take a look at salat. The obligatory salat is performed five times a day. Probably Muslims are the only people who pray five times a day at specified times – maghrib (after/at sunset); isha (night); fajr (before sunrise); dhor (noon); and asr (afternoon). A couple of more obligatory prayers, out of others, are Salat al-Janazah (the prayer for the deceased), but as long as some Muslims perform it it is no longer obligatory on everyone else, and Salat al-Ayat (the prayer for eclipses, earthquakes, storms, natural disasters). Non-Muslims may pray whenever they want to or feel the need to or on Sundays or Saturdays or whatever. Of course, people may pray many more times a day than five. Muslims can also perform supplemental (nawafil) salats, which are optional and voluntary, but recommended (mustahhab, also called Sunnah), according to Shias – four rakats after maghrib (in two sets of two); two rakats after isha while seated; two rakats before and two rakats after fajr; eight rakats before dhor (in two sets of four); four rakats after dhor; and eight rakats before asr (in two sets of four) and four rakats after asr; and according to Sunnis – two rakats after maghrib; two rakats after isha; two rakats before fajr; and four rakats before dhor and two rakats after dhor – there are some differences within the Sunni madhabs). There are also several more recommended salats, such as Salat al-Lail (eleven rakats in sets of two with one rakat at the end after midnight and before fajr); Salat al-Jumah (two rakats at Friday congregational prayers); and the two Eid salats (two rakats in congregation). As well, we make duas (supplications) all the time and everywhere with minimal “rules” around them.

While some of these salats are very specific as to time and place, such as Salat al-Janazah which is prayed in front of the deceased before their burial, others are specific to time, such as the five daily obligatory salats, while the supplemental salats have some leeway for the time they are prayed. The obligatory salats have a fadilat time (excellent time) for their performance and the supplemental salats come before or after that time because they are prayed near the obligatory salats. But it is not obligatory to do the obligatory salats at the fadilat time; it is highly recommended. Thus, for example, fajr salat can be prayed anytime between the break of dawn and sunrise, but the highly recommended (fadilat) time is at the start of the time rather than delaying the salat. This holds true for all the five obligatory salats. The time of the obligatory salats is technical and most Muslims rely on a salat timetable for their locality which has been drafted by experts.

What is important is the fact that while the fadilat time is the best time to do the salats, it is not obligatory and therefore Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala has provided us with the option or leeway to get the salats done in their allotted time periods however we can. Maghrib and fajr salats have a shorter time period in which to perform them, while the other three obligatory salats have a longer time period. In a lunar year, which Muslims follow, the times for salat changes through the year and the amount of time in which to perform the salats are shorter and longer accordingly. As well, wherever you are in the world, the salat times will be different according to how far away from the equator and the poles you are. This should be common sense. For example, in Toronto on April 7, 2025, maghrib was at 8:07 pm (Sunnis perform maghrib salat at sunset); isha was at 9:15 pm – midnight (Shias are allowed to perform isha salat right after maghrib salat, but it is recommended to give some more time between the two salats); fajr was between 5:20 and 5:26 am – before 6:49 am (sunrise); dhor was at 1:20 pm; and asr was at 5:00 pm – before 7:51 pm (sunset) (Shias are allowed to perform asr salat right after dhor salat, but it is recommended to give some more time between the two salats). So in this example, fajr had a period of about an hour and a half to perform the salat and dhor and asr had around six and a half hours to perform the salats. This is a great leeway for Muslims, Al-Hamdulillah. And it is not hard. Generally, it only takes about one minute to perform one rakat of salat. So all in all, if a Muslim only prays the five daily obligatory salats, they would spend about 17 minutes a day in salat. No one should say that is too hard.

What I’ve found is that some Muslims fall into shaitan’s trap and take on the non-Muslims’ nonsense about the hardships of being a Muslim. They start believing what the non-Muslims say. This is simply assimilation into the non-Muslim mentality. “Aren’t you hot in that?” is still a constant refrain when a Muslim woman wears her hijab. That’s been going on since before I was born. “You can’t even drink water?” is still whined about when a Muslim is fasting, as if the non-Muslim is fasting or is really concerned about our thirst. That’s also been a redundant question for ages. “Don’t call me if you die while fasting because you didn’t drink water.” “You worship the Black Stone.” “You pray to a moon god.” ‘You’re worshipping a false god.” “You hate dogs and pigs.” “You hate us.” “You are always fighting each other.” “You deny Christ’s crucifixion.” “You come from some poor f-ing country." “God made you poor because He doesn’t love you.” “Your god is weak.” “Your religion is not about peace.” “Islam is a vicious cancer.” “You hate women.” “You are sexist.” “You can’t wear that (hijab) here.” “You should hang yourself with it (hijab).” “You are pieces of sh-t.’ “You are aggressive, dangerous criminals.” “You are violent sadists.” “You all are terrorists.” “You hate democracy.” “You’re demolished poor Middle East.” “You have different values than us.” “You are trying to force the shariah on us.” “You are trying to destroy our way of life.” “Don’t be f-ing Afghanistan or whatever.” “You are trying to take over the world.” “Go back to your f-ing country.’ “You are going to be deported.” “You can kiss your visa goodbye.” “You don’t belong here.” “Go home.” “You people are going to hell.” Etc, etc, ad nauseam. (These are actual hateful and vicious statements said/yelled/spit at us.)

But Al-Hamdulillah, we know the enemies of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala and Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, have always mocked, accused, threatened, assaulted and fought against the Prophets and the believers, calling them liars, crazy, sorcerers, trying to humiliate them, exiling them, torturing them, maiming them, boycotting them, banning them, imprisoning them, wanting/trying to kill them, warring against them and succeeding in murdering many or most of them, including the current genocide against the people of Palestine, especially in Gaza, and now in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is nothing new.

“Do not let those who hasten to disbelief grieve you.

Indeed, they will never harm Allah in anything.

Allah intends that He will not set any portion

for them in the Hereafter.

And for them is a great punishment.

Indeed, those who have purchased the disbelief

in exchange for the faith will never harm Allah in anything.

And for them is a painful punishment.”

(3: 176-177)

So we should not fall into shaitan and his followers’ trap. We must not turn on each other. We must not think like the unbelievers and attack Islam and each other. We must see Islam for what it is, our natural disposition that calls us back to Allah Subhanahu wa ‘tala, our saving force, and know that Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, is the Mercy to the Worlds, the Final Messenger from Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala and the Holy Qur’an is the last Sacred Scripture from our Rabbil ‘Alamin.

We should never ask another Muslim if they are praying or if they’re fasting. That is not our business. Each Muslim’s worship of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is their personal business not ours. We should never make another Muslim feel bad about how they try to fulfill their Islamic obligations. We don’t know what Muslims are going through. We need to realize that Muslims are at different levels of piety and belief. It is our responsibility to help them, not set them back.

One of the first things I realized as a Muslim was that a Muslim, and definitely not a man, should never ask a Muslim woman if she’s praying. Women have a period every month and after childbirth bleeding and are exempt from salat during those times. Mind your own business, please. It’s rare that a Muslim who’s not fasting will state that explicitly to others. It’s not our business. We don’t know what illness, medication, hardship, pregnancy, nursing, etc. a Muslim has that exempts them from fasting. The same goes for clothing and food – stop being all up in others’ business, making comments about their clothes, their lack of clothes, their choice of clothes, their inexpensive/expensive clothes, etc. and their weight, their diet, their grocery list, their cupboards and fridges, their lack of food, their skimpy lunches, their inability to bring an item to a potluck, etc. You don’t know! And it includes hijab. It’s not our job to police women and their hijab. That's between themselves and Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and maybe their fathers or husbands. Commenting about others lack of hijab or not enough hijab is not nice. If you don’t want to be “friends” with sisters who don’t wear hijab or their hijab isn’t up to your standards, fine. But it’s not necessary to tell others that’s why you’re not “friends” with them. Remember sometimes things come back to bite.

I’ve always been rule-oriented for many reasons, but mostly because it provides structure, organization and the better way – if the rules make sense. But when it comes to fiqh, it often gets a bit too much. At an Islamic conference a year or so ago, alims were getting bombarded with constant what ifs regarding salat on an airplane. “Are you allowed to XXX if XXX?” No one could hardly get a question in edgewise. (I was thinking that most people never even get to go on an airplane in their whole lives.) One of the alims reiterated several times that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala wants you to pray to Him and however you think is the best way, the easiest way, then do that! Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is not trying to make your life difficult. Stop being such a stickler for rules and stop imposing that on others. If you have to carry around your dhikr beads in your hand, constantly rolling them in public, or find the need to make istikhara for every decision, even if you should go left or right when walking in the city, please check into why you’re making Islam hard for yourself. Or do you think that’s making Islam easy? If you feel you must inform your parents who are twice your age that they have to make a ghusl before noon on Friday, you should investigate why you think they don’t already know they should make a ghusl on Friday. And what would happen if you forgot your dhikr beads or forgot to or didn’t make, on purpose, istikhara for a minor or major decision or made ghusl at 12:01 pm on Friday or later in the afternoon or the night before or not at all? Would Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala punish you? And if so, how?

“Righteousness is not that you turn your faces

towards the east and the west, but the righteous

are those who believe in Allah and the Last Day,

and the Angels, and the Book, and the Prophets,

and give the wealth in spite of their love for it

to those of the near relatives, and the orphans,

and the needy, and to the wayfarer, and those who ask,

and in freeing the captives, and who establish the salat,

and give the zakat, and who fulfill their pledge

when they make it, and those who are patient in the

suffering and the hardship and the time of the stress.

Those are the ones who are true and those,

they are the Allah-conscious ones.” (2:177)

Islam is not rules and Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is not against us. He wants what’s good for us. Stop making Islam hard. Worship Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala as well as you can. Try to improve yourself. Stop being involved in others’ worship. Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala has given exemptions, leeway, ease in His worship, in being a Muslim, in life. He is quite capable of judging Muslims. It’s not our job.

I’ve never understood Muslims whose behaviour gets worse in Ramadhan. Their anger takes over. Some Muslims say they’re hardly able to work, take on any extra responsibilities, talk to their family… All they can do is the basics and stay away from people. Or only be around people they can get along with. If you are screaming at a member of your family, “You’re not even fasting!”, or actually anything, then something is definitely wrong with your fasting, your Islam, your belief in Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. And if that screaming is against your parent, especially your mother, then you’re just adding fuel to the fire. Remember if you believe Allah Subhanahu wa t’ala ties up/chains shaitan in Ramadhan, then all of our bad behaviour and speech is coming straight from our heart, mind and body. You can’t blame others or shaitan. That’s not what Ramadhan is.

Ramadhan is the time for self-reflection and self-correction, but it’s also a communal time of gathering and sharing, breaking fast together, working for the pleasure of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, being close to family and friends, helping the needy, giving charity, standing up for the oppressed, attending Quds Day and other protests/demonstrations, keeping up with the news, extra worship, reading and contemplating on the Holy Qur’an and the ahadith of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, studying Islam, working and going to school/college/university, finding good deeds to perform for the pleasure of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala starting with your family and neighbours, showing gratitude, doing volunteer work at the masjid and elsewhere, etc… If you can’t find time to call your family, especially your parents and in-laws, and especially your mother, during the whole month of Ramadhan, then something is wrong, especially if you’re able to spend your time working, parenting and showing up for events at the masjid or iftars or whatever, and especially if it’s to be seen by the people and/or just to have a good time/break. Do you think your parents/mother/in-laws feel happy about that? And how do you think Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala sees you? How do you see yourself? What are you doing exactly? If Ramadhan is all about yourself, then something’s wrong.

“The month of Ramadhan is that in which the Qur’an

was revealed, a Guidance for humanity and clear proofs

of the Guidance and the Criterion. So whoever among

you who witnesses the month, then they should fast in it,

and whoever is sick or on a journey then the prescribed

number of other days. Allah intends the ease for you

and does not intend the hardship, so that you complete

the prescribed period and so that you proclaim the

Greatness of Allah for guiding you

and so that you may be grateful.” (2:185)

My opinion is that Muslims who find themselves asking rude questions and/or worrying/bothering/disappointing Muslims with these things are the ones who think Islam is hard. They find salat and fasting, for example, or loving those who love Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala and Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and disassociating with and detaching from those, like the zionists and white supremacists, who hate Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala and Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, HARD. And so they try to hurt other Muslims, including their own family, by making them feel bad by attempting to make themselves feel more pious because they HAVE to pray and fast and love and disassociate and detach. And it’s a jihad for them. Such a person may find that they only stood and bent and prostrated and were hungry and thirsty and tired and pretended to love Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala and Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and hated that they had to dissociate with and detach from the enemies of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala and Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, when all they wanted to do was do what they wanted to do and not be forced to play Muslim.

And Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is the All-Knowing, All-Seeing, The Judge. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is The Beloved, The Kind, The Compassionate, The Merciful. Al-Hamdulillah!

Make your worship easy, your relationships sweet, your responsibilities loving and your faith blossom and grow deeper and higher. Make your worship, activism, sociability and yourself pleasing to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. Don’t make Islam hard.

O Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, grant us all a spiritually fulfilling Ramadhan (every year) full of worship, love, enlightenment, development and positive actions in Your Way.

(O Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, please forgive me for any mistakes and sins I've made, especially to others. Please forgive any mistakes and sins I've made towards you the reader and in this blog post.)