Day 19

By Shofi Ahmed 

The Need for Balance in Academic and Personal Life

Life is full of challenges that require us to be constantly active, and this is reflected in Surah Fathiha. As Muslims, we are required to pray for Siratum Mustaqim, the straight path, the path of balance, at least seventeen times in the obligatory 17 units of prayer every day and night. We cannot assume that being Muslim means we are automatically on the right path; there is no guarantee that anyone will always be right. We must work for it and pray repeatedly to stay on Siratum Mustaqim. No adult is exempt from this need to pray for guidance and balance.

Nothing in life is guaranteed or set in stone. Top positions and jobs come with great responsibilities that require hard work and effort. We work to live and do good to propel ourselves toward something better. Though we may have some level of independence, there will always be a need for something more. We live in the moment and hope to live in the next, but there is no guarantee that we will even see the next minute. Despite this uncertainty, we can still find contentment in our lives through striving for balance. Siratum Mustaiqim supports this concept by teaching us to continuously ask for guidance and balance, even though we may never reach its full form.

Academic learning also demonstrates the concept of never-ending progress, such as with the golden ratio and pi. Neither the golden ratio (1.618) nor pi (3.14) ever stop producing new decimals, which means we can never truly reach their end or see their full form. Despite this, the pictures and applications we can create with these concepts are remarkable and exemplary in their respective fields of design and mathematics. Similarly, we can never fully reach the horizon of Siratum Mustaiqim, where its balance shines in its full 360-degree view and no longer requires prayer. However, by continuously praying for guidance and balance in our lives, we can still find the best path of balance available to us.

In other words, just as the mathematical constants of the golden ratio and pi never end and continue to produce new decimals, we cannot reach the end of Siratum Mustaqim, and thus we cannot fully comprehend its true nature.

However, the repetition of our prayers for guidance towards this path is the best we can do to strive for balance. It is like a never-ending journey that leads us to the best possible version of ourselves, and it is through this continuous striving that we can achieve a sense of balance in our lives. Just like the golden ratio and pi are essential in the fields of design and mathematics, the teachings of Surah Fathiha on balance are essential in leading a fulfilling life.