Entertainment?

[lightofnur]

Assalammualaikum everyone.

OK ... so I know this is a really random question ... but I've avoided TV and music for some time now. And I hope I don't get people rolling their eyes, because you know, it's hard for both the Qur'an and the music to exist in the same heart, because one is always in preference over the other. I chose the Qu'ran, because it's reality for me, and because it's beautiful. Well, TV's out because I'm lowering my gaze, and I refuse to accept that music, TV and electronics are the only type of entertainments in the world.

Unfortunately for me, I don't exactly love sports, nor do I have the stamina for it. And though nature is beautiful, I don't get to see much because of time constraints and because of certain other factors. And though nature is beautiful, Alhamdulillah, seeing it all the time as a form of entertainment (especially the same scenery!) can be sometimes ... well, the joy of seeing it dulls over time? I have a love of writing, but that is out for now, seeing that my dad has an aversion to blogs and stuff, even though I don't reveal any personal info or put any pics. Travelling is also out because of my personal reasons and time constraints, so ... to get to the question, what should a Muslim do for entertainment, excluding music, TV, etc.?

I struggle with this a lot, since for one, I don't have a lot of freedom of movement to do all the outdoorsy kind of thing, and that I simply love stories and good storylines (which unfortunately, always turns out for the best on TV ...). What forms of entertainment can I do in the here and now, in my present situation? I've found a list which I'd like to share, but I'm hoping other people can contribute to my list to help a person with my kind of interests so that I don't suffer of boredom in my attempt to exclude certain types of entertainment.

May Allah Bless you all!

(btw, I don't have any affiliation with the link or anything, I just randomly found it and clicked the link):

"1. Wrestling, Swimming, horse-riding, archery and other outdoor sports and games.
2. Halaal Indoor games and sports like playing with dolls for girls,etc.
3. Walking, athletics, exercise.
4. Spending time with immediate family, friends and relatives. Visiting them, talking to them over phone, exchanging emails,etc. but care should be taken that conversations shouldn't lead to haraam acts like gheebah,etc. Playing with kids,etc.
5. Gardening/Landscaping
6. Shopping without extravagance and being away from places of fitnah.
7. Cooking, crafts,
8. Reading beneficial books.
9. Sleeping/siesta.
10. Learning additional skills like car mechanics, carpentry, plumbing, or learning new languages.
11. Organizing and going to get-togethers, parties, feasts,etc. Care should be taken that there are no haraam activities at these events.
12. Writing or reading halaal poetry that is free from immoral and useless talk.
13. Art/handicraft
14. Astronomy and looking at the creation of Allaah stars, moon, constellations,etc.
15. Animal breeding
16. Bird watching
17. Looking at trees, flowers, gardens, etc.
18. Do it yourself(DIY) projects
19. Fishing
20. Hunting if it is legal in ur country and if it is done in an Islaamically permissible way.
21. Calligraphy
22. Home/Interior decoration. Helping with such activities at ur Masjid also.
23. Model building
24. Painting/drawing/photography of inanimate objects and sceneries without extravagance.
25. Solving crosswords, puzzles
26. writing blogs, maintaining journals or diary. Here again the words written should not be haraam.
27. Going to beaches, rivers, lakes,etc. if there is no fitnah.
28. Field trips and camping. Taking care not to put oneself in danger.
29. Trekking.Taking care not to put oneself in danger"

(Source)

 

[strive-may-i]

Sit in couch and enjoy Entertainment, robs the freedom and joy of true life. Entertainment that diverts from life and its purpose, should be avoided and cut off. Pick priorities early. This gives a chance to excel in the efficient frontier and get closer to the goals of pleasing Almighty and oneself. What are the priorities?

Narrated by Ibn ‘Abbaas:
Prophet said

“Take advantage of five things before five other things: from your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you become occupied, and from your life before your death.” ​

Your list is not bad. Lets hope others will add better ones. Its sad that with time we humans who have been given an entertaining life full of variety and zeal, seek few addictive entertainment objects/contents!

 

[lightofnur]

Sit in couch and enjoy Entertainment, robs the freedom and joy of true life. Entertainment that diverts from life and its purpose, should be avoided and cut off. Pick priorities early. This gives a chance to excel in the efficient frontier and get closer to the goals of pleasing Almighty and oneself. What are the priorities?

Narrated by Ibn ‘Abbaas:
Prophet said

“Take advantage of five things before five other things: from your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you become occupied, and from your life before your death.” ​

Your list is not bad. Lets hope others will add better ones. Its sad that with time we humans who have been given an entertaining life full of variety and zeal, seek few addictive entertainment objects/contents!

Brother, thank you for replying, and I'm really sorry for the very late answer. My thread practically was pushed behind! Anyhow, I agree with you that life has a greater purpose and time is of great importance. Time should be used wisely and for things that benefit, yes. I also understand that remembering our priorities will keep us in check. But there are also times when you have to sit back and zero out your brain, just like when we're sleeping, for example. The activity gives release to the brain at the moment. Of course, we too should manage our time so that these zero out activities should not be in excess or waste our time. We simply indulge in them once in a while because they provide no pressure on the brain. Let's say for example that I take up studying languages instead. It is fun, but it comes with studying, and that's not zeroing out.

Relaxing over something is not wrong, so I was wondering if there are any activities like that once we exclude electronics.

(PS: I feel like taking out the hunting part from the list because I am anti-hunting unless it's a really desperate situation - but I can't because I can't edit the first post)

 

[lightofnur]

Assalammualaikum everyone,

Sorry for double posting (eh ... the last post was AGES ago anyways), but I haven't got much responses to this crucial question. The lack of response just highlights how downplayed this issue is. Many people seem to ask this question when we rule out the entertainment we see nowadays ... so what are other alternatives? Does anyone have anything to say about this, please?

May Allah Bless you all.

 

[PeacefulHumanity]

You could teach yourself a new skill. I don't know what your educational disciplines are but you could start computer programming, playing with numbers/math, learning chemistry . . . the list goes on. Personally, due to my field, I'm inclined to computer related skills. Puzzles are great for your brain. I also love reading science fiction novels. Reading in general is a great activity and research has shown that students (again I don't know about your education, so I'm making an assumption) do better in school when they spend their time reading. Peace and have a nice day.