The Prophet ﷺ once described a future that feels painfully familiar. Nations, he said, would gather against the Muslims the way diners invite one another to share a dish. A companion asked if that would be because we are few. The Prophet ﷺ replied that we would be many, yet like foam on the sea, plenty on the surface, light and weightless beneath. Then he named the illness: wahn, and when asked what it meant, he answered: love of this world and hatred of death.

This is not merely a political forecast. It is a spiritual diagnosis.

We can be countless, busy, and even “productive,” yet still carry little moral weight, little prophetic clarity, little ability to resist manipulation or temptation. Not because we lack hours, but because our hours have been quietly claimed by the same idols everyone else serves: comfort, status, distraction.

So the real question is not, “Are we busy?”
It is, “Why are we busy?”

Wahn is not laziness. In fact, wahn can live inside a packed calendar.

Wahn is what happens when dunya becomes our operating system. When our goals shrink until they fit inside the world: promotions, applause, lifestyle upgrades, the endless chase to feel ahead, and the subtle fear of loss that makes us cling to the temporary.

The Prophet ﷺ described the result as ghuthaa, foam or scum carried by a flood. It moves, but it has no rootedness. It spreads, but it has no density. It is present, but it is not substantial.

This is why the cure is not necessarily doing more. The cure is reorientation.

Allah (swt) does not deny that the dunya has attractions. He exposes its pattern.

“Know that this worldly life is no more than play, amusement, luxury, mutual boasting, and competition in wealth and children…” (Surah Al Hadid 57:20)

And He names one of the most common traps of modern “productivity culture”:

“Competition for more gains diverts you, until you end up in your graves.” (Surah At Takathur 102:1–2)

Then Allah (swt) places the akhirah back on the throne:

“But you prefer the life of this world, even though the Hereafter is far better and more lasting.” (Surah Al Ala 87:16–17)

And He tells us what the test truly measures, not quantity, but quality:

“Who created death and life to test which of you is best in deeds.” (Surah Al Mulk 67:2)

“Best,” not “most.” Weight, not foam.

Many of us feel it: the strange exhaustion of being occupied but not fulfilled.

From a psychological lens, when life becomes a loop of stimulus and reward, our attention is trained to chase novelty. Scrolling behavior can reinforce a “dopamine loop” that keeps us consuming without feeling nourished. Research on doomscrolling links this pattern with worse mental wellbeing and greater distress.

From a motivation lens, self determination theory argues that wellbeing and sustainable motivation grow when our needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met. When our days are driven primarily by external validation, anxiety rises and meaning thins out.

Islam does not reject ambition. It purifies it. It lifts our striving from the sand to the sky.

Wahn often disguises itself as “I must get everything right.” This is where perfectionism in Islam must be carefully distinguished from ihsan.

Ihsan is to worship Allah (swt) as though we see Him, and if we do not, to know that He sees us. Perfectionism is not ihsan. Perfectionism is fear dressed up as virtue. It produces harsh self talk, chronic guilt, and often the very paralysis that prevents sincere growth.

When we fail, wahn whispers: You are finished.
Revelation answers: You can return.

“Say, ‘O My servants who have exceeded the limits against their souls! Do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy…’” (Surah Az Zumar 39:53)

This is the beating heart of repentance and forgiveness in Islam. Not a denial of wrongdoing, but a door that never closes.

The Prophet ﷺ taught that Allah is more pleased with a servant’s repentance than a person who finds their lost camel in a barren desert. (Sahih Muslim 2747a)

So we do not reorient by self hatred. We reorient by hope and humility in Islam, hope in Allah’s mercy, humility about our weakness, and a commitment to walk forward.

Allah (swt) also reminds us:

“Allah does not require of any soul more than what it can afford.” (Surah Al Baqarah 2:286)

This is a mercy to the mind, and a foundation for mental health and Islam: we do not heal by crushing ourselves. We heal by returning to Allah (swt) with steady, honest steps.

This religion is gentle, and its guidance is realistic. Reorientation does not require abandoning work, family, or responsibility. It requires changing the center.

A heart begins again by:

Consistency matters because human change is incremental. Habit research shows automaticity often takes weeks to months, with major individual variation. We should not confuse slow change with no change.

This is the Islamic psychology of resilience: we rise, we return, we repeat.

1. Renew the intention before the day begins
Sunnah practice: Begin with niyyah and make your work an act of worship.
“Deeds depend upon intentions…” (Sahih al Bukhari 1)

Spiritual benefit: The same tasks become illuminated by sincerity.
Psychological benefit: Purpose reframes effort from stress to meaning, and purpose is associated with better health outcomes in large studies.

2. Protect a daily deed that no one can applaud
Sunnah practice: A hidden charity, a secret dua, two quiet rakahs, a private istighfar.
Spiritual benefit: This weakens riya and strengthens ikhlas.
Psychological benefit: Internal motivation grows when we are not performing for an audience.

3. Choose small consistency over dramatic bursts
Sunnah practice: “The most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and constant even if it were little.” (Sahih al Bukhari 6464)

Spiritual benefit: We meet Allah (swt) with a record of steady devotion.
Psychological benefit: Small consistent actions are how habits solidify over time.

4. Use breath to return the heart to presence with dhikr
Sunnah practice: Sit for one minute after salah, breathe slowly, and repeat a dhikr phrase with awareness.
Spiritual benefit: We move from heedlessness to remembrance.
Psychological benefit: Slow paced breathing has been shown to improve markers of parasympathetic activity and reduce stress responses in studies.

5. Make service a weekly anchor
Sunnah practice: Visit the sick, help a neighbor, volunteer, sponsor relief, or support the masjid.
Spiritual benefit: It breaks the ego’s captivity to the self.
Psychological benefit: Purpose and prosocial engagement are repeatedly associated with better wellbeing and even lower mortality risk in large cohorts.