Dunya Detached: Series

Introduction

Over the past year, I have been slowly and consciously trying to detach myself from this dunya-y lifestyle. I have shared some examples in my past post (ex. not wearing makeup, deleting socials) but now I want to turn this into a series where I deep dive into each topic and share other things that I havn’t seen much muslims talk about.

I also want to acknowledge that I have the privilege to do this as I do not have a full time career. But ever since I have been out of corporate america, I have the space to reflect and make drastic changes.

This series is meant to document my process and share what I’ve been learning in order to build more God-consciousness. I don’t know how long this will go on for but I’m hoping to continue it till I feel more grounded and ultimately closer to Allah swt. Also… I think it’ll be nice to look back on. Maybe it becomes something we can talk about together too, if people resonate with it.

Another reason I’ve been thinking about all of this is just… the state of the world. It’s been bleak for a while. First the pandemic, and now everything going on globally. So I’ve been thinking more about where joy actually comes from. And honestly, I don’t think it’s in anything external or temporary. It’s internal. It’s tied to our relationship with Allah swt.

But getting there isn’t passive act, you have to let go of a lot first. And a lot of what we hold onto is shaped by what people around us value: status, appearance, productivity, identity… all of it.

So that’s the “why.”

The “what” is what I’ll be exploring in this series.

Each post will focus on one area of my life that I’ve changed. I’ll talk about what I did, how I did it, and what I’ve noticed from it.

At the same time, these posts will try to unpack and balance a few things I’ve been thinking about lately…

• being mindful about the environmental impact of what I consume

• trying to live as a practicing Muslim who isn’t attached to worldly lifestyles

• and still wanting to grow, think deeply (esp in the age of AI)

I know we’re not meant to completely detach from dunya…there’s supposed to be balance. But if I’m being honest, I think for a lot of us (especially living in the West), that balance is off.

I don’t really see people talking about lifestyle in this way … like actually living Islam through how we consume, think, and exist day to day.

So I kind of want to explore that space.

And if you’re interested, I’d love for you to follow along.