Monday, January 21, 2008

Islamic Psychotherapy Online
(Revised Edition)
Volume 01, January 2009
St. Louis, Missouri

Mohamed Ziauddin MSW, LCSW, ACSW

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

FOCUS OF THIS WEEK:

CLUTTER:

THIS ISSUE IS DEDICATED TO ONE MUSLIM CLIENT WHO HAD A VERY SEVERE PROBLEM WITH CLUTTER AND WHO WAS BRIEFLY REFERRED FOR CONSULTATION TO THIS WRITER FROM A MUSLIM AGENCY:


HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM A CLUTTERER?
(Clutterer Anonymous)


(1) Do you have more possessions or items in your life than you can handle comfortably?

(2) Do you find it difficult to dispense of many things, even those you have not used in years?

(3) Do you rent storage space to house items you never use?

(4) Do you spend time looking for things that are hard to find because of all the clutter?

(5) Do you find it easier to drop something than to put it away, or wedge an object into an overcrowded drawer or closet rather than to find a space for it?

(6) Do you collect things to give to others?

(7) Do you bring things into your house without establishing a place for them?

(8) IS YOUR CLUTTER CAUSING PROBLEMS IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS?

(9) Are you embarrassed to have visitors because your home is never presentable?
Do you hesitate sharing about this problem because you are ashamed of your cluttering?

(10) Are you constantly doing for others while your own home is out of order?

(11) Do you miss deadlines or abandon projects because you can’t find the paperwork or material you need to finish the work?

(12) Do you sometimes get buried in details, making projects take much longer than is really necessary?

(13) Do you procrastinate about cleaning up because you believe you must do it perfectly or you won’t do it at all?

(14) Are you easily sidetracked, moving from one project to another without finishing any of them?

(15) o you have problems with time management and estimating how long it takes to do things?

(16) Do you believe there is all the time in the world to clean your house, finish those projects and read all those piles of old magazines?

(17) Do you use distractions to escape from your clutter?

(18) Have you tried to clean up from time to time but find yourself unable to stick with it?

(19) Does the problem appear to be growing?

IF YOU ANSWERED “YES” TO THREE OR MORE OF THESE QUESTIONS, THERE IS A CHANCE YOU ARE A CLUTTER OR WELL ON YOUR WAY TO BECOMING ONE.

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE:


“The purpose of the hygiene regime in Islam is to create a community, which is healthy and immune against infectious diseases and the healthy individual (in body and mind) who is capable of understanding and applying God’s message and carrying it away to the whole world” (2)

BODY CLEANLINESS: Islam recommends bathing for 23 reasons. Seven of them are compulsory and sixteen are preferable.

HANDS CLEANLINESS:
Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) stated:

(a) “Wash thy hands before and after eating”.

(b) “Wash thy hands after awakening. No one knows where his hands lay during his sleep”.


CLOTHING CLEANLINESS:
Islam recommends clothing cleanliness and elegance. “Ameliorate thy clothing and thy mount”.


FOOD AND DRINK CLEANLINESS:
Orders for protecting food from dust and insects, the Prophet Mohamed (SAW) stated: “Cover they vessels and drinks”.


RESIDENCE CLEANLINESS:
(PRIMARY FOCUS OF THIS ISSUE)

“CLEAN THY COURTYARDS AND THY RESIDENCES AS WELL AS STREET CLEANLINESS”. “IT IS CHARITABLE TO REMOVE HARMS (HARMFUL THINGS) FROM THE ROAD”.

CLEANLINESS OF WATER SOURCES:
Such as wells, rivers and shores. Therefore urinating and defecating are forbidden in any of them.
Prophet Mohamed stated:
“Avoid three evils: defecation in water sources, shades and in the road”.


IF THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOLLOWED ACCURATELY IN THE 21ST CENTURY, MOST OF THE GASTROINTESTINAL INFECTIONS COULD BE REDUCED AND HARMFUL INSECTS SUCH AS FLYS, (COCKROACHES - SPECIALLY DUE TO CLUTTER AND FOOD DIRT AROUND HOME) AND OTHER RELATED PROBLEMS COULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED.

Severe clutter problems at home may be indicative of a more serious pathological issue, which the editor prefers to discuss in a different issue.

In ISLAM, cleanliness is an important issue so much, so that, the prayers offered without being clean may be invalid.

Islam emphasizes on the cleanliness.

The seven pre-requisites of Prayers are:
(1) Cleanliness of the body
(2) Cleanliness of the clothes
(3) Cleanliness of the place (where prayer is being offered)
(4) Hiding (covering) parts of the body-ordained to be covered.
(5) Time being proper for the prayer
(6) Facing the Qiblah and
(7) Saying the “intention” (Niyyah).


IT IS HIGHLY VIRTUES TO REMAIN IN WADU CONDITION IN ALL TIME.

As per the focus of this issue, CLUTTER at HOME is the main point that is highlighted. CLA has done a tremendous job in terms of helping clients with problems with clutter. It is but natural to discuss about their origin and programs.

WHAT IS CLUTTER?
(Clutteres Anonymous)

Per definition by CLA, Clutter is anything we don’t need, want, or use that takes our space, and destroys our serenity. It can be - outgrown clothes, obsolete papers, broken toys, disliked gifts, meaningless activity, ancient resentments or unsatisfying relationships. We may be selective in some areas, but not in others, objects may be strewn about or wedged into drawers, neatly stacked or stowed in storage.

Our Clutter seems to have a life of its own, to multiply without effort on our part. We may feel overwhelmed controlled by our possessions, doomed to be hopelessly disorganized. No matter how we deal with our clutter, it can be a source of pain and shame to ourselves and to those we live with.

Despite this pain, we fear throwing things out. We think we might need it, fix it, and wear it again. We don’t want to be wasteful or ungrateful. We don’t know what to keep and what to discard. We don’t know how much is enough.

De cluttering is not merely eliminating, but gradually transforming our space so that we surround ourselves with things that express our purpose. It means turning something useless into something useful, creating more leisure and space, being more honest in our relationships, eliminating distractions and simplifying our lives in order to find our spiritual roots.

Although we may cling to our clutter, what we really yearn for are surroundings of beauty, order, serenity, a balanced life and harmonious relationships.

CLA believes that their “dis-ease” is threefold – physical, emotional and spiritual.

PHYSICAL:

This is the behavior that results in the stacks, the piles, and the objects that fill our home, our car, our workplace, and our world. Whether organized or strewn about, it is all so overwhelming. We find ourselves drowning in a sea of clutter. We have become owned by our possessions.

EMOTIONAL:
This is the fog we create in our heads- resentments, unfinished thoughts, emotional baggage, daydreams, worries about the future, regrets about the past Our mind is a constant spin, we lose today because our time is spent living in yesterday and tomorrow.

SPIRITUAL:
This is the deep emptiness we feel inside – the emptiness we compulsively try to fill by clinging to useless objects, non-productive ideas, meaningless activities and unsatisfying relationships.


HOW CLUTTERS ANONYMOUS GOT STARTED?

CLA (Clutterers Anonymous) was started on February 26, 1989 by two California women who wanted to bring order into their lives. They founded CLA to simplify their lives so that they could free their time to use their God-given talents and help others to accomplish the same thing. The first meeting was held in Simi Valley California, May 1989.


Clutterers Anonymous is a fellowship of individuals who share experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem with clutter and help others to recover. The only requirement for membership is a desire to eliminate clutter and bring order into their lives. They don’t have any dues or fees for membership; they are self-supporting through their own contributions, neither soliciting nor accepting outside donations. Clutterers Anonymous is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology, or religious doctrine, they take no position on outside issues. Their primary purpose is to eliminate clutter, to establish more order in their lives, and to carry their message of recovery to clutters that still suffer.


TOOLS OF RECOVERY:

ACTION:
Action is the magic word. They have found these actions helpful to create for themselves an environment of order, beauty and serenity.


MEETINGS:
They attend meetings to learn how the program works and to share their experience, strength and hope with each other.


TELEPHONE:
They use the phone to keep in touch with other members of the fellowship between meetings. They make calls before and after any critical action (Book ending). Talking on the phone helps both members.


DAILY ACTION:
They do something each day to further their recovery, doing what they can, no matter how small. Their goal is progress not perfection.


BUDDIES:
Buddies are CLA members and helpmates in recovery. They can be called with the caller’s daily plan or ask for help with a project.


SPONSORS:
Sponsors are CLA members who are committed to recovery through the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions. A Step sponsor leads us through the 12 Steps of recovery. They choose a sponsor who has what they want. The sponsor and buddy may be the same person.


LITERATURE:
They use CLA literature and that of other 12 Step programs. Literature is an ever-available tool that helps them gain insight as well as strength to deal with their problem.


SERVICE:
Service is giving back to the fellowship, from holding office to doing cleanup. It helps them to feel a part of the group and to solve problems cooperatively.


FOCUSING:
Their goal is to do one thing at a time.


STREAMLINING:
They honor what they own by setting limits on their possessions. They keep only what they use, and have space for. They realize that the more they acquire, the less they enjoy what they already have.


EARMARKING:
They provide a place for their possessions and return them there. They create a home for anything before bringing it in. When they add a new item, they release an old one. For accessibility, beauty and peace of mind, they keep some empty space.


They believe that they can recover from cluttering and use their experience to benefit others.

They believe that they are entitled to surroundings of serenity and order and joyous lives.

They simplify their lives, believing that when they need a fact or an item, it will be available to them.

They nurture their spirit by surrounding themselves with beauty and harmony.


“THE TWELVE STEPS:

(1) We admitted we were powerless over clutter – that our lives had become unmanageable.

(2) Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

(3) Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood God.

(4) Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

(5) Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

(6) Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

(7) Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.

(8) Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

(9) Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

(10) Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

(11) Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for the knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.

(12) Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.


THE TWELVE TRADITIONS:

(1) Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon Clutterers Anonymous unity.

(2) For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority – a loving God as expressed through our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

(3) The only requirement for Clutterers Anonymous membership is a desire to eliminate clutter and bring order into our lives.

(4) Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups of Clutterers Anonymous as a whole.

(5) Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the person who still suffers.

(6) A Clutterers Anonymous group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the Clutterers Anonymous name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

(7) Every Clutterers Anonymous group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

(8) Clutters Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional but our service centers may employ special workers.

(9) Clutterers Anonymous, as such, ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

(10) Clutters Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the Clutterers Anonymous name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

(11) Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we always maintain personal anonymity the level of press, radio or films.

(12) Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

(1) CLA-Clutterers Anonymous – A brief guide. You can subscribe to their newsletter, obtain additional literature & attend their meetings listed by STATE (Within U.S), Weekday, Time, Place, and City et.c. by checking out their website: http://www.clutterersanonymous.net/.

(2) Health: An Islamic Perspective: Dr. Ahmed Shawky Al-Fangary, KUWAIT” (
http://www.islamset.com/)

3 comments:

Zul Rahman said...

Assalamualaikum,

Congratulation on the first blog issue.
Great article and a great reminder that cleanliness is half of Iman.

May Allah bless you for your effort.

NOORSPECS said...

Congrats on posting off-beat topics like 'clutter' which is so important yet nobody really pays attention to it. Most religions and especially Islam emphasises cleanliness in being and surroundings. Remember God likes things that are beautiful and shuns things ugly.

Good effort to post such topics which are original and refreshing!

shahul Hameed said...

Assalamvalaikkum
Brothers and Sisters
People are fasinated by clutters around them which causes a sense of pride on useless items .In turn it becomes a store house of unwanted junk and creates unhygienic conditions and effects the individual spirtual/emotional/healthy well being.Being simple with minimum use of gadgets and materials can enhance hygiene which was propogated by holy prophet.We find the answers of today problems in Islamic teachings.Mohammad Ziauddin is capable and able to navigate the readers to known social problems facing the mankind against the tenants of Islam.Excellent work.

Shahul Hameed
School of Social Sciences,Te wananga 'o' Aotearoa, hamilton , New Zealand