Central Khutbah: “Advice for a Productive Vacation”

When we hear the expression “a productive vacation,” we may easily think that our holidays should become yet another project: waking up at five in the morning, reading two books a week, visiting every relative, exercising every day, and filling every hour with activities.

Yet this kind of vacation often ends with people returning to work more exhausted than when they left.

In Islam, productivity does not mean being constantly busy. A period of time is truly productive if it brings us closer to Allah, gives us inner peace, strengthens our family ties, and prepares us to return to our responsibilities with renewed energy.

This is especially true when we spend our vacation in our homeland. A holiday is not only about the sea, the mountains, barbecues, or coffee with friends. It is also a return to our parents, our relatives, our language, our memories, and the places where our story began.

Before You Leave: Renew Your Intention (Niyyah)

Imagine someone returning to their homeland after a year away. The car is packed with gifts, suitcases, children’s belongings, and enough food “just in case.” During the journey, they are already thinking about everyone they need to visit, every place they must go, and everyone who might feel offended if they are not visited.

Before your vacation turns into a source of pressure, pause for a moment and ask yourself:

“Why am I going?”

Perhaps you are going to bring joy to your parents. To allow your children to know their grandparents and relatives. To visit an ill uncle. To rest after a long year of work. To read the book you have postponed for months. To spend more time at the mosque. Or perhaps to repair a relationship that has grown distant.

The Prophet ﷺ taught that deeds are judged according to intentions. A single journey can therefore become much more than a vacation. It can become an act of kindness towards one’s parents, a way of maintaining family ties, an opportunity to seek beneficial knowledge, and a preparation for returning to everyday life with greater strength.

Even accompanying your father to the market can become a rewarding act if you know your company brings him happiness. Sharing a meal with your mother is more than just eating together if it shows her that you truly have time for her.

Your Parents Often Need Your Presence More Than Your Gifts

People living abroad often return home with their hands full of presents. Gifts are a beautiful way of expressing love and appreciation. Yet, more often than not, parents value something even greater: having their children sit beside them without constantly looking at their phones.

A mother may not really want a new coffee machine. She may simply want to enjoy a cup of coffee with her child without them constantly checking the time.

A father may never openly say that he needs help going to the doctor, repairing the fence, or completing some paperwork. Only after a few days might he casually mention, “There is something… but it isn’t urgent.”

That is where true kindness begins.

Allah commands us not even to say “uff” to our parents, especially when they reach old age, but to speak to them with gentleness and honor. In the same verses, He teaches us to pray:

“My Lord, have mercy upon them as they raised me when I was young.”
(Qur’an, Al-Isrā’, 17:23–24).

Being dutiful to one’s parents is not always expressed through grand gestures. Sometimes it means going to the pharmacy, replacing a light bulb, or patiently listening to the same story for the tenth time.

And sometimes the greatest act of kindness is simply not showing frustration when our parents struggle to understand our lifestyle, our pace of life, or our decisions.

Don’t Try to Visit an Entire Country in Ten Days

One of the most common mistakes during vacations is trying to please everyone.

The first day is lunch with your parents. The second day with your aunt. The third day is a wedding. The fourth an excursion. The fifth “just a quick coffee” that lasts five hours. Meanwhile, you still have to visit the dentist, complete paperwork, meet old school friends, and take the children swimming.

After one week, everyone is exhausted. The children become irritable, spouses begin arguing, and parents say, “You’ve just arrived, yet we hardly see you.”

Maintaining family ties is one of Islam’s greatest values. The Prophet ﷺ strongly encouraged believers to preserve these relationships. But preserving family ties does not mean exhausting ourselves physically and emotionally by trying to visit everyone.

It is better to have a few sincere and peaceful meetings than twenty rushed visits where our bodies are present but our minds are already thinking about the next appointment.

It is perfectly acceptable to say kindly:

“This time our stay is short, and unfortunately we won’t be able to visit everyone, but we would be delighted if you could come and see us.”

Or:

“Tomorrow we’ve planned to spend the day only with our parents and children. Let’s arrange another time to meet.”

Setting healthy boundaries is not breaking family ties. Sometimes those boundaries are precisely what preserve kindness and prevent fatigue from making us harsh towards those we love.

Preserve Family Ties Even When Relationships Are Difficult

It is easy to visit relatives with whom we have an excellent relationship. It is much harder to call someone with whom there has been distance for many years.

Perhaps harsh words were exchanged long ago. Perhaps two families stopped visiting each other because of an inheritance, an old disagreement, or a misunderstanding that no one clearly remembers anymore.

The Prophet ﷺ explained that the one who truly maintains family ties is the one who continues doing so even when others cut them off.

This does not mean allowing ourselves to be humiliated or mistreated. But we can always do our part: make the call, offer salām, send a message, or pay a brief visit.

Perhaps the conversation will feel awkward. Perhaps nothing major will change immediately. Still, sometimes all it takes is to say:

“I’m sorry we’ve grown apart. I don’t want the years to pass in silence.”

Such words may be worth more than an entire sightseeing trip.

Rest Is Not a Sign of Weakness

Some people feel guilty whenever they rest. If they sleep a little longer, they think they are lazy. If they spend a day without a detailed schedule, they feel they have wasted their time.

Islam does not teach us to exhaust ourselves.

When Salmān al-Fārisī saw that Abū al-Dardā’ was devoting himself so intensely to voluntary worship that he neglected his body and family, he said:

“Your Lord has a right over you, your body has a right over you, and your family has a right over you. Give each of them its due.”

When Abū al-Dardā’ related these words to the Prophet ﷺ, he replied:

“Salmān has spoken the truth.”

This teaching is especially relevant during vacations.

There is nothing wrong with sleeping after a tiring journey, walking in nature, playing with your children, or quietly sitting in your garden. If such activities restore your physical and emotional strength, then your rest itself becomes an act of wisdom.

The problem begins when vacation turns into complete negligence: neglected prayers, overeating, endless nights spent on the phone, and days that leave us spiritually empty.

Balance means resting without losing ourselves in rest.

Read Without Unrealistic Expectations

Before going on vacation, many people pack five books: one Islamic book, one professional book, two novels, and another “just in case.” By the end of the holiday, they have read only a few pages while carrying extra weight in their luggage.

It is far better to choose one or two books and adopt a simple routine.

For example, read ten pages after Fajr or while enjoying your morning coffee. It takes no more than twenty minutes. Afterwards, write down one sentence that touched your heart.

If you are reading about patience, ask yourself during the day, “Where do I need more patience today?”

If you are reading the biography of a scholar or a righteous person, discuss it with your children while travelling.

If you are reading the Qur’an with its translation, choose one verse and reflect on how it relates to your own life.

Allah taught His Prophet ﷺ to pray:

“My Lord, increase me in knowledge.”
(Qur’an, Tā Hā, 20:114).

The goal is not simply to increase the number of pages we read, but to allow what we read to transform our understanding and our character.

The Prophet ﷺ said that the deeds most beloved to Allah are those done consistently, even if they are small.

Twenty minutes of daily reading is therefore better than one day of enthusiasm followed by complete abandonment.

Let Your Children Discover Their Homeland, Not Only Family Visits

Children who grow up abroad often have a very different relationship with their parents’ homeland.

Parents see childhood memories, beloved people, and familiar streets. Children may only notice the heat, mosquitoes, slow internet, and many adults asking them, “Whose child are you?”

If their entire vacation consists only of family visits, they may come to see their homeland as an obligation rather than a blessing.

Instead, tell them the stories behind the places.

Take them to the school their father attended. Show them the house where their mother grew up. Tell them where their grandfather worked, what school life was like in the past, and how Ramadan was experienced before modern technology.

Ask their grandmother to share memories from her youth. Encourage your children to record her stories or write them down.

Naturally, children also need activities suited to them: swimming, playing, excursions, ice cream, and time free from adult conversations.

One day they may forget the gifts they received, but they will remember picking fruit with their grandfather, listening to their grandmother’s stories, and discovering the family’s old home with their parents.

Your Phone Can Become the Greatest Thief of Your Vacation

It is a strange sight when a family finally reunites after an entire year apart, yet everyone sits together staring at their own phone.

The father scrolls through the news. The mother replies to messages. The children watch short videos. Meanwhile, the grandparents quietly wait for a real conversation to begin.

There is nothing wrong with taking a photograph or answering an important message. The problem begins when our phones steal the very moments for which we travelled hundreds or even thousands of miles.

Consider adopting one simple rule: no phones on the table during family meals. Or set aside part of each day without social media.

Not every meal needs to be posted online.

Not every walk needs to be recorded.

Some memories should first be lived before they are photographed.

Don’t Forget Your Spouse

When we return to our families, we naturally return to our old roles. We become someone’s son, daughter, brother, or sister once again. In doing so, we may unintentionally neglect our spouse, especially if they are entering our family as a guest.

Perhaps your wife spends the entire day trying to be kind to relatives she barely knows. Perhaps your husband spends his days driving, carrying luggage, fixing things, and following plans he never chose himself.

Take time to ask:

• “How are you feeling?”
• “Is all of this becoming overwhelming?”
• “Do we need a day just for ourselves and the children?”

A successful vacation is not one in which we make the entire extended family happy while exhausting the person with whom we share our daily life throughout the year.

Not Every Moment Needs to Be “Productive”

Sometimes the most beneficial part of a vacation is simply… silence.

Sitting quietly after Fajr while the house is still asleep.

Walking without headphones.

Watching your children play.

Talking to a parent without any particular topic.

Every human being needs moments in which they are not constantly producing, fixing, or proving something.

During those quiet moments, ask yourself:

• Have I become too tense this past year?
• To whom do I owe an apology?
• What occupies most of my time while bringing the least benefit?
• How is my relationship with prayer, my family, and my health?
• What would I like to change when I return?

There is no need to make twenty resolutions. One meaningful habit is enough: reading daily, calling your parents more often, spending less time on your phone, or giving more attention to your family.

An Example of a Balanced Day

A simple day could look like this:

• Wake up for Fajr and read a few pages of the Qur’an or a beneficial book.
• Enjoy breakfast with your parents without rushing.
• Help them with household tasks or complete an important errand.
• Spend the afternoon with your children swimming, walking, or on an outing.
• Visit relatives in the evening without trying to fit several households into one day.
• End the day by spending quiet time with your spouse or simply resting.

Not every day has to be the same. Some days will be busy, while others may pass without any particular plan. That is exactly what balance looks like.

Before Returning Home

Before asking:

“Did we manage to do everything?”

Ask instead:

• Did I bring joy to my parents?
• Was I truly present with my family?
• Did I repair—or at least try to repair—a relationship?
• Did I give my body the rest it deserved?
• Did I learn something beneficial?
• Am I more grateful to Allah for the people and blessings He has given me?

A successful vacation is not the one that leaves us with the most photographs, receipts, or stories to tell.

It is the one from which we return more rested, with a softer heart, stronger family bonds, and a deeper awareness that time, health, and the people we love are blessings that will not remain with us forever.

(Central khutbah by the Religious Leader Hafiz Hilmija Redžić on July 17, 2026, at the “Centre Islamique Medina” in Wiltz)