Pearls of Wisdom - Twins of Faith 2018 : Legacy (8-9 December 2018, KL)

💡📚PEARLS OF WISDOM - TWINS OF FAITH 2018 : "LEGACY" (8-9 December 2018, KL) 📚💡

#tof2018 #legacy

🤔Everything has a purpose: even your clothes. What is yours? If you haven't figure it out, rest assured, someone else will figure it out for you - perhaps Shaytan might define your purpose for you.

♻️Do not be like the rocking wooden horse - so much movement, yet zero progress. True Progress requires direction and vision!

📶Everything is "relative", never absolute - success, excellence, greatness - so choose your benchmarks carefully!

❗Remember : every single aspect of your success comes from Allah - Allah reminds us

وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ

"And do NOT be like those who forgot Allah - and so they forget themselves - they are the rebellious and disobedient" (Surah Al-Hashr, Verse 19)

When we forget this fact : we abandon shukr, we no longer think BIG - you won't aim high.
If you always remember that everything is from Allah - then you have THAT much hope in Allah to achieve greater success beyond imagination : because He is the Lord of the Universe and can grant anything He wills!

Our priority in LIFE : Know Allah, and Know yourself.

🧗‍♂️Recognize: whatever you do is WEAK. But you still have to do it - it is through your weak efforts, Allah opens the path towards success.
This is the essence of Tawakkul : effort, and trust

😩 Weakness amongst Malaysians (and the ummah as a whole) : complacent, unambitious - "Enough lah" attitude. We don't aim high: for our individual selves or for our ummah. We think, just "cukup makan" suffices. These are in fact the characteristics in which the Prophet taught us to seek refuge in Allah from!

😔🔥Two MAJOR characteristics we need to have to become great MOVERS in history :
1) Extreme Humility : with our Creator, the source of all Ability and Strength
2) Fierce Resolve : to put in the continuous effort and struggle to materialize our high amibition

⏳Reminders of death : make you uncomfortable? Uneasy? You should be THANKFUL you have reminders of your finite existence - and now that you have the urgency to PREPARE for it.

💌Our true home is Jannah : and we should all feel homesick to return to it. Not cling to this Earth. This dunya is only a stopover point. Which is why the Prophet reminds us

كُنْ فِي الدُّنْيَا كَأَنَّك غَرِيبٌ أَوْ عَابِرُ سَبِيلٍ
"Be in this world as if you are a stranger, or a traveler" (Narrated by Al-Bukhari)

💤 Productivity tip : SLEEP EARLY - immediately after isha!
Sheikh Isam Rajab shared that his sheikh (Abdul Hakim Al-khatir) had a habit of ALWAYS sleeping early after isha. This enabled him to get up early, and in fact the only time he had available to check Sheikh Isam's memorization was a 1-hour window before Fajr: he did 8 pages a day, and in 3 months he finished.
Sleeping early - is a major keystone habit to getting stuff done without interruption : while the rest of the world are still asleep.

😓A nurse conducted study on what is the most common 'regret' when people are in their deathbeds: most of them would say "not spending more time with their loved ones".
So spend time with them NOW! Make every available opportunity to schedule those moments first, and everything else can come later.
Observation : no one ever regretted not having "more money", "bigger houses" or "better cars" - ironically the things which most of us seek every day.
There is NOTHING in this dunya to cry about!

🙇🏽‍♂️A well known da'ee who is paralyzed was once asked what does he want most: answered "I wish I could just make ONE prostration to Allah"
The very ability to make sujood to Allah in itself is a huge Blessing! Yet we take it for granted and (na'udzubillah) even think of it as a "burden"!

💝the Salafus Soleh (righteous predecessors) had desires too: They were human being like us too! But they TRAINED their hearts and desires with the light of iman and taqwa: and they SUPPPRESS these hopes and desires, knowing their grand purpose in life.

⁉️When people are asked "What is the Purpose of Life?" they get uncomfortable and choose to ignore it; not because the Question is difficult - but because the ANSWER is difficult : it implies accepting the reality - of death, day of Judgment and accountability - and working for it

📋Expectations can KILL marriage : especially in today's time when entertainment media has painted a false picture on who "the ideal husband" or "ideal woman" is.

🤗Live with zero expectations of your spouse (internally) : that way, when your husband/wife actually does something, you feel grateful
the key to happy marriage and in fact success Hereafter is Gratitude towards your husband/wife.

Be careful! Ingratitude can lead to hellfire. Keep your emotions in check.

"Hell was shown to me and most of its inhabitants were women.
They are ungrateful to their companions of life (husbands) and ungrateful to good deeds. If you are benevolent to one of them throughout the life and if she sees anything (undesirable) in you, she will say, 'I have never had any good from you.' " (narrated by Al-Bukhari)

💞#bff Mindset shift: Get your spouse to be your 'BEST FRIEND as a Lover'!
Mindset of "Best friend" is always healthy - you always care and are considerate for them, you do fun things together, you help each other fulfill each's others dreams, etc..
Establish this : parenting will become a healthy partnership and collaboration towards Building Your LEGACY at Home!

This was in fact how the Prophet treated his wives.

"The Best of you are the best towards his family - and I am the best of you"

أَكْمَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِيمَانًا أَحْسَنُهُمْ خُلُقًا وَخِيَارُكُمْ خِيَارُكُمْ لِنِسَائِهِمْ خُلُقًا
"The most perfect of believers are those who are best in manners.
And the best of you are the best to your wives" (At Tirmidzi, ibn Majah)

🔍Everyone has unique gifts, talents, capabilities. As parents and family members, our primary goal is to identify that potential : nurture it, and create the optimum conducive environment for that potential to be fully developed

🤝Aisya testified that in his every day conduct at home, The Prophet helped out do the housework and chores - like any other "normal" person

Lessons :
1. Success in the household - begins with teamwork
2. There is no job 'too low' or 'too derogatory' for a man to do - the Prophet was the greatest leader in human history, yet he did this "menial" household chores !

✨Our knowledge of the sunnah was ENRICHED by Aisya - she had a keen, inquisitive nature and always ask 'difficult' questions; she was very observant and would always be sensitive to the little details of the Prophet. She was also very blunt and her 'emotional tendencies' also teaches us a great deal about the chemistry of their household: how the Prophet would react as a husband - and how he dealt with internal conflict.

💬Asking questions is one of the greatest ways to learn : you benefit, but the teacher benefits as well. 

It gets the teacher to strengthen the depth of his/her knowledge, re-evaluate different perspectives, be more critical/conscious of the content and delivery - keeps the teacher SHARP. 

Imam Al-Bukhari - who was the teacher of Imam At-Tirmidzi - once told Imam At-Tirmidzi that "I benefitted more from you than you had benefitted from me" because Imam At-Tirmidzi had such an inquisitive nature and always asked him questions.

🎓 Aisya (radhiAllahu anha) was widely acknowledged as one of the greatest scholars of Islamic history - narrated over 2000 Hadith, and had over 300 major students amongst the companions and tabi'in. Even the companion Abu Musa Al-Asy'ari would consider Aisya to be the most knowledgeable in Hadith, halal and haram, poetry and medicine. 

This should tell us a lot about the true reality of the role of women in Islam which is always wrongly represented. We need to restore the glory of the women scholars in the ummah!

✊🏼the core of Leadership has to be INTEGRITY and AUTHENTICITY - or else, it only becomes a "Transactional Leadership" - where you only lead based on self interest, cost-benefit exchange process of conditional reinforcement

💖Leadership starts with yourself: Purge your own negativity and disease of the heart (e.g. Egoism, Arrogance, self-conceit, selfishness, greed, lust, intolerance, anger, lying, cheating, gossip, complacency).
If you can master and defeat these unseen internal enemies, then you will be READY and well-equipped to fight the enemy you SEE

🗣️Dealing with critics, keyboard warriors, and trolls:
1. Remember, your objective is NOT to please people - it is to please Allah.
2. What you see on social media is only a small fraction of people - a perception, not the REALITY
3. Critics - some of them are trolls, but there may be some who have some validity too. Handle criticisms like a champ: maintain composure, extract the good where you can, and get used to the discomfort knowing that you are developing yourself by navigating outside your comfort zone
4. Welcome healthy disagreements: this can widen our perspective and make us more mature in dealing with issues
5. When you get trolls attacking you and you get angry/emotional, procrastinate your response - "maybe I'll reply tomorrow". Eventually you'll let go. "The truly strong person is not the one who defeats others with his physical strength; rather, the truly strong person is the one who controls himself in anger" (Hadith narrated by Al-Bukhari)
6. You don't always have to respond and answer everything.
7. Pick your battles - Assess yourself and be truthful to yourself: what are your strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, limitations. Know where you can clarify and respond
8. Always remember lessons of the role of Prophets of Allah : Your primary job is only to Convey - if they refuse or reject, then  that is on them.

🏅The core of a "Champion mindset" is to always believe that you are inadequate, weak, and lousy - only then you will put in the serious effort to improve. Conversely, when we start believing we are 'awesome', we slack off, get complacent and deteriorate.
Pros always believe they are amateurs; Amateurs always believe they are pros. 

📋Your Legacy - just as anything important in life - requires proper planning and systematic approach. Or else it will just be "random". After all, 
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"

😩We seem to give the excuse that our modern lives are "too busy" - well, so we're the companions of Rasulullah!
But they knew where to prioritize, they had great ambition, passion, patience and resolve : and eventually collectively built the legacy of the Best of nations. The Prophet ﷺ said, 
خَيْرُ النَّاسِ قَرْنِي ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ
"The best among mankind are of my generation, then those next to them, then those next to them" (Al-Bukhari, Muslim) 

🕰️ We all have 24 hours in a day : the question is how do you utilize YOUR 24 hours? 
Many of us give excuses of not having time. 
If you "don't have time", then you don't have "priorities" 

نِعْمَتَانِ مَغْبُونٌ فِيهِمَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ، الصِّحَّةُ وَالْفَرَاغُ ‏
"There are two blessings in which majority of mankind are frequently cheated of (i.e. Do not fully benefit them until they have been deprived of it):
Good health, and free time" (Hadith narrated by Al-Bukhari)

🤝Legacy doesn't necessarily mean being in the front lines, speaking in front of a stage, being the leader of a country - it can be as simple as collaborating and getting engaged in any roles in charitable organization, volunteering for da'wah / knowledge institutions - any good they leave behind of sadaqah jariah (continuous charity) or knowledge which is benefitted from will be a continuous accreditation to your account : even after your death!

"‏ إِذَا مَاتَ الإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ ثَلاَثَةٍ إِلاَّ مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏
"When a person dies, all of his deeds are cut off except 3: 
a continuous recurring charity (sadaqah jariah), 
knowledge which is continued to benefit others, 
and a righteous child who prays for the parent" (Hadith narrated by Muslim)

📖 We should aspire to have Life Changing goals and leave a legacy with respect to the Qur'an: establish proficiency, understanding and passion towards it in ourselves, and subsequently into the hearts of others. 

خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ
"The Best of you are those who Learn the Qur'an and teach it (to others)" (Hadith narrated by Al-Bukhari)

🌟The Qur'an is primarily a book of Guidance: we need to prioritize our efforts towards understanding. And yes, understanding Qur'an requires effort! 

Or else we would be just as Allah warned like those of donkeys: only carrying on their backs without any real benefit. 

📝 Importance of writing your will: none of us have any guarantee whatsoever that we will live through the day. What will happen to Our janazah? Our families? Our wealth? 

🤔 Writing your will is not only about "wealth" - there are far more important matters. How will your janazah be handled? If people are going to handle it with acts of innovation which are not condoned in the sunnah, imagine: you are responsible. I don't want to earn sins even in my death!

💸 Debts: No joke! Super important to communicate to others and especially in your will to write them down. This might be what prevents you from entering Jannah!

يُغْفَرُ لِلشَّهِيدِ كُلُّ ذَنْبٍ إِلاَّ الدَّيْنَ
All the sins of a Shahid (martyr) are forgiven except debt (Hadith Narrated by Muslim) 

🤲🏽 The moment of your death is when you are most in need of du'aa from your loved ones! This should make us rethink our priorities especially with regards to debt and 'passing responsibilities' after you die: 
I don't want to be a burden to my loved ones in my life, I certainly don't want to be a burden to them in my death. 

🙏🏽What you write in your will is a favor: not an obligation. Your family members have a choice to adhere to it or not (e.g. A wife writes "when I die, i do not want my husband to marry another wife")

💞 #bff Marriage EXCELLENCE challege: Live your life in such a way that, perhaps your spouse would want to write in their will:
"I love my husband/wife so much, that when I die, please MAKE SURE that he/she marries a righteous person, so that others may benefit from this great man/woman. So that he may raise more righteous children as a parent" - Allahu Akbar. 

📜Writing your will makes you a better person.
It puts into perspective what are the more important matters in life. 
When you read back your will many years later, it should make you reflect, "now that Allah has granted me this extended period in this dunya, am I any better than I was when I first wrote this?" 

أَنَّ رَجُلاً، قَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَىُّ النَّاسِ خَيْرٌ قَالَ ‏"‏ مَنْ طَالَ عُمُرُهُ وَحَسُنَ عَمَلُهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَأَىُّ النَّاسِ شَرٌّ قَالَ ‏"‏ مَنْ طَالَ عُمُرُهُ وَسَاءَ عَمَلُهُ ‏"‏ ‏
The Prophet was asked, "Who is the best of mankind?" 
The Prophet responded, "He who lives a long life, and whose deeds are good" 
He was then asked, "Who is the worst?" 
And he responded, "He who lives a long life, and whose deeds are evil" (Hadith narrated by At-Tirmidhi) 

👣 We read the stories of the Prophet's to follow in their footsteps, not (merely) for "information". 
Do not take learning sirah like watching the news. 

🔒Lesson from Prophet Yusuf in prison : give da'wah no matter how bad the situation is! Prison is literally one of the worst places one could live in, yet Yusuf never used that as an excuse to weaken in his da'wah. 
Yet here we are in the most comfortable of living conditions, and giving excuse after excuse of not calling others to the path of Allah. 

🤗Nurturing Trust  as a da'ee: 
When the fellow prisoners asked for Yusuf's help to interpret their dream and subsequently opening a door for da'wah, they said
إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
"We see you as a person who does a lot of good"  (Surah Yusuf, Verse 36)
Lesson: when you prove to people that you add value to their lives with your generosity and sincerity, they will trust you. This is when your opportunity for da'wah will appear. 
Conversely, when we portray bad akhlaq, this will bring in no desire for others to follow or listen to us. 

🕯️What saved you from Haram? Is it your own efforts? No - it is from Allah's Mercy that you were given the strength to refrain from sins. 
Do not think of haram as a 'burden' - rather,  your resolve to refrain from it is a sign that Allah loves you and wants good for you Hereafter. 

😇 True forgiveness and greatness of heart : when you have all the capability to take your revenge, but you choose to forgive them without any sense of respite whatsoever. 
That is what Yusuf did : his brothers 'bullied' him when he was a little boy, threw him into a well, which triggered a chain of events, leading him into being sold as a slave, accused of adultery, jailed until well into his adult years, and finally when he was appointed as Minister (al-Aziz) and had the upper hand against his brothers who did not recognize him, he simply responded as follows:

قَالَ لَا تَثْرِيبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
He said: "No reproach on you this day, may Allah forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy!
(Surah Yusuf, Verse 92)

Amazing forgiveness! 

🔊The first and foremost key to carrying on the Legacy of Prophet Muhammad : by conveying his message to mankind. We all have a collective responsibility!

Surah Fussilat, Verse 33:
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِّمَّن دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah, and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."



😍 The power of sadaqah (charity): As per the Hadith of the Prophet, a woman of the night (i.e. Prostitute) was forgiven of all her sins simply because she quenched the thirst of a dog - Can you imagine the rewards if we were to quench the thirst of our Muslim brother? 

✊🏼🔥There may come a point in your life when things get "difficult", temptation of laziness comes in : you just have to FORCE yourself through it - even though it's difficult, tiring or painful. 
That perseverence through our personal moments of hardship may be what defines our legacy.


🛣️Personal aspiration and legacy of our Shuyukh 
1. Sheikh Tariq Appleby : to be a strong mentor to the youth (the mentor he never had)
2. Sheikh Bilal Philips : to establish sustainable platforms that provide free education across the world by leveraging technology and the Internet via the Islamic online university 
3. Sheikh Abdur Rahim McCarthy : to establish the knowledge of the Qur'an amongst the ummah 

We make du'aa that Allah fulfills their ambition to leave behind a great legacy : and that perhaps we may assist them in whatever capacity we are able to

🔑 Key Takeaways : Establishing our Legacy entails 
1. Knowing ourselves, knowing Allah - there is no might or power except by Allah. Understand the definition of عبد الله : Be humble, at the same time have high aspirations and hopes of the Lord of the Universe 
2. Understanding our purpose in life - success Hereafter; keeping our "eyes on the prize" never lose sight of our goal and the nature of our finite existence 
3. Sabr - patience, resolve and steadfastness through the challenges. Stay committed, stay on course, Don't get weak, dont give yourself excuses. Be prepared for the grind and grit ahead to carve yourself towards greatness. 
4. Sincerity and ihsaan - don't be concerned  about the "results", e.g. number of followers. Be concerned about playing your part well, and if Allah accepts, He will grant you the barakah and mileage. 
5. Setting the right environment to nurture ourselves towards this legacy - your friends, your habits, physical environment 
6. Help each other towards righteousness and piety - play your part and contribute in anyway you can, big or small. Allah blessed us with different talents, skills and qualities : find where you fit in and never consider ant contribution as insignificant. Our achievements will be rewarded as a Jamaah without any rewards being decreased! 
7. Always and always Make du'aa! ASK from the owner and Turner of the hearts, the one Who can make anything happen 
8. Make a consistent effort towards Continuous Self improvement - today better than yesterday, tomorrow better than today. 

Twins of Faith 2018 : Legacy (8 - 9 December 2018 @ Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur)

Alhamdulillah - all Praises and Thanks to Allah - I've learnt a lot and have benefitted a lot throughout the conference in more ways than one.

The theme of "Legacy" is something that really resonates strongly with me personally, and it's always been a personal motto of mine to live consciously asking myself "What do you want to be remembered for when you die?" The topics selected were apt reminders for myself and the ummah in general and really struck some strong emotional cords in me (Sheikh Isam - you started it!).

These 2 days really renewed my perspective, inspiration and refuelled my resolve for putting my foot down towards pursuing that great legacy and playing my part towards developing and restoring the greatness of this ummah. 

Twins of Faith was the very first Islamic conference I've had the privilege of attending and participating in - in its very first one back in 2011 - and Alhamdulillah it's great to be back once again to volunteer on a wholly new capacity this time around.

Jazakumullahu khayran to the team at Mercy Mission for entrusting me with the opportunity to contribute to the event as the MC. My sincere apologies for any and all shortcomings throughout the event.

To all my brothers and sisters who did attend the event, please do share to me if you have any personal feedback on your thoughts about your MC and share if there is any way I can improve further.

May Allah grant His barakah and continuous success to TOF 2018 and the entire team - both at the forefront and the ones behind the scenes - and may Allah make all these efforts stepping stones and means of crafting great legacies for our ummah as a whole.

#tof2018 #legacy