13 Years in PETRONAS: 13 Pieces of Career Advice I would give to my younger, immature self

 

الحمد لله الذي بنعمته تتم الصالحات 

Alhamdulillah, as of today, it will be exactly 13 years since I was gifted with the privilege to be part of this beautiful organization since my first day of reporting duty on 18th February 2008. It has been an awesome journey and I am extremely grateful and humbled for being a part of the PETRONAS family. 

And boy, what a journey has it been since those days! I decided to list down 13 pieces of career advice that I had wish I had received and I would give to my younger self, as a memoir and time capsule to remind my future self, and also in hopes that it may be of benefit to others. Feel free to share them if you find them beneficial, and please do share your thoughts!

1. Be optimistic: The best is yet to come

2. Be Authentic: “Be yourself, but better”

3. You do you: Framing the right paradigm about “Professional Rivalry” 

4. Plant a Growth mindset from Day 1: your weaknesses today may be your strengths tomorrow (Spoiler alert: it really happened!)

5. Improve one thing at a time, consistently. Then add one more. 

6. Practice generosity: Teach what you know

7. Always upgrade your Emotional Intelligence (EQ), beginning with self-awareness and self-management

8. Identify and build your signature strengths, then double down on them

9. Nurture Trust: deal with people in such a way that builds confidence that you EARN their trust.

10. Keep the fire burning and stay sharp: Do not drift and get carried away with the environment

11. Deal with everyone in the best of manners; do not burn bridges or make enemies 

12. Excel at Followership and being an awesome team player 

13. Always remember your big WHY

Note: Long Article. ~13 minutes read

1. Be optimistic: The Best is yet to come 

When I first started, I was filled with anxiety, feeling totally insecure, clueless of what the heck I was doing, battling this massive internal feelings of the impostor syndrome and that “I don’t belong here”, especially when I look at everyone around me who is so much more intelligent and talented than I am when I’m struggling to do my basic job. My advice: stay calm, be optimistic. Put in the work, keep hustling, stay sincere, be patient, and put your trust in Allah. You will reap what you sow: The results will come slowly, even if you don’t physically see it yet. 

2. Be Authentic 

The term “authentic” my have different connotations and meanings to different people, so here is the angle I am coming from: “Be yourself. But better.” The corporate environment has a tendency to influence people to superficially become people they are not, or to put on a fake mask in an attempt to “blend in”, cover their vulnerabilities, or protect their self-interests. Don’t fall into that trap. To be “authentic”, to me means the following: ask for help if you need it; speak up when you know something to be correct; apologize and admit if you made mistakes (because you will make a ton of them!); respect everyone and do not discriminate your kindness or be selective about who you are “nice” or “friendly” to; don’t get arrogant when you rise in ranks; just ask the “stupid questions” to help yourself AND help others; stay true to your principles when you see some hanky-panky going on; take the effort to recognize and thank others when they have done a good job. And finally here’s an interesting one: if you don’t know, JUST SAY “I DON’T KNOW”. Experts do it all the time (and you’re no expert). You don’t have to pretend like you know just to live up to your imaginary superhero persona (i.e. ego). 

3. You do you: Framing the right paradigm about “Professional Rivalry” 

Don't get caught up by peer pressure to the point of jealousy or inferiority. In the early days, peer pressure really hit me hard. I was stuck at the “graduate” job grade G-01 for 6 years. Many of my juniors – those who joined after me – eventually get promoted faster than me, some become managers way before I hit that “senior engineer” barrier. Get rid of all these negative self-depreciating thoughts. It’s not relevant and is in fact very destructive on many levels, including envy. Instead, use peer pressure as a positive means towards improving yourself, not to feed your envy or justify your stagnation in mediocrity. Besides, it’s not all a bed of roses on the side of the highflyers either: I have seen so many people rise so fast, they become overwhelmed by their responsibilities that they struggle to keep up doing their jobs effectively. As Simon Sinek writes in his book “The Infinite Game”: We choose them to be our Worthy Rivals because there is something about them that reveals to us our weaknesses and pushes us to constantly improve.

 فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ (2:148)

4. Plant a Growth mindset from Day 1: your weaknesses today may be your strengths tomorrow (Spoiler alert: it really happened!) 

I struggled a lot in the early days in this whole engineering thing, to the point of getting yelled at by my senior engineer for wasting her time when I asked for her help, because “YOU SHOULD KNOW these basic things”. But over time, some of the skills I “just don’t get”, those subjects eventually became something I started teaching others! 

5. Improve one thing at a time, consistently. Then add one more. 

Oh, the dreaded "ACD gaps". I used to feel completely overwhelmed and demotivated by the many different engineering competencies I needed to be good at just to advance one step in my job grade because of how lousy I was at, well, everything. What I should have understood is that, instead of feeling intimidated and incapacitated from the daunting idea of nailing “everything” and “so much”, the key to steady progress is just to focus on being good at one thing at a time. Be so good at it that you can teach others the subject. Then add one more skill. It's slow, but it steadily builds on your foundations and leads to a more sustainable and satisfying personal development. This isn’t just applicable to technical ability. Working out, memorization of Qur’an, seeking knowledge, manners, all the same principle: Little things, consistently. Trust me, you will be amazed at what you are capable of. "The most beloved deeds to Allah are those done consistently, even if they are small" (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

6. Practice generosity: Teach what you know 

“Who am I to teach others?!”, you say? Yes, many of us tend to suffer this massive inferiority complex and lack of self-confidence to think that we don’t have anything of value to teach others. This isn’t true. All of us do know something. And what you DO know, teach others. I have a personal principle: “You don’t have to be a Master Chef to teach someone to fry an egg”. Find – or even create – opportunities to teach and coach others: juniors, interns, even other colleagues. This benefit serves two-fold: firstly, you enhance and develop the organization as a whole. Secondly, it benefits YOU more than the ones you teach! There’s a saying that “the teacher gets to learn twice”. In my experience, in preparation, the teacher gets to learn at least ten times over, solidifying what we already know so we can build on it and move on. Sharing knowledge opens up room for feedback to correct your past mistakes, builds trusting, meaningful relationships – which goes a LONG way! 

7. Always upgrade your Emotional Intelligence (EQ), beginning with self-awareness and self-management 

Back when we were growing up, intelligence (IQ) was all the craze. Plot twist: Turns out that, the most important life skill, in the spheres of professional and personal life, is emotional intelligence. It is this single trait that can advance your career, build meaningful networks, supercharge your leadership capabilities, and improve your all-around productivity, even as a father and a husband! And conversely, poor EQ might be the biggest factor that can Jeopardize our career or our relationships, even if our technical skills are great. Yet ironically, EQ is the skill tends to be neglected the most. 

Of all things under the wide banner of EQ, prioritize self-awareness and self-management, i.e. controlling your own emotions first: especially fear and anger. The Prophet ﷺ said, “the truly strong person is the one who can control himself in a state of anger” (Al-Bukhari). Anger makes us do stupid things we regret and burn bridges with others (boy, do I have a regret list of those). Fear, on the other hand, is the single most paralyzing barrier against progress: Fear of judgment, fear of looking stupid, fear of criticism, fear of incompetence… silly things we imagine in our head that hold us back that make us procrastinate and freeze from moving forward. Here’s the good news though: Fear is natural. The key is OVERCOMING them. Nelson Mandela once said, “I learned that COURAGE isn’t the absence of fear, but the TRIUMPH over it. The brave man is not the one who does not feel afraid, but he who CONQUERS that FEAR.”

Everyone can develop EQ. Like all other skills, we just have to put in the effort. Ponder upon the words of Prophet Muhammad: “whoever TRIES to develop patience, Allah will MAKE HIM Patient” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

8. Identify your signature strengths and double down on them 

Years into my career, my ex-boss complemented me saying that I had a skill to “simplify complex things to explain to others, especially to management”. I didn’t realize I even had it at the time, and was not even aware it was a skill to begin with. So, in order to over-compensate for my oh-so-many weaknesses in other areas, I decided to double-down on this strength in a way that grants me a different edge over my peers: Presentation and Negotiation skills. This initially seemed pointless because as a process engineer, I rarely give presentations, let alone negotiate. But to my surprise, over time, this niche skill eventually boosted my career in unexpected ways, AND strengthened my other weak spots. Every one of us has their own unique talents, traits and little quirks that make us different. Identify yours and turn this into your Unfair Advantage. This may take some time. This may take some soul-searching, some tweaking, some trial and error, soliciting feedback from others. But never stop doing it. 

9. Nurture Trust

Of all the PETRONAS Cultural Beliefs, this is my favorite that resonates with me the most, as it is the most authentically human one. It is also the one people misunderstand the most: people tend to think that it means “entrusting others”. That’s not it. “Nurture trust” means you deal with people in such a way that builds confidence that you EARN their trust. To be someone reliable and trustworthy – “Al-Amin”; and this is essentially what the Qur’an teaches us: “Verily, the best man  you can employ is one who is strong (competent) and al-amin (trustworthy)” (Surah Al-Qasas 28:26). In practice, to be “trustworthy” grounds the essence of professionalism, with the following elements: Transparent communication; producing quality work; having a growth mindset and genuine willingness to improve; being a strong team player; meeting deadlines; someone people genuinely look forward to working with. Simply put, just ask yourself, “who do I enjoy working with?” Be that guy.

10. Keep the fire burning, and stay sharp: Do not drift and get carried away with the environment

In an old movie I watched in my student years, it starts off with Jack Nicholson’s antagonist character with a very powerful opening monologue: “I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.” So many people I’ve met, they start off their careers with a kindred spirit of fiery passion and big dreams; but over time, this fire fades away when they face the reality of their respective work environments: difficult superiors, toxic co-workers, rigid systems, “unfair” appraisals, whatever challenges we may go through – and over the years their flames get all but extinguished. Don’t allow the environment to deter your spirits or compromise your principles; be stronger than that! As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in people”. Hold on to your big WHYs of on why you work, and instead strive to be a force to be reckoned with: to create the working environment that YOU’VE always wanted. “Allah will not change the state of a people until they first change what is in themselves” (Surah ar-Ra’d 13:11).

11. Deal with everyone in the best of manners; do not burn bridges or make enemies – “People will forget what you said, people forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel” (Maya Angelou). Throughout these short 13 years, I have seen how Allah turns the tables in ways you never expect. Bosses becoming subordinates, clients becoming contractors; rank-and-files becoming Managing Directors; interns becoming supervisors. And things get really ugly when your nastiness comes and bite you in the back, later on. On the other hand, beautiful things happen when your good relationships blossom into something amazing down the line. But seriously, you know what? These are minor. This is NOT why you should be kind to others. The REAL reason you should be kind to others is because this ties back to your big WHY: The Prophet ﷺ said, “verily, I have only been sent (to mankind) to perfect good manners” (Muwatta Malik). You will be accountable to how you treat others; those consequences – for better or worse – will come back at you, in this life or the next. Live by this principle: “You do not have perfect faith until you love for others what you love for yourself” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim) Live with the conscience that you can sleep well at night, with the peace of mind that you didn’t make enemies. 

12. Excel at Followership and being an awesome team player – I would like to ask the question: “If I were a leader some day, what kind of followers would I love to have on my team?” BE THAT FOLLOWER. We tend to get so caught up with the leadership craze that we tend to forget that the key to advancing any organization, or realizing the vision of a leader, is to be a great team player and excel in followership: To collaborate with others, lift each other up, realize more value than the sum of our parts, and to support our leaders when they are down or ineffective. We cannot rely on the leader alone to get this synergy running: we all have to play our part. And in many cases, a positive peer can be more impactful than a leader, because of how “relatable” peers are. At the end of the day, the reality is, EVERYONE – even the leaders – play the role of a follower, to some capacity. I remember a narration once that when Amirul Mu’mnin Umar ibn Al-Khattab was khalifah, when he was national leader #1, and wasn’t answerable to any other person except Allah, he made a statement: “I am following a path of two people (Abu Bakar and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ), that no matter how hard I try, I will never be as good as them”

13. Always remember your big WHY – “And do not be like those who forgot Allah, and therefore He caused them to forget their own selves” (Surah Al-Hasyr 59:19). And last but not least, here is the most important career advice to rule them all. Remember your intentions, your principles, and never forget your big picture PURPOSE of why you work. This is so important, that it demands a whole writeup - perhaps a whole book - by itself. But suffice to say, this one thing alone - your WHY – will add meaning to your work, will give you the inner-motivation to improve, do better, do more; will keep you in check when you misbehave; to remind you on what is truly important; to keep moving when your bosses or colleagues fail to acknowledge your contributions; will also put things into perspective when things don't work out or turn up as planned; and a reminder that you will be accountable and answerable to your good deeds. It’s THAT powerful. To sum it up, 

"And fear the Day when you shall return to Allah. Then, every person shall be repaid in what he earned, and shall not be dealt with unjustly." (Al-Baqarah 2:281)

Principles of coaching and mentoring: Derived from my Parenting Experience, Part 1

 

“When we become parents, we often see ourselves as our children’s teachers, but we soon discover that our children are our teachers as well” 

(Dan Siegel and Mary Hartzel, author: “Parenting from the Inside Out”)

الحمد لله الذي بنعمته تتم الصالحات 

Alhamdulillah this week our Little Man, Muawiyah bin Faisal, turns 3 years old. Reflecting back this past year of raising him – mostly in lockdown – since he was 2, I found that one of the most fulfilling and exciting roles of parenting is that of a teacher. 

There is just something immensely satisfying, wholesome and flat-out awesome about guiding our little ones learn and grow, and to be with them in those victorious Level-Up moments. 

Throughout helping Muawiyah develop his motor skills, speech abilities, reading proficiency, and social interactions, it has been a very educational experience for me personally too, to develop a very valuable life lesson which I can apply in so many other areas of my professional and personal life: coaching and mentoring. 

I decided to map out and share a list of the principles that I have learnt throughout these past couple of years to get the best out of our students, in our role as teachers. It is interesting to note that many of these principles are also applicable to effective coaching in general, including professional coaching at the workplace or in teaching others skills such as tajwid in recitation of Qur’an, or even in working out. 

Please do share if you have any thoughts, comments, feedbacks, or even disagreements!

Here are some of the guidelines of effective coaching, based on what I have learnt:

1. Progress, not Perfection – when teaching them, don’t focus too much on the endgame of being “expert” at something; it can be daunting and possibly demoralize them, especially when you compare with other children and fall victim to peer pressure. The worst thing you can do is get them to feel they demoralised that they “don’t have what it takes” or are not “talented”. After all, everyone has their own pace (just look up Albert Einstein’s progress in school!). Focus your efforts to get them to move one step forward. One task at a time. That momentum itself can motivate them to take another step forward. 

2. “Yes, you can!”: Instilling confidence in them – upon multiple attempts, it is natural that they will feel like giving up, and repeatwslt claim “I can't do this”. Your job is to make them believe in themselves, just enough to get them into the progress momentum in point #1. This coach bond is important: when they feel that you genuinely believe in them, they will too. 

3. Refrain from micromanaging or being a “helicopter”: As much as possible, let them do the work themselves and figure it out. Resist the temptation to “swoop in” every time they make mistakes. What they are capable of doing, try not to do it for them and spoil them, no matter how slow they are in getting it right, how sloppy they might be or how much they demand you to help them out. The mistakes are part of the learning process, and if we solve all of their problems, we rob them of the ability to figure it out by themselves. (Note: Sometimes, this also means you may have to standby to clean up the mess after them!)

4. Be patient in their mistakes – As parents/teachers, we need to train our emotional intelligence to suppress our frustrations or disappointment from their failed attempts or if they have been slacking. Showing our frustration will severely discourage them, as this will not only make them believe less in themselves (and subconsciously make them feel defective), but can might also make them feel that they let us down, which further demoralizes them as a reason for our grief. Remember: A student-teacher relationship works both ways.

5. Show, don’t tell (as much as practicable) – Try to minimize the amount of verbal instructions, wherever possible. Lectures tend to stress people out, especially toddlers or beginners who may be lacking the vocabulary capacity to fully grasp what you are trying to explain in the heat of their difficult attempts. Instead, show them, let them observe and try it out for themselves. 

6. “See! I knew you could do it!”: Celebrate their little wins – Give them high fives. Paint a big fat smile on your face. Jump around like a bunny. Whatever gets them excited! When you express genuine happiness at their progress, not only does this reinforce their motivation to learn and improve, but it also has a subconscious empowering effect to make them feel that they have contributed to your happiness. Use this a means to communicate through your actions that “I believe in you”.

7. Respect – refrain from mocking their efforts or making fun of them, especially if their attempts look silly. This includes conversations you have with other family members or fellow parents, when you expose their “cute” antics as a laughing. This is a big no, no… especially for boys. This can make them feel that we betrayed their trust, that you exposed their vulnerabilities in secret, damage their self-esteem, and deter their motivation from the act again in the future. Even worse, if they get upset and we JUSTIFY our actions and invalidate their emotions. This also means that sometimes, they do prefer privacy to “test things out” and learn by themselves, so be mindful also of how they feel if you were to take a photo or video of them for you to upload or share with others #sharenting

8. Be present: chuck away the phones – The only way to be effective at ANY of these coaching techniques, is that we are totally present with them. Our children are a lot more perceptive than we tend to give them credit for: they can intuitively tell when we are not paying attention, and when they do, they will lose interest from engaging with us, much less trying to live up to what you are teaching them to do. This can also damage their self esteem – Busying ourselves with distractions such as mobile phones will, through our actions, subconsciously sends a message that our coachees don’t matter and are unimportant to us. 

9. Communication: Tone of voice and emotion matters – a positive and negative tone can make all the difference in your coaching effectiveness: “How” you are saying it is sometimes more important than “what” you are saying. For example, there are many ways you can say “come on”: and how you say those two words can either convey encouragement, frustration, panic or optimistic anticipation. This is especially true for toddlers. They may not understand your words, but they can intuitively feel the emotions behind them: and how you pitch them can make all the difference between motivation and discouragement.

10. Lead by example, but at the same time be authentic: They mimic you more than you realize – children absorb like a sponge, and at the sensory perception of the toddler age, they take in everything: including the subtle nuances of our subconscious behavior. And this is when we have to be extra mindful. However, this shouldn’t be taken the wrong way that we should “pretend” to put an act in front of them. Children are a lot more efficient at spotting character inconsistencies than we realize (hence they sometimes learn to take advantage of that). Rather, this means, we have to clean up our act regardless of our presence, so we can authentically be ourselves. And yes, this DEFINITELY applies to leaders and seniors at the workplace – you never know what your subordinates pick up. 

11. Stay true to your word: make good on your commitments – this is very important: do not issue out empty threats, or worse yet, empty promises. Children can quickly learn that “oh he’s just saying it”, and find methods to bypass the hurdles (e.g. tantrums, raise our voices even louder next time). Mean what you say and say what you mean. This applies for positive commitments too, such as a promised of a reward if they were to do something. They remember. Besides, how do we feel when promise us something but then “forget” about it? Same thing with your child. Honesty needs to be modelled through action. 

12. Humility: Be their student, too, wherever you find the opportunity – Everyone has at least one thing that they are better than us. Sure, we may be their teacher in one or several aspects, but they may be better at us in other things. When the teaching relationships goes both ways, the student feels empowered to feel they have a positive effect on their teacher. Muawiyah loves making up his own games, and imaginary stories or tells stories of past adventures; and when he does, I play with his rules, listen and ask questions curiously, like a friend at school. It reinforces the two-way relationship, while simultaneously strengthening my observations by allowing me to gauge his thoughts and level of imagination/understanding.

And that’s my list for Part 1! 

What do you think? Any of the above that you particularly disagree with or resonates with you most?

Share and let us know! 😁

 رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا

"Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring, those who will be the comfort of our eyes, 

and make us leaders for the people of taqwa" (Surah Al-Furqan 25:74) 

WHY do we exercise, eat healthy and lose fat? Shifting our paradigm, getting intentional with your long-term WHY.

 

When I first lost 20+ kg after living through entire childhood of being overweight/obese, I met a friend of mine whom I have not seen in a while. He was so surprised, that after retorting “what happened?!” he immediately turned to my wife – in my presence – and straight up asked her,
“Eh, aren’t you worried that he’s going to marry a second wife?!”

We had a good laugh.

Jokes aside, this remark made me ponder about the "WHY" of exercising and eating healthy. People always view this fat loss thing as purely for aesthetic purposes, to attract others. Perhaps is that why some people sometimes completely stop exercising altogether after marriage, because they “got the girl” and nailed the wedding photos… and before you know it: Dad bod..?
More recently, I heard a case where, in her attempt to “secure” the husband from seeing someone else, the wife deliberately stuffs the husband so he will gain weight to appear less attractive.
Some people even outright refuse to exercise because they feel “nobody wants to look at me anyway”.

“Fitness” is always associated with sexual attraction, and seldom associated with good health, and improving our quality of life and taking care of the Amanah of the only home that Allah has given us: our bodies.  When in fact, that should be the main goal - especially as Muslims!

We really need to mature our paradigm and move away from this shallow, teenage-boy mindset of #BicepCurlsGetTheGurls getting a beach boy to "catch chicks".
When our intentions our shallow, then the actions that inspire them become unsustainable and short-lived.

As for my big WHY for maintaining regular exercise and going to the gym, I sum it up in two words: Age Awesomely.

I ask myself this simple question: "If Allah grants me long life in this dunya, how will I imagine I spend my days in that old age? Would I want to live to be a grumpy grandpa, barely surviving on life support of pills and medication, waiting on the next surprise news upon my next medical checkup?"

My major inspiration is the example of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and how he lived his day-to-day life, towards the end of his life. Throughout his final years in Madinah, much of what took place in his 60s, he was playing with children in the streets, was constantly smiling (to the extent that Abdullah bin Harith said "I have never seen anyone more in the habit of smiling than him ﷺ), was on the front lines in the battlefield, would win in a footrace with his wife A’isyah, the first to respond onsite when a crisis was about to happen, actively socializing with his young companions, and would be the hardest worker in hunger when they dug the trenches during the battle of Al-Ahzab. Wow! Masha Allah.

How will I imagine my physical self if Allah allows me to live until my 60s? Wouldn’t it be awesome if I could work out and play squash with my son, as father-and-son bonding activities, and to be goofing around jumping about with my grandchildren? If I can retain all my memorizations of Qur’an and hadith, AND keep up that growth mindset to continue learning, writing and memorizing more? If I can continue to play an active role in da’wah efforts, still do house chores efficiently as ever? If I can maintain an optimistic and positive demeanour to play a role to motivate the people around me?

This is one of my big WHYs of exercise: to live a quality life that ages awesomely.

So, let’s change our paradigm and really plant the habit now, with this long-term intent of aging awesome. Let’s set our eyes on the prize: to live a quality life full of energy, enthusiasm, motivation and razor-sharp cognitive health and memory to be the best version I can be to perform righteous deeds for ourselves and to be positive presence for our families, well into our old age.
Attractiveness? Sure: For the spouse, of course. Compound awesomeness!

إنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى
"Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended." (Hadith narrated by Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Let’s chuck away the excuses and stamp this on our priority list of habits. Don’t wait until the shocking medical report to push us, or the dreaded news that it’s “too late”.

“If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. If it’s not important, you’ll find an excuse” (Jim Rohn)

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that the best of mankind, are those

مَنْ طَالَ عُمُرُهُ وَحَسُنَ عَمَلُهُ
“Whose life is long and his deeds are good." (Narrated At-Tirmidzi)

#TheBarakahEffect #Exercise #Fatloss #loseweight #fitness #healthylifestyle #cleaneating

Speculating “True intentions” or “hidden agendas” of others

When people gossip about others, especially when it comes to discussing politics, gossiping about bosses or co-workers, among the most common expressions that get people passionately riled up is when the conversation begins towards speculating other people’s “true intentions”, “ulterior motive” or “hidden agendas”. 

And they will defend their positions and claim “but it’s obvious!” further adding fuel to the fire. 

Political discussions or heated gossips have a tendency to be so toxic that even when one does positive things, there are always others who jump at the speculating their “political agenda”.

What does Islam have to say about this? Is it valid to speculate people’s intentions and judge them as such, and spread the word to others, with the “sincere patriotic intention” of “betterment of the nation”? 

Usamah bin Zaid – a companion of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ - narrated an incident that he personally encountered in the battlefield: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent us in a raiding party. We raided Huraqat of Juhaina in the morning. I seized an enemy soldier, and (just as I was about to kill him), he immediately (professed the declaration of faith), and said: 

لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ

Laa ilaaha illallāh, “There is no god but Allah!” (i.e. thereby becoming Muslim and should be protected from further being attacked)

But I attacked – and subsequently killed – him with a spear. It dawned on me to consult Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked, “He professed “Laa ilaaha illAllah” and even then you killed him?!”

I said: “But Messenger of Allah, he only said it out of the fear of the sword! (i.e. not because he sincerely wanted to become Muslim). He only said it to save himself!”

He asked: “Did you tear his heart open in order to find out whether it had professed or not (because of that reason which you mentioned)?!”

And he went on repeating it to me until I wished I had embraced Islam that day!” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

What do we learn from this hadith?

Even in that “almost certain” situation in the moments of death, that a person may have done something purely to save his own self, not out of a true profession towards becoming Muslim or declaring that indeed that there is none truly of worship except Allah, the Prophet ﷺ STILL forbade his beloved Usamah from the rights of judging what is in the other person’s heart. 

So, if such is the judgment in the face of death, what gives us the right to claim that we KNOW that those politicians, bosses, or co-workers? Did you slice their heart open? 

The Prophet ﷺ emphasized, 

إِيَّاكُمْ وَالظَّنَّ, فَإِنَّ اَلظَّنَّ أَكْذَبُ اَلْحَدِيثِ

“Beware of negative suspicions, for verily, negative suspicions are the worst lying forms of speech” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

By the way, this topic isn’t simply a “religious” matter. History shows that this kind of talks of spreading false assumptions have far-reaching, real-life consequences that could end up in people being killed, if we aren’t careful and volunteer ourselves to become an agent of chaos. This widespread speculation that went viral, was precisely the reason why Uthman bin Affan was murdered by an angry mob who laid siege on his house. All of them who claimed to do so out of "seeking justice". 

Can you imagine, the third righteous khalifah of the Muslims, the companion of the Prophet ﷺ who was guaranteed paradise, murdered because of widespread speculations?

But okay, just for argument sake, perhaps one may ask: “But what if it’s TRUE?!”

Interestingly, the companions also asked the same question to the Prophet ﷺ, to which he replied: 

إِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ مَا تَقُولُ فَقَدْ اِغْتَبْتَهُ, وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فَقَدْ بَهَتَّهُ

“If what you say about him is true you have backbitten him, 

and if it is not true you have slandered him.” (Muslim)

Wrapping up these narrations, Allah says: 

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ اجْتَنِبُواْ كَثِيراً مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلاَ تَجَسَّسُواْ وَلاَ يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضاً أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتاً فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ وَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَّحِيمٌ 

“O you who believe! Avoid much of negative suspicions, for indeed some suspicions are sins. And do not spy, nor backbite one another. 

Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it! 

And have Taqwa of Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful.” (Surah Al-Hujarat 49:12)

So really, at the end of the day, this is the conclusion: Islamically, when it comes to gossiping about “true intent” of others, there is zero benefit and a hundred percent risk of being sinful, and an additional risk of triggering widespread hatred and chaos. 

As sincere Muslims, we just have to take a step back and ask ourselves: whatever I have to say, share, or post on social media, how will that affect me on the Last Day? Will these words take me closer to Jannah or Jahannam? Perhaps by refraining from gossip for the sake of Allah – against our burning desires – it may be a ticket to Jannah. 

And sometimes taking a timeout for this short little thought process can make all the difference for our success hereafter. 

Heed the words of the Prophet ﷺ:

مَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَلْيَقُلْ خَيْرًا أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ

“He who believes in Allah and the Hereafter should say something good or keep quiet!” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

If we consistently focus on improving ourselves, we will realize that we don’t have time to gossip about the faults of others! 

طُوبى لمنْ شَغَلَهُ عَيبُه عن عُيُوبِ النّاسِ

"Glad tidings to the one who busies himself with (rectifying) his own faults,

Instead of (busying himself) with the faults of others”

(Hadith Narrated by Ahmad, At-Tabarani, Al-Bazzar with a good chain of narrators)

#politikus #SpeakGoodOrBeSilent #politicalAgenda #sembangpolitik

#MudahnyaZikir

Dzikir (#remembranceofallah) is  such an easy act that can be done almost anytime, anywhere. Yet it is such a beloved deed that is so greatly rewarded by Allah, out of His Mercy! 

Imagine the amazing virtues of this simple dzikir: The Prophet ﷺ said, “There is no Muslim, nor person, nor slave (of Allah) - who says the following in the morning and evening:

رَضِيتُ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيًّا 

“I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, Islam as my religion and Muhammad as my Prophet”,

except that he will have a promise that Allah will be pleased with him on the Day of Resurrection."

(ibn Majah, At-Tirmidzi)

In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ said, “whomsoever is pleased with Allah as (his) Lord, Islam as his religion, and Muhammad as (his) Prophet, then he has tasted the sweetness of faith." (At-Tirmidzi)

The Prophet ﷺ once asked his companions: “Shall I not inform you of the best of your actions which are the purest to your Lord, which exalt you to the high ranks, which are more efficacious than spending gold and silver (in charity), and better for you than you should encounter your enemies whom you will smite their necks and they will smite your necks?" 

They said, "Certainly!" 

He (ﷺ) said, "Dzikir (Remembrance) of Allah the Exalted." (At-Tirmidzi)

#dzikir #zikir 

The Villain Redemption Arc of Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh: The man who embraced Islam, apostasized (murtad), and returned back to Islam during the life of the Prophet ﷺ!

In the fictional world of storytelling, all of us love relatable villains. The most compelling antagonists are those that have genuinely relatable backstories, who were once promising people with great potential but unfortunately strayed to the dark side for reasons we can empathize – though not necessarily agree – with, and finally turned a new leaf to redeem themselves. (Lookin’ at you, Anakin).

Interestingly, a similar real-life story happened in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. There was a Qurayshi man by the name of Abdullah bin Abi as-Sarh, who was the foster brother of Uthman bin Affan. He embraced Islam and became a companion of the Prophet ﷺ and because of his rare ability (at the time) to read and write, the Prophet assigned him to be a scriber to write down the Qur’an for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ - an important and honorable role in the rank of Muslims.

However, he was led astray by shaitan, slipped and apostatized (murtad) to abandon his religion, plunging to the proverbial dark side.

Fast forward towards the end of the Prophet’s life during the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet ﷺ made it as a peaceful conquest, and forgave all of the people of Quraysh and spared them from the death penalty, except a handful of people, whom the Prophet demanded the death sentence. One of those unforgiven people was Abdullah bin Abi as-Sarh because of his treasonous crimes against the state, betraying the trust of the Prophet as the scriber of revelation by apostatizing from Islam.

Fearful of his fate, Abdullah went to hide in the home of his foster brother, Uthman to gain protection. He decided to swear allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ and embrace Islam once again.

Uthman brought Abdullah to the Prophet, trying to convince him to accept his pledge and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Accept the allegiance of 'Abdullah!”
The Prophet raised his head and looked, refusing to respond. Uthman then requested the Prophet once again to accept Abdullah’s allegiance, and the Prophet did not respond. Uthman did the same for a third time, and the Prophet gave the same reaction.
After the third request, finally the Prophet ﷺ accepted him embracing Islam.
Thereafter, he ﷺ asked the rest of his companions, “Was there not any sensible man among you who would get up when he saw me refusing to give him my hand and kill him?'
They said: 'We did not know, O Messenger of Allah, what was in your heart. Why did you not gesture to us with your eyes?' He said: 'It is not befitting for a Prophet that his eyes be deceitful.'"
(Hadith narrated by Abu Daud, An-Nasa’ee. Classified sahih by Al-Albani)

Here was a man whose crimes were so great that the Prophet ﷺ deemed him unworthy of being pardoned, and it was only upon repeated attempts, finally his pledge of allegiance was accepted.

Now at this point, perhaps one may wonder, did Abdullah pledge allegiance merely out of the intention to save himself from the death penalty, or was it a genuine?

Upon studying his lifetime, Imam Adz-Dzahabi, the famous scholar who compiled the life and times of the people of the past, concluded about the biography of Abdullah bin Abi Sarh:
“After the conquest of Makkah, he never harmed anybody, and he did not do anything that he could be blamed for. He was one of the wisest and most generous of men.” (Siyar A‘laam an-Nubala’, 3/34)

Abdullah lived on as a righteous companion of the Prophet ﷺ, being appointed by ‘Uthman as the governor of Egypt, and he was the one who led the battle of Dzaat as-Sawaari. He went on campaign in North Africa and conquered many of its cities.

Among Abdullah’s virtues was that he refrained from getting involved in the civil war turmoil between ‘Ali and Mu‘aawiyah (radhiAllahu anhuma), then he went to ar-Ramlah in Palestine.
One morning on the 59th year after Hijrah, he made du’aa: “O Allah, let my last deed be Fajr prayer.”
He did wudhu’ and performed his prayer. He said the salaam to his right, then when he was going to say the salaam to his left, Allah took his soul.
(Ref @ IslamQ&A: “Differentiating between ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh and someone else who apostatised and claimed that he had distorted the revelation”)

SubhanAllah! What an amazing end!

Abdullah ibn Abbas, the great mufassir of Qur’an says that the following ayah of the Qur’an describes the redemption arc of Abdullah bin Abi Sarh:

‏‏ ثُمَّ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لِلَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا فُتِنُوا ثُمَّ جَاهَدُوا وَصَبَرُوا إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِنْ بَعْدِهَا لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ‏‏
"Then, verily, your Lord for those who migrated after they had been put to trials, and thereafter strove hard and fought (for the Cause of Allah) and were patient, verily, your Lord afterward is, Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Surah An-Nahl 16:110)

There is an important lesson here: Empathy.
Never lose hope that someone can change. In the words of Anakin’s son, “I KNOW there is good in you”

We might meet someone who is antagonistic, toxic, or difficult, in our lives – perhaps they could even be from among our family members. Then, always remember: perhaps his redemption arc is yet to come. Everyone has an innate fitrah in them to be a good person, and perhaps they even used to be someone with a bright and hopeful past which we do not know of, but, QaddarAllahu, perhaps they were misguided, influenced by the wrong crowd and shaped by wrong choices, and perhaps are also battling their own inner demons to change. And perhaps we could be the people sent by Allah to help them make the right choices!

Perhaps today, we are merely witnessing them in their “dark side” phase, we've only seen them in their "Darth Vader" form.
Yet this story of Abdullah bin Abi Sarh teachess us to be patient and remain optimistic: perhaps, they may yet redeem themselves with a great ending!

Remember the words of the Prophet ﷺ :

وَإِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا
“And verily, perhaps one of you may perform the actions of the people of the Hellfire, until there is nothing but an arm’s length distance between him and the hellfire,
and that which has been written overtakes him and so he acts with the deeds of the people of Paradise and thus he enters Paradise.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

وَإِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالْخَوَاتِيمِ ‏
"And verily, deeds are only decided upon by their endings" (Al-Bukhari)

May Allah grant us a good ending, and the patience to help others towards a good end!

#TheBarakahEffect

"What am I grateful for about 2020?" – An Ice-Breaking conversation

In our recent department's online engagement session to kick off 2021, we decided to kickstart the session with an ice-breaking session: Members of the floor to share "What am I grateful for about 2020": professionally and personally. 

The idea was a to break the ice with an authentic friendly conversation and to start off the year on a positive and inspiring note by motivating each other, especially on things which we didn't realize we took for granted. 

Admittedly, it was a risky move on our part, as organizers. Because our department & regional satellite office unit was only formed last year during the MCO, most of us have never met each other face-to-face, and there may be a reluctance to share personal matters with colleagues we barely know, made more challenging by the reduced presence of human touch because it is done 100% online, especially when most participants do not switch on their webcams. It could easily have backfired with the awkward sound of silence, and ended up being an embarrassing personal experience for me as the MC for the event.

But I remembered a quote that said, "if it scares you, it is a sign that you SHOULD do it"

So, we took the plunge and embraced the potential awkward silence. 

To our pleasant surprise, we got some amazing input from our colleagues and bosses! Here are some notable highlights:

1. MAD NEW SKILLZ: People are grateful that they picked up lots of new skills; quite a few people have picked up gardening. Mrs D picked up hairdressing and learnt to cut her husband's hair. Personally, I am grateful to master the skill of effective grocery shopping!

2. EXERCISE: Haji H shared that he FINALLY managed to start a habit which he always wanted to do but procrastinated: Regular exercise! To make is sustainable, he started off by taking slow, take short walks every day outside of his house every day, gradually ramping it up and increasing the challenge. He also said that there were so many amazing mental health benefits to it too, which he did not expect. He says, "we hear people talk about it all the time, but when we actually DO it, now we really FEEL it. And it'sgreat"

3. FAMILY: Many are so grateful we can be together with our loved ones, working from home. Mr N shared, on behalf of the weekend husbands that it's such a relief from the constant weekend travelling. Mr L can FINALLY spend quality time with his infant son who just turned 2 years old, and able to be present throughout this beautiful infant-toddler transition age. 

4. HEALTH: Surprisingly, quite a few people have remarked that staying at home enabled them to eat healthy, and they actually LOST weight! One of our bosses, Haji R said that his recent medical health check showed significant improvement with reductions in cholesterol and fatty liver readings, especially that he started running since MCO and managed to achieve Stage-4 in the treadmill test.

5. CHILDREN'S EDUCATION: Despite having children go through the challenge of learning online, Mrs. I remarked that since the MCO online learning arrangement, it enabled teachers to have a closer relationship with their parents, allowing a more seamless feedback exchange for the development of their kids. Previously, this feedback exchange only happens once a year (report card day). 

6. DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY - As Mr. R remarked, the MCO enabled our organization and software developers worldwide to ramp up the digital tools to allow for a smooth working-from-home experience. Previously, many traditionally oriented bosses were very reluctant about this #WorkFromHome thingy with a lot of trust issues. And with this pandemic, it completely flipped the script leaving us with no choice, but to much surprise, working online proved that in certain cases, some teams are MORE efficient. Mrs C remarked how this digital thingy enabled her to get so much done in such a short time, and 2020 became  the best year of multiple achievements for her!

7. AWESOME COLLEAGUES - Further dispelling the scepticism of the Work-from-home mistrust, it was interesting that several team members remarked how grateful and impressed they are with the level of teamwork shown by their colleagues, some of whom they just met, whom are so cooperative and resourceful that they just hit the ground running and make things work.

On top of that, quite a few team members got married, our boss had twins. And there’s so many more, alhamdulillah. Wished we could keep going but we had to stick to the agenda and move forward! 

Nevertheless, all in all, it was a great exercise and the risk certainly paid off. We got the meeting to start off on a motivating, positive note, and warmed up the team and meeting atmosphere nicely before we transitioned to the challenging stuff: the “Speak Up!” feedback exchange sessions.

Perhaps this can be a useful idea for you to consider implementing at your workplace too! “Be the change you want to see in the world” – Gandhi

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِنْ كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ

And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: "If you give thanks, I will add MORE!

But if you are ungrateful, verily! My Punishment is indeed severe." (Surah Ibrahim, 14:7)

Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said:

 مَا أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَى عَبْدٍ نِعْمَةً فَقَالَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ إِلَّا كَانَ الَّذِي أَعْطَاهُ أَفْضَلَ مِمَّا أَخَذَ

“Whenever Allah bestows a blessing upon a slave, and he says: “Alhamdulillah” (All praises to Allah), He grants what is better than that!” (Ibnu Majah)

Changing our Paradigm about “Bidaah” (innovations)

For many people, the concept of #Bidaah (Religious innovations) is considered a sensitive, hush-hush taboo topic that often results in negative name-calling and labelling, and people end up avoiding the topic altogether to avoid “hot water”.

But instead of looking at the topic of Bidaah as something negative that “challenges” the status quo, instead, let’s look at it from a positive perspective: Perfection. 

Ponder upon the ayah of Allah:

الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الأِسْلاَمَ دِيناً

“On this day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:3)

Think about it: How motivating is it to know that we are adhering to something that is perfect! Something that doesn’t need any upgrades, patches, bug-fixing, ironing? No need to revamp, retool, reorg, or conduct tiring surveys to retune to the masses. 

Just straight up, flat-out perfect. Use it right out of the box, gunakan tanpa was-was.  

Contrast that to EVERYTHING else we have in our worldly lives. For example, the case with software, apps and games. How frustrating is it as users when we experience crashes, glitches, and bugs, and have the developers constantly have to fix the bugs, re-write the code, update the versions. And sometimes they STILL never quite get it right! I mean, they’ve been making Windows and Microsoft Office for over 30 years and it still crashes #BlueScreenOfDeath on the most basic functions! 

Consider other matters, like our clothing, our cars, our tools. When things are imperfect there is always that lingering fear of distrust. That it can fail or have its integrity compromised at any moment. Imagine driving an old car you KNOW have a few screws loose.

Consider ever-changing company policies and structures. The minute a leader changes, they pull the rug and revamp the working systems, massive reorganizations, sometimes rendering so much previous efforts to go to waste, and people having go through the pain of readjusting, adapting, figuring it out. Only to have it change once again later on! Imagine working with the thought that “I think it might be useless in the future”. 

Consider man-made civil laws, which are readily re-written based on the latest “flavor of the day”. What was completely forbidden today, might be 100% legit tomorrow. And what is considered “norm” today, might be a political taboo tomorrow, and you end up being cancelled!

This dunya is imperfect. It always has to be fixed, upgraded, patched. We've accepted that. That's life. 

So now, imagine the peace of mind you get when you adhere and utilize something which is perfect: I have TOTAL CONFIDENCE that the prescriptions are just guaranteed to WORK. I don’t have to challenge it, I don’t have any distrust towards it, I don’t have any fear that it will flip or change. This is the perfection of Allah's favor, as he described, وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى "and I have completed My Favor upon you" 

A Jewish man once said to `Umar bin Al-Khattab, 

“O Leader of the Believers! There is one verse in your Book, which is read by all of you (Muslims). Had it been revealed to us, we would have taken that day (on which it was revealed) as a day of celebration!”

This ayah was that ayah we quoted above - الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ - from surah Al-Ma’idah! (Narrated in Musnad Ahmad) 

Even the Jews of the time of Umar knew how valuable it was to have something which was declared by Allah to be PERFECT, and they were so jealous that they said if only they had that, they would have thrown in a huge celebration!

And so, as Muslims, we should rejoice and celebrate at the fact that our religion is perfect. Yet so many of us take this for granted! This is as Prophet Yusuf said,

ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ فَضْلِ اللَّـهِ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى النَّاسِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ

“This is from the Grace of Allah to us and to mankind, but most of mankind are ungrateful” (Surah Yusuf, 12:38)

And so now coming to the topic of Bidaah: religious innovations. You see, when someone adds to the religion or modifies it, and declare it as “something good”, this would immediately imply that you are “improving” upon something. Like a version 1.1, or version 1.02. 

And by virtue of “improving” something, you have accidentally declared the original version to be “imperfect” – that version 1.0 isn’t “good enough”. Contrary to the clear-cut declaration of perfection. 

And why would we want to do that? Wouldn’t we rather rejoice in the perfection?

Therein are signs for those who reflect. Let's #EmbraceThePerfection Alhamdulillah 😍

Missing your Loved ones? Who are you missing the most because of the #COVID #MCO Lockdown?

 

Because of the recent lockdown, many among us have been prevented from seeing and meeting our beloved ones from our friends and family. Many fathers and spouses were separated from their family for months to provide for them. 

And despite the availability of technology that allows us to easily connect with others digitally, there is still feel a sense of separation and a yearning to physically be with them. 

Here is an AMAZING hadith to motivate and inspire those who believe in Allah and the Last Day. Our Prophet, Muhammad ﷺ said:

أَنْتَ مَعَ مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ

"You will be with those whom you love" 

The Prophet ﷺ guaranteed that Allah will unite us with those whom we love in the Hereafter! 😍

I am constantly motivated by this awesome ayah of the Qur'an:

وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُمْ بِإِيمَانٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَمَا أَلَتْنَاهُمْ مِنْ عَمَلِهِمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ۚ كُلُّ امْرِئٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهِينٌ

"And those who believe and whose children follow them in Faith, 

WE SHALL UNITE THEM with their children, and We shall not decrease any reward of their deeds. Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned." (Surah at-Tur 52:21)

But wait, there's more! This unity of Love, it isn't only limited to our family members.

When Anas bin Malik heard these words by the Prophet, أَنْتَ مَعَ مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ ("You will be with those whom you love"), he said:

"We had never been happier since we heard that statement by the Prophet ﷺ!

Therefore, I LOVE the Prophet ﷺ, Abu Bakr and `Umar, 

and I hope that I will be with them because of my love for them, even though my deeds are not like theirs!" (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

One of the companions confessed to the Prophet ﷺ that he was so concerned of missing his company ﷺ, especially after his passing:

يا رسولَ اللهِ، إنَّكَ لَأَحَبُّ إليَّ مِن نَفسي، وأحَبُّ إليَّ مِن أهلي، وأحَبُّ إليَّ مِن ولَدي، وإنِّي لَأكُونُ في البيتِ فأَذكُرُكَ فما أَصبِرُ حتَّى آتِيَكَ فأَنظُرُ إليكَ، وإذا ذَكَرْتُ مَوتي ومَوتَكَ عَرَفْتُ أنَّكَ إذا دخَلْتَ الجنَّةَ رُفِعْتَ مع النَّبيِّينَ، وإنْ دَخَلْتُ الجنَّةَ خَشِيتُ ألَّا أراكَ

“O Messenger of Allah, verily, you are more beloved to me than myself, and I love you more than my own family, and I love you more than my own children!

And when I return home, I remember you, and I cannot wait to come back and see you again.

But when I think about my death, and your death, I know for sure that when you enter Paradise, you will be raised amongst the company of the Prophets – and I fear that, if I enter Paradise, I will not see you (or be with you)!”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained silent. 

Until the angel Jibril revealed the verse: 

وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَآءِ وَالصَّـلِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَـئِكَ رَفِيقاً 

And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, then they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His grace, of the Prophets, the true believers, the martyrs, and the righteous. 

And how excellent these companions are! (Surah An-Nisa, 4:69)"

(Narrated by Ahmad Shakir, graded Sahih lighayrihi)

May Allah unite us with our loved ones!

#TheBarakahEffect 

When you ask for NOTHING from other people, Allah gives you EVERYTHING!

 

Ever feel underappreciated? Ever feel that, despite the genuine effort we put to help, contribute, show kindness, or advise others, many of our efforts go unacknowledged and ignored? Even met with rejection, abuse or disrespect?

We may feel that perhaps it could be our friends, our bosses, our family members, perhaps even our own spouses who fail to recognize our contributions. 

In surah Al-Insan, Allah describes the righteous people (Al-Abrar), as those who spend, providing charity to feed the poor, the orphan and those in captivity, and openly proclaim:

إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّـهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنْكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا
"We feed you only seeking the Face of Allah. We do NOT wish from you ANY REWARD (Jaza) or APPRECIATION (shukoor)” (Al-Insan 76:9)

In the succeeding ayaat, Allah then describes how He then rewards them and grants them a life of Joy, with a vivid description of the pleasures and enjoyment He has prepared from them in Paradise – of silky garments, raised thrones, low hanging fruits, crystal-clear goblets to drink from, a beautiful spring of Salsabil, with boys of everlasting youth to serve us, beautiful as scattered pearls. All of these, on top of basically EVERYTHING and ANYTHING our hearts can ever desire, as described in other ayaat of the Qur’an.

Then finally in the same surah, Allah concludes:

إِنَّ هَٰذَا كَانَ لَكُمْ جَزَاءً وَكَانَ سَعْيُكُمْ مَشْكُورًا
"Verily, this is FOR YOU, as a REWARD (Jaza) and an APPRECIATION (of your efforts)." (76:22)

Observe these beautiful words in relationship to ayah number 9 above:
When you ask for no compensation or acknowledgement from people (#9), Allah HIMSELF will compensate you and acknowledge your efforts! (#22)

These ayaat should remind us and motivate us about ikhlas (sincerity) in our deeds. In life, no matter how much effort we put in for others, the reality is many of our efforts tend to go unappreciated by the people around us.

But for the Al-Abrar - the sincere people of ikhlas - here is the good news: We’re not doing it for them. We’re doing it for Allah.

And here is the AWESOME news: As long as we are doing it sincerely for Allah, EVERYTHING will be repaid in full, and none of it will be wasted!

إِنَّهُ مَنْ يَتَّقِ وَيَصْبِرْ فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
“Verily, those who have taqwa (consciousness of Allah) and are patient, then verily, Allah will never allow to be wasted, the reward of those who do good” (Surah Yusuf 12:90)

And if the reward comes from Allah, dude, the reward will be so much better than any human being can ever repay. Ten to seven hundred times multiplied in value – perhaps even more by His Will and His Grace, according to the hadith!

These divine words of Allah remind us to always reinforce our WHY in everything we do: why do we work? Why do we take care of our families? Why do we help others? Why do we make a choice to continue doing so, despite being unappreciated again and again and again?

So. Feel unappreciated?
As long as we are sincere, rest assured: ALLAH Appreciates.

#TheBarakahEffect #Ikhlas #sincerity #unappreciated #underappreciated