Sunnah Melayani Si Kecil - Pendekatan Rasulullah ﷺ melayani dan berinteraksi dengan kanak-kanak

 

Masha Allah, Sangat kagum bila lihat peribadi Rasulullah dalam cara beliau melayan kanak2. Penuh dengan kasih sayang, kemesraan, dan pada masa yang sama, penuh dengan kehormatan, respect. 

Zaman sekarang, jarang sekali kelihatan dewasa - terutama di kalangan lelaki dan bapak2 - melayan kanak2 mcm yang dituntut oleh baginda ﷺ. 

Terasa lagi sedih bila dibandingkan dengan cara pakcik2 melayan kanak2 masjid.. Tak best 😢. 

Di manakah toleransi dan Rahmah yang diajar oleh Rasul kita? Sudahkah semuanya menjadi sunnah yang diabaikan? 

Bila dilihatkan keperibadian Rasulullah melayan kanak2, ia lebih daripada sekadar happy happy. Sebaliknya, saya memandang pendekatan ini sebagai berwawasan Jauh. Ini lah pendekatan seorang pemimpin, membentuk pemimpin masa hadapan. 

Bayangkan, perasan para sahabat yang muda, dilayan oleh Rasul terakhir, yang juga memegang jawatan sebagai pemimpin negara, mufti besar, dan ketua Perang negara. 

Anak2 yang dibesarkan dengan kasih sayang dan prinsip yang jelas, akan membesar dengan keyakinan dan keamanan dari sudut emosi dan mental.

Let's all play our part, dan hidupkan sunnah Rasulullah ﷺ dalam rumah tangga kita. Jadilah manusia yang di sebut oleh Rasulullah sebagai,

"manusia yang terbaik di kalangan kamu adalah mereka yang terbaik kepada ahli keluarga ya". 

Holding on to Faith (HOTF) Conference 2025: Tarbiyah Before Trends, with Sheikh Dr. Abdullah As-Sueidi and Ustaz Ismail Bullock - Masjid Wilayah KL, 20 July 2025

 

This was the First time conducting a full day "podcast-style" forum with both speakers simultaneously onstage, upon the suggestion of Sheikh Abdullah, so we can make it more interactive and engaging to address the challenges of raising a family. 

We broke up the conference to three segments and conversations: 

1. Back to Hubbullah (Love of God): the Root of Unity - grounding our families on objective values and principles, taught by the Qur'an and sunnah 

2. Fix what's fading: When the Heart Loses Sight - the importance of Human Connection and how we can better foster connection in our homes

3. Parenting with a Bigger Vision: From Home to Ummah - how we can play our part to raise our families, especially in modern times when we are busy with our jobs and surrounded by so much spiritual trials. 

Alhamdulillah, we received a lot of positive feedback. I think This style of format was a brilliant idea, allowing variety and some back-and-forth banter to keep the conversation flowing and engaging, leveraging the strengths of both speakers simultaneously. 

One of my favorite parts of the event was when we asked audiences to share their key takeaways: what is ONE major important lesson you've learnt from this conference, and what is ONE thing that you will immediately implement, when you walk outside of this hall? 

The idea was for participants to put a more intentional mind, to plant a firm resolve on what to do next, for participants to learn from each other (going along my favorite themes of "by practitioners, for practitioners"), and also as kind of an appreciation gesture for our two speakers to listen to what the participants learned.. It's always so satisfying to know what your students gain from the classes.

Masha Allah we got some really good input and sharing. The highlight was hearing from including a 16 year old participant, sharing what he learnt about the importance of listening. 

Lots of great takeaway points I got from the conversations, and we pray to Allah that it becomes a means of righteous families towards happiness in this life and the next. .

Many thanks to the awesome team at Ahlan Academy for this wonderful opportunity.. Was really satisfying and awesome to be working with such a passionate, dedicated and cohesive team. Am always amazed by the great work they do providing quality educational experience for children, and now for the adults too! Keep up the great work, may Allah grant success in all our efforts in dunya and akhirah 🤲🏽 

Photo credit: Ahlan Academy.

TBE Podcast with Sheikh Dr. Abdullah As-Sueidi 🇸🇪 @ Creatorsphere Kota Damansara, 21 July 2025

 

Amazing conversation with Sheikh Abdullah, where we discussed key issues bothering the minds of youth and parents in our modern society: 

1. Beyond the Rules: Reclaiming the Joy and Purpose of Islam 

2. Winning the Battle of Hearts and Minds - taking back the narrative of skeptics and doubts about God and Religion 

First time conducting our podcast at the amazing Creatorsphere studio at Kota Damansara. Awesome work to brother Kirill (who is also Swedish, like our Shaykh 😊) who really spent time and effort in mindful creativeness towards providing the best set tailor made for The Barakah Effect podcast, resulting in what is hands down, the most beautiful set we've ever shot in. As our brother @anas_mujahid keeps saying - "bro, THIS is Ihsan!" - yeah bro, totally agree! 

If you'd like to know more, Check them out at

https://creatorsphere.my/

Look forward to our releases in season 4!

Reeza Marriage 19 July 2025

 Alhamdulillah dah selamat dah abang kite @ Reeza

Congratulations to our brother Reeza for his marriage last night 19th July 2025. 

Alhamdulillah, now the entire team at @thebarakaheffect are all married dudes. Welcome to the club, my brother. It's about time 😁

 

بارَكَ اللّهُ لَك،

وَبارَكَ عَلَـيْك،

وَجَمَعَ بَيْـنَكُما في خَـيْر

May Allah grant barakah upon you, shower His Blessings upon you, and enjoin you both in goodness. 

Alhamdulillah it was an honor for Emceeing on your big day, and professionally, a was an exciting new stretch challenge for me as an Emcee too, working with tightly coordinated Professional wedding planners, combining Nikah and wedding reception in 1 night (settled everything in 4 hours - talk about efficient!), and it was quite a thrill conducting the ceremony in dual languages of English and BM.

The event was very well managed, and it was quite the sight to witness Sheikh Hussain conduct his portion of the ceremony, with a special tazkirah, du'aa and milk serving for the bride, groom and their families. 

Special thanks and appreciation as usual to my Pantun Master, Husaini Md Rasid, for helping me out compose so many Pantun, in both Bahasa Malaysia and in English. Banyak positive review! 

May Allah grant continuous khayr, barakah and Rahmah to our newly weds, Reeza and Fatimah 

Bumping into Dan Henry @ WhiteMuslimGuy at KLCC

 Bumped into @danhenry AKA @whitemuslimguy at KLCC today. Nice guy masha Allah, heard his talk for the first time last weekend at @gmcsummit on the topic of “Cracking the Instagram Code: 0-100k Followers in 60 days”. Loved it!

I told him, i really enjoyed his talk. Then he asked, “what did you gain from it?”

Oh, man. Why you put this introvert on the spot, man? 

Then I remembered the first big takeaway that came to mind: “Find your unfair advantage”

Everyone has a unique gift that Allah granted. You probably don’t realize it. But we have it, we just have to see it. In Dan’s case, his unique thing was that he whenever he hung out with his Muslim friends, he was known as the “white muslim guy”. Which he later realized, was kind of rare, and surprisingly, was available in Instagram and other platforms!

 

He added: “Find your niche. Find something that makes you stand out from the crowd, that differentiates you. Then hone on it and make the best out of it. 

My first social media brand took me 7 years to build, and once i found my new unique brand, whitemuslimguy, it took me 1 month to achieve the same results.”

Second big takeaway I got from his talk: The definition of a “Hook”. 

When it comes to the world of influencers and social media, everybody talks about mastering the art of creating a hook. 

Now, first thing’s first: What IS a hook?

People will typically say, a hook is what gets people’s attention. 

Clarification: That’s what a hook DOES. Not what a hook is. 

A Hook is, “something someone sees that CREATES MULTIPLE BURNING QUESTIONS in their mind, that they can’t stand to leave unanswered, therefore they keep watching”. 

I introduced myself to him, telling him I work in Engineering in Oil & Gas and do content creation part-time with our podcast, but we kind of feel stuck in our channel. 

He shared some good advice: You gotta have the blueprint before you start building. 

Many of us wanna jump straight into content creation. 

But How do you build a house - Do you just start building? 

There’s a lot more that goes into it before a single brick touches the ground.

Awesome to meet you brother! Enjoy the rest of your stay in Malaysia 🇲🇾

Global Muslim Content (GMC) Summit: 12-13 July, 2025 @ Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾

I paid over RM3000 for my ticket to Attend this GMC summit @gmcsummit this weekend - the most expensive weekend course I've ever paid for.

At the time I purchased the ticket, it seemed like a crazy idea and I wondered if it would be worth it. 

I was expecting to learn a few new tips, get to meet a few new people, and as an engineer, feel awkwardly out of place in this crowd of content creators, influencers, media professionals, and people of knowledge.

And yes, it kinda was that. AND, on top of that, a few unexpected experiences along the way, too: 

 

✅ inspired by the humble beginnings from  authentic personal journeys of the influencers, how they recovered from failure, self doubt, and haters 

✅ opened up a whole new world of possibility and inspiration, as I marveled at the amazing work people have done all over the world with millions of followers which I had no idea about, until now 

✅ Gained practical, actionable insights that provided genuine A-ha! Moments that made me realize why I always feel stuck 

✅ changed the way I see AI and technology in general, and feel that we left behind as our speakers

✅ huge diverse background of speakers and multiple creative formats to their keynote

✅ an amazing multi-feature conference mobile app that enables us to connect with fellow attendees, get conference updates in real time, systematically book workshops, and so much more

✅ getting to know new people from all over the world, and the different areas of expertise, opening the door for complimenting each other's strengths and niche 

✅ feel a sense of courage and empowerment to double down our efforts even further towards collaboration and creating positive impact

Was it worth it? 

Absolutely. It is one of the best conferences I've ever been to, and I'm glad I made that investment to experience this inaugural summit. 

Alhamdulillah for the taufiq to join this wonderful event. May Allah grant us the strength and steadfastness to implement what we learnt and continue to benefit the ummah with this newfound knowledge and wisdom. 

Faisal Latif 🇲🇾 meets Faisal Latif 🇺🇸:

🧠 Zero-Based Design Ideation Workshop, 1 July 2025 @ KL Convention Centre

Alhamdulillah — we’ve successfully completed our first multi-disciplinary engagement workshop, bringing together Technical Professional SMEs from all key facilities engineering disciplines: process, instrumentation, mechanical, structural, pipeline, technical safety, front-end, cost, and reliability.

The goal? To ideate around a bold question:

How can we collectively reduce Facilities CAPEX by applying the ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable) philosophy?

We explored how to embrace higher risk tolerance, strip designs down to the essentials, and holistically assess the impact of these simplifications.

💡 Reflections from the Experience

1. Team Recruitment – Building the All-Star Lineup

As the appointed team lead, one of the most exciting parts was assembling the right mix of SMEs across disciplines. It took time, but in the end, it felt like we had formed a powerhouse team. I couldn’t help but imagine myself as Nick Fury in a post-credit scene — except this was a strategic initiative, not "the Avengers" initiative. 😄

2. Challenging Norms – Redefining Boundaries

The ideation session opened up a world of possibilities. Our experts brought forward bold — even “radical” — proposals. Will they work? We’re not sure yet, but we’re excited to test them out and learn from the outcomes.

3. Small Wins, Big Impact

Some ideas may seem minor in isolation, but when combined across disciplines, they stack up to create significant collective impact. Every contribution counts.

4. Facilitation – Connecting the Dots

Ideas don’t exist in silos. Every engineering proposal affects others — often in unexpected ways. Workshops like this provide a transparent, collaborative space where SMEs can challenge and support each other toward a shared goal.

👏 Kudos to the entire team for a strong start to an exciting journey ahead. Let’s keep the momentum going!

#FacilitiesEngineering #CAPEXReduction #ALARP #ZeroBasedDesign #StrategicInitiative #EngineeringLeadership #CrossDisciplineCollaboration #InnovationInAction

Live as though you will live forever?

 

"Strive to work for your worldly affairs as if you are going to live forever,

And work for your Hereafter as if you will die tomorrow"

When I first heard of this quote*, I didn't quite understand the first portion. We hear the advice about death: that it can come at any moment, and hence the Prophet ﷺ said, "be in this world as you are a traveler or a wayfarer" (Al-Bukhari, Muslim) 

But to "work as if you live forever?" 

Think about it this way: what if a person was going to resign and leave the country in 1 week. How would he treat his job, knowing he's going to leave anyway? 

Compare that one who aspires to stay with the company until retirement: there's a higher tendency that the person would have big ambitions, a strong sense of ownership to drive the company to greater heights. To be more mindful on relationships, knowing they would be collaborating long run.

Likewise, when we live our lives in this world in this mindset, knowing that we are here to stay and have the space to shape our collective future, the beauty is that we have more motivation for higher ambitions to improve ourselves and make the world a better place, knowing that we - and our children - will be reaping what we sow in the future. 

Also, we tend to take more responsibility of our actions, more mindful of the consequences of our relationships and decisions, considering how it affects others, since we will be around to feel the impact later down the road. 

But there is a flipside to it. If we think like we are going to "live a long time", we may start taking things for granted, lacking in a sense of urgency and procrastinate from taking action. 

And hence the second part of the advice: from the spiritual side of things - your religious obligations - live as if you will die tomorrow. Act immediately, don't delay, because there may not come another chance. 

In summary: aim high, make the best out of this life, and take action with pace!

*some say this is a Hadith, and others attribute it to companions like Umar ibn Al-Khattab or Abdullah bin Amr in Al-Aas. However, there are no authentic narrations that prove this. 

The "Passion" Dilemma - Greatness Without Love: Can we dislike our job or profession, but still be good at it?

 

"Follow your passion." It's common advice, often attributed to Steve Jobs: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do."

Yet, there was a constant nagging thought that continued bothering me, especially in the early days of my career struggling as a graduate engineer:

But what if you DON'T love your work? What if you're just getting by, dragging your feet? Are you doomed to mediocrity? Should you just quit? 

I found an answer in the most unexpected of places: Andre Agassi.

Considered one of tennis all-time greats, Agassi achieved the Career Golden Slam - one of only three people in history to win all four grand slams AND an an Olympic gold medal - and reached World #1. Despite a dramatic fall to  #141 in 1997 due to personal issues, he miraculously climbed back to #1 by 1999, enjoying immense success into his late 20s and early 30s – an age when many players decline, showing incredible resilience.

Plot twist: Andre Agassi hates tennis.

In his autobiography, "Open," he confessed: "I play tennis for a living, even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion, and always have."

So, yes, you can dislike - even hate - your profession, and yet still be world-class.

How is this possible?

In his book "So Good They Can't Ignore You", author Cal Newport offers a much more practical perspective than the blanket “follow your passion”. Instead of searching for your passion, focus on becoming exceptionally good at something valuable: In whatever you do, treat your work as a craft, relentlessly hone your skills, and constantly seek to improve through deliberate practice. In spite of how you might “feel” about the job itself. 

As you develop rare and valuable skills (your "career capital"), you gain leverage. This capital allows you to "purchase" desirable traits in a job, such as Control/Autonomy, Creativity, and Impact - and that’s when you “discover” your passion. 

Agassi, despite his personal feelings, committed to deliberate practice, achieving incredible mastery. This mastery, and the career capital it generated, gave him options and control. While he didn't start with passion, his relentless pursuit of excellence made him one of the best, opening doors to valuable treasured relationships (like his wife Steffi Graf and coach Gil Reyes), and bringing a unique sense of pride in his craft as he achieved his legendary status.

Herein lies the important lesson for us, especially for the younger generation: You might not "love" your career, in the beginning. But with discipline, continuous growth, and a commitment to doing your best, opportunities will emerge. Adopt a craftsman mindset, and you'll eventually discover aspects you are passionate about.

And that gets you on the path of greatness. 

"Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work." (Chuck Close)

Parenting Goals in Raising Wholesome Future Leaders: 16 Essential Life Skills, Character Traits, and Mindsets to Cultivate

 

As our son Muawiyah turns 7, I reflect on our parenting journey: What kind of human beings are we raising? What role will they play in society when they're independent? What kind of parents or partners will they become? And most importantly, how are we actively shaping this?

I'm reminded of Prophet Yusuf's story. Separated from his family between ages 6 and 9, he faced decades of challenges alone – from being thrown into a well to becoming ruler of Egypt. His formative years with Prophet Ya'qub instilled the values and principles that prepared him for life's arduous journey. 

Our role as parents is similar: how well have we prepared our children for LIFE?

Raising children isn't just about grades or achievements; it's about building character – traits they'll carry through their studies, careers, and family lives. As parents, we are enablers, guides, facilitators, and, most importantly, role models in nurturing their character.

Here are 16 crucial character traits to cultivate in our children, empowering them to become wholesome individuals who lead and contribute to uplifting society.

1. Resourcefulness and independence 

2. Having High aspirations, and believe in their ability to achieve them. 

3. Grit and resilience 

4. Growth mindset 

5. Patience for Delayed Gratification 

6. Team player: Tolerance in putting up with others & to collaborate with others. 

7. A strong sense of self-Identity & moral values

8. Speaking up

9. Honesty and authenticity

10. Responsibility & taking accountability 

11. Discipline & willpower

12. Self confidence, self-esteem and self-compassion

13. Compassion & Generosity 

14. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) 

15. ⁠Gratitude

16. Righteousness & sincerity 

 رَبَّنَا هَبۡ لَنَا مِنۡ أَزۡوَٰجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّٰتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعۡيُنࣲ وَٱجۡعَلۡنَا لِلۡمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا

"Our Lord, grant our wives and children to be the comfort to our eyes, 

and make us leaders of the righteous."