A Dog Honored by Allah: For supporting a righteous cause

 

وَتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاظًا وَهُمْ رُقُودٌ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ اليَمِينِ وَذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ وَكَلْبُهُمْ بَـسِطٌ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِالوَصِيدِ لَوِ اطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَوْلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًا وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ رُعْبًا 

"And you would have thought (the people of the cave were) awake, whereas they were asleep. And We turned them on their right and on their left sides, 

and their dog was stretching forth his two forelegs at theentrance. Had you seen them, you would certainly have turned back from them in flight, and would certainly have been filled with awe of them." (Surah Al-Kahf 18:18)

In commenting about this ayah of surah Al-Kahf 18:18, Ibn Kathir said, "The blessing (the people of the cave) enjoyed was extended to their dog, so the sleep that overtook them, overtook the dog too. 

This is the benefit of accompanying good people, and so this dog attained fame and stature." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Ash-Shanqiti said, "It should be noted that the Almighty’s mentioning of this dog in His Scripture - the Qur'an - indicates that accompaniment of the righteous has great benefit!

This is also indicated by the Prophet’s statement to one who said, “Indeed I love Allah and His Messenger,” he said, “You will be with those whom you love.”" (Adwa al-Bayan 4/34)

There is a profound lesson in this ayah and the commentaries by Ibnu Kathir and ash-Shanqiti: 

When you help and accompany a noble cause with righteous people, Allah will Honor you. And what greater honour is there from affirmation as helping a righteous cause mentioned in the book of Allah - the Qur'an - which will be preserved until the Day of Judgment? 

Think about it: Even a DOG was granted this honour. 

What I found particularly interesting was that the As-habul Kahf (The People of the Cave) were not "popular" people, by any means. In fact, the people of their time rejected them and threatened to murder them. To choose to accompany these group of young men would have been the unpopular choice, possibly be unfriended by others. Yet this is what wisdom is: to see through the fog of popularity, and 'filter' out the Just Cause to support in accordance to your WHY: your principles and values of your religion, and not the popularity vote or peer pressures.

It isn’t a path of convenience, but a path of conviction: and the means of being honored by your Creator, the Lord of the Universe.

مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّـهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا

"Whosoever desires honour, power and glory then to Allah belong all honour, power and glory!" (Surah Fatir 35:10)

Have you found and supported your just cause?

#WorkFromHome Feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, overworked from your day-to-day responsibilities and your chores? Wish you had an extra hand?

This was what Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ felt after suffering pains and blisters due to the heavy house chores and working the stone hand-mill. One day, upon receiving news that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had received some prisoners of war out of victory from a battle, Fatimah intended to approach her father – the leader of the state – to request to have some of these POWs as servants to help with her house chores. 

Upon hearing about her request, the Prophet ﷺ went to the home Fatimah and her husband Ali bin Abi Talib, while they were lying in bed at night, about to sleep. He then sat in between Ali and Fatimah, so close to them that Fatimah described that she felt the coldness of his feet on her abdomen. He then provided a solution:

أَلاَ أَدُلُّكُمَا عَلَى خَيْرٍ مِمَّا سَأَلْتُمَا، إِذَا أَخَذْتُمَا مَضَاجِعَكُمَا ـ أَوْ أَوَيْتُمَا إِلَى فِرَاشِكُمَا ـ فَسَبِّحَا ثَلاَثًا وَثَلاَثِينَ، وَاحْمَدَا ثَلاَثًا وَثَلاَثِينَ، وَكَبِّرَا أَرْبَعًا وَثَلاَثِينَ، فَهْوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمَا مِنْ خَادِمٍ

"Shall I direct you to something better than what you have requested? 

When you go to bed (at night), say: “Subhan Allah” thirty-three times, “Alhamdulillah” thirty three times, and “Allahu Akbar” thirty four times, for that is better for you than a servant." 

(Narrated by Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

What does dzikir have to do with getting extra help, or obtaining a servant?

Ibn Al-Qayyim, when listing the benefits of dzikr (remembrance of Allah), including istighfar (praying for forgiveness), he mentioned an interesting benefit number #61: Dzikr dan increase in one’s PHYSICAL strength! He said:

“Dzikr (remembrance of Allah) gives a person strength so that he can do with dhikr that which he cannot do without it. I saw wonders in the strength of (my teacher) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah in walking, speech, courage and writing. He used to write in one day what a scribe would write in a week, or more. The troops saw his amazing strength in war. 

The Prophet ﷺ taught his daughter Fatimah and ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) to recite tasbeeh (glorification of Allah) thirty-three times every night when they went to bed, and to recite tahmeed (praises of Allah) thirty-three times, and to recite takbeer (magnification of Allah) thirty-four times, when she asked him for a servant and complained to him about the hardship of grinding corn, working and serving (her family). He taught her this and said: “It is better for you than a servant.” 

It was said: The one who persists in doing this will find strength in his body that will make him independent of the need for a servant.” (al-Wabil al-Sayyib p. 77)

This echoes the call of Prophet Hud, when he said to this people, the people of ‘Aad, who were known for their great physical strength:

وَيَا قَوْمِ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ يُرْسِلِ السَّمَاءَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِدْرَارًا وَيَزِدْكُمْ قُوَّةً إِلَىٰ قُوَّتِكُمْ وَلَا تَتَوَلَّوْا مُجْرِمِينَ

“And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him, He will send you (from the sky) abundant rain, and add strength to your strength, so do not turn away as Mujrimoon (criminals, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah).” (Surah Hud 11:52)

An especially important tip for us who are exhausted and constantly striving to find that illusive work-life balance of #WorkingFromHome.

Now, perhaps one may alao wonder: what does dzikir and istighfar have to do with physical strength – How are these “related” in any way? How does that “make sense”?

Answer: Because Allah is the source of all Might and all Strength. He grants it to those whomsoever He wills; and He has revealed this as one of the means to earn some of that strength. Please the Source of Strength, and insha Allah, you shall be strong!

Implement this every night, put your trust in Allah, and see for yourself!

Tips @ How I developed a Reading Habit: Get A Kindle

 

I used to have a real difficulty getting the habit of reading. I would buy books, knowing how important and beneficial they are... The only problem is that I just couldn’t commit myself to reading them. I would read a few pages in the beginning, get excited and pumped up, only to leave it behind. And when I pick it up back again months later, I start from the beginning again because I forgot what it was all about. In the end, I’d have dozens of books which I just scanned the first 30 pages. A trophy library, that's it.
Every once in a while, I might be able to finish a book – but would take me a year (or more), after exhausting myself completely of my willpower.

Any of you can relate?

A few months back I came across a video from YouTuber Ali Abdaal titled “How I read 100 Books a Year – 8 Tips for Reading More”. And his #1 tip was: Get A Kindle.

Huh. What's a kindle?
Okay wait a minute, I remember those. It’s them peculiar little e-reader devices, bigger than a phone, smaller than an ipad, basically just black and white display (okay technically not white, but a brownish paper-like color) gadget that once in a while I see white people (Mat Sallehs) reading in airplanes and train rides.

"This Ali Abdaal guy read 100 books a year, so he seems to know what he’s talking about: and this was his #1 tip".
I saved up and bought a Kindle Paperwhite over at Shopee back in July 2020.
Since then, I have finished reading thirteen books from start to finish.

Thirteen books in 6 months is a miracle achievement in my books! (Heh, see what I did there). This single device managed to successfully trigger a new habit which I did not think was possible and ignite my newfound passion for reading.

Here are some things I learnt since I bought the Kindle:

1. THE KEY TO BUILDING HABITS: MAKE IT EASY
In his book “Atomic Habits”, author James Clear points out that if you want to build good habits, the trick is to lower the entry barriers and make it easy for you to instill that habit. This "hacks" your mind into believing it is very easy and a "no brainer". If you want to start a workout habit, leave your gym shoes in the car. If you want to stop watching TV, keep it in the store.

And that was the thing about my reading habit: hard copy books made it difficult to do it consistently. Sometimes I would misplace them at the moments I want to read them, and because they tend to be a bit bulky to bring around, you don’t bring them around when you are in those long waiting moments of opportunity, such as queueing up, waiting in line at the bank, or commuting. Sometimes the silliest reason I don’t read is out of frustration when I can’t find my highlighter. With a Kindle, the books are all in a single device, and you can highlight electronically and export them as notes for immediate future references. Just gotta open and read.

But it doesn’t stop there. I realized that once I got into the habit, I find myself reading more of the physical books, too which was a great long-term bonus.

2. KINDLE VERSUS SMART PHONE
Why a Kindle instead of reading an e-book over the phone? Sure, I supposed you could (I also occasionally read e-books from my phone via the Kindle app) – but it just isn’t as productive or focused. As we all know, smartphones aren’t simply “convenience” gadgets or productivity tools. For many of us, they are tools of mass DISTRACTION. I can’t read books properly if I am bothered with a WhatsApp or social media notification every 2 minutes.
With a Kindle, you get zero distractions to get in the zone.
Also, for other ergonomic reasons, namely the form factor: the Kindle feels perfectly sized. Bigger than a phone, smaller than an ipad, and pocketable. Also, because the Kindle’s e-ink display mimics that almost exactly like a book, it’s very easy on the eyes compared to an LCD screen of a smartphone.

3. GETTING RID OF MINDSETS THAT HOLD YOU BACK
I used to tell myself:  “I couldn’t get into e-books. I always prefer physical, hardcopy books that I can feel and touch, and put a bookmark, scribble stuff and highlight. I loved the sight of seeing that book cover on the table, and on my shelf. Why on Earth would you go the e-book route?"

In hindsight, this form-over-substance mindset held me back – and when I broke free from these unnecessary biases, then I could progress.

4. BOOKS: SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE OR MERE TROPHIES ON THE SHELF?
Besides, if I were to honestly ask myself, why do I prefer hard copy books so much, anyway? So what if I can touch it, smell it, put it on display like a medal, if I didn’t actually read it?
I remember a friend of mine saying that he had a habit of buying volumes of books on a shelf. It looks great and all, and I used to marvel at the collection. But he said, “well I haven’t actually read them.”
Wow. That really got me thinking, about this idea of form over substance. What are trying to achieve: wisdom, or a trophy bookshelf?

5. BONUS AWESOME BENEFIT: GETTING RID OF BAD HABITS (i.e. Time-wasting, smartphone habits)
The best thing of all? Because having a Kindle made it so easy to read and build this new habit, it practically replaced a lot of time-wasting habits. Instead of instinctively turning on social media or YouTube when I have some free time to watch another amusing panda video, I whip out my Kindle instead.
In fact, I haven't watched a single movie since I purchased this gadget (without experiencing withdrawal symptoms, either 🤣).
This reminds me of an ayah of Qur’an:
إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ
“Verily, the good deeds erase the evil sins” (Surah Hud, 11:114)

6. PURCHASING BOOKS
Books usually cost anywhere between 1 to 15 US dollars in the Amazon Kindle store. Some of them do go on sale from time to time, which is great for cheapskates like me.
Also, another important note: books sold can be region-locked. Many books are unavailable if you set a Malaysian address, perhaps due to certain restrictions on laws and regulations. No worries, it’s a simple fix: just change your Amazon account to have a generic address in USA.

Try it out! Get a Kindle and join the Reading Revolution! 🤓✊🏼

Hanzhalah’s Fear of Hypocrisy when he experiences a slump in his iman and righteous deeds

Ever gone through that uncomfortably difficult feeling that, after experiencing a period of high motivation and inspiration, suddenly you face a major performance drop and go through that uncomfortable feeling of “unproductiveness” and lack of motivation to get back on track?

We go through this in our careers, in our studies, sometimes even in our parenting experience

Spiritually, I’m sure we have all experienced this after Ramadhan or returning from umrah. During Ramadhan, we feel this incredible urge to recite more Qur’an, recite more dzikir, perform more prayers, and when Ramadhan goes, our motivation levels go down. When we perform Umrah, we arrive at Masjidil Haram, we see the Ka’bah, we just feel this intense feeling of emotional motivation to do more good deeds, we feel determined to change, but when we return to our home country….

 

… Life happens.

And we look back at those times reminiscing on our past performance, how we used to do so well, and now because we dropped, we feel really bad about ourselves, as if we are hypocrites or impostors for being unable to consistently sustain that good performance, i.e. we lack in istiqamah. 

This is known as the slump. 

Here’s the interesting thing: even the best of Muslims – the companions of the Prophet ﷺ - used to feel the same. And alhamdulillah, because this happened to the best of Muslims, in the presence of Rasulullah ﷺ, we also get some clear answers to how we can best handle these situations. 

عَنْ حَنْظَلَةَ الأُسَيِّدِيِّ، قَالَ - وَكَانَ مِنْ كُتَّابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ - لَقِيَنِي أَبُو بَكْرٍ فَقَالَ كَيْفَ أَنْتَ يَا حَنْظَلَةُ قَالَ قُلْتُ نَافَقَ حَنْظَلَةُ قَالَ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ مَا تَقُولُ قَالَ قُلْتُ نَكُونُ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُذَكِّرُنَا بِالنَّارِ وَالْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى كَأَنَّا رَأْىَ عَيْنٍ فَإِذَا خَرَجْنَا مِنْ عِنْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَافَسْنَا الأَزْوَاجَ وَالأَوْلاَدَ وَالضَّيْعَاتِ فَنَسِينَا كَثِيرًا قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ فَوَاللَّهِ إِنَّا لَنَلْقَى مِثْلَ هَذَا ‏.‏ فَانْطَلَقْتُ أَنَا وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ حَتَّى دَخَلْنَا عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قُلْتُ نَافَقَ حَنْظَلَةُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ وَمَا ذَاكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ نَكُونُ عِنْدَكَ تُذَكِّرُنَا بِالنَّارِ وَالْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى كَأَنَّا رَأْىَ عَيْنٍ فَإِذَا خَرَجْنَا مِنْ عِنْدِكَ عَافَسْنَا الأَزْوَاجَ وَالأَوْلاَدَ وَالضَّيْعَاتِ نَسِينَا كَثِيرًا ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ إِنْ لَوْ تَدُومُونَ عَلَى مَا تَكُونُونَ عِنْدِي وَفِي الذِّكْرِ لَصَافَحَتْكُمُ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ عَلَى فُرُشِكُمْ وَفِي طُرُقِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يَا حَنْظَلَةُ سَاعَةً وَسَاعَةً ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ ‏.‏

Hanzhalah Al-Usayyidi, who was amongst the scribers of Rasulullah, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was amongst those who felt like he was going through a slump. He narrated: 

“One day, I met Abu Bakr As-Siddiq. He said: “How are you?” He (Hanzhalah) said: “Hanzhalah has turned to be a hypocrite!” 

He (Abu Bakr) said: “SubhanAllah! Why are you saying that?”

Thereupon he said: “When we are in the company of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), we are reminded about Hell-Fire and Paradise, and becomes so strong as if we are seeing them with our very eyes!

However, when we are away from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) we attend to our wives, our children, our business; we forget a lot of it..” (i.e. we get distracted and are unable to sustain that high iman)

Abu Bakr said: “I Swear by Allah, I also experience the same!”

So Hanzhalah and Abu Bakr went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and narrated to him what Hanzhalah felt. Upon listening to Hanzhalah, the Prophet ﷺ said:

“I Swear by Him in Whose Hand is my life, if your state (of iman) remains (consistently) the same as it is in my presence, as it were when you are always busy in remembrance (of Allah), the Angels will shake hands with you in your beds and in your pathways!

But, Hanzhalah, there is a time for this, and a time for that” 

The Prophet ﷺ said this three times. (Narrated by Muslim)

 

Lessons from this amazing hadith:

1. The companions had a strong sense of self-awareness to know when their levels of iman – the motivation and drive to perform righteous deeds – would be strong, and when they would dip.

Abu Darda, the companion of Rasulullah ﷺ said:

"إِنَّ مِنْ فِقْهِ الْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَتَعَاهَدَ إِيمَانَهُ وَمَا نَقَصَ مِنْهُ، وَمِنْ فِقْهِ الْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَعْلَمَ أَمُزْدَادٌ هُوَ أَمْ مُنْتَقِصٌ؟ وَإِنَّ مِنْ فِقْهِ الرَّجُلِ أَنْ يَعْلَمَ نَزَغَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ أَنَّى تَأْتِيهِ؟". [أبو الدرداء رضي الله عنه].

“It is from one’s fiqh (understanding) to take care of his iman and what decreases of it. 

It is from one’s fiqh to know whether he has gained or lost (in his iman and good deeds). 

And it is from one’s depth of understanding to know from where the whispers of shaytan come to him” (Syarh Usul I’tiqad Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, vol 5. P. 1016)

2. If you are feeling distressed about a matter, go and seek help and consultation for a solution! Don’t just keep it bottled to yourself; it can only make things worse.

3. Consult to those who are qualified and are better than you. Hanzhalah didn’t just share his personal experience with anyone; he shared it with Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, the man whom the companions unanimously considered as the BEST person among them, the most knowledgeable in religion, and the highest level of iman, and the closest in companionship with the Prophet ﷺ. I can imagine that Hanzhalah would think, that “if there were a person who has a solution to this, it would be Abu Bakr!”

فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“And ask the people of knowledge, if you do not know” (Surah Al-Anbiya 21:7)

4. Authentically admitting your own weaknesses and shortcomings. There was something quite profound in the reaction of Abu Bakr. Upon listening to Hanzhalah’s fear of hypocrisy, Abu Bakr immediately realized that “oh no! I also feel the same!” And this was a repeated pattern in the behavior of Abu Bakr. Even though he was the best of them – he still felt terribly inadequate. This is what psychologists today label as the Dunning-Kruger effect: those who are very competent and skilled at what they do, always feel themselves inferior and incompetent, when in actual fact they are so much better than the rest. And Abu Bakr was objectively the BEST!

5. There is no shame in admitting “I don’t know”. Many of us have an ego problem when it comes to acknowledging we don’t know something, so we are tempted to just “shoot” an answer from the hip when people ask questions, so that we don’t seem ignorant or incompetent. Yet interestingly, even when it comes to experts in science and engineering, they will readily admit in their academic integrity that “they don’t know” the answer to something. 

Likewise here, Abu Bakr – the most knowledgeable of the Muslims after the Prophet ﷺ - he himself does not know the answer or the solution to this problem, and so he referred it to the Prophet ﷺ himself. 

6. This is human nature. The Prophet ﷺ reassured Hanzhalah that “there is a time for this, and there is a time for that”, meaning that it is perfectly normal to go through phases of high motivation and low motivation. We all feel this, even the best of us! 

This hadith is a practical illustration of how iman increases and decreases, a concept which is agreed upon (ijma’) by consensus of ahlus sunnah. Iman increases when we perform good deeds, and when we are in the company of those who perform acts of righteousness, and iman decreases when we disobey Allah or are in the company of sins and evil acts.

7. This does not, however, mean that it is justifiable for our iman levels to drop to the point that we abandon the basic, obligatory deeds. In another hadith, the Prophet said, 

إنَّ لكلِّ عملٍ شِرَّةٌ، و لكلِّ شرَّةٌ فَتْرَةٌ، فمنْ كانْ فترتُه إلى سنتِي فقدِ اهتدى، و منْ كانتْ إلى غيرِ ذلكَ فقدْ هلكَ

“For every deed, there is a period of high motivation, and a period of low motivation (futur). For those whom, their period of low motivation is upon my sunnah, then he is guided and successful. And for those who is upon other than that, then he is destroyed” (Narrated by Ahmad). 

What this hadith implies for us is that we always have to work to improve our baseline. In your jobs, if you face this slump and are not able to perform at your peak “exceed expectations”, at least don’t abandon your core job, i.e. the minimum requirements to earn your paycheck. 

Whereas in matters of religion, make it a habit to do the obligatory deeds, and gradually, but consistently add a little bit of sunnah (nawafil) deeds. If you are consistent in performing nawafil deeds, at least, if you were to lapse, that one will go first, and will not compromise your wajib.

8. To sustain consistent high iman is praiseworthy! Although we are not expected to have continuously high levels of iman at all times, the Prophet ﷺ did acknowledge that, IF one were able to sustain the high levels of motivation and iman even behind the presence of the Prophet, then the angels themselves would descend from the heavens and shake our hands!

Meaning, we should strive to improve our state of taqwa (righteousness/God consciousness) to the point where as much as possible, we are self-driven and proactive to have strong levels of iman in public and in private, instead of living with the external dependency of others to “motivate us”.

This is why deeds done in secret – such as qiyamullayl (the night prayer) – are so powerful, and very much encouraged in Islam: because these iman-boosting deeds are purely for the sake of Allah. Work towards increasing more good deeds in secret, and it will be gradually easier to sustain a level of consistency. 

9. The Prophet ﷺ did not rebuke Hanzhalah’s family or businesses or blame them resulting in low performance. This is important: Sometimes we may undergo our slumps because of natural, external changes in life. Perhaps we just got married, just had a child, just got a job, or migrated to a new location, and suddenly our new circumstances just don’t allow us the same opportunity to be as productive as we used to be. Don’t blame those things, have a negative perception towards them, or use them as an excuse. 

These are all a part of our life, and in fact, when utilized with the right intention, can be a means of worship to Allah in a different way. What matters most is what we DO with what we have. This is why Allah says: 

إِنَّمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَأَوْلَادُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ وَاللَّهُ عِندَهُ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ

Your wealth and your children are only a trial, whereas Allah! With Him is a great reward" (Surah At-Taghabun 64:15)

10. As an extension of the point of self-awareness, we need to understand our “triggers” of productivity and find ways to increase in it, improve it and make it easy for us to instill the right habits to facilitate this for us. Hanzhalah was aware that the presence of Rasulullah ﷺ would increase in his motivation to perform righteous deeds, hence he enjoyed being in his ﷺ company. For us, this may mean being in a certain group of good friends, getting rid of certain gadgets, uninstalling certain apps, showing up for classes, volunteering for positive community-based contributions or da’wah efforts, and so on. 

At the same time we need to also understand our personal weakness and our proverbial kryponites. This could be social media, television, fast food, YouTube or certain WhatsApp groups. Although these may not necessarily be haram, we know ourselves to have a weakness and tendency to drop in performance once we get stuck in them, so it is part of personal discipline to abstain from them to maximize our own productivity.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

 استفت قلبك، الْبِرُّ مَا اطْمَأَنَّتْ إلَيْهِ النَّفْسُ، وَاطْمَأَنَّ إلَيْهِ الْقَلْبُ، وَالْإِثْمُ مَا حَاكَ فِي النَّفْسِ وَتَرَدَّدَ فِي الصَّدْرِ، وَإِنْ أَفْتَاك النَّاسُ وَأَفْتَوْك

“Consult your heart! Righteousness is that about which the soul feels at ease and the heart feels tranquil. And wrongdoing is that which wavers in the soul and causes uneasiness in the breast, even though people have repeatedly given their legal opinion [in its favour].” (Narrated by Ahmad and Ad-Darimi)

May Allah help us all recover from our slumps and get us back on track!

Hindsight Bias: “If only I had…”

Reflecting in events of our past can sometimes lead us towards what is known as a 'hindsight bias'. This is defined as “a tendency to believe that negative outcomes should have been predictable.”

This was even more evident throughout 2020 with the #COVID19 crisis, especially on criticisms against what so-and-so should have done “to prevent” something. Like how, my plane ticket to Miri was ironically scheduled to be on the same day that travel restrictions and quarantine requirements were imposed 😅.

Because of incidents such as these, many conversations tend to gear towards these “shoulda, woulda, coulda” wishful thinking statements or hypothetical conversations, blaming other parties, sometimes even themselves reminiscing how things would have been “different”. These expressions usually come in the vein of: “if only I had done (insert regretful action here), then surely, (insert speculative outcome here)” or "I should have.."
In Malay, these statements typically begin with “patutnya”, “kalau tahu..”

Statements and thoughts like these are actually forbidden, as they go against the teachings of the Islamic Aqidah of Tawhid and Iman in Qadar, and are in fact doorways to satanic thoughts. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

وَإِنْ أَصَابَكَ شَيْءٌ فَلَا تَقُلْ: لَوْ أَنِّي فَعَلْتُ كَانَ كَذَا وَكَذَا, وَلَكِنْ قُلْ: قَدَّرَ اَللَّهُ وَمَا شَاءَ فَعَلَ; فَإِنَّ لَوْ تَفْتَحُ عَمَلَ اَلشَّيْطَانِ
“If something were to afflict you, do not say, ‘If only I had done this, such and such would have occurred’, but instead, say, QaddarAllahu wa masha a fa’al (meaning, ‘this is the decree of Allāh and whatever He wills He does,’)
Because the statement of “if only” unlocks the work of Shaitan” (Narrated by Muslim)

Whatever happened, has happened, and can never be rectified. Dwelling on wishful thinking about “if onlys...” only result in a destructive cycle of regret and unresolvable shame and blame which can spiral out of control. Dwelling on “if only..” isn’t solution-focused – because there is no turning back!

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ مَا أَخْطَأَك لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُصِيبَك، وَمَا أَصَابَك لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُخْطِئَك، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ النَّصْرَ مَعَ الصَّبْرِ، وَأَنْ الْفَرَجَ مَعَ الْكَرْبِ، وَأَنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا
“And know, that what has passed you by [and you have failed to attain] was not going to befall you, and what has befallen you was not going to pass you by.
And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and hardship with ease.” (Narrated by Ahmad)

So, how do these statements open the door to shaytan?

When we get into “if only..” conversations, this often triggers a string of conversations about completely hypothetical situations how things “could have been better” based on our own judgment, which in turn, makes us question the wisdom of the Qadar (destiny) of Allah: satanic thoughts that, in left unchecked, can make one feel that he knows BETTER than Allah 😱.

The reality is every single thing that Allah has decreed has a wisdom and greater good behind them, sometimes far beyond our limited minds can comprehend. At the very least, the challenges and negative consequences of our decisions can sometimes be very valuable life lessons to shape us into becoming better persons.

And that is why Allah reminded us, that “..perhaps, you may hate something, when it is in fact good for you, and perhaps you may love something, but it is in fact bad for you. Allah KNOWS but you do not know” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:216)

What IS productive, however, is using these past experiences as lessons learned, to channel them into making better decisions should similar obstacles reoccur in the future, all without dwelling on “what-ifs” of the past. This continuous improvement mindset is the essence of hikmah (wisdom) that believers should have, as the Prophet ﷺ said,

لاَ يُلْدَغُ الْمُؤْمِنُ مِنْ جُحْرٍ وَاحِدٍ مَرَّتَيْنِ
"A believer is not stung from the same hole twice." (Al-Bukhari)

The hadith forbidding us from making “what if” statement is essentially teaching us is to try our level best to make the decisions based on what we know, OWN UP to our decisions, and take responsibility for the choices that we make, have no regrets and keep moving forward: these are the characteristics of a STRONG BELIEVER, which is actually the beginning of the hadith, wherein the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

اَلْمُؤْمِنُ اَلْقَوِيُّ خَيْرٌ وَأَحَبُّ إِلَى اَللَّهِ مِنْ اَلْمُؤْمِنِ اَلضَّعِيفِ, وَفِي كُلٍّ خَيْرٌ, اِحْرِصْ عَلَى مَا يَنْفَعُكَ, وَاسْتَعِنْ بِاَللَّهِ, وَلَا تَعْجَزْ
“The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer; and in both there is goodness.
Strive for what will benefit you, seek assistance from Allah and do not give up.” (Muslim)

Finally, Allah says in the Qur’an:
فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّـهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ
“Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah, certainly, Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him).” (Surah Ali Imran, 3:159)

The Prophet ﷺ describes that with patience, comes victory, relief and ease. Do not allow our life’s challenges or circumstances to make us lose hope. Instead, keep having optimistic thoughts about Allah to provide a way out for those who have patience and trust in Him. In a hadith Qudsi, Allah says:

أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا دَعَانِي
“I am as My slave thinks of Me; and I am with him as he calls upon Me” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

And Allah Knows best.

#TheBarakahEffect #Qadr #IfOnly

What is the Most Important Investment for your Children? #ParentingGoals

In a recent conversation, one of my senior friends told another unmarried friend: “If you want to have children, bear in mind, you need at least half a million ringgit, per child. That’s the minimum you need to expect to invest for a quality degree and good education.”

It’s not uncommon to hear such expressions. Many investment consultants commonly promote their “WHY” of investment: to provide for children’s education.
Same thing with discussions on: Why MUST you buy a house? Why not just rent? Why work hard today?
Also when it comes to the long hours debating the issue of vaccines. Why?

The answers usually revolve around the same reason: “For our children’s future”.

But by far the most inspiring one I have personally heard so far is by Mufti Ismail Menk. A few years ago, in a small gathering, he once told us how his son was doing well in his studies and in sports, but he was lagging behind in his Hifz (memorization of the Qur’an). So, he told his son (to the effect of),
“Son, I see you are doing well in these areas, but please take care of your Hifz. If you excel at school but don’t do well in your Hifz, it’s going to break my heart”.

Wow. It was such a short comment, but it resonated so much with me after all these years, especially now that I have a child of my own. It’s so wonderful to hear examples of a father connecting with his son, heart-to-heart, and clearly laying out his expectations. It’s the kind of relationship that I imagine Ya’qub had with his son, Yusuf as Allah taught us in the beginning of Surah Yusuf.

Interestingly, this is also consistent with a lesson taught by the book “Positive Discipline” – using “i-messages” to express your feelings to your children so you can encourage genuine cooperation and trust, built upon love and respect.

But more importantly, it also made me ponder upon the existential question regarding “working hard for our children’s future”: What legacy do we want to leave behind for them?
Consider the words of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:

إِذَا مَاتَ الإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ ثَلاَثَةٍ إِلاَّ مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ ‏
“When a man dies, all of his deeds come to an end, except for three,
1. A recurring beneficial charity, and
2. knowledge (by which people) benefit, and
3. A righteous child, who prays for him (for the deceased).” (Muslim)

The expectations and efforts we put in for our children are an expression of what we – as parents – deem as important. As priority.
What do we deem as important investment? Good education? Nice house? Easy life in this dunya?

What will my legacy be, as a father, if my child grows up in perfect health, had top-notch qualifications, high-profile jobs, shiny mansions and shinier sports cars, but does not pray Fajr – let alone supplicate (make du’aa) for me after I die? Of what avail will all that wealth and knowledge that I left him with be, if it was consumed for selfish reasons, not spent for the sake of Allah for the benefit of others?

Or even if he does pray, make du’aa, recite Qur’an and spend for the sake of Allah, but he learnt all of that from teachers whom I had to “outsource”: and that he did not learn any of that from me, because I was too busy preparing “for his future”?
Am I going to lose out? 😭

Deep thoughts. Ones that we shouldn’t just brush aside, but rather, should mindfully confront and allow them to govern our day-to-day actions.

For our children’s future, of course.

What do you feel is the most important investment for your children?

#Invesment #ForOurChildrensFuture #TheBarakahEffect #CoolnessOfOurEyes

The Bottomless Pit of Desires

In his book “The One Thing: The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results”, author Gary Keller emphasizes the importance of Living with a Purpose – or else, life will be an unfulfilling, endless pursuit of material possessions:

“One of our biggest challenges is making sure our life’s purpose doesn’t become a beggar’s bowl, a bottomless pit of desire continually searching for the next thing that will make us happy. That’s a losing proposition.

Acquiring money and obtaining things are pretty much all done for the pleasure we expect them to bring. On one hand, this actually works. Securing money or something we want can spike our happiness meter—for a moment. Then it goes back down. Over the ages, our greatest minds have pondered happiness, and their conclusions are much the same: having money and things won’t automatically lead to lasting happiness.

How circumstances affect us depends on how we interpret them as they relate to our life. If we lack a “big picture” view, we can easily fall into serial success seeking. Why? Once we get what we want, our happiness sooner or later wanes because we quickly become accustomed to what we acquire. This happens to everyone and eventually leaves us bored, seeking something new to get or do. Worse, we may not even stop or slow down to enjoy what we’ve got because we automatically get up and go for something else. If we’re not careful, we wind up ricocheting from achieving and acquiring to acquiring and achieving without ever taking time to fully enjoy any of it. This is a good way to remain a beggar, and the day we realize this is the day our life changes forever.” (End Quote)

It is interesting to view this from an Islamic perspective. What the author is highlighting is EXACTLY what has been described by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:

لَوْ أَنَّ ابْنَ آدَمَ أُعْطِيَ وَادِيًا مَلأً مِنْ ذَهَبٍ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ ثَانِيًا، وَلَوْ أُعْطِيَ ثَانِيًا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ ثَالِثًا، وَلاَ يَسُدُّ جَوْفَ ابْنِ آدَمَ إِلاَّ التُّرَابُ ، وَيَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَى مَنْ تَابَ
“If the son of Adam were given a valley full of gold, he would desire to have a second one;
and if he were given the second one, he would desire to have a third,
for nothing fills the belly of Adam's son except dust. And Allah forgives he who repents to Him.” (Al-Bukhari)

In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said:

لَيْسَ الْغِنَى عَنْ كَثْرَةِ الْعَرَضِ وَلَكِنِ الْغِنَى غِنَى النَّفْسِ
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Richness (wealth) is not in having many posessions; but (true) richness is the richness of the soul” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

How does one attain this richness of the soul?
By having a clear PURPOSE in life.

As author Gary Keller further states:
“A life lived on purpose is the most powerful of all – and the happiest.
I believe that financially wealthy people are those who have enough money coming in without having to work to finance their purpose in life. Without purpose, you’ll never know when you have enough money, and you can never be financially wealthy.
Purpose is the straightest path to power and the ultimate source of personal strength – strength of conviction and strength to persevere.
When you have a definite purpose for your life, clarity comes faster, which leads to more conviction in your direction, which usually leads to faster decisions. When you make faster decisions, you’ll often be the one who makes the first decisions and winds up with the best choices. And when you have the best choices, you have the opportunity for the best experiences.
Purpose provides the ultimate glue that can help you stick to the path you’ve set. When what you do matches your purpose, your life just feels in rhythm, and the path you beat with your feet seems to match the sound in your head and heart.” (End Quote)

As Allah states in His Book:

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
“And I have not created the jinn and mankind, except to Worship Me Alone” (Surah Adz-Dzariyat 51:56)

Ibn Taymiyyah provides a simple and comprehensive definition on “ibadah” (worship):

"Ibaadah is a collective term for everything which Allaah loves and is pleased with from among the sayings and inward and outward actions."

Recap:
Our purpose in life is THE solution out from spiralling into a bottomless pit of desires.

Let that sink in.

#ONEPurpose #TheBarakahEffect #BottomlessPitOfDesires

Putting Your Trust in Allah in times of calamities: A Lesson from Surah Al-Kahf

 

Amidst recent concerns on the surge of #COVID19 cases and our entry into #MCO #PKP round 2, it’s important to remind ourselves of a lesson and du’aa taught from Surah Al-Kahf, wherein Allah says:

 “When the young men fled for refuge to the cave, they said: 

رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّىءْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا

"Our Lord! Bestow on us mercy from Yourself, and facilitate for us our affair in the right way!''

Therefore, We covered up their hearing in Al-Kahf for a number of years.” (Al-Kahf 18:10-11)

Dr. Bilal Philips commented:

“Allah protected the youths and revived them back as a test for people and a test for the youths themselves, because they were unaware of how long they had slept. The message of the verses being that, Allah answered their prayers by keeping (the harm of the) people away from them while they slept in the cave and causing them to miraculously survive all those years. Allah is the One who can do the unexpected.

 

We have to believe that even though situations may seem hopeless, Allah can always solve the problem. It is a reminder to us of crises in our own lives which seemed to be hopeless, but with Allah’s help we are able to come through. This story in its own way expresses that same concept. If we put our trust in Allah and He will find a way for us as He said:

وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجاً - وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ

“Whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out and provide for him from where he did not expect it. And whoever trusts in Allah, He will be sufficient for him.” (Soorah at-Talaaq, 65: 2-3)

(Quoted from “Tafsir Surah Al-Kahf”, Dr. Bilal Philips. Tafsir 202, IOU)

May Allah strengthen our taqwa to provide a way out for all difficulties, safeguard our ummah from harm, strengthen our patience and perseverance through hardship, Grant shifaa (healing) and ajr (rewards) to those patient in affliction, and may He ease the fairs of all those in difficulty

#TheBarakahEffect #LessonsFromAlKahf

The Barakah (blessings) of Righteous Parents #AllahJagaAnakKita

We all want what is best for our children; and especially in current times of anxiety due to the #COVID19 pandemic, we all hope in means that Allah preserves and guards them from safety and harm. We talk about investing in them to provide them the best future.

But how? 

In surah Al-Kahf, Allah provides the solution: be a righteous parent. In the third story of the surah in ayah #77 Allah narrates the adventures of Khidr and Prophet Musa:

فَانطَلَقَا حَتَّى إِذَآ أَتَيَآ أَهْلَ قَرْيَةٍ اسْتَطْعَمَآ أَهْلَهَا فَأَبَوْاْ أَن يُضَيِّفُوهُمَا فَوَجَدَا فِيهَا جِدَاراً يُرِيدُ أَن يَنقَضَّ فَأَقَامَهُ

“Then they both proceeded till when they came to the people of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused to entertain them, therein which they found therein a wall about to collapse. He (i.e. Khidr, fixed the wall and) set it up straight.”

Despite being treated poorly by the townsfolk, Khidr did them a public service free of charge, and was therefore questioned by Musa: “Why didn’t you demand wages for that hard work?” Ibn Kathir commented: “because they did not entertain us as guests, you should have not worked for them for free”

In ayah 82, Khidr explains:

وَأَمَّا الْجِدَارُ فَكَانَ لِغُلَـمَيْنِ يَتِيمَيْنِ فِى الْمَدِينَةِ وَكَانَ تَحْتَهُ كَنزٌ لَّهُمَا وَكَانَ أَبُوهُمَا صَـلِحاً فَأَرَادَ رَبُّكَ أَن يَبْلُغَآ أَشُدَّهُمَا وَيَسْتَخْرِجَا كَنزَهُمَا رَحْمَةً مِّن رَّبِّكَ

"And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town; 

and under the wall there was a treasure belonging to them; 

and their father was a righteous man, so your Lord intended that they should attain their age of full strength and take out their treasure as a mercy from your Lord.”

Because the wall was defective, it was feared that if the wall had fallen before the children had reached maturity, the townsfolk would have stolen the treasure. But because the orphans’ father was a righteous man, Khidr explained that ALLAH wanted to preserve their wealth so that they may gain it when they have attained old age. 

Ibn Abbas said: “They were taken care of because their father was a righteous man, although it is not stated that they themselves were righteous.''

Ibn Kathir commented: “(This verse) indicates that a righteous person's offspring will be taken care of, and that the blessing of his worship will extend to them in this world AND in the Hereafter. This will occur through his intercession for them, as well as their status being raised to the highest levels of Paradise, so that he may find joy in them. This was stated in the Qur'an and reported in the Sunnah.

In a touching display of compassionate fatherhood, this is how the companion Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, and the tabi’ee Sa’id ibn al-Musayyab understood this verse: in remembrance of their sons, they were motivated to increase their night prayers and strengthened their relationship with Allah.

Hasn’t the time come we increased ours…? 😭😭😭

#CoolnessOfOurEyes #LessonsFromAlKahf #theBarakahEffect #AllahJagaKita

Count your Blessings: What Are You Grateful for About 2020?

 

Boy, what a year has it been, huh? 

There seems to be no shortage of negative remarks on how "terrible" or a “disaster” this year has been... Such as the beginning of this (somewhat motivational?) welcoming message at local Gym 😅

There tends to be an overemphasis on the negative that we have drowned ourselves in an escalating spiral of anxiety and worry, while criminally overlooking so many other great things in our lives that we should be grateful for. With this deteriorating morale, coupled with the "no end in sight" situation of the #COVID19 pandemic, it’s easy to see why mental health issues have gone on the rise. 

Despite the "crazy" stuff happening, it's high time we look on the bright side of life and give a healthy dose of optimism to our own mental health, with a simple gratitude exercise: What can we be grateful for? 

Get really intentional and mindful with the other Awesome stuff in our lives that we tend to take for granted, especially those which we know that others have been deprived of. We have so much that others wish they did! 

You don't have to proclaim it out loud; instead, do something better: sincerely express your gratitude by praising Allah for them. 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 praise is to Allah),' 

He gives what is better than that which he received (the blessing)." (Ibnu Majah)

Even those so-called "bad" things that have happened, there may be many great things that may have come from it, as a result. Adversities and tragedies, after all, tend to have a sneaky way of turning out to be opportunities and a source of great blessings in disguise, which we only figure out in retrospect when the dust has cleared. Perhaps we may not see it yet, but the wisdoms are there in the making.

وَعَسَىٰ أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّـهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“Perhaps you may hate something, when it is in fact good for you; and perhaps you may love something but it is good for you. And Allah Knows, but you do not know” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 216)

When it comes to making du’aa and asking Allah, many of us tend to focus only on what we DON’T have, what we are lacking in, and to alleviate the difficulties that we are going through.

There is nothing wrong with that at all – in fact Allah Loves those who ask of Him - but what we tend to forget, is to ask Him to grant barakah (blessings) and retain those blessings that He already has granted to us. 

And as we have seen in these recent months, Will and Wisdom of Allah, the palpable reality of how He can snatch those blessings away at any moment, and how frail we really are at His Mercy.

That is why, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself used to make the following du'aa :

اَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ زَوَالِ نِعْمَتِكَ, وَتَحَوُّلِ عَافِيَتِكَ, وَفَجْأَةِ نِقْمَتِكَ, وَجَمِيعِ سَخَطِكَ

“O Allah! I seek refuge in You against the declining of Your Favours, the passing of safety & well-being, the suddenness of Your punishment and all that which displeases You” (Muslim)

May Allah retain and bless all the favours He has granted us and our families, and may He reward the patience of those in times of distress and alleviate their suffering.

So, what are the things you are grateful for?

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِنْ كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ

And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: "If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings), but if you are ungrateful and disbelieve, verily! My Punishment is indeed severe." (Surah Ibrahim, 14:7)

Efforts versus Results: How should we be evaluated in Performance Reviews? #YearEndReview #EPM #PPA #PerformanceAppraisal

Efforts versus Results: How should we be evaluated in Performance Reviews? #YearEndReview #EPM #PPA #PerformanceAppraisal

(note: Long Post ~ 10 minute read)

This is a common dilemma that affects corporate organizations at all levels.

Reflecting back on my own working experience, I recall being assigned several tasks where I had minimal actual effort done – just a few days of work – but because it involved a scope from a high-production facilities, it became a very high visibility task and therefore on paper was perceived as a task with a huge impact. Much to the delight of the team members involved. Yay!

On the other hand, I have also received several assignments that involved a lot of effort, many weeks of detailed work, collaboration and interfacing with multiple stakeholders, only to discover and conclude that an engineering proposal is “not feasible” or does not result in substantial “value creation”, which we ended up having to drop.

On paper: That work resulted in virtually zero value.

On the ground: We receive sarcastic remarks for “wasting time and resources for doing this work”, even though it was our must-do core job. “Buat habih boreh je”

What gives?

When it comes to Results, there are in fact many different things that affect the bottom line – and although there are many things which may be influenced by our individual efforts or actions (i.e. what is in our control), there are many more that are completely beyond our control. Weather, market conditions, facilities conditions, resource limitations, information/data unavailability, competency of fellow team members, other collaborating departments, or circumstantially high stake-crisis situations, just to name a few. All of these fall under the general heading of those outside of our control: I call this the Qadar of Allah – some may call this “luck”.

Would it be justified to "blame" individuals for factors beyond their control?

In fact, for many cases, the choice of assignments might be completely beyond the employee’s control. If they are assigned with tasks that have a “meh” impact, in spite of their diligent efforts, do they really deserve a “meh” performance rating, especially coming from their superior who accepted and assigned the task in the first place?

I remember having assigned a major project assignment and told to “drop everything else you are doing now”, only to receive instructions at the end of the year to “remove it from your performance appraisal” because the project was “controversial”.

True enough, that year, I suffered the worst performance rating of my career.

Totally my fault, right?

It starts with the “Why” of appraisals: What is the purpose behind employee performance evaluations in the first place? Who or what is really being evaluated here?

We can critique any “system” as much as we want, but at the core of it, performance appraisals crash and burn because when the PEOPLE implementing them failed or lost the plot. There is no perfect system; and even if there was a perfect one, it still goes back to HOW it was implemented.

If the objective is indeed to gauge the employee’s individual performance, identify gaps for improvement, and subsequently linking it to the overall vision, mission, culture and goals of the organization, then the focus should be on “what is in their control”: What were their contributions to achieve the bottom line? How can I tell if this employee is flourishing or merely functioning, as opposed to just riding on the popularity of the projects that I assigned to him? If I were to swap them with someone else, what differentiates them from the rest?

All of that essentially boils down to one concept: Effort.

As Batman once said, “it’s what I DO that defines me.”

Many superiors tend to have mixed feelings, sometimes even downright dismissing the role of “effort” altogether, perhaps even go to the extent of weaponizing the concept that “Results Matter” and that it’s all about the bottom line. I remember when I first joined as a fresh graduate, I overheard bosses exclaiming that “effort is meaningless if it doesn’t produce results” and “challenges are irrelevant”. At first glance, it sounds like ruthless one-liners by a villain from a 90s flick. To be fair though, I can empathize with where they are coming from. They don’t want “effort” and “challenges” to be used as an excuse for a lack of meaningful impact. Also, objectively speaking, they may have a point from a productivity point of view. As we learn in physics: Distance doesn’t mean displacement. Makes sense.

But then again: is it squarely employees’ faults for meaningless efforts – especially when the employers or superiors send them on a wild goose chase with in the first place?

As much as possible, performance evaluation should be focused on gauging the efforts in one’s control, especially considering the underlying situational and contextual challenges.

But gauging “effort” is challenging, isn’t it? How will the leader differentiate between a “genuine challenge” or “excuses”? Especially with people who are just oh-so-sweet with their words and colorful performance writeups? How will leaders meaningfully measure efforts to see through the fog of a sugar-coated writeup?

The key is to start on the right foot, in the first place: Set performance metrics which are objective, and that effectively measures the efforts in a way that is meaningful to the bottom line, i.e. the Results, and sufficiently challenges the employees to distinguish their individual contributions, taking into account internal and external factors that may affect the employees, both positive and negative. For some job tasks, some “Results” can be directly correlated with Effort: and in those cases, targets can be easier to set. But for more complex and sophisticated work assignments, it isn’t so straightforward.

In the same way you don’t give a high school exam to a preschooler, you cannot just slap on a copy-paste KPI template of a veteran as you do towards a fresh graduate and in the end, blame the new guy for underperforming. Or one who has gone on a 4-month maternity leave – hence not being present for one-third of the year – to be measured equally with others who were present in a full 12-month period.

And as performance reviews take place between subordinates, evaluate them in consideration of the context, situations and challenges that took place to gauge and review expectations accordingly to adequately assess.

Sounds tough…?

Yes, leadership is challenging. But lack of leadership is even more challenging for everyone else.

In Islam, performance evaluation is all about EFFORT: Leave the Results – and all the external factors beyond our control – to Allah. This is the essence of Tawakkul (Trust in Allah).

It is your Effort that showcases who you really are, beyond what is simply “given” to you by Allah. There are many examples that showcase this:

1. Repentance – In the story of the man who killed 99 people, the man sincerely sought repentance, went to migrate to another town to a conducive environment, but he died halfway there. He hasn’t even changed or even arrived at the destination – no “results”: he basically died “on the way”! – yet Allah accepted his repentance, by virtue of his efforts, to die on the path. (Ref: Al-Bukhari, Muslim).

2. Reward of Qur’an: The Prophet ﷺ promised that, for the person who is struggling with difficulty trying to recite Qur’an, he will receive double rewards, motivating to keep trying. Furthermore, in another hadith, he said “the best of you are those who LEARN the Qur’an and TEACH it”. The characteristic of the “best” are linked to verbs – actions – of learning and teaching. Meaning, even if you are very proficient or skilled in Qur’an, but stop the EFFORT learning or teaching, then you have lost the privilege of being the best (Ref: Al-Bukhari, Muslim).

3. Rewards are proportional to their difficulty and challenges – in a hadith, the Prophet ﷺ describes that towards the end of times, the life of a Muslim will be so difficult that it will be like holding on to burning coals; therefore the one who holds steadfastly in his faith and works righteousness will receive the reward equivalent to FIFTY companions of the Prophet ﷺ, the best of generations, the likes of Abu Bakr and Umar (Ref: Abu Daud and At-Tirmidzi).

4. Da’wah (calling others to the path of Allah) – in a hadith, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described that the nations and the previous prophets were shown to him, and he witnessed that there are prophets with one follower, and even a prophet with zero followers. (ref: Al-Bukhari). Yet they are still affirmed by Allah as the best of mankind, in spite of the “lack of Results”. It is worth noting that Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), even he barely had followers in his lifetime; he once said to his wife Sara, “I do not know of any other believer in this land besides you and me” (Ref: Muslim). Yet Allah described him as an ummah (a nation) by himself (ref: Surah An-Nahl 16:120). It was his dedicated efforts that Allah granted the barakah through his children Ishaq and Ismail to be the father of the Prophets..

5. Disbelieving Family members – in the Qur’an Allah describes how many Prophets were tried with those in their household who disbelieved, despite their best attempts to guide them. The most striking examples were the wives of Prophet Lut and Prophet Nuh (surah At-Tahrim, 66:10), and the uncle of Prophet Muhammad himself, Abu Talib. But they are not held accountable for their family members' disbelief.

6. Iman and Amal Soleh – a repeated theme in the Qur’an, Allah always pairs iman with righteous deeds: the actions.

As Muslims we can find solace in the fact that Allah rewards us for our efforts: as long as you have sincerity, and perform the deeds correctly to the best of your ability (i.e. all of which is within your control), then that’s it: None of it goes to waste, and that’s all that matters.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ مَنْ أَحْسَنَ عَمَلًا

“Verily! As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, certainly! We shall not suffer to be lost the reward of anyone who does his (righteous) deeds in the most perfect manner.” (Surah Al-Kahf, 18:30)

But the best part: in those instances you DO get great results, when Allah plants His barakah on your deeds and give the mileage of Results – e.g. charity or knowledge which was greatly benefitted from, successful da’wah – you WILL get the rewards!

In a nutshell:

EFFORT – based on clearly defined expectations and objective measurement – those define who you are. Results are a mechanism to REWARD, not to punish.

Perhaps we can learn a thing or two to implement this in our workplace.

What do you think?

#PerformanceEvaluation #thebarakaheffect

The Driving Force Behind Da’wah: Compassion towards others to save them, beyond "just delivering the message" – A Lesson from Surah Al-Kahf

 

Although the primary function of Muhammad ﷺ was to serve as a Messenger (Rasul) to deliver the message of Allah’s Final Revelation on Earth, he didn’t simply treat his role as a “postman” to deliver from point A to point B, and that’s it.

No, he had a much deeper level of ownership in his task than that: genuine compassion towards those he calls to, in order to save them. As a Prophet receiving revelation of the unseen, he has witnessed the horrors of the punishment of the grave, the day of judgment, of hellfire, and hence his ﷺ saying:

وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ مَا أَعْلَمُ لَبَكَيْتُمْ كَثِيرًا، وَلَضَحِكْتُمْ قَلِيلاً

"I Swear by Him in Whose Hand Muhammad's soul is, if you know that which I know, you would weep much and laugh little." (Al-Bukhari)

Bearing witness with his own eyes of the eventuality of those who die in a state of shirik and disbelief, his sense of empathy towards them makes him feel anxious to save them from these horrors, while they still have the chance in this life. And in this ayah #6 in surah Al-Kahf, Allah provides an insight into the emotions of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as he is continuously rejected by his people.

This feeling of anxiety is so great, to the point where he would die out of grief over them for turning away, until Allah Himself had to console his feelings of grief to remind him that his job is only to convey:

فَلَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَفْسَكَ عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِمْ إِنْ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِهَٰذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَسَفًا

“Perhaps you will destroy yourself out of grief following after them because they did not believe in this speech (i.e. this Qur’an)” (18:6)

As-Sa’di said commenting on this verse: “Since the Prophet ﷺ was keen that the creation be guided and expended his greatest efforts to achieve that, he would be very happy when people were guided and sad when the disbelievers were not, as an expression of his compassion, deep sympathy and pity for them. Thus, Allah advised him to not worry himself with grief and sadness for those who disbelieved in the Qur’aan.” (Taysir Al-Karim ar-Rahman)

Ibn Kathir explained that this verse meant: “Do not feel sorry for them, just convey the message from Allah to them. Whoever goes the right way benefits himself and whoever goes astray only harms himself. So do not destroy yourself in sorrow over them.” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

What can we learn from this?

The paradigm and driving force behind calling others to the path of Allah should be built upon compassion, not simply convey to “tick the box” and get it over and done with. Not out of spite, a burdened feeling of obligation or personal gratification.

If we base our da’wah on compassion, then much like guiding our own children, we will keep trying to the extent of our abilities, and not easily give up. When others reject our call, those feelings of sadness is not because they reject us personally, but because they are rejecting their means of true success and happiness, and it saddens us to live with the thought that they may take choices that lead down a path of despair.  

While at the same time, we recognize the bitter reality that we have no control over their hearts, and that even our Prophet ﷺ - the best of mankind, could not guide his own uncle Abu Talib who had raised him and protected him well into his old age.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said,

إِنَّمَا مَثَلِي وَمَثَلُ النَّاسِ كَمَثَلِ رَجُلٍ اسْتَوْقَدَ نَارًا، فَلَمَّا أَضَاءَتْ مَا حَوْلَهُ جَعَلَ الْفَرَاشُ وَهَذِهِ الدَّوَابُّ الَّتِي تَقَعُ فِي النَّارِ يَقَعْنَ فِيهَا، فَجَعَلَ يَنْزِعُهُنَّ وَيَغْلِبْنَهُ فَيَقْتَحِمْنَ فِيهَا، فَأَنَا آخُذُ بِحُجَزِكُمْ عَنِ النَّارِ، وَأَنْتُمْ تَقْتَحِمُونَ فِيهَا

"The analogy of myself and the example of the people is that of a man who made a fire, and when it lit what was around it, Moths and other insects started falling into the fire. 

The man tried (his best) to prevent them, (from falling in the fire) but they overpowered him and rushed into the fire. 

Now, similarly, I take hold of the knots at your waist (belts) to prevent you from falling into the Fire, but you insist on falling into it." (Al-Bukhari)

Spencer Glendon: the Inspiring Story of Triumph in Adversity by #1: Embracing who we are, #2 Doing one small habit at a time over time, and #3: Having meaningful relationships

“Build one habit at a time. Success is sequential, not simultaneous. No one actually has the discipline to acquire more than one powerful new habit at a time. Super-successful people aren’t superhuman at all; they’ve just used selected discipline to develop a few significant habits. One at a time. Over time.” 

(Quote from “The ONE Thing: The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results”, Gary Keller)

In high school, Spencer Glendon suffered from chronic ulcerative colitis. This led to serious progressive liver problems. He eventually needed a transplant, which he got from a good friend. But organ transplants mean immunosuppressive therapy. Basically, he has no immune system. Colds that would give you and I a stuffy nose left him bedridden for a week. When most of us feel under the weather, we push on through with coffee and willpower, but for Spencer there was no negotiating with his body. It would fail him and he would be bedridden again. 

Sounds awful, huh? 

But this is exactly what made Spencer awesome. As he likes to say, “I’ve had what I think of as the good fortune to be physically compromised almost through my entire life.” You’re probably thinking the same thing I am: Huh? 

When he was in high school and seriously ill, he went to see a therapist. He wanted to do the things all young people want to do: go to parties, date, play sports. Often they just weren’t realistic options. And it was heartbreaking. His therapist couldn’t lie to him. Spencer couldn’t live a life like his peers. 

But that didn’t mean he had to be miserable. The therapist told him to focus on accomplishing one thing a day. If he could do just that one thing, he could feel good about himself. His energy was limited, but if he focused on just one thing, he could still do some of what he wanted. 

So that’s what he did. Sometimes it was just making dinner. If he could cook dinner that night he would have accomplished something. He had to quit a lot of activities, but he could still achieve one thing. He would do the one thing that day, and one thing the next, and the next. Now, when he’s at his sickest, he still makes dinner. (Unsurprisingly, he’s also become a great cook.)

Coming to terms with his illness taught him something that almost all of us overlook: Everything we do in life is a trade-off. Choosing to do one thing means not doing something else.

Today, Spencer Glendon is a Fulbright Scholar, earned a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard, helped charities on the South Side of Chicago, and is currently a partner at one of the biggest money management funds in Massachusetts. 

(Excerpt from “Barking Up The Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success is [Mostly] Wrong” by Eric Baker)

Emphasizing #ThePowerOfHabit #AtomicHabits , it is the small, qualitative choices we make, and the ones we choose to do consistently in our day to day lives that eventually shape who we become, despite the adversity or problems in our circumstance. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said,

وَأَنَّ أَحَبَّ الأَعْمَالِ أَدْوَمُهَا إِلَى اللَّهِ، وَإِنْ قَلَّ 

"the most beloved deeds to Allah are the ones done consistently, even if they are small" 

(Narrated by Al-Bukhari)

But what really stood out to me about his story was about embracing our limitations. Despite his severe illnesses with a “valid excuse” to simply live a life of survival, especially with the inability to “enjoy life” like his peers, Spencer simply kept moving forward in life with what he had, improving one small aspect at a time until he scored multiple achievements and contributions that even relatively healthy people don’t do.

Just because we are deprived from something, it doesn’t mean we need to live with a Victim mindset: to feel upset, depressed, envious of others. Rather we should embrace who we are, accept our limitations and move on. Focus on what we CAN do, what we can achieve. 

We can apply this life lesson to all circumstances: No matter what states of difficulty you may be in, it is your conscious choice to make the best of what you have is the secret to a life of fulfillment, success and happiness. 

In the context of religion, this is the essence of Islam (submission). When a Muslim EMBRACES Islam, one embraces the limitations – whatever the shari’ah has deemed as prohibited / haram – not simply because one “doesn’t have a choice”, but out of acknowledgement that the One Creator had imposed these prohibitions because He Knows Best what is good for us (even if our desires may not “like” it), and we put our full trust in Him! 

This is the wisdom behind the description of the Prophet ﷺ regarding the believer:

الدُّنْيَا سِجْنُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَجَنَّةُ الْكَافِرِ

“The life of this world is a prison for the believer and Paradise for the disbeliever” (Muslim)

Finally, another really inspiring aspect of Spencer’s story is the importance of meaningful relationships. It was his therapist that gave him the secret sauce to his eventual path to success – one thing at a time – but above that, the author highlights at the book’s conclusion, Spencer’s amazing life had one more secret weapon up his sleeve: a BFF who saved his life. 

“Relationships not only improve success; they can save your life. Remember Spencer Glendon and his health issues? I mentioned he received a liver transplant. When he first fell seriously ill, the doctors knew he might eventually need a new liver and his friends were all tested to see if any were a match. (The liver is unique in that it regenerates; so both donor and recipient will eventually grow a full organ with time.) 

His friend Carl was a good match. Years went by and Spencer’s health continued to decline. The doctors said they had run out of options. Spencer would require a transplant. 

Carl didn’t merely volunteer. He revealed that ever since the positive donor match, he had quietly been on a dedicated regimen of diet and exercise. He’d spent the past few years getting himself into peak shape so that when the time came, he could give Spencer the healthiest liver possible. 

Because of Carl’s sneaky plan, both friends are healthy and happy today. I hope you and I are lucky enough to have friends like Carl. 

If you align your knowledge of yourself with your career and the people around you, it can form an upward spiral that leads to not only career success but also happiness and fulfillment.” (End Quote)

Wow. 

The Prophet ﷺ said,

لَا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى يُحِبَّ لِأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ

“None of you [truly] believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

مَثَلُ الْجَلِيسِ الصَّالِحِ وَالْجَلِيسِ السَّوْءِ كَمَثَلِ صَاحِبِ الْمِسْكِ، وَكِيرِ الْحَدَّادِ، لاَ يَعْدَمُكَ مِنْ صَاحِبِ الْمِسْكِ إِمَّا تَشْتَرِيهِ، أَوْ تَجِدُ رِيحَهُ، وَكِيرُ الْحَدَّادِ يُحْرِقُ بَدَنَكَ أَوْ ثَوْبَكَ أَوْ تَجِدُ مِنْهُ رِيحًا خَبِيثَةً

"The example of a good companion (who sits with you) in comparison with a bad one, is like that of the seller of perfume and the blacksmith; 

From the first (seller of perfume) you would either buy the perfume, or enjoy its good smell (by simply being in his company); 

while (hanging out with) the blacksmith would either burn your body or your clothes, or you get a bad nasty smell from being in his company." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari)

“Just make du’aa for me” – Response to Gratitude

When our fellow Muslims thank or express gratitude to a person, or perhaps when they say something like "I don't know how to repay you", sometimes one may give this response: "just make du'aa for me". 

At times it can be very subtle: we tell the person “جَزَاكَ اللّٰهُ خَيْرًا” (may Allah reward you with good) per the sunnah, the person says, “doakan ana”. 

At first glance, it seems like a very positive response: I don’t want any tangible rewards or payment, I just want your du’aa. Sounds innocent and sincere, masha Allah. 

Plot twist: This response is actually not appropriate. When we ask others to “make du’aa for me” after we have done a favor for them, this automatically implies we are expecting something in return, hence this request actually contradicts true ikhlas (sincerity). By right, our thoughts should be as the ones modelled by what Allah describes as the Abrar (the righteous) in the Qur’an: 

إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا

"We provide you with food, seeking only the Face of Allah. We do not wish from you any recompense nor any thanks" (Al-Insan 76:9)

Also: Ever noticed also how sometimes, when people share tips and knowledge online or in forums, they sarcastically say at the end: “you can thank me later”? 

So annoying. 

Likewise, as a self-reminder, to prevent ourselves from being instilled with this “gratitude entitlement” mindset, we have to be careful not to state “make du’aa for me” when we do a favor for others, as an indirect and implicit means to remind others to be grateful and solicit their appreciation. 

(Note: This is different from a general request of others to make du’aa for us in times of need such as sickness, success in exams, trials in difficulty, or overcoming any challenges, when there is no aspect of gratitude / recompense in the picture. Those ones, no worries.. Go ahead.)

Making du’aa for others in secret is an amazing act of righteousness and should be done from the heart out of sincere gratitude. The Prophet ﷺ said, 

وَمَنْ صَنَعَ إِلَيْكُمْ مَعْرُوفًا فَكَافِئُوهُ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَجِدُوا مَا تُكَافِئُونَهُ فَادْعُوا لَهُ حَتَّى تَرَوْا أَنَّكُمْ قَدْ كَافَأْتُمُوهُ‏

“If anyone does an act of kindness for you, repay him; but if you have not the means to do so, pray for him until you feel that you have compensated him. 

(Narrated by Abu Daud, graded sahih by Al-Albani)

How Important is “Visibility” in employee performance?

 

One of my bosses used to say, “When it comes to performance appraisal, this is not a beauty pageant. You will not be judged based on how visible you are, but instead on your merit and contribution”

Among the biggest pain points I have observed and experienced of employee performance in the corporate world is this little thorn called “visibility”.

Perhaps this may sound familiar to you: high performing, staff who have nailed and exceeded all KPI but being denied good performance ratings or promotion because they were “not visible enough”.

(Though it tends to make us wonder – does it work the other way around, in favor of the highly visible employee? Can the visible superstar simply go for a stroll and ride on the wave of popularity, by virtue of his/her shiny performance write-up?)

This is a touchy sensitive subject, especially for those who feel they are not very visible in the organization or the team, perceiving they have a built-in handicap or "unseen force" that holds them back. I’ve been there, and yes, it burns.

So let’s honestly give is some thought: how important is visibility?

The key is goal-setting and setting clear expectations of what is expected from an employee. If visibility is indeed an integral part of the job itself, then place it as part of the employee’s performance targets and KPI. If it’s not relevant, don’t turn the job into a beauty pageant.

However, a couple of things to keep in mind if you DO consider visibility important:

Firstly, let the employees know upfront and well in advance at the start of the year, so they may prepare for it. Not just a shocker “plot twist” you shoot them at the end of the year end performance review, or those final triumphant moments when they are due for promotion.

Secondly, by integrating visibility into the KPI, you need an apple-to-apple benchmark: allow fair opportunity for the employees to project their visibility. We cannot put everyone on the same pedestal if the nature of their job scopes aren’t on a level playing field.

Some job scopes are naturally more visible than others. For some of us whose jobs are highly technical in nature, these assignments don’t really require or impose us to make frequent presentations or interfacing with management, such as my current job assignment as a discipline process engineer in a project team working mainly simulation, design, and calculation to support project proposal works behind the scenes. For us to get ourselves visible outside of our teams requires us to go the extra mile to volunteer additional tasks of presentation and coordination.

But for some job responsibilities, presentations are their bread and butter: their day-to-day job has high visibility by design. They frequently require interfacing with high-level stakeholders, leadership teams and partners. Some job designations are tasked with the “final sign off” with the clients and are guaranteed to get the achievement photograph that gets splashed on the front page. For these jobs, visibility isn’t an “extra effort”; it is a given if you simply show up and do your job.

Thirdly, and this is perhaps most important, one may probably be wondering: “How would you measure visibility?”
Therein lies another problem: Visibility is highly subjective, and dependent on perception, hence does not have truly fair metrics to be measured. Bosses, too, have limitations: A person may be considered “visible” by superiors who are familiar with one’s work, but completely unknown to others. Take the other extreme: A person may be considered visible by virtue of social smoking or golfing with the higher ups. A person might be “famous” for winning the company karaoke competition, or for organizing the company gala dinner.

But you have to honestly ask: are all of these visibility acts relevant to consider a staff a “high performer”, or promotion?
An organization putting too much undue importance on subjective visibility without clear prioritization is at a risk of moving away from the emphasis of a high-performance culture, and instead inspire a culture of ostentatious employees who act purely for publicity. You might accidentally promote superficial things that, in reality, don’t actually matter and are completely irrelevant to their core job deliverables, but can get them noticed or save them from poor performance ratings. In Malay slang language, I believe the term is “capab” (cari publisiti).

Finally: whose responsibility is “visibility”, anyway?
What role do the superiors, bosses, employers play in recognizing the work of their own subordinates? Is it correct for the employees themselves to be 100% responsibility for their own visibility?

No matter how perfect you setup your performance appraisal systems, as human beings with limitations, a perception bias is inevitable. As objective as you try to make the performance targets or promotional criteria, you will still have a little factor that relies on your perceptions to make a judgment call on a person’s “worthiness”, and that still has visibility play a small, subconscious role.

People judge based on what they know. And if one doesn’t know much, or perceive matters based on an incomplete picture, one cannot make good decisions.
But we can do something to work around this limitation: and this is where the superior’s responsibilities come in. At its most basic, superiors need to make the time and put in the effort to recognize their subordinates’ works. Regularly engage your team in a consistent, structured manner: as a platform to understand the challenges, pain points they go through and efforts they put in, clearly communicate expectations (including visibility expectations), exchange feedback towards continuous improvement, and identify how they can facilitate or optimize the team’s resources to perform their jobs better.

Simple steps like regular engagements not only improve the leaders’ visibility of their teams but allow them to simultaneously build an atmosphere of trust; not just whooping out the sledgehammer during year-end performance reviews because they are “not visible enough”.
Perhaps, if done right, visibility may no longer even be relevant.

But what if superiors don’t have time to engage their subordinate teams? Too busy with meetings and engagements?
If effective leadership and management of subordinates is your core job, “no time” is not a valid excuse. Tasks that are your core responsibility – your fardhu ain – things like this, you don’t “find time”, ya sheikh. You make time.

Don’t penalize others for your own failures. “Not visible” and “not taking the effort to see” are two different things.
Besides, why are managers paid more if they don’t manage? What kind of a leader doesn’t lead?
Leadership failure leads to the evolution of performance appraisals into a beauty pageant.

Even if your performance appraisals become a beauty pageant, are you fit to judge the contest if you didn’t even show up in the first place?
Food for thought.

The Muslim Perspective
Ala kulli hal, as a Muslim, I always remind myself that the one most important performance evaluation: the appraisal of our lives, the one in which we stand in front of Allah to be answerable for our deeds in this life to determine one of two destinations: Jannah or Jahannam. Seventeen times in a day, we recite
مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ
“The Only Owner (and King) of the Day of Recompense” (Surah Al-Fatihah 1:4)

From a work perspective, this verse should give us the motivating (and scary) reminder that even though some bosses or organizations might overlook one’s contributions, Allah never overlooks them. Any oppression will be recompensed and repaid – if not in this annual appraisal, in this employment, or in this life, definitely in the next.

From a life perspective as a whole, this verse also reminds us where we should be really channeling our efforts for this performance review with Allah: I don’t have to worry how visible I am. I only have to worry about preparing myself, based on the clear performance expectations outlined in the shari’ah, without ambiguity. We know exactly what to do, and how to find out what to do, i.e. from the Qur’an and sunnah: the onus is 100% upon us to learn, act, and share. The challenge though, is that we don't know "where we are" and "when is the deadline" (i.e. death) - so we just have to keep moving forward and improving!

Share your thoughts! What do you think: is visibility important or relevant in employee performance?
Have you encountered sticky situations due to visibility? Any tips or advice? How do you manage visibility in your team?

#YearEndReview #PerformanceManagement #PerformanceAppraisal #EPM #TheBarakahEffect