Alhamdulillah was a blessing an honor for us to receive Dr. Hassan Akbar to enlighten us on the subject matter. Hailing from Brooklyn NY, USA, Dr. Hassan was our first-ever international guest speaker for our weekly Jumflex (Jumaat Reflection) session at our department.
What I loved most about the session was how Dr. Hassan shared about his own personal life experience and growth trajectory in his religious practices. After spending time with him in recent weeks, I only recently got to know that Dr. Hassan is about the same age as I am (1 year younger, in fact), and he only started taking islam seriously and seeking knowledge about it around the same time as me, around 2008 - just after graduation, and well into our adult lives.
Since knowing this, and seeing how much we have in common (in addition to both of us being engineering graduates), it always struck me as an inspiration to see how far he’s gone in his growth trajectory - from graduating in another bachelors, a masters, and PhD, to authoring and self-publishing 5 books through his own publishing house, to being a khatib and helping out in his community, and an international speaker. And he does all this while working a demanding full-time job and raising 4 children - masha Allah, Allahumma barik.
Up to the age of 23, he was only some whom, he would describe as a “Friday Muslim”. When his father passed away from cancer, that was the catalyst for him to step up religious commitment and worship.
His initial intent was to be united with his father in Paradise (which I find very touching, masha Allah). He went for hajj at the age of 24, and committed himself to learning, practicing and taking Islam seriously.
In hindsight, as a parenting reminder for himself and the rest of us, he shared to us that he would make a very personal du’aa:
“O Allah, don’t let it be my death that will push my children to develop a relationship with You”
He took the decision to work the night shift (11pm - 7am) just so that he could the daytime study Islam - Coming home, studying Arabic from 8 to 10am with his tutor live from Egypt, then going to sleep, waking up in the evening to his islamic studies courses online.
He did this for seven years.
“This was a lot”, he admitted.
How could he achieve all this?
He shared with us, his secret weapon:
“A huge part of my success was that I have a good wife”
It was his wife who supported him, gave him the space to prioritize my achievements, gave him space to fulfill those goals. As a result, achieve tremendous things, while simultaneously taking care of the family and uplifting them along the way - reminding us the saying or Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, “the best thing you can acquire in this world is a righteous spouse”.
In his words: “if you build the right team, you can achieve anything.”
How did his journey to becoming to becoming a khateeb, a speaker?
He wanted to give back to the community, to share the knowledge, somehow. And all it took was one person to offer an opportunity: “hey, how about you give a khatib and speak?”
And then some random listener would say “hey, come to our masjid, give a khutbah”.
Then from there the momentum slowly built his reputation, his network - all while continuing to work his career in the electrical company, studying and teaching, writing and publishing books, while raising his family.
He brings an interesting perspective: He is in Malaysia for an entire month - and every single day he spends in Malaysia, it’s on his time, taking a leave of absence. “Literally, every day I’m losing money being here.”
But guess what?
“In my mind, it’s worth the sacrifice. That I have the free time, I am able to touch and inspire brothers and sisters and able to share that little knowledge that I have been given”
When he gets back to Brooklyn, he gets back, hit the ground running - working Sundays to Thursdays. Every Friday, he gives khutbah, gives lectures on Friday and Saturday, then back to work on Sunday.
People see him and say to him, “how do you DO this? You’re working full time AND doing da’wah?!”
His response?
“If you’re passionate about something, and you are goal oriented, it is no different from a person who plays golf or goes fishing every weekend.
Some people choose to play golf. I choose to give da’wah.”
There's so much to unpack from Dr. Hassan's story, but here's my big takeaways:
✅ Have a goal, a vision and be passionate about it.
✅ Success will always have a price to pay - put in the work. Side note: when you're doing something sincerely for the sake of Allah, it's not "sacrifice": it's your long-term investment with a 100% guarantee it will be paid back multiple-fold!
✅ Stick to the grind! Keep the End in Mind.
✅ Enjoy the process.
✅ Build your team & establish your support system
✅ Always have a keen eye to pick out potential in others - give them the opportunity and the space to thrive
✅ Be a great support to others: you don't always have to be at the front lines or the tip of the spear. If you support them, with the right intention, you get equal rewards!
✅ Always prepare yourself to seize the opportunities that come
Finally, in closing, he returns to the leading question: Dunya or akhirah?
Pursue both!
No one is villainizing seeking worldly success. Allah says:
فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةُ فَٱنتَشِرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًۭا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ١٠
“Once the prayer is over, disperse throughout the land and seek the bounty of Allah!
And remember Allah often so you may be successful.” (Surah Al-Jumu’ah, 10)
Many of us make the mistake of making a distinction “or” decision when it comes to religious affairs - be successful in career OR religious affairs.
But this is the wrong perspective.
وَٱبْتَغِ فِيمَآ ءَاتَىٰكَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلدَّارَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ ۖ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ ٱلدُّنْيَا
“Seek the rewards of the hereafter through the means that Allah has Granted you.
However, do not forget your portion of this world” (Surah Al-Qasas 28:77)
Success in BOTH areas can be attained and achieved - There are no limits of to what we can achieve if we set our minds to it!
Make the Hereafter our goal, keep our eyes on the grand prize: and with that, turn all of our day to day responsibilities - our jobs, worldly achievements, parenting - be the means to that end goal!
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said,
مَنْ كَانَتْ الْآخِرَةُ هَمَّهُ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ غِنَاهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَجَمَعَ لَهُ شَمْلَهُ وَأَتَتْهُ الدُّنْيَا وَهِيَ رَاغِمَةٌ وَمَنْ كَانَتْ الدُّنْيَا هَمَّهُ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ فَقْرَهُ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ وَفَرَّقَ عَلَيْهِ شَمْلَهُ وَلَمْ يَأْتِهِ مِنْ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَا قُدِّرَ لَهُ
“Whoever is makes the Hereafter his primary concern,
1. Allah will place richness in his heart,
2. Bring his affairs together, and
3. the world will inevitably come to him - even if
Whoever is only concerned about the world, Allah will place poverty between his eyes, disorder his affairs, and he will get nothing of the world but what is decreed for him.
(At-Tirmidhi #2465)
May Allah grant steadfastness, barakah and success in all all affairs, dunya and akhirah, for Dr. Hassan and his entire family and to us all.
