choose

An e-mail to share :

Assalamu'alaikum Nuha, 

Everyday we need to make choices that either help us achieve comforts in Dunya or comforts in Akhira and these at times can be quite a dilemma for a productive Muslim. Below are some examples of such choices:

• Should you wake up early for Tahajjud/Fajr prayer and risk being tired/sleepy during the day?
• Should you fast for a day for the sake of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) and risk not being able to focus at work/school?
• Should you give a substantial amount in charity and not have enough for what you want to buy?

Although most of us know how we should answer the above questions, but let's be honest, it's quite tough!

Having said that, below are 3 thoughts to help you always choose the akhira driven choices inshaAllah:

1. Remember that your choices for akhira are linked to your purpose: When you make akhira driven choices, you're connecting to your ultimate purpose and that is to worship Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala). For example, when you get up and pray tahajjud/fajr, that's you fulfilling your purpose in life more directly than worrying about an afternoon meeting which may not be directly linked to your akhira.
2. It's all in your mind:  A lot of times we create in our mind the fear that if we make choices for our akhira we'll lose out, but that's Shaytaan playing with your mind as Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) says in the Quran: "Shaitan (Satan) threatens you with poverty and orders you to commit Fahsha (evil deeds); whereas Allah promises you Forgiveness from Himself and Bounty, and Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower" (Quran: Chapter 2, Verse 268).
3. Part of the struggle:  Yes, it's quite tough to make akhira driven choices all the time, but that's part of the struggle that we've to go through in this temporary life in order to achieve the ultimate pleasure of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala).

Nuha, the comforts in Dunya are nothing compared to the comforts in Akhira, so let us make smart daily choices with our productivity to ensure that we always stay akhira focussed, inshaAllah.

Sincerely,

Abu Productive

Memandu diri dengan doa

[sumber : ruangan muhasabah, Solusi isu 51]

Pernah berasa putus asa dalam pencarian? Saat itu dunia dirasakan seolah-olah jauh dengan realiti kehidupan sebenar dan isi alam terus mengejek dek kerana kelemahan dan ketidakupayaan yang meliar dalam diri.

Segala usaha yang diikhtiarkan berakhir dengan jalan buntu. Tiada jawapan dan kesudahan yang ditemui. Jangan kusut dan usah lupa! Saat kita jatuh tersungkur di peringkat paling bawah, masih ada kekuatan yang boleh digali… masih ada ubat untuk merawat segala kekacauan hati.. Itulah doa; senjata warisan Mukmin!

Mengapa perlu bersedih? Bukankah al-Khaliq berfirman melalui risalah cinta-Nya dalam surah Ali ‘Imran ayat 139 yang bermaksud : “Dan janganlah kamu berasa lemah dan jangan pula kamu bersedih hati kerana kamu paling tinggi darjatnya jika kamu orang yang beriman.”

Sesiapa sahaja berhak menadah tangan, merintih dan mengadu kepada Allah. Ketika segala usaha kita digagalkan oleh kelompok manusia yang sibuk mengadu domba, kecoh menambah cerita, jinak menikam dari belakang dan pelbagai lagi sebarang bentuk penindasan.. Ketahuilah, perilaku mereka tidak mampu menyaingi kuasa dan kehebatan doa. Allah pula tidak pernah mensia-siakan setiap permintaan yang dihajati hamba-Nya. Hebat sungguh kuasa doa!

Allah mengajarkan kita supaya menjadi hamba yang bertaqwa dengan mematuhi segala perintah-Nya dan meninggalkan segala kebencian yang dilarang. Sifir yang mudah, lakukan yang baik dan tinggalkan yang buruk. Apalah erti seorang manusia yang menjadi hamba kepada Tuhan-Nya tetapi mahu menidakkan kuasa Allah dalam apa-apa jua perkara.

Jangan malu andai tangan yang diangkat penuh harapan dan rasa ingin bertaubat terkandung padanya 1001 dosa dan noda. Teruslah berdoa dan bertaubat kepada Allah. Mari memperbanyakkan doa untuk perkara kebaikan, serta islahkan diri dengan menambah kualiti diri ke peringkat yang lebih tinggi. Apabila kita sentiasa berdoa mahukan pengampunan daripada Allah, maka kita akan sentiasa berusaha untuk menjauhkan diri daripada perkara yang ditegah oleh-Nya.

WHY WORRY, WHEN YOU CAN PRAY? uhuk

Ramadhan dip

What's the Ramadan dip?

This is the low levels of energy you feel during the 12th - 18th nights of Ramadan, where you start losing the excitement and momentum that you had at the beginning of Ramadan and you feel so tired and lazy to keep up with night prayer, quran recitation and even fasting.

The good news: this dip is temporary (hopefully!) and most people recover before the last 10 nights where they gear up for the extra energy and effort needed in those last 10 nights. 

The bad news: If you're not careful with this energy dip during the next few days, you may not recover completely and find yourself chronically tired and lazy till the end of the month.

So, here are few tips to help you overcome the mid-Ramadan dip:

1. Mind over matter: use the power of your mind to push yourself and go for that extra bit of energy you have within you even when you don't feel like it. Push yourself to read one more page of Quran when you feel that you can't and then push yourself to read another one and continue until you finish what you normally read each day. Push yourself to pray those 2 rak'ahs of taraweeh, followed by another one, then another one... it's amazing what we can achieve when we put our mind into something.
2. Slow down if you have to : If you're utterly tired/exhausted and need a "break", then instead of giving up completely on your acts of worship or productivity, slow down a bit to regain your energy; perhaps read a little bit less Quran than usual, and/or pray taraweeh at home instead of masjid. (Note: make sure this is done for just 1 or 2 days, just enough for you to recover your energy, sleep better at night, then ready to go back to your full throttle mode. Do NOT make this a habit!)
3. Dua :  The Ramadan dip is an opportunity for us to realise our weakness as human beings, and our weakness as believers. It makes us realise how much we need Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) to worship Him. So ask Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) for help and support to aid you in these critical days and give you the energy and strength to face the last 10 days with full energy and productivity inshaAllah.

Hope this helps!

source : ProductiveMuslim.com

just do it!

Salam Ramadhan to muslims all over the world! :)

Here, I want to share a story.

Yesterday, in the morning, I just didn't feel like going to work. I was tired, bored, and totally not in the mood. But I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed for work, drove to work and within 30 minutes of being there, I was at my usual self and back "alive!".

We all face days when we "just don't feel like it" & that's fine and nothing wrong with that, but it's how we react to those days that matter: Do we curl up in a corner, spend our day in bed and hope to feel better? Or do we go through our daily rituals, get ready and go out to face the world regardless of how we feel?

You'll face Ramadan days when you just don't feel like going for Taraweeh, or you just don't feel like reciting Quran, or you just don't feel like waking up for suhoor; and that's natural.. but what you do next is what's important: when you get up and pray taraweeh, and get up to make wudhu and recite Quran, and you get up for suhoor, the fact that you started moving, you'll feel better and you'll just feel like it :).

All the best! ^____________^

Don't Judge Too Quickly

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen. 

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. 

The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment. 

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree’s life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

Lessons: 

1. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. 
2. Don’t judge life by one difficult season. 
3. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later.