One of the topics I’ve been thinking about lately is how parents or in general elders speak to young Muslims who are far from the Deen.  Often times, their tone or approach in talking ends up driving them further away from doing what is right.

I’ll give you one example:

One of my friends dad in Brooklyn goes to the masjid daily in Brighton beach. Often times he sees some of these young Muslims outside the masjid smoking. An ordinary uncle with a back home approach would generally start harassing them.

Anyways, so my friends dad went up to them one day while the Azan was being called and said “Why don’t you at least pray Salat and smoke after”?. Okay, before some of you start going all crazy, you need to remember that most of these youth have developed bad habits, and a little bit of gentleness in daw’ah can go a long way.

Yes, it’s better they at least pray and smoke rather than just smoke. In fact, when they start praying, insha’Allah that will allow them to gradually change for the better.  To make a long story short, those very same kids told my friend that they wished their parents had spoken to them in that manner.

Now this is the issue I wanted to tackle. Watch out Shatan! No but all jokes aside, there is a time to be strict and a time to be soft like halal Marshmallows. Based on who you are dealing with, whether it is on the individual or collective level, you need to be conscious of what you tell them and in what environment. By this, I’m referring to who they are around, it’s from the Sunnah to tell people their faults in a one on one setting. When you put people on blast like we say in the hood then you are in a sense humiliating and degrading them.

Alot more can be said in this article but I don’t want to fry your brains. This is something I need to work on in particular myself first. May Allah swt guide us and allow us to communicate in ways that influence people for the better in this life and in the next, Ameen.

One verse from the Qur’an before I bounce -

“Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided.” – (Surah An-Nahl, Ayah 125)

Wa’salaam Yo.

Maybe we’ll never know who recorded this video or who the Man is but May Allah (swt) increase him in his rizq and take him out of poverty, Ameen.

Being in the entrepreneur mode lately, I’ve been thinking about what makes certain companies successful. After reading up on some which are the cream of the crop in customer service, including Amazon.com, Nordstrom and Zappo’s to name a few, I was motivated to write a post about how we can take some business lessons from them and apply them to how we approach Daw’ah.

After doing some research, it didn’t surprised me at all why these retailers were ranked at the top. All of them put customer service at the top of their core company values. In fact, Zappo’s teaches it’s employees to not have good “customer service” but “service” as they like to put it. They believe service is 24/7 and if you really care about helping people no matter where you are or what time it is then this will naturally carry over to how you do business.

It’s a philosophy which is taught from the top of the company and flows to the bottom.

See example below:

Now pay attention to this, in the Nordstrom’s employee handbook, it begins with the following statement:

“Welcome to Nordstrom: We’re glad to have you with our Company. Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service. Set both your personal and professional goals high. We have great confidence in your ability to achieve them.”

Your probably thinking well Saad it’s obvious, have outstanding customer service and your business will take off. Well the fact is many companies don’t stress this enough which results in customers bouncing to one of their competitors. But customer service goes beyond the traditional things that come to your mind, it’s about being extraordinary and impressive. I’ll paraphrase the story of a book store owner who was also once the professor of Jeff Bezo’s (founder of amazon). Sorry can’t remember his name right now.

Anyways one day at his book store, some plants fell from the balcony onto a customers car, leaving the car covered in dirt. The customer got extremely angry so the owner came out and told the customer he would make sure the car get’s spotless. He drove the customer’s car to all the car washes that were nearby but that failed since they were all closed. Then he told her, that he would clean the car himself with all of his cleaning supplies at his book store. After full-filling his promise, this resulted in the customer purchasing a large quantity of books from his store.

Now that’s how you care about your customers. The owner could have easily brushed off the incident and not take responsibility but he took the higher road.

Lesson learned: Go out of your way to make your customer happy and they’ll support your business!

My favorite CEO today is Jeff Bezos (May Allah swt guide him), not only is he quite humble but his perspective on doing business is amazing. Learning from his professor, he says:

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job everyday to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”

In other words putting people or in this case your customers before you. These are all essentially different dimensions of customer service and shaping customer experience with the products and services your selling but the main aspects of servicing others is not complicated at all. In fact, you just need be human and act according to your innate nature. Often times, shatan makes us feel that we need to cheat or be shady to get more sales. The truth is Allah (swt) has already decreed how much your going to get. So your only fooling yourself if you feel that you need to take haraam means to get there. Think about it.

To successfully serve your customers, you need to:

1. Always be honest to your customers, especially when you or your company have messed up. Don’t worry Pinocchio isn’t your boss.
2. Be gentle with your customers, even when they piss you off. In a hadith narrated by Imam Tirmidhi, Prophet Muhammad (s) said “Allah’s mercy descends on one who is gentle at the time of buying, selling, and requesting payment.”
3. Learn from the best (Zappos, Amazon, Nordstrom) Listen closely to what your customers are saying, often times they are your biggest critics. When Imam Shafi was asked once how he got great character, he replied ” I listened to my critics and took their criticism seriously”.
4. Once you receive this criticism, you need to be able to reflect upon it and channel it accordingly so there is constant improvement. It’s very likely what you learned or experienced can be helpful to another employee, so document it and share it with your team. The best way to handle heated moments is to avoid being reactionary but more importantly mentally prepared.
5. Reward your customers! This is one of the most proven methods to keep customers happy, the best things in life are free.

Applying the above lessons for Daw’ah:

As a Muslim, I figured this sort of relates to how we should strategically give daw’ah or invite people to Islam. At the end of the day, people will always remember how you treated them, especially based on first impressions, it’s that simple. Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:

“Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided”. (16:125)

Below is a chart which displays reasons for customer service complaints which was collected and analyzed by a consumer complaints firm called groubal.com. You’ll notice that many of the reasons are directly applicable to how some Muslims deal with Non Muslims, which sadly results in them having a negative perception of Islam. Which isn’t always fair but it’s the current reality.

The reasons that specifically stood out to me were:

1. Language 5%
2. Rudeness 17%
3. Carelessness 11%

I’ve witnessed several stories of people who came into and Islam and left because they wouldn’t given their expected level of comfort and support, the essential follow up from the community is too slow (same as the significant reason of poor customer serve as illustrated above) which results in this person leaving the deen. It can definitely apply to the aspect of carelessness as well. Sounds similar to a customer leaving a business? I think so!

This reminds about many ex-Muslims that were deaf who also left Islam because they didn’t have no one to teach them about the Qur’an and Sunnah through sign language, quite sad but rudeness our our side to say the least.

Along with that, is just basic language which often times you go to a Masjid in America and there isn’t a Khutbah in English to cater to the individuals in attendance. This is particularly disturbing since we’re in a country where English is the most popular language. I guess this would fall more within marketing and understanding your target audience, but nevertheless all these elements are directly related.

Conclusion

All of the proven practices discussed above must be consciously executed throughout your respective organization or business and are essential to first attract and then retain your target audience/market. There’s no doubt that carelessness, being rude and being slow to respond are critical in maintaining relationships. Along with this, the essential qualities of being honest and understanding who your engaging with are the keys to winning the hearts and minds of people.

From an historical perspective, Islam spread through the world (especially Indonesia) largely due to how honest Muslim businessmen/merchants conducted themselves through their trade and dealings.

Related to this, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was known as Al-Sadiq (the Truthful) and Al-Amin (the Faithful). Every Makkan, rich or poor called him by these names before he received revelation and these qualities were directly reflected in his success as a businesman as well.

The best form of marketing is word of mouth and when you have a great experience with a business then it’s only natural that you refer that business to someone your close to. The same applies to Islam, if we live according to the standard and best practices outlined by the Qur’an and Sunnah knowing that we’re representing Islam for Allah (swt) sake, then it’s only right more and more people will observe and become interested in learning why we are behaving the way we are.

To wrap it up, I want to mention that companies undoubtedly have a dark side to them as well and like humans they will make mistakes because they are being operated by humans. So let’s not forget that there are always ups and downs in all aspects of life but it’s all you respond to failure that makes you truly successful and Allah (swt) knows best.

Anyways insha’Allah we can all including myself benefit from this if it’s correct. Well I’m out of here like the full moon on a clear and cold winter night. Wa’saalam Yo!

Before I lay the hammer down which I bought from home depot I want to make it clear that the action taken by Lowe’s obviously does not represent the views of every one of their employees so it’s important to keep it fair.

Anyways, the old Lowe’s slogan “Let’s build something together” is gone and recently they changed it to “Never stop improving”. Bad timing.

When I first read that the retail home improvement store Lowe’s pulled their ads from the TLC eight part series “All American Muslim” for the simple fact that they didn’t want to support the American Muslim community,  I asked myself what influenced this corporation to submit to such a low moral standard?

After investigating some more I discovered that a right wing christian organization known as the Florida family association put pressure on Lowe’s to stop showing the ads and they actually listened. So much for being kind during Christmas season, they might as well make the Grinch their CEO by being this mean.

Okay Lowe’s, before you help people rebuild homes, you need to rebuild your company values and ethics and live by them. All the fat-cats at Lowe’s need to practice what they preach. I mean come on, Why couldn’t you be chill like Best Buy and welcome the American Muslim community? Not a good idea, I mean after all, we’ll have an easier time going to home depot who have over 1,000 more stores nationwide anyways.

Lowe’s pulling ads shows how pathetic active islamophobia movements are but even more how weak corporations can be. Seriously, I mean what’s next Lowe’s? Are you going to have a sign outside each store saying “No Muslims Allowed”? Whatever happened to being a real American and following the values embedded in the United States declaration of independence….. “We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights”.

Now that Lowe’s has gotten themselves into this mess, it’s an important time for both American Muslims and non Muslims to speak up and take constructive action. By letting them simply move on like everything is all good then we are letting the ideas of religious discrimination and racism spread. In the words of Russell Simmons  “This country is built on religious freedom. This is the kind of hate that tears this country apart.”

So what do we do from here? Below are some ways on how we all can help in an organized, productive and civilized fashion.

Five Quick Tips on How to Take Action Against Lowe’s:

1. First thing we all need to do is stop buying at Lowe’s until their stance is fixed.
2. Let them know that we won’t tolerate bigotry and religious discrimination. Call, email, blog, just send your message. Here is some info that can help: Lowe’s Customer Care P.O. Box 1111 North Wilkesboro, NC 28656, 1-800-445-6937, customercare@lowes.com . ICNA (Islamic Circle of North America) has already made this email process easy, take action here
3. Sign the petition on the signon.org
4. Contact the CEO of Lowes! Here is his corporate contact info: email is robert.a.niblock@lowes.com, phone #: 704-758-2084
5. Spread the word through your social networks, word of mouth is the most powerful tool in advertising.

One quote before I bounce,  It’s from Prophet Isa (peace be upon him) who said:

“In kindness, be like the earth beneath your feet. In generosity be like the flowing rivers and in mercy be like the sun and the moon for they rise and set on the good and the wicked”. – Prophet Isa (peace be upon him)

After reading this , we should definitely give Lowe’s a chance to change for the better. But until they do, then Chill Yo, Don’t Shop at Lowe’s Yo!

Assalamu-Alaikum,

I often find myself in sticky situations. Sometimes I take the wrong train and end up miles from home late at night, or I derail a conversation and unintentionally get into an argument with someone I care about. Other times, I have to face even bigger challenges, like leaving medical school after putting in years of my life towards this goal. But, never fear! Allah is near.

Alhumdulillah, I’ve learned to remember Allah whenever any of these things take place. What ever He gives us in wealth, food, health, knowledge, etc. is from Him, so He can take any of it back. Allah swt is always testing us, and every exam is customized to the individual’s abilities. These exams temporarily test your patience, your character, and your tawakkul, and then it’s over before you know it. Allah swt lays it down when He tells us,

“So, verily, with every difficulty, there is relief. Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.” (94:5-6)

However, we don’t always realize that these critical moments in our lives can be golden opportunities for a multitude of possibilities. There is good in everything that Allah swt does whether or not we see it right away.

“…it may be that you dislike a thing while Allah has placed abundant good in it.” (4:19)

So how do you take advantage of this goodness Allah has in store for us? First, we must embrace the fact that the knowledge of what is good for you in any trial is with Allah alone. Second, we must recognize an opportunity when it strikes. The best opportunities are sometimes right under your nose, even when calamity strikes, but we fail to see them.

Qur’an and Sunn’ah are the ultimate guidelines. So I’ve pick up a few pointers from there and come up with these five simple steps to take when ‘life’ happens in order to make the best tasting lemonade out there:

1. Recognize: Step back from the impending doom, and recognize that this is a test from Allah.
2. Be Grateful: Alhumdulillah! You realized in time to check your self before you wreck yourself. Be grateful that Allah swt thinks you are worthy of being tested and be grateful that it isn’t worse. Also, being grateful during times of difficulty ensures a positive attitude, and this is very important during Step 3.
3. Be Patient: Since you recognized the reality of the situation, that Allah is merely testing you, it is easier to calm down and be patient because relief lies just ahead insh’Allah
4. Re-evaluate: While keeping in mind that everything happens by Allah’s permission, ask yourself, what got you to this point/what things were you in control of that you could have done differently? what steps will you take to fix the situation? what are your options? These sound like vague questions, but you can apply them to almost any situation both when you need to think on your feet and when you need to think about long-term issues.
5. Seek Council (optional): Allah swt encourages us to seek advice from each other, make a decision, and then leave the rest up to Him.

The last bullet point is there if the trial you’re facing has to do with big life decisions or set back. So what if I had to leave medical school? That’s okay because Allah swt has something better planned whether it’s in this dunya or in the akhira. With advice from family and peers, and trust in Allah, now I’m free to pursue other passions I had locked up inside instead of losing my 20’s to the rigor of a medical career. Alhumdulillah! What a relief.

When you re-evaluate yourself and your life, make sure it is done during AND after the trial that you are going through. Take it as a character-building opportunity. These are the moments in life when you need to change yourself for the better, even if you are going through just a minor difficulty, there is always room and opportunity for a change. Your character is not something readily apparent to you, but it is to others, and so it is important to reflect on yourself for personal improvement. It might just be that Allah swt wants to help you grow.

Of course, it is easier said than done, but this is a long term process.

Here is a poem I recently wrote on Somalia. insha’Allah hope you guys find it beneficial! I’m still working on the shirts for the campaign to raise money, so stay tuned.

Whenever you feel like you don’t have much,
just look at those in Somalia who don’t have nothing,
How can we feel uncomfortable when Allah (swt) says “we can’t count our blessings”,
Shatan always whispers in our hearts and opens room for complaint,
so fill your heart up with gratitude and give thanks,
Don’t think, you won’t be questioned on why you didn’t help,
Allah swt is the ultimate judge, so put aside just caring for yourself,
What’s given to you, can be taken back at any instance,
Don’t just expect the next person will take the responsibility,
because after all you were also a witness,
Allah swt knows how much we can really give,
but the reality is,
We only got one life to live,
Which means we don’t got a penny or a second to waste,
Gotta increase faith, before it’s too late,
it starts with remembering the poor before you eat your full plate,
So close your eyes and just imagine,
no water or food in the hot desert for months, stuck in an extreme famine,
where kids are so weak, they can’t even cry or scream, sounds like a clip from a movie scene,
this is real, no hollywood script, it can be really happen,
so next time you come across the donation box,
pull out your money and drop it like it’s hot,
shatan will try to stop you but remember your wealth will only grow, and better yet,
your only purifying your soul.
(By Saad Ahmad Rashad)

So this is my first ever attempt at creating a design for a t shirt, I figured I start out with the Somalia campaign. insh’Allah I hope this can be one way I can raise money for our brothers and sisters in East Africa.

Basically it’s my original mascot, I decided to slap the somalia flag onto the hoodie and customize the slogan. Are you feeling it? Let me know.

Recently I’ve been thinking about the power of innovation, relax not bida. I’m talking about original ideas and taking them from conception to reality. Whether it’s entrepreneurship or just driving positive change in society.

One of the key characteristics about people who are movers and shakers in this world is they identify an opportunity and they take act on it right away. Not necessary monetarily (for profit), but because they understand that if no one else in the world does it then mankind is potentially at a huge loss.

Anyways this reminded me of the one quotes of Imam Bukhari (R.A). In case you don’t know, he was one of the greatest hadith collectors in the history of Islam. But check this out, he himself was inspired and motivated to make power moves after his teacher bought up the idea to him. 

“There was once a time during one of our sessions when my teacher Ishaaq Ibn Rahway remarked it would be appreciated if someone could collect hadith which held strong and reliable testimonials and wrote them in the form of a kitaab.”

That’s a perfect example of someone who heard an idea and was able to execute on it. Imam Bukhari didn’t just sit around and let the opportunity pass, there was intense work ethic and determination throughout his life.  He invested his time and energy to reach that goal. Which is why his collection called Sahih al-Bukhari is one of six major books on hadith till this day. He was blessed with amazing memory and that obviously played a role. He worked on the final collection for over 16 years! Subhan’Allah.

People often say when it comes to business “they can’t think of any ideas”.  You can find ideas if you ask yourself what your passionate about, remember the best work is the work you enjoy doing. In the case of Imam Bukhari, it was also his thirst of knowledge that also drove his efforts.

Now transitioning to the bread and butter of this post, chill butter is high in cholesterol. Let’s say bread and olive oil, since the olive is a blessed fruit.

Anyways, How do you make an idea become reality?

Here are five tips I’ve put together that will insh’Allah be of benefit:

1. Intention – Of course nothing becomes reality without the permission of Allah (swt) and this is something that we should always be conscious of. No matter how much we do in this life, it’s only because Allah swt has allowed us the opportunity and the intention should always be that you are doing it for his sake. If that project or business idea doesn’t begin in the name of Allah, then your depriving it of blessings.
2. Time – In business they say time is money, that’s true for everything in life. Especially when it comes to social work, there are many people in the world that need your help! Your initiative can help solve real world problems and by carefully addressing them and presenting solutions you can drive change but remember time is money and change is good. Change = Money, get it hahah okay no.
3. Passion – Ask yourself what you enjoy doing, we are all inclined towards different things in life when it comes to doing what we love. Just make sure you keep it halal bilal.
4. Dedication – Besides your God given talents, it’s your work ethic that will help you achieve your goals in life. That is what sets the good apart from the great. People who are great at what they do don’t get their by accident. They optimize their time, stay dedicated and work on those strengths they have so they can excel even more. One word, consistency!
5. Stay on alert – Listen to people who are wise and share ideas. Alot of people have ideas but they don’t want to implement them which is why they share them with those who potentially can. If your ready to step up to the plate and fill a void in society then make moves like the road runner. Meep meep. Just make sure those moves land you in Jannah! insh’Allah.

So next time you have that idea pop up in your head, don’t wait for someone else to implement, “just do it” like nike.

Well there you have it.  insh’Allah I’ll write again soon. Please keep me in your dua’s right now. May Allah swt reward all of you for your kind support and feedback. Appreciate it.

I’ll end with some lines from Surah Al-Asr

By Al-’Asr (the time).

Verily! Man is in loss,

Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth.

Wa’salaam Yo.

A few weeks ago I saw someone change the wording for the quote “ignorance is bliss”  to “ignorance is iblis (shaytan)”. At first I thought it was a clever and creative statement, but when I gave it some thought I realized that it’s more like “arrogance is iblis”.  It’s one thing if a person chooses to intentionally stay ignorant and another if a person never has had the opportunity to be exposed to the truth.

It’s always sad to hear some Muslims make statements that are very discouraging. For example, from time to time I come across some who say ” I don’t want to hear the truth, because if I do then I’ll be held accountable for not following it”.  In other words, they don’t want to change for the better.

Only fooling themselves, they rather go wild in their actions right now and pretend like they have forever to change.  Chill, that mentality will easily sway you away from the straight path. Yes some of these Muslims are humans after all, so we should make dua Allah swt forgives them and opens their hearts.

Even one time, I observed a person cover his ears as advice was being given on an issue of halal and haram . Well just because you cover your ears brother, doesn’t mean shaytan can’t still whisper in them.

Astaghfurillah. When the truth presents itself in any setting, as Muslims we should try to be as receptive and attentive to it as much as possible, not run away from it.

Part of doing that is clearing our mind of any bias and letting a person talk when he or she is telling the facts.

Of course all of us lack knowledge, but it should be in our best interest to seek more knowledge and apply it asap. I mean after all, if you haven’t been taught what’s right and wrong within the framework and guidelines of the Qu’ran and Sunnah then how will you make progress in self development.

Now we transition to another side of ignorance which is how it spreads. So how does it spread? To keep it simple, it’s starts on the individual level. If enough individuals speak without confirming what’s true then pass it to other people that essentially repeat this same cycle then falsehood will naturally spread like wildfires. That’s why I say “you aren’t keeping it real if you don’t got daleel”.

Other reasons for ignorance occurs when basic education isn’t prevalent in society, when influential media outlets spread lies and people follow it blindly. Allah (swt) makes it quite clear in the Qu’ran on how we should respond when news reaches us:

“O Believers, if an unrighteous person comes to you with information, you should verify it or else you might inflict harm on a people in ignorance and then end up regretting what you have done.”  (Chapter 49, Verse 6)

This is even more powerful in the age we live in. Where social media has the whole world communicating like never before. What I personally learned is just be patient and as information flows out, the smokescreen will clear up.

So how can we prevent ignorance from spreading? Here is 5 quick tips for myself and all of you insh’Allah.

1. Don’t speak about a topic if you don’t have knowledge of it! Ask the people who know.
2. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”.  Imam Malik  (R) once said, “The shield of the scholar is, ‘I do not know,’ so if he neglects it, his statement is open to attack.” Sound advice which is also applicable to us common people.
3. The last thing we need for any issue is confusion, when people are confused they can’t think straight and as a result can’t act according to the truth.
4. Follow the instructions from Allah swt of confirming news before you tell others.
5. Try not to jump to conclusions. Educate yourself! The first word revealed to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (S) was iqra “read”. The more we read from reliable and established sources of sound knowledge then we’ll prevent ourselves from spreading ignorance.

May Allah swt increase us all in true and beneficial knowledge for his sake, keep us away from falsehood and guide us on the straight path. Ameen!

Please keep me in your dua’s. Alhumdulilah, I really appreciate and thank all of you for supporting my blog.

I remember a few years ago I heard a presidential debate and one president said to the other “The only thing consistent about you is your inconsistency”. Clever. Putting politics or politricks aside, this quote had meaning to me in other parts of life.

Especially as Muslims, we’re supposed to be extra conscious of our time as Surah Al Asr (the time) highlights and while it’s a reality our eman increases and decreases, it should always be our goal to aim high like the heavens and carry this mindset through life, not just isolating Ramadan and forgetting about it the rest of the year.  I’m not saying everyone does that, but those of us that may be influenced by this approach need a reminder insh’Allah (including myself first)

This is a gateway into my article about how we can find consistency in serving Allah (swt). There is no better set of words that capture this theme. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad said in a hadith:

“The most beloved of deeds to Allah are the most consistent of them, even if they are few”

(Al-Bukhari no. 6464 and Muslim no. 2818).

So how do you find consistency? It all starts with self reflection and creating habits. Many studies have shown that it takes 18+ days to create a habit depending on the individual.

Self evaluation is the only way you’ll be able to improve as a Muslim. Ask yourself what small deed can I start with everyday that can be easily be done throughout the rest of the year, it can be something simple as spreading salaams and a smile to making dua for humanity at every salat. See there are Muslims who wake up and pray the voluntary prayer in the last third of the night just before fajr. They didn’t get there suddenly, they set their standard high and slowly but surely worked their way towards that. This puts them on a whole another level, in retrospect many of us are still finding our way to pray our 5 daily prayers on time.

It’s important we don’t become slackers and don’t burn ourselves out. At the end of the day, we’re still humans.

Cutting down on sin in your life is a key in finding consistency. You can’t expect to be a better Muslim if you keep regressing. Imagine a race to Jannah and the finish line is in your sight, but every-time you are close you sin and run back. We wouldn’t want that would we?

So how can you find consistency? I made a list of 5 quick tips:

• Figuring out your purpose in life. It’s to serve Allah!
• Getting your priorities straight, that’s a self assessment you must consistently do. Ask yourself where is Allah on your list of priorities?
• There are many productivity apps/tools available where you can track your daily activities.
• Think about your daily lifestyle or habits, make time in the day even if it’s for 5 minutes to do a good deed. Starting with your home then spreading to the community.
• Figure out what your good at, alhumdulilah we all have talents. Once you figure out your key strengths, ask yourself, how can you help others who are suffering? Remember it’s not always about money. You can donate your time, skills, however you think you can help. Just help.

May Allah (swt) allow us to be consistent with his deen and give us the strength, consciousness to be better Muslims as life goes on.  Ameen.