The other day I was on the subway and I noticed an advertisement that immediately got me thinking about extremism in society. (Check it out below)

While the word “extremism” is usually talked about in the context of violence, we often fail to observe other areas in life where individuals or societies go to extremes and avoid moderation. Perhaps, the advertisement could have been even more blunt and rephrased as “Obsessive Compulsive Gambling Starts Here”.

What was even more disturbing was right next to this ad, another ad had the message “Live In The Moment”.

There’s no doubt marketers exploit human desires and directly blast messages to encourage extreme consumption. I remember a few years ago when I visited Las Vegas, thanks to a free trip my relatives took me on which was totally random.

I recall, walking through the casinos and not seeing any concept of time present in the minds of gamblers. There weren’t any clocks around and people were glued to their slot machines. The environment in these places are created to have people fully immersed, so I wasn’t totally surprised. What was even worst was if you lowered your gaze, you would see haraam fliers on the floor. Chill!

However, it wasn’t totally bad, they had a nice masjid not too far from all the fitna, where I ran into Nouman Ali Khan giving a Friday sermon. I’m never going back there again insha’Allah.

Anyway, getting back to finding moderation, Islam encourages us (mankind) to stay moderate in life and not transgress the boundaries. Allah (swt) has set up a balance in the world, and when we disrupt that balance, it only hurts us.

Personally, when I hear the words such as balance, moderation and normal also come to mind. Allah (swt) puts into context how moderation plays a role in the lifestyle of a believer in several contexts, one of which includes how we should spend our wealth. Check it:

“And [they are] those who, when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that, [justly] moderate”.

To bounce back to the casino example, gamblers are inclined to not spend their wealth moderately. Getting caught in habits like this puts a person in a vicious cycle where they aren’t conscious about consequences but rather seek immediate pleasure/instant gratification. 

In conclusion, as Muslims, we must avoid going to “extremes” if we desire to stay on the “sirat al mustaqim”.

*Insha’Allah I’ll be putting out another post related to this in the future as there is much more related to this topic. Sorry I haven’t been writing as of late, please keep me in your dua’s. May Allah swt reward all of you. Ameen.

One of things I often see in the world of marketing is deception or setting unrealistic expectations for a client. This is particularly evident when sales people are out persuading their prospective clients they should buy the product or service they are pitching.

What’s interesting is that Shaytan creates this false hope or motivation that you need to say anything that comes to your mind to get the sell. First thing is we as Muslims believe our rizq is written. Secondly, with that belief, one should consciously try their best to not mislead a potential client. If your thinking “hey, I should say whatever to get this client on board to get my money” then you’re only fooling yourself.

I’ve heard a story about Ali (R) which directly relates to this. I’ve heard it in many different versions but basically Ali (R) once requested a man to watch his mule (donkey) as he went into the masjid to pray. When he came out, he noticed the man had stolen his mule. He went looking for it into the souk (bazaar) and noticed someone else had it in their possession.

When he confirmed it was his and the mule was purchased for two dinars, Ali (R) said he was going to give the man two dinars for watching his mule. Instead the man chose to go down the haram route and get his two dinars the wrong way.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear with correlating that above story to my original point, but basically the lesson is it’s up to you how you want to pursue your rizq. You can go through halal or haram means to attain it but ultimately it’s been decreed, however, Allah swt has given us the intelligence and moral consciousness to choose how.

The Sunnah makes it all clear, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

A truthful and trustworthy trader will be in the company of the prophets, the very truthful, and the martyrs (Tirmidhī, Dāramī, Dāraquṭnī).

Lastly, I know rizq is a comprehensive concept in Islam, I’m writing from the perspective of monetary gain.

Until next time insha’Allah. Take Halal Risk to Get Your Rizq!

“As I walked into the masjid and headed towards the crowds of people staring at the Ka’ba, my emotions were uncontrollable. I burst into tears and began saying, ‘Allahu Akbar!’”

Anyways, check out the video interview below from the Deen Show.

May Allah swt guide, protect and give him the best in this life and in the next. Ameen!

(Credit: www.muslimquarterly.com)

“And Allah has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing, and He made for you hearing and vision and intellect that perhaps you would be grateful.” – Surah Nahl, Ayah 78

Alhumdulilah, recently I hurt my foot and it made me realize how important each body part is. My initial reaction was anger but I soon after I remembered the hadith of Prophet Muhammad (S) when he said:

“No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that.”

It’s true, you don’t truly appreciate what you have until you lose it and when life is going consistently well, we may become susceptible to take what we have for granted.

And from time to time, Allah (swt) will test us we can respond to these tribulations hopefully with deep reflection and positive change. In others words, it should bring us closer to him. More precisely, as believers we should have an Attitude for Gratitude.

What you don’t want to develop is a habit of turning to Allah (swt) only in difficult times. Allah (swt) is worthy of gratitude in every instance and breath of your life and it’s important to stay conscious of this. It’s easy to recognize what you don’t have in life, but when we all recognize what we have, it will allow us to stay content and appreciative.

The most important point to remember is that Allah (swt) dosen’t need us at all, we need him! Which is exactly why we should be thanking him for everything he as given us.

5 Ways to Show Gratitude to Allah (SWT)

1. Pray Your Salat – This is the most important obligation as a Muslim. Allah (swt) has given us so much and in return he commands that we pray at least at the minimum of 5 times a day. If you happen to miss any salats, make sure you make them up.
2. Give Sadaqa – There are people in the world who have far less than they need. One of the ways to thank Allah (swt) is to share the blessings he’s given you with other people such as orphans, homeless, etc.
3. Du’a - There is a du’a for just about everything in life. Whether it’s putting on new clothes or waking up from sleep, the ability to remember Allah (swt) throughout the day shows that Allah (swt) is at the center of your life.
4. Thank others – No one is completely independent in life. We seek help from others and in return Allah (swt) enables them do so. It’s important you thank anyone that offers assistance and help because Prophet Muhammad (S) said: “He has not thanked Allah who has not thanked people.” (Sunan, Abu Dawud)
5. Live for Allah swt - It’s difficult in a world where there are constant tribulations and fitnah, but as long as you cling to the Deen, Qur’an and Sunnah you will always find your relationship with Allah (swt) constantly improving or renewed.

Conclusion

Allah (swt) makes it clear in the Qu’ran how important giving gratitude to him is when he says ”If you give thanks, I shall certainly increase you (in favor)” (Quran 14:7).

Often times we hear people say “I’m too blessed to be stressed”, this essentially captures the state of mind or attitude of how a slave of Allah swt should internalize and display in character.

Because in reality, we’re all too blessed to be stressed no matter how hard life gets for us on an individual level. “So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?” (Surah Rahman: Ayah 13)

May Allah swt give us the strength and guidance to be conscious believers who are grateful to him. If you have any more suggestions on gratitude, please share them below. Oh and keep me in your dua’s, Jazaka’Allah Khair =)

Ever had that moment where you’re sitting in class, half alert, you hear one sentence or one word and all of a sudden you have an epiphany about something totally unrelated. Well, that is exactly what happened to me when my professor asked, “What is capital’?”

While the rest of the class attempted to answer this intentionally vague and abstract question, I started thinking about all the different types out there: financial capital, human capital, social capital.

People invest socially by doing things that put them somewhere high on the social ladder and help them network with others, like going to college to get more knowledge or joining some group.

Professional schools invest in human capital by accepting students with a broad range of experiences and interests, because they can’t have bookworms becoming doctors and lawyers.

Businesses invest financially by putting their money towards things that will help it grow in the long run, like buying a plot of land for a store or providing paid training for their workers.

What if your life and soul is your business. That would be your spiritual capital. Then it would make sense to be an entrepreneur and invest in yourself.

Why, you ask?

Well, a 2007 study on Spirituality and the Health of College Students concluded that “College students integrating a spiritual component while processing decisions about risks that could negatively [affect] their health experienced better health outcomes.” Basically, people who are spiritual or religious in any way tend to live longer, cope better with stress, deal better with loss, and are more optimistic overall.

Let’s take a minute to think about spiritual capital from an Islamic point of view.

5 Ways You Can Invest in Spiritual Capital

1. Increase tawakkul –> Decrease heartache

Tawakkul is your faith and trust in Allah.

“Say: “Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector”: and on Allah let the Believers put their trust.” – Q9:51

Everything that happens to you, good or bad, come from Him. There is a reason and wisdom behind everything whether we know it or not. So don’t sweat the petty things. Everything in dunya is petty when you think about the big picture.

2. Increase taqwa –> Decrease procrastination

If your life was a movie, would you even want to watch it?

One meaning of ‘taqwa’ describes your fear of Allah. An example of this is described when Allah swt says in the Quran:

“And say, “Do [as you will], for Allah will see your deeds, and [so, will] His Messenger and the believers. And you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, and He will inform you of what you used to do.” -Q9:105

Think about this next time you spend 5 hours of your life on Facebook or YouTube when you have work in front of you. If you fear Allah, you will fear the consequences of your actions and how you spend your time. By practicing this awareness, you can help stop your own procrastination. This way you not only accomplish more in life and in school, but you can also free yourself up to worship Allah swt by putting your time and energy in beneficial activities.

3. Pray on time –> Increase discipline

As a wise person once said, “Your schedule should revolve around salah, not the other way around.” If you plan your activities for the day, you will notice that you have a ton of room to get work done from Fajr to Zhur.

If you continuously work on praying five times a day, respect the boundaries of the prayer times, and pray with khushu (concentration/presence of the heart), you will notice that this practice will stick with you and it will help you become disciplined in many areas of your life, particularly with time management and focus. This is especially important when we, as a culture, have ADD. I am generalizing here, but I personally believe that we should strive to be more conscious and focused in our lives in order to be productive human beings.

4. Recite Quran –> Better acquisition of knowledge

When I was younger, after my Quran lesson for the day, my mother would tell me to make du’a by saying Rabbeh-zidni-ilma (My Lord, Increase me in knowledge). I never understood why until I was older and came across this verse:

“So high [above all] is Allah , the Sovereign, the Truth. And, [O Muhammad], do not hasten with [recitation of] the Qur’an before its revelation is completed to you, and say, “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.”” -Q20:114

I also notice that I can understand tough reading material better when I have read some Quran or have the desire for it in my heart. Aside from the fact the Allah swt provides us with a book full of His Knowledge (and He is, after all, the All-Knowing), it follows logically that if you are able to memorize the entire Quran, you should have no problem learning anything you aspire to learn.

5. Make du’a often and for others –> Increase positivity in your life and relationships

If you are a human person over the age of 16, it is more than likely that you have faced some sort of seemingly huge “Why me?” moment. Nope, I’m not a mind reader. Astaghfarullah. I’m just really sure its a universal phenomenon. These kinds of moments make it hard to stay optimistic. But everyone has ups and downs. Make du’a to show your appreciation of the ups. Make du’a He helps you with the downs. This goes back the verse in point #1.

Get into the habit of making du’a in your heart, softly to yourself, or out loud when no one’s around. Ask Allah for a candy bar if you really want one. It sounds silly, but making a habit out of asking Allah for anything your heart desires is beneficial for so many reasons, in this particular case, it helps make Allah your first resource in any emergency. Not only do you end up airing out your thoughts by talking to Him, you gradually learn to articulate what’s really bothering you. Kind of like going to a therapist, but without the huge bill. Sometimes, just pinpointing your problem is winning half the battle. It allows you to move on and be positive about life again.

Following the same line of thought. If you make du’a for other people in your life, you gradually realize their importance to you, how much you also want them in jannah with you, how much you want their success and their happiness. The prophet (pbuh) said,

“…the du’a of a Muslim for his brother (in Islam) in his absence is readily accepted, and an angel is appointed to his side, whenever he makes a beneficial du’a for his brother the appointed angel says “Ameen and may you also be blessed with the same” (Muslim)

Also, family and friends can be a fitnah sometimes, and you can lose sight of the long term relationship in the heat of short term problems. Turn to Allah with a sincere heart and ask Him to help resolve conflicts.

Conclusion

These are all reminders to myself first. Many of us struggle in one, or more, or even all of these categories. There is a lot of overlapping, too. It is important to recognize that and invest as needed. If you do this with the intention to please Allah and you are thinking about the akhira, your investment is doubly blessed: not only can you, by Allah’s Will, have success in your life in this dunya, but you secure eternal success as well. Kill two birds with one stone.

Chill, let’s not kill any birds, but you know what I mean.

For those of you itching to know, my professor later defined capital as a means of production. So, in conclusion, let’s be productive and start investing in spiritual capital today!*

*This is NOT a gimmick.

Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil ‘akhirati hasanatan waqina ‘adhaban-nar
(Our Lord! Grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and save us from the chastisement of the fire.)

Ameen.
Peace.

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)

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.

So before I jump into my article, Tarbiyah is an Arabic word that linguistically means increase, growth, and loftiness. I guess in practical terms, it would involve the pursuit of knowledge and acting on it for personal spiritual and mental growth. Disturbia on the other hand which is basically disturb, in English means to interrupt rest, peace.

It’s like when your sleeping and someone screams at you to wake you up, or you wake up from the smell of strong onions from the kitchen! I know some of you know what I’m talking about. =) Just don’t go to the masjid with onion or garlic breath, the angels don’t like that according to the hadith. It can also be looked upon as when you sin and how that disturbs the peace within you, more particularly within your heart and soul.

Anyways, since I’m graduating in a couple of weeks from college insh’Allah. I gave my academic career to this point some thought and to be honest if Pre Kindergarten to the end of Bachelors was the ocean of knowledge, I haven’t even started swimming yet.  More importantly, in contrast to knowledge of the deen I can the say same, not even a little goldfish.

I wanted to talk about how the acquisition of knowledge and how that should play a role directly in improving ones life as a Muslim, speaking for myself first. It always fascinated me that some people who are experts in certain subjects act against their best knowledge.

Sort of like when you see a lung cancer specialist smoking a cigarette, yea strange human behavior. Or even more sadly which I’ve begun to notice on a small scale are hafiz’s gone wild. Your rational would tell you that someone is who is carrying the book of Allah in their mind would be more conscious of their actions. Not to say that people can’t change for the better during personal trials, no we pray that everyone does but my point is that once we know truth and falsehood we should stick to the truth or at least be consistent in our principles.

More importantly, all of the knowledge we acquire throughout our lives, what will it translate to in terms of our actions. How will it benefit us in this life and in the next? For me, I studied marketing. But if I can’t apply all those marketing concepts and strategies I’ve learned in creative ways that help myself and those around me then it’s wasted. Better yet, how will I give back to the deen? By that, I mean help in Daw’ah.

The other day I had the chance to quickly review what the average day is like when your memorizing the sahih sitta (6 major books of hadith), and while there are brothers and sisters around the world who have memorized thousands and thousands of hadith. What’s is scary is that the more knowledge we acquire of the deen whether it be Qu’ran, Hadith, etc. We now have an obligation to follow it. There is no doubt, we’ll have our ups and downs. Emaan increases and decreases. The challenge is how to we step up our game and maintain a high standard for ourselves indivdually as believers, because once you know what’s right we should try our best to not be swayed from it.

If the struggle is completing the five daily prayers, then make that your priority. But if you got that locked down and your consistent then move to the next, try to wake up for Tahajjud. It’s all relative.

So whatever knowledge we’re gaining in life, we need to ask ourselves what we’re going to do with it and individually evaluate ourselves. The sahabah’s (May Allah be pleased with all of them) when they heard revelation, they reacted accordingly and change their lifestyle to how Allah swt commanded them to do so. That’s Tarbiyah.

Anyways, those are some thoughts I wanted to write about.  insh’Allah I’ll write soon again. It’s 2 a.m., time to knock out don’t disturb me, ha!

May Allah swt allow all the knowledge we receive to benefit us in this life and in the next, Ameen.

Wasalaam Yo.

I’ve always loved marketing, most importantly the consumer psychological/behavior aspect of it which is extremely interesting when you start studying it deeply. I’ll give you one example. Pepperidge farms sells many products but one of their most successful ones are Goldfish crackers, yea they are cute, tasty and are shaped just like little goldfish. When the company first started selling them in grocery stores, the goldfish crackers didn’t sell too well.

After researching they discovered the goldfish needed to be changed in appearance. Rather than leaving the face blank, eventually they stamped a smile on each goldfish cracker and this directly increased their sales. It’s no secret, consumers love seeing smiles. It gives them a sense of peace and happiness.

Anyways, I’ve come to the realization that every advertisement serves as a reminder to buy a certain product or service. It’s not surprising, humans are naturally inclined to forget. The solution? Reminders! Companies that spend the most on brand awareness tend to influence consumers purchasing habits more on a subconscious level.

It’s true, they basically want us to do constant dhikr of what they sell. How many advertisements does the average American expose to in one day? Take a guess, to relax your brain cells I’ll tell you what it is. Anywhere between 3,000-5,000 ads a day!

This leads me to my next part of the blog post. Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships and I came to the conclusion that if you really value someone in life then you’ll remember them not only when you need them but on a regular basis.

Zooming out even more, as Muslims we believe the one who deserves the most remembrance in life is Allah. The Holy Qur’an reminds us “And the men and women who remember Allah frequently, Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and great reward.” (33:35).

The above verse highlights frequency. The challenge for all of us is arriving at a high level of consciousness where you are remembering Allah throughout your daily affairs and ultimately before you do any beneficial act. There is no doubt certain elements of the dunya distract us but when your going to sleep after a long and tiring day, you need to remind yourself that the next morning isn’t promised and only with Allah’s permission your life continues.Yea it’s easier said than done, but progress is a slow process. We all need to evaluate ourselves and take the necessary steps practically to improve our relationship with Allah. If you aren’t completing your five daily prayers, get on top of it. If you are then move on to developing a strong relationship with the Qur’an, there is always room for improvement.

When I was flipping through the dua book “Fortress of the Muslim” today, Subhan’Allah the amount of dua’s prescribed by our Beloved Prophet was amazing. There is a dua for just about anything in life. A dua for when you wake up, when the wind blows, before you put your new clothes on, for a good or bad dream, for a full moon, when it rains, pretty much anything and everything in life.

So how does this all relate to the original introduction of advertisements? Simple, Allah shows us through many ways that we should remember him. There are many signs of his existence. The order of the universe, the way your body functions, the endless blessings you receive. It’s clear in the Qur’an, “And if you would try to count the favors of Allah, you would never be able to count them. Truly, Allah is Forgiving, Most Merciful”. [16:18]

In conclusion, don’t have that half relationship with Allah where you turn to him only when you need him. We don’t need 3,000 ads to remind us to remember Allah. If you truly love Allah, you would want to remember him. He is worthy of praise through your times of trials and times of ease. That wraps it up like a mummy, forgive me if I wrote too much and because I haven’t posted lately. insh’Allah (God willing) I’ll write again real soon.

One last ayah from the Holy Qur’an before I bounce.

“And establish regular prayer, for prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds, and remembrance of Allah is the greatest thing in life, without doubt.” (Surah al-Ankabut 29:45)