✅ Optimized Muslim Newsletter 16/07/2022

Jul 16, 2022 8:35 pm

Update for 16th July 2022

as Salaamu Alaykum,

An Idea I was thinking about this week

Sometimes it's good to step back and try to see where your mental diet and input fits into the overall dynamics of the World. I was recently listening to a podcast with Richard Haeir (psychologist specialising in human intelligence) and he mentioned how the American Military does not accept recruits with an IQ of below 82 - this is about 10-15% of the American population or 50-60 million people! The military is incentivised to have as low a barrier to entry as possible but even they have this cut-off. He goes on to state how finding a normal job for these people is almost impossible.

We forget this or never even appreciate it, to begin with. If, for example, you're an academic, how many people in your everyday working life would you come across who are not also above average intelligence? Similarly, social media warps our sense of reality in that the algorithm dictates what is seen, how many times it is seen and by how many people. How many people do you see out and about that reflect what you see on social media? Hardly any.

An Islamic Reminder

We have the pixel, Allah SWT has the picture. How many times has something happened in our lives where it initially seemed "bad" only for it to later become a defining moment in leading to something good. This is an intra-life example i.e where our limited human senses were able to ascertain the understanding through Allah's grace. We should consider that a huge blessing considering how small we really are. Have a look at the recent images from NASA's Webb and reflect on this.

Seerah & Hadith

"Much can be said about the Prophet’s ﷺ preference for a life of poverty. There are numerous reports that his preference was well thought out. For example, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb mentions that he once entered a room where the Prophet ﷺ was reclining on a hard mat. As ʿUmar sat down he noticed that the Prophet ﷺ had only a shirt on and that the mat had left its mark on his body: I looked around in the room and I saw in the cupboard a handful of barley that would hardly fill a man’s cupped hands, and a handful of dying material. I also saw undyed skin. Tears sprang to my eyes. He asked: “What makes you weep?” I said: “Messenger of God, how can I stop my tears when I see the marks this mat has left on your body, and your cupboard almost empty, while the emperors of Persia and Byzantium live in luxury. You are the one God has chosen to be His Messenger and you have nothing except what is in this cupboard.” He said to me: “ʿUmar, will you not be happy to learn that they may have the luxury of this world while we have the happiness of the life to come?” I said: “I will, indeed.” (Related by Muslim.)"

Source Muhammad ﷺ, Adil Salahi

A quote to think about

The great gnostic Ibn Ata'illah in his hikam says:

"Consider the Greatness of the one you're sinning against, not the apparent smallness of your sin."

Negotiating Tip

"Uttering the phrase Is that the best you can do? Only takes seconds, but the hourly return on those seconds can amount to hundreds, if not thousands." This takes a couple of seconds and does not involve much resistance as it is in the form of a fairly innocuous question. You will be surprised at how much this works favourably. Use when negotiating fairly low-value things. Don't think a single "Is that the best you can do?" will get you a house for below market value but you never know.

Content I found beneficial this week:

Reconciling the Divine Decree and Free Will in Islam with Justin Parrott. A good summary of the main arguments. Link to the interview on Blogging Theology

Health

"Muscle mass is not commonly thought of as a necessarily healthy tissue, but muscle mass is positively associated with various health biomarkers and longevity. More muscular people tend to live longer than less muscular people. The most obvious health benefit of muscle mass is protection against physical frailty [2], such as from falls, but most benefits of higher muscle mass actually seem to be mediated by improved insulin sensitivity."

source: https://mennohenselmans.com/what-is-a-healthy-body-fat-percentage/

More quotes:

While we spend a great deal of time and attention on what we eat and drink, we pay practically no attention to the air we breathe. The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown

The more time you spend in quietude, the more you’ll dissolve toxic energies and organically replace them with hope, happiness and spiritual liberty. The Everyday Hero Manifesto by Robin Sharma

Whenever man falls prey to lust, he sinks to the lowest of the low and joins the animal herd. Whenever he curbs his desires, he ascends to the highest of the high and attains the angelic level. Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship by Imam al-Ghazali

Make a list of all your attachments and desires and to each of them say these words: “Deep down in my heart I know that even after I have got you I will not get happiness.” The Way to Love by Anthony De Mello

If you have any natural gifts that elevate you above others, you must be aware of the dangers and avoid flaunting such talents. Instead you want to strategically reveal some flaws to blunt people’s envy and mask your natural superiority. Show your intellectual clumsiness at subjects outside your expertise. The Concise Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene

Something unrelated but I found interesting:

Turkey Discovers 694 million mt of Rare Earth Element Reserves, with Infrastructure Construction Starting This Year. Link

One question to ask ourselves

It's far more important to be in the right boat than it is to row hard. Are you in the right boat?

🎥 Want To Be An Activist? First Purify Yourself - Imam Tom Facchine (Animation)