Sunday 19 February 2023

as Salaamu Alaykum

Welcome to the Optimized Muslim Weekly Newsletter on all things self-development from a Muslim's perspective.

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Qur'an Ayah

“The truth is from your Lord, so do not be among the doubters” [Quran 3:60

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَآئِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ وَما الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلاَّ مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ

“Every soul shall taste death. And you will be paid your wages in full on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is distanced from the Fire and admitted to the Garden, has indeed triumphed. And the life of this world is only the enjoyment of delusion.” [3:185]

An idea I was thinking about: Time is really running out

“Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your busyness, and your life before your death.” - Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

I often share quotes on time, and the importance of using it wisely, as well as our inevitable death. I know this may not be the feel good yay shay optimistic self development stuff you see out there, but for Muslims, remembering death often is critical to allow us to recalibrate and course-correct.

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allahﷺ, said, “Abundantly remember the destroyer of pleasures"

, you're probably quite young, but something I've realised as I've seen my parents age and develop more health issues, is that your health-span is significantly shorter than your life-span. We really need to push ourselves to make use of the blessings we have.

Al Hasan Al Basri had a grave in his house that he would lie in at night to remember his death. He would rise out of it reciting Allah’s verses

حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ لَعَلِّي أَعْمَلُ صَالِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ

Until, when death comes to one of them (the disbelievers), he says, "My Lord, send me back, that I might do righteousness in that which I left behind."

Read more reminders on death:

Begin with Bismillah

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ recommended us to say “Bismillah” in many practical contexts:

The act of reciting "Bismillah" prior to engaging in any activity promotes positive intentions and prompts a moment of reflection before taking action.

"Tie your camel and trust in God: The ultimate solution for dealing with uncertainty" 

The answer lies in the famous hadeeth of the bedouin man who asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) if he should tie his camel or trust in God. And the Prophet told him, "Tie your camel and trust in God."

When you face uncertainty, tie your camel by:

1. Exercising your free will to think through all the options at hand and plan accordingly.
2. Taking all the means necessary to gain clarity on your options through learning, researching, seeking advice, and taking action.
3. Seeking Allah's Barakah in your day-to-day life by sticking to your prayers, reciting Quran, praying istikhara, and doing what you can to align each moment of your life with how He wants you to live.
4. Although life is uncertain - the ONLY certainty is that we'll meet Allah SWT at any moment, and we need to prepare.

source: productive Muslim

Imam Al-Ghazali's criteria for choosing friends:

1) Intelligence

2) Good Character

3) Righteousness

4) Absence of greed

5) Truthfulness

— Optimized Muslim (@MuslimOptimized) February 16, 2023

Interesting links to make you smarter and recommended content🤔

• Learn how to write common Arabic phrases using shortcuts. I have a short video on this but this article is better: Link

• How to set up your business in the UAE. An Article by Mohsin from Islamic Finance Guru: Link

• Deep Dive: Examining the Impact of CBDCs on Global Economy. Link

A silly but powerful use case for Chat GPT 😂

So for the married brothers out there, this prompt actually works really well:

" I want you to write a romantic poem for my wife based on some information about her and my favourtie things about her"

[you then write out her name and other information]

Once you get a response, you can edit it by saying something like "make the above shorter" or " add funny cultural references from Pakistan" etc

Questions to ask ourselves

When was the last time I had a day in which I cannot recall committing any sins?

Some quotes from my readings:

Take action

Have you been pondering starting on a new goal but are still procrastinating on it? Come up with the easiest, simplest, and quickest action you can take today to initiate momentum. 365 Days With Self-Discipline by Martin Meadows

Epictetus explains wonderfully: “When I see a man in a state of anxiety, I say, ‘What can this man want?’ If he did not want something which is not in his power, how could he still be anxious?

"The world seems to be accustomed to delaying gratification less and less, which means the rewards of delaying gratification grow more and more."  James clear

With regard to memory, think of it like this: from the innumerable events that have happened in a person’s past, that person chooses only those events that are compatible with the present goals, gives meaning to them and turns them into memories. And conversely, events that run counter to the present goals are erased. The Courage to Be Happy by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

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Aadil

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