Thursday 09 February 2023

as Salaamu Alaykum

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

If you like reading this email, please forward it to someone that is like-minded. You help the project but also gain potential rewards. Thank you

Previous newsletters can be found in order here: Click here

Qur'an Ayah

“So truly where there is hardship there is also ease;” [Quran 94:5].

An idea I was thinking about: Those were the good old days 💭

One of the reasons I often recommend journaling or note-taking to the people I work with is because, over time, you are able to build greater self-awareness of your present self as well as gain a better understanding of your history.

I'm all about making things less fuzzy and wishy-washy. Often times people will reminisce about another period of their life but not go deeper into looking at the circumstances or actions they took within that part of their life that now makes them look back at it so fondly.

Perhaps you had a better, more connected friend circle, and spent less time on zombie-scrolling social media, or were you able to pray Tahajjud consistently?

Something else to consider here is the Peak-end cognitive bias:

"The peak–end rule is a cognitive bias that impacts how people remember past events. Intense positive or negative moments (the “peaks”) and the final moments of an experience (the “end”) are heavily weighted in our mental calculus"

Reflect on Death and feel a sense of urgency

Create urgency for yourself. A reminder of death is always powerful. Balance urgency with contentment.

"The ship of your lifetime is approaching the coast of the graveyard. What is the matter with you that you are busy inside the ship trying to acquire goods?" Ibn Jawzi

Tackle illnesses of the heart - especially whilst still young

❝Declare your jihad on thirteen enemies you cannot see - Egoism, Arrogance, Conceit, Selfishness, Greed, Lust, Intolerance, Anger, Lying, Cheating, Gossiping & Slandering. If you can master & destroy them, then you’ll be ready to fight the enemy you can see.❞ ~ Imam Ghazālī رح

 Barakah = growth... 

Barakah is explained as, “Barakah is the attachment of Divine goodness to a thing, so if it occurs in something little, it increases it. And if it occurs in something much it benefits. And the greatest fruit of Barakah in all things is to use that barakah in the obedience of Allah”

Interesting links to make you smarter and recommended content🤔

• Diet-tracking App - I'm currently experimenting with Carbon Coach which is a diet-tracking app created by Layne Norton PHD. It costs about £9 which is quite a lot when you consider it is more than an Amazon Prime Membership. Anyway, the interface is better than MyfitnessPal which I used for years but that is to be expected and it has no adverts. It also prompts you to do a weekly check-in and allows you to monitor macronutrients. Overall, I don't think it's worth it though 😂

• Just What Is Bid’ah? The Controversy Explained with Dr. Abdullah Ali - Blogging Theology video link

• Free Course on Coursera: "Understanding Medical Research: Your Facebook Friend Is Wrong" Link:

I took this shortly after the Covid thing started because a lot of people were using statistics and acting like only "experts" could understand. Well statistics and studies are only as reliable as the people behind them "😲"

Questions to ask ourselves

If we know how powerful Tahajjud is for the purposes of our Dua being answered (not to mention the reward)....why don't we make it a sustained habit?

"10-year dreams. 5-minute actions. Where do I want to be in 10 years? What can I do in the next 5 minutes to contribute to that outcome?" Taken From James Clear

Some quotes from my readings:

Cultivate khushoo instead:

Mindfulness therapy simply comes down to focusing intensely on something that does not evoke any emotional reactions, like a cube, for several minutes, or to focus on absolutely nothing and just experience your bodily sensations. The Science of Self-Control by Menno Henselmans

Exactly why stoicism is so limited:

Stoicism, drawn largely from Seneca, was appealing in its promise of salvation in this world, not the next, and in its focus on the human capacity to achieve happiness without a need for external, supernatural aid. Seneca by Emily Wilson

The Alchemy of Happiness imam Al Ghazali

“Desire to transact your affairs with those who have beautiful countenances.

The School of Life by The School of Life and Alain de Botton

The warmly polite person knows that beneath the competent surface everyone is clumsy, frightened, desirous and fascinatingly unbalanced – and they bring this knowledge to bear in every encounter, whatever its outwardly forbidding nature. 

Recent content 📺:

🎥 Uncovering the Deep Causes of Rising Mental Health Concerns - With Psychiatrist Dr Abu Eesa

Click here to watch the video

Forwarded this and would like to get this straight to your inbox?

Click Here!

 I want to hear from like-minded people, please feel free to reply.

Like to read all previous newsletters? Click here

Thanks for reading. Please forward it to a like-minded friend if you benefit

Aadil (Optimizedmuslim.com)