11 Ramadan 1446 AH / 11 March 2025

as Salaamu Alaykum

Ramadhan Mubarak - I pray this Ramadhan is a source of immense barakah, purification, and nearness to Allah for you and your loved ones. May your fasts be accepted, your heart be softened, and your deeds be multiplied. Aameen

Welcome to the Optimized Muslim Newsletter on all things self-development for Muslims. I synthesise and filter insights, ideas, quotes, resources and more so we can become Optimized Muslims إن شاء الله

In today's email: An energy "hack" to use whilst fasting, reflecting on the consequences of sins, and the usual good stuff إن شاء الله 

A mindful 3-minute read

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Qur'an Ayah

“By time! Indeed, mankind is in loss—except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds, and advised each other to truth, and advised each other to patience.”

[Surah Al-Asr, 103:1-3]

Reflect on the value of time: each passing second carries opportunities for eternal gain or regret.

Hadith

Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The believer is the mirror of another believer.”

Non-calorific Energy Hack: NSDR

"The goal of NSDR is to achieve an extremely deep, recuperative level of rest—and not necessarily through sleep. Essentially this involves lying in place, unmoving, and directing your awareness to the rise and fall of your breath and the sensations in different parts of the body."

Note: I first heard of this a few years ago from the Ben Greenfield Podcast before Andrew Huberman popularized the term. It works for me. Now I consistently do a 10-minute NSDR and I come out of it feeling like I've had a small nap. A lot more mental clarity and focus. Try it, it's free.

Wisdom from Islamic Scholars🧠

Arabic proverb Attributed to Imam Shafi’i ()Allah have mercy on him) on Time:

“Time is a sword. If you do not cut with it, it will cut you.”

الوقت كالسيف إن لم تقطعه قطعك 

On consequences of sins:

Sufyan al-Thawri رحمه الله said,

“I was deprived of the night prayer for five months because of a sin I committed.”

It was said, “What was it?”

Sufyan said, “I saw a man weeping, and I said to myself, ‘This one is showing off.’”

Note: This is a good reality check for us considering how we can sometimes minimise even major sins. And the whole "take responsibility" or "it's on you" is not a very popular notion in today's age of performative victimhood and oppression Olympics

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."

Something else to think about:

"The act of sincere repentance erases sins. It does not necessarily erase the worldly Consequences of those sins.

I know people paying the price for sinful acts years after they've repented, because of physical or spiritual consequences attached to the sins they committed.

Be mindful of this when satanic whispers try to make you "downplay" sinning 'because you can always repent.!" Fahim Faruq, the Greenpill Coach

Short but Powerful Quotes:

• “Waste no more time arguing about what a good person should be. Be one.” — Marcus Aurelius

• “The disciplined person is free.” — Seneca

• “The most productive decision is the one you act on immediately.” — James Clear

• “Unspoken expectations are premeditated resentments.”—Neil Strauss

• Work for this world as if you will live forever, but work for the next life as if you will die tomorrow. Attributed to Ali RA - Purification of the Heart by Hamza Yusuf

Kinda random but still beneficial

Although, I haven't used it in my content, i've always been into debates. I enjoyed this breakdown of the Trump v Zelensky issue from a body language and psychological perspective by Br Subboor Ahmed. He was able to make links to his previous debates so there were a number of educational points in relation to debating: Link to the video

Reads for Your Journey:📖

Saviours of Islamic Spirit: "This book, by the late Indian historian and intellectual, Shaykh Abu 'l-Hasan Ali Nadwi, is a story of the ebbs and flows of this Ummah; the challenges, the setbacks, and most importantly, the successes. ​ It is a poignant story of the accomplishments, attainments, and triumphs that propelled the Ummah forward. It is a story told through extraordinary figures: the revivers, men of courage, vigour, and zeal...."

Question to ask ourselves

What's my worst character trait that I can try to improve this week?

A video put together a few years ago:

🎥 DESTROYING The Free Speech Argument used to Insult our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ - Hamza Tzortzis

DESTROYING The Free Speech Argument used to Insult our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ - Hamza Tzortzis

Click here to watch the video

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

Aadil

Work with me 1:1

PS

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