Saturday 21 January 2023

as Salaamu Alaykum

Weekly Newsletter bringing together some useful content on all things self-development from a Muslim's perspective.

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This one is a bit lengthy. Let me know if you prefer shorter emails.

Qur'an Ayah on reliance on Allah ﷻ

“….And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a (decreed) extent.” (65:3)

Ahadith

“When a person dies his works end, except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge that is benefited from, and a righteous child who prays for him.” (Muslim, Al-Tirmidhi, others)

"An honest and trustworthy merchant will be [raised] with the Prophets, the truthful and the martyrs." (Tirmidhi: 1209

Are we using or abusing our blessings?

You have an outward blessing. Maybe you're wealthy or good-looking or eloquent or [insert innumerable blessings]

"If you tried to count God’s blessings, you could never take them all in" Qur'an 16:8

So the blessings we have, how do we use them?

1)Are you grateful to Allāh ﷻ for giving you the blessing?

2) Do you avoid using the blessing in a way that is haram?

3) The next level: Do you use your gifts in a way that helps other people and is beneficial for the ummah?

Most people fail at the first or second and then wonder why their relationship with Allāhﷻ is not where they would want it to be.

An example: Someone is blessed with attractive looks, do they live to "capitalise" on this in haram ways or do they be "modest" in the holistic sense of the word?

Visualisation?

"If athletes include as part of their training the visualization of their sport and mentally picturing themselves going through all the steps required for success, how then can believers fail to visualize what is more important and consequential than sport? People of spiritual elevation prepare themselves psychologically for the ultimate journey."

Sh Hamza Yusuf, Purification of the Heart

People returning to the Deen and feeling regret

I recently spoke with a brother who admitted to not intentionally following or watching any Islamic content for almost 10 years.

I mentioned this archetype to Ustadh Daniel Haqiqatjou in our first interview. Muslims who have their "mental diet" filled with atheistic content whether directly through the rubbish of New Atheists or indirectly through life in a secular country. They satisfy their intellectual need this way and rather than seeking out the Muslim response, they avoid having to deal with the dissonance by building a caricature of the uneducated Mullah from abroad in their mind.

Until years later, as they grow in age and life experience, they realise Islam has the answers and then live with regret over the years they spent in ignorance.

The brother I mentioned above said "I can't believe I got put off because of a few videos and then left it for like 10 years"

Leather Khuffs "hack" for winter salah times

When Zuhr, Asr and Maghrib are relatively close to each other, use leather khuffs to wipe over when making wudu. This also seems to make it easier to stay in wudu throughout the day (as it makes wudu "easier") - which is recommended. I heard this from Dr Shady ElMasri and I was surprised that I hadn't tried it before. Working from home makes it easier but you can also purchase non-leather waterproof socks that satisfy the conditions.

Make sure to do your research on the fiqh on how to use them etc.

Some encouragement (finally)for those of us who sleep less 😂

"On top of that, a 2021 study found that people who slept less than 6 hours a night had a decreased life expectancy compared to those that slept between 7-8 hours a night - but only in people that were not physically active. In other words, physical activity can forgive many things, including poor sleep"

Source: Rhonda Patrick PHD (instagram)

Interesting links and recommended content🤔

• Why it's the easiest time to believe in heaven and hell. Mohammed Hijab. Link to video
• ChatGPT is all about effective prompts: Thread 👇🏾

People haven’t realized how good ChatGPT *really* is.

It all comes down to good prompt engineering. The better the prompt, the better the output.

Here's a super simple guide to writing better prompts for ChatGPT...

— Justin Fineberg (@JustinFineberg) January 10, 2023

Questions to ask ourselves

Death could take us at any time, what is my top priority then?

Some quotes from my readings:

"This is one reason tidying up can feel so good: we are simultaneously moving forward and lightening the cognitive load our environment places on us."

James Clear, Atomic Habits

Manual for the Practical Stoic by Kevin Malone

Endowment Effect Once people own something they irrationally overvalue it, regarding of its objective value.

"Don’t set your mind on things you don’t possess as if they were yours, but count the blessings you actually possess and think how much you would desire them if they weren’t already yours. But watch yourself, that you don’t value these things to the point of being troubled if you should lose them.”

The Science of Self-Control by Menno Henselmans

In addition to forcing you to take your mind off what you were doing before, exercise has numerous mental health benefits: brain gains, if you will. A wide range of studies have demonstrated exercise improves brain functioning and cognitive performance [42]. Among other mechanisms, exercise stimulates the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor

BDNF keeps your brain cells healthy and improves your ability to learn, remember and cope with stress.t step is to prioritize time like you would the king on a chess board. To win at this game, protect the king! Money is the queen: super-important, powerful, and flexible

Recent content:

🎥 A Muslim Brother's Tale: How Cannabis Use Triggered a Psychotic Breakdown 🤯

A Muslim Brother's Tale: How Cannabis Use Triggered a Psychotic Breakdown 🤯

Dr Abu Eesa shares a story about how a brother was affected by psychosis likely due to his use of cannabis.

Muslims should not minimise use of haram substances and how it can result in serious consequences.

Click here to watch the video

🎥 Why are mental health issues are on the rise?

Click here to watch the video

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Thanks for reading,

Aadil (Optimizedmuslim.com)