Quran & Productivity
Are your deeds wasted?
"Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): “Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds? “Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds.” (Al-Kahf, Chapter #18, Verse #103-104)
Whenever I read these verses, I cannot help but feel fear in my heart and wonder whether am I one of the greatest losers, those whose efforts have been wasted in this life whilst I think that I am doing good. It is truly worth taking a moment to stop and think about.
Sometimes when you’re productive and you think you’re doing really well, a number diseases can enter your heart and ruin your good deeds, these include: riyaa, insincerity, boastfulness, jealously, arrogance, and pride. As ProductiveMuslims we should live between the hope of acceptance and fear of rejection so keeping us always active and vigilant of the state of our hearts and never feel ‘comfortable’ that what we do is enough. As we know that faith and pride of good actions can never coexist in the heart of the believer.
Seerah & Productivity
Beautiful character is the key
Narrated Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): “While I was walking with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who was wearing a Najrani outer garment with a thick hem, a bedouin came upon the Prophet and pulled his garment so violently that I could recognize the impress of the hem of the garment on his shoulder, caused by the violence of his pull. Then the bedouin said: “Order for me something from Allah’s Fortune which you have.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned to him and smiled, and ordered that a gift be given to him.” (Book #53, Hadith #377)
Can you imagine this situation: a man comes from behind you and pulls you by your coat and demands charity from you! What would be your reaction? Shouting, abuse, possibly a punch or two?! I don’t blame you. But look at how the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) effortlessly smiled and ordered that a gift be given to him instead of behaving in a vulgar manner.
Look at the strength of his emotional control, not jumping to conclusions or abuse, but naturally smiling and giving the man what he asked for – what beautiful and exemplary conduct!
When you are a ProductiveMuslim, caring to give more than taking, loving the people around you, cleaning your heart from hatred and envy, should be the natural reaction. I know it’s difficult, and we have a long way to go to reach that level, but there’s no time like the present to change!
Productive Ancestors
Productivity Lessons from Ja’far Ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him)
"The best of men towards us was Ja’far"
Ja’far Ibn Abi Talib was the eldest brother of Ali Ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him). He was taken into care by his uncle Al-Abbas and lived independently after his marriage. Having accepted Islam at the hands of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), Ja’far faced increasing persecution from Quraysh. He was given permission to migrate to Abyssinia along with a small group of Muslims.
In an attempt to have the Muslims returned, Quraysh sent representatives to An-Najashi, the King of Abyssinia. Ja’far spoke with great eloquence and defended the Muslim’s position. Touched by the beauty of Islam, An-Najashi himself became Muslim secretly. Ja’far spent 10 years in Abyssinia before returning to Madinah right after the conquest of Khaybar.
He was selected as second in command in the battle of Mu’tah which was the first encounter between the Muslims and the Roman empire. The Romans eventually fled, but not before Ja’far (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred after taking lead.
Lessons:
1. Be strong in faith
2. Speak with eloquence and wisdom in dawah
3. Seek the best in character
4. Take leadership and responsibility
5. Remember victory in good deeds is only by Allah
ProductiveMuslim.com is a brand that inspires young Muslims to become Productive through Islam & applying the latest productivity techniques. It's an effort to revive Productivity in our Ummah through lessons extracted from the Quran, Seerah, together towards a ProductiveUmmah!
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