Strange? What a name! You might be thinking, What a name for a book—Deen Dunya Dilemma? It does sound strange, doesn’t it? Trust me there is a story behind it. It’s first title was something totally different. I discovered this new title almost by chance. I promise to share the story sooner than you think, but first…
My Second Book Actually, this is my second book, following 7 Steps to Success in Deen & Dunya for Muslim Entrepreneurs & Professionals. It was published in early 2023. Since then, it has sold thousands of copies. It was also translated into multiple languages, alhadmulillah.
Having said that, every author knows how challenging it is to write, publish, and promote a book. It requires years of hard work but it is not necessarily financially rewarding. So, here comes a natural question:
Why Write Another Book? After I launched my first book, some entrepreneurs started to reach out for advice on their startups and businesses. Some even asked if I offered coaching. Honestly, I didn’t have much time for one-to-one coaching. So I started a group coaching for these Muslim entrepreneurs and professionals. This is how Deenpreneurs Mastermind was born.
After spending a year in group coaching and witnessing transformations among these Deenpreneurs, I noticed that although they all were in the same group and got the same knowledge, their results were much different.
I was missing something. For over 10 years, I talked to 1000s of Muslim Entrepreneurs and Professionals. One of the recurring questions was: Deen Dunya Dilemma.
Asking The Right Questions
To ask the right question is already half the solution of a problem. –Carl Jung
I knew to some extent that Deen Dunya was a recurring theme for Muslims. So I even included in the subtitle of the first book. Besides, I also dived into this a bit as well. But it was not enough. Let me give you an example.
If I ask you: “Deen (Islam – way of life) or Dunya (physical world, wealth, etc)?”, usually there are 3 answers.
Very few Muslims would answer “Dunya”
Some Muslims would say “Deen”
Those with the knowledge would say: “Best of Both”
Even you answered “Best of Deen & Dunya”, still most Muslims were still focusing on and stuck on this part of the journey.
To get unstuck, and move from Survive to Thrive, this book will help you with these 3, inshaAllah.
Asking the Right Questions
Life Journey Analogy
Planning
Body, Mind, Heart, Soul I’ve also discovered that the main reason for such a gap in their results among the students was mainly due to their progress on their life journey. While in the first book, I shared the importance of the Purpose – Why – Destination, I soon realized that it is equally important to prepare the traveller for the journey.
It starts with self-discovery and a deep down into a new meaning of what Body, Mind, Heart and Soul represent.
So What Is It? So what exactly is this book about? It’s a roadmap for balancing your Body, Mind, Heart, and Soul. It’s about helping you align your life Purpose with your Passions to find your Path – Deen through Prosperity – Dunya in Peace while staying connected to your Creator. This book draws teachings from the Quran, Hadith, Islamic teachings, Islamic & modern psychology, and my life journey as a Muslim entrepreneur and life coach.
Why Didn’t I Share It in the First Book? You may wonder why I didn’t include these insights in my first book. The truth is, I didn’t know all and I wasn’t ready.
As I shared above, I was still in the process of discovery. I learnt the true power of this knowledge only after listening and talking to dozens of Deenpreneurs week after week for over a year. As to the fact that I was not ready, let me share a story.
Gandhi & The Sugar Boy As the story goes a mother brought her young son to Gandhi and asked him to tell the boy to stop eating so much sugar because it was unhealthy. Gandhi listened to her request but asked the mother to bring her son back in two weeks. The mother was confused but agreed.
Two weeks later, the mother returned with her son. Gandhi then looked at the boy and simply said, “Stop eating sugar.” The boy nodded, and the mother asked Gandhi why he didn’t say this two weeks earlier. Gandhi replied, “Two weeks ago, I was still eating sugar myself.”
The lesson of the story is about integrity, leading by example, and practicing what you preach. Gandhi didn’t feel it was right to tell the boy to stop eating sugar when he hadn’t stopped himself. He wanted to make sure that his actions aligned with his words before advising others.
In my case, I was not fully practising myself some of the things I will be sharing in this book especially those related to the Body. As Gandhi said, “I was still eating sugar myself”. It would be hypocritical if I “preached” you something which I didn’t practice.
Right Hand What? As promised, here comes the story behind the first title of this book “Right Hand Book”. As I was looking for a title for this book, I was after a high emotional state and point in time we all agree as Muslims. This is when I came across the following verse in the Quran:
As for those given their records (book of deeds) in their right hand, they will cry (happily), “Here (everyone)! Read my record! I surely knew I would face my reckoning.” They will be in a life of bliss, in an elevated Garden, whose fruit will hang within reach. (They will be told,) “Eat and drink joyfully for what you did in the days gone by.”
–Quran, 69:19-24
Alhamdulillah, we all are Muslims and believe in these verses that in the future we all will be resurrected on the Day of Judgement. Allah SWT will take us into account about each and everything. One of the happiest outcomes is the verse above. Some of us will be given our book of deeds – Life Book in our right hands. This means our good deeds will outweigh our shortcomings. We have attained Allah’s Mercy and Pleasure.
Isn’t this what we all want, after all? Let me share a thought experiment with you to fully explain the power of this ayah, inshaAllah.
…’s Journey to Jannat Al Firdaus
Type your name in … above. Then let’s give this a try. For the sake of example, we will follow a Muslim brother named Rizwan (acceptance, accepted by God – pun intended). You can replace it with your name, purpose, passion, path, etc. Actually, this is one of the core objectives of this book. Bismillah.
Imagine… Fast forward to the Judgement Day. You are holding your book of deeds in your right hand. On top of that, it says you are admitted to the Jannat Al Firdaus! The best of the best. Alhamdulillah!
What is inside? Now you open the book. You see the first page. In golden script, you read:
Rizwan discovered his purpose in life – to serve Allah full-time. He dedicated everything he did to seek His Pleasure. Rizwan also discovered himself. He discovered his God-given gifts, skills, and talents such as capturing beautiful moments in video and turning them into beautiful stories. Rizwan turned his passion (photography & videography) into his profession (Ihsan.Media) and connected with his ultimate purpose – serving Allah SWT. He achieved this by helping 1000s of Muslim entrepreneurs craft and share their stories with millions of people via video to grow their halal businesses. While others were mainly busy with their work or business and barely found time for their daily prayers, Rizwan was in a constant state of service to Allah even while he worked. Because Rizwan served his clients with ihsan & ikhlas to seek Allah’s pleasure. So that even though he was serving his clients was counted as his service to Allah SWT. He served Allah SWT in the best way he could. He served with ihsan – excellence and beauty. Allah SWT was pleased with him. Allah SWT accepted his service. Allah SWT invited him to Jannat Al Firdaus. Any reward for Al Ihsan other than Al Ihsan? Quran, 55:60
Why bother? Rizwan is one of my Deenpreneur students as a matter of fact. His company is also real. You can learn more about it at www.ihsan.media. Before this, Ihsan.Media was just another media company. With this, it becomes a calling for Rizwan and his team to serve Allah SWT by serving their fellow Muslim brothers and sisters.
I hope that you see the pattern by now. So far I haven’t seen a Muslim who says no to getting their book of deeds in their right hand. So far I haven’t seen either a Muslim who has a clear plan or picture of what will be written in their book of deeds.
It is like you want to go on a journey in far away land but don’t prepare, do any research, check out how you get there or actually never get started.
My Intention Speaking of intentions, this hadith comes to mind:
“Actions are judged by intentions, and everyone will be rewarded according to what they intended.”
Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1
My intention in writing this book is first and foremost selfish. What do I mean? I really want to master these topics outlined in this book. The best way to do it to teach it.
My intention is also to share it with as many (at least 1 million) Muslims as I can so we all can do our best to prepare for this journey of meeting Allah SWT and holding our books in our right hands, inshaAllah.
Journey Based on Islamic Sources This journey is based on Islamic teachings, from the Quran and Hadith, as well as Islamic psychology and personal development. I have dived in and learnt a lot from the works of Imam Al Ghazali. It’s a blend of timeless wisdom and contemporary methods.
Best of Both Worlds I’ve also drawn from my experiences as a life coach, inspired and certified by Tony Robbins. Moreover, I am also certified as a Tiny Habits coach by B.J. Fogg, Ph.D. at Stanford. These coaching techniques, combined with Islamic principles, create a unique approach to growth that’s both practical and deeply spiritual.
Plans Work? As you will see moving forward, unlike many books, it is not only for reading. This book will challenge you to write your goals for each chapter, challenge your beliefs and mindset, encourages you to define your commitment with your motivations. Last but not the least, it will challenge you to come up with different methods and plans how to reach your goals.
At this point, you may be asking yourself: “Will this work? Do plans actually work?”. Here is my answer: “Plans may not, but planning will for sure”.
Why? Because planning from your side shows your sincere intention and action. Action backed up by a sincere intention towards Allah SWT is never left unappreciated. How do I know?
“Allah says: ‘I am as My servant thinks of Me. If he remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself. If he mentions Me in a gathering, I mention him in a gathering better than it. If he draws near to Me a handspan, I draw near to him an arm’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.'”
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 97, Hadith 38
So are you ready to go on this journey?
Who is this book for? This book is designed for Muslims who seek personal and spiritual growth while balancing their worldly responsibilities and religious obligations.
My first book was for mostly Muslim entrepreneurs. This book is for Muslims from all walks of life, no matter your age, your nation, where you live as long as your life book is still open.
In other words, it’s for:
– Professionals and Entrepreneurs: Those navigating the challenges of their careers or businesses, looking to align their professional life with their faith.
– Spiritual Seekers: Muslims who want to deepen their connection with Allah while pursuing success in both Deen and Dunya.
– Personal Development Enthusiasts: Muslims interested in self-improvement, goal-setting, and developing a growth mindset rooted in Islamic teachings.
– Muslim Youth: Those searching for guidance on how to build their future, find their purpose, and live a life of passion and prosperity.
– Muslim Coaches and Mentors: People guiding others in faith-based personal development who want practical, actionable steps integrated with Islamic principles.
It provides practical strategies for achieving success in both the spiritual and worldly realms, making it ideal for anyone striving for balance in their life.
What can you expect? Deen Dunya Dilemma is a guide that blends Islamic principles with modern personal development strategies to help Muslims achieve success in both their spiritual and worldly lives. It focuses on holistic growth by exploring essential areas of life, including the body, mind, heart, soul, purpose, passion, path, prosperity, and peace. Each chapter provides actionable steps, mindset shifts, and spiritual insights to align personal goals with faith, empowering readers to balance Deen with Dunya.
Through Quranic verses, personal stories, reflective exercises, and coaching techniques, the book teaches you how to:
Take care of your physical (Body), mental (Mind), emotional (Heart) and spiritual (Soul) well-being
Develop a new & holistic worldview based on Islamic values
Nurture your emotional and spiritual health
Discover and live your purpose
Align your passion with service to Allah
Choose the right career path, whether entrepreneurship or a professional role
Foster a healthy relationship with wealth, viewing money as a tool for good
Cultivate inner peace and resilience through trust in Allah
In essence, Deen Dunya Dilemma is about achieving balance, success, and fulfillment in life while staying grounded in Islamic values.
Why should you read this book? This book will be one of the most important books you will ever read. It will be one of the most important things you will ever do in your life. Why?
Because it is about the most important thing in life. It is about the life itself and its meaning. It is about you, your purpose here and hereafter.
You should also read Deen Dunya Dilemma because it offers a unique and practical approach to achieving success and fulfillment in both your spiritual and worldly lives, without compromising Islamic values.
Here’s why it stands out:
Holistic Guidance: The book provides a roadmap to success that integrates all aspects of life—body, mind, heart, and soul—helping you grow both personally and spiritually.
Actionable Steps: It’s not just theoretical; each chapter offers practical strategies, reflective exercises, and mindset shifts that you can implement immediately in your daily lives.
Balancing Deen and Dunya: If you are a Muslim who struggles with balancing your religious obligations with career, personal ambitions, and everyday life, this book provides clear guidance on how to achieve harmony between both.
Purpose-Driven: It helps you discover your life’s purpose and align your passion and career choices with your faith, leading to a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
Modern Relevance: Using contemporary coaching techniques, such as goal setting, personal reflection, and self-discipline, the book addresses modern challenges while staying rooted in timeless Islamic teachings.
Spiritual and Practical Success: Whether you’re an entrepreneur, professional, or young adult, the book teaches you how to excel in your career, finances, and relationships, all while strengthening your connection to Allah.
In short, you will find a comprehensive, faith-centered guide to living a balanced, successful, and purpose-driven life.
If you are still reading these lines, hopefully, you have justified your companionship with me on this journey for a little longer. Then let’s begin.
Journey Starts The journey this book takes you on is one of self-discovery and alignment. It’s about understanding who you are, what you’re passionate about, and how you can turn that into a life of purpose and prosperity, all while remaining connected to Allah.
Each chapter represents a step in the transformative process. Before embarking on any journey, it’s essential to lay the groundwork. It is important to focus on your intentions (niyyah) and prepare your Body, Mind, Heart & Soul to embark on a path of self-discovery and growth. By reflecting on your Purpose in life, you can approach the journey with clarity and focus.
Body The journey begins with caring for the body, recognizing that it is the vessel through which we perform our duties and worship. This chapter emphasizes treating the body as an amanah (trust from Allah), maintaining it through halal (permissible) and tayyib (pure – good) nourishment. The body is the foundation for productivity and spiritual well-being, and taking care of it is the first step toward success.
Mind Once the body is cared for, the next focus is the mind. This chapter helps readers cultivate a growth mindset and develop resilience, driven by faith in Allah. It explores how one’s thoughts and self-talk impact their ability to grow. The mind is the engine for learning, creativity, and decision-making, and nurturing a positive, faith-based mindset is critical for making wise choices.
Heart The heart is the seat of emotions and plays a central role in spiritual and emotional well-being. This chapter addresses the purification of the heart from negative traits like envy and arrogance while fostering positive qualities such as gratitude and compassion. A pure heart is vital for establishing deep relationships, managing emotions, and connecting with Allah on a deeper level.
Soul The soul is the core of a person’s spiritual journey. This chapter focuses on nourishing the soul through consistent worship, dhikr (remembrance of Allah), and patience (sabr). It emphasizes the importance of keeping the soul aligned with the ultimate purpose of life: serving Allah. The soul’s growth is central to spiritual fulfillment, inner peace, and resilience during hardships.
Purpose With the body, mind, heart, and soul aligned, readers are now ready to explore their purpose. This chapter helps readers reflect on why they were created and how they can live a life of purpose. It emphasizes that success in life is not just about worldly achievements, but fulfilling the higher purpose of serving Allah and using one’s talents and passions in alignment with His will.
Passion Building on the idea of purpose, this chapter explores the concept of Ikigai (reason for being) and how to align one’s passions with their purpose. Passion becomes an engine for productivity and satisfaction when it is aligned with faith. Readers are encouraged to identify what excites them and how they can use their passions to contribute to society and serve Allah.
Path – Deen Here, readers are guided to choose between two main career paths:
Entrepreneurship: For those who choose to build and create, this path focuses on the freedom, risk-taking, and leadership required to be an entrepreneur. If readers choose this path, they are encouraged to refer to the author’s first book, 7 Steps to Success.
Professional/Employer: For those who choose the professional path, the emphasis is on aligning their career with their purpose and passion, finding companies that share their values, and contributing meaningfully within an organization.
The choice between these paths is personalized, helping readers align their careers with their spiritual goals.
Prosperity – Dunya This chapter breaks the myth that money is inherently evil and instead positions wealth as a tool that amplifies who you are. It teaches readers to adopt a healthy mindset around wealth, seeing it as a blessing from Allah that should be used for good. It encourages giving 1% of their earnings to charity to purify their wealth and increase their barakah (blessings). Financial prosperity is seen as a means of enhancing spiritual success.
Peace The journey concludes with peace, the ultimate goal of this path. This chapter ties together all the previous chapters, showing how aligning one’s body, mind, heart, soul, purpose, passion, career, and wealth leads to inner peace. Through patience, trust in Allah, and daily dhikr, readers are shown how to cultivate lasting tranquillity and contentment, regardless of external circumstances.
In summary, the book takes readers on a transformative journey that begins with foundational self-care (body, mind, heart, and soul) and progresses to discovering purpose and passion, choosing the right career path, and achieving prosperity. Ultimately, it leads to a state of peace, a balance between Deen and Dunya, while remaining aligned with Islamic teachings.
Life Journey Analogy Think of this book as a bridge between where you are and where you want to be. The steps are clear, but it’s up to you to take them. And I’m here to guide you along the way, inshaAllah.
Below, I would like to share one of the best analogies on Life Journey that I came across by Imam Al Ghazali. It is based on the teachings from the Quran and Sunnah. It is also adjusted to our modern day. May Allah forgive our shortcomings and guide us to the Straith Path.
Body is Car
Your body is the car that carries you through life. Just like a vehicle, it needs regular maintenance and fuel to function well. Eating healthily, exercising, and resting is your car’s upkeep, ensuring that you can travel smoothly on your journey. Without care, the car breaks down, and your journey becomes much harder.
Mind is the Electronics / Dashboard
The mind, like the electronics in a car, processes vital information. It’s responsible for decision-making and analyzing the world around you. It alerts you to dangers, signals when you’re going off track, and helps you navigate complex situations. A well-functioning mind ensures that you’re always aware of your surroundings and stay on the right path.
Salah is the GPS
Prayer (Salah) is the GPS system for your journey. It constantly recalculates and redirects you back onto the right path, no matter how far off course you go. Through regular prayer, you stay connected to Allah, receiving guidance, strength, and direction. Salah ensures you’re always aware of your destination and how to get there.
Heart is the Engine / Light
The heart is the engine, the core of the car’s power, and also its guiding light. Just as the engine drives the vehicle forward, the heart fuels your emotions, motivation, and love for Allah. If the heart is pure, the engine runs smoothly, propelling you closer to your destination.
Heart inspired by Faith turns on the light that shows you the way, illuminating the right path. Without faith, the road becomes dark, and you lose sight of where you’re going. Faith in Allah illuminates the journey, helping you see through the darkness and navigate difficult times. It keeps you hopeful, knowing that Allah is guiding you, even when the road gets tough.
Soul is the Driver
The soul is the driver of this vehicle. It’s in charge of steering the body, mind, and heart in the right direction. The driver (soul) is responsible for staying on course, resisting distractions, and making sure the car stays on the path to Allah. The soul’s ultimate goal is to reach the Creator, and it must remain focused, using all the resources at its disposal wisely.
Ego is the Baby in the Back Seat
The ego (nafs) is like a child sitting in the back seat of the car. It constantly demands attention, pulling you toward immediate pleasures, comforts, and distractions. It’s up to the soul—the driver—to maintain control, soothing the ego while keeping focus on the journey. If the ego is allowed to take over, the journey gets disrupted, and you may lose your way.
Purpose is to Reach Allah
Your purpose is to journey through life with the aim of reaching Allah. Everything you do, whether it’s caring for your body, developing your mind, or purifying your heart, should be done with the intention of getting closer to Him. This purpose guides every decision, every turn, and every choice on the path.
Jannah is the Goal
Jannah (paradise) is the ultimate reward at the end of your journey. It’s the place of eternal rest and happiness, where all your efforts in this life are rewarded. Just as reaching a desired destination brings joy and fulfillment, entering Jannah is the ultimate success.
Allah is the Final Destination
Beyond the journey itself, the true destination is closeness to Allah. Every step you take, every action, and every intention is meant to bring you closer to Him. The journey is not just about reaching a place; it’s about fulfilling your purpose and drawing near to your Creator.
Passion Helps You Enjoy the Ride
Passion is what makes the journey enjoyable. It’s the excitement and joy you feel when you align your work and life with your purpose. Passion keeps you motivated, ensuring that even when the road gets rough, you find joy in serving Allah and pursuing your goals. It transforms the journey from mere obligation into something fulfilling and inspiring.
Deen is Path (Islam)
Islam is the straight path that leads to Allah. It provides guidance on how to live, what to avoid, and how to navigate the complexities of life. By following the Deen, you stay on the safest, most direct route to your destination. Straying from the Deen leads to detours, and the road becomes more difficult.
We will also expand the meaning of Deen just from religious obligations such as daily prayers and dhikr, to everything we do including your career.
You can choose the entrepreneurial path, taking charge and building something from the ground up, or the professional path, contributing meaningfully within an organization. Both paths can lead to Allah if they are aligned with your purpose. You are responsible for choosing the path that best fits your strengths, passions, and faith.
Dunya is World
The Dunya (world) is the domain you must travel through. It’s filled with distractions, temptations, and obstacles that can make the journey more challenging. But with the right focus, you can navigate through it while keeping your eyes on the ultimate destination—Allah.
Money and prosperity are like the gas that fuels your vehicle. They give you the means to continue the journey and help others along the way. Money, when viewed as a tool, amplifies your ability to do good, contribute to others, and fulfill your responsibilities. Just as a car needs fuel to move forward, you need resources to continue your journey and support others on their path.
Peace is the State
Peace is the state of mind and heart that comes when you are aligned with your purpose, driven by faith, and following the guidance of Deen. It’s the calm assurance that you are on the right path, even when challenges arise. Inner peace is the tranquillity that comes from trusting Allah and knowing that every step brings you closer to Him.
So it is not only about the Destination, but the Journey as well. Goal here is to become the Soul at Peace – Nafs al Mutmainnah.
In summary, this journey is about using your body, mind, heart, and soul to travel through the terrain of the Dunya, guided by Deen and fueled by faith and passion, to ultimately reach the destination: Allah. Along the way, you choose your path, find joy in the ride, ensure your car is fueled with prosperity, and strive to maintain inner peace, all while keeping your eyes on the final goal—closeness to Allah and entry into Jannah.
Big Promise
This book is not just a guide—it’s an invitation to live the way you are meant to live, according to your fitra (innate nature). Your fitra aligns with the natural order of the universe, the flow that everything in creation is part of, from the stars in the sky to the trees on Earth. Everything follows the divine flow that Allah SWT has set, as the Quran reminds us:
The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them glorify Him. There is not a thing except that it glorifies (Allah) by His praise, but you do not understand their (way of) glorification. — Quran 17:44
Everything in the universe is in a constant state of glory and submission to Allah, moving in perfect harmony with His will. But unlike the rest of creation, humans and jinn are granted free will. We are the only ones who can choose whether to join this divine flow or ignore it.
This is your invitation.
If you choose to accept, if you commit to implementing the principles laid out in this book, then by the time you reach the final chapter, Peace, you will enter into a different reality—a state of flow, peace, and prosperity beyond your imagination. This is not a promise of worldly riches alone, but something far greater: inner peace, contentment, and success that align with your purpose and your connection to Allah.
The steps outlined in the book are designed to bring your life into harmony with this divine order, allowing you to experience the ease and blessings that come from living in alignment with your Creator’s plan. As you align your Body, Mind, Heart, Soul, and Purpose with Allah’s will, you will find that every aspect of your life begins to flow more naturally, bringing joy, fulfillment, and true success.
If you reach the final chapter, implement the guidance, and yet feel no change, no transformation—if you find that the promise hasn’t been fulfilled for you—then simply email me and ask for a refund. This is how confident I am in Allah’s promise that by joining this divine flow, you will experience a state of peace and prosperity beyond your dreams and imagination.
Dua Let’s begin this journey with a dua:
O Allah, we started our journey with our first step towards You. You run towards those who take a step towards You. Help us to be consisten on this path. Make it easy on us. Guide us on this path of growth and self-discovery. Help us align our hearts and minds with Your will, and give us the strength to pursue our purpose with passion and dedication.
O Allah, make us among those who are the fore front or on the right side. Help us to not only start but also finish this journey.
“O mankind, eat from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and good and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.” — (Quran 2:168)
“The servant who knows himself knows his Lord” – Imam Ali (RA)
“Health is the first wealth” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Why Start with Body? Why not start with Soul, Heart or Mind first? Aren’t they more important? You may think you already know all you need to know about Body. After all, you have been living in one all these years, right?
I used to think this way for many years. You will see a goals section later in this chapter. Unless you score 10 out of 10 for your ideal Body goals, my friend, we have a lot to talk about your Body. We have some learning and unlearning to do. For now, here are some reasons why we start our journey with the Body.
Our physical body is the vessel through which we experience the world, perform our prayers, and carry out our responsibilities. Starting with the body means setting the foundation for everything else. If the body is not balanced, it’s hard for the mind, heart, and soul to align. Physical health is essential for performing acts of worship and maintaining a balance in life.
The body is the foundation for mental clarity, emotional stability, and spiritual growth. Everything is connected.
Avval Taom, Badaz Kalom In Uzbek culture, there’s a saying: Avval Taom, Badaz Kalom, which means “First, food, then words.” It reflects the importance of feeding the body before one can think, speak, or act effectively. It’s no surprise that taking care of the body comes first in both faith and culture.
Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs Last but not least, below, you will find Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I have done my best to connect this with the four foundational chapters of the book. As you can see, he also starts with Body needs first.
5. Physiological Needs (BODY – Basic Needs)
At the foundation of Maslow’s hierarchy are the basic physiological needs like food, water, shelter, and sleep. Islam acknowledges these needs as essential, and fulfilling them is a responsibility we have toward ourselves and others. Allah reminds us to nourish our bodies with halal and tayyib (pure and lawful) provisions. Without taking care of these essentials, we cannot fully function or focus on our emotional, spiritual and intellectual growth.
4. Safety Needs (BODY / HEART)
Once basic needs are met, we seek safety and security, both physically and emotionally. In Islam, the importance of safety is reflected in the concept of Amanah (trust) and the duty to protect oneself and others. Islam provides guidelines for living a secure and stable life through faith in Allah’s protection, strong family bonds, and a just society that upholds the rights of individuals and communities.
3. Love and Belonging (HEART)
Humans have an innate desire for connection, love, and belonging, so Maslow places this need at the next level. Islam places immense value on family, friendship, and the community (Ummah). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) emphasized the importance of kindness, empathy, and maintaining good relations with others, all of which fulfill this deep need for belonging and emotional well-being.
2. Esteem Needs (MIND)
The next step is the need for self-esteem and respect from others. Islam encourages healthy self-esteem through a balanced sense of humility and confidence, knowing that our worth comes from our piety and good actions. According to Islamic values, true esteem is rooted in taqwa (God-consciousness), not in material achievements or social status, but in how we serve Allah and contribute to the well-being of others.
1. Self-Actualization (SOUL)
Maslow’s idea of self-actualization is about realizing one’s potential, talents, and purpose. In Islam, self-actualization is closely linked to fulfilling our purpose as servants of Allah, aligning our skills and passions with our faith. It’s about living a life of purpose, growing in character, maximizing our God-given abilities to serve Allah and humanity, and achieving a balance between Deen and Dunya.
0. Transcendence (SOUL)
Maslow later added Transcendence, which involves going beyond personal growth to seek higher meaning and connection with something greater—this aligns perfectly with Islamic teachings. The highest level of fulfillment is not just self-actualization but transcending oneself to connect with Allah. Islam teaches us that true success lies in serving Allah, helping others reach their potential, and aiming for eternal reward in the Hereafter. This ultimate level brings peace, purpose, and prosperity beyond worldly achievements.
The Toughest Challenge & Blind Spot I have to admit, Body has been the toughest challenge for me. Besides, I have ignored it for many years since I assumed I knew. If you remember from the Introduction, this was the main reason I couldn’t share what I discovered; I was not practicing.
Breaking Bread If someone had told me 30 years ago that I would be writing a book and encouraging people to eat healthy by avoiding bread, I would have said, “You got the wrong guy.”
Because I was a boy at ten who struggled with eating even bread on a daily basis, my family would eat just bread to survive some days.
As you remember from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, for someone whose basic Body needs are not met, any form of higher thinking or feeling is far-fetched, let alone a spiritual experience.
I hope you are not in this situation. The main reason I am sharing the story is that your beliefs about anything, especially food and body, are engraved in your past experience. Each of us has a unique journey in life, and this journey shaped who we are today. Some of these beliefs are outdated, and we need to upgrade them. We can’t upgrade them unless we are aware of them first.
So, bread has been a basic need for me from the very beginning. It never occurred to me that even something as basic as bread could be something I need to redefine later in life.
Canada Calls Growing up, taking care of my body was not a high priority. Up until my 20s, I was a student. As students know, you don’t have to worry about eating too much because there is not much in the first place. Most of the time, you are surviving from a stipend to a stipend.
In 2003, I moved to Denmark to study first and then stay for work. As you can see from the chart below, my weight stayed around 86 kg until I was 36 years old. In 2020, I moved to Canada with my family.
As you may remember, this was when the Covid pandemic spread. Everyone was at home. Staying at home for 1-2 years and having easy access to food resulted in me gaining another 10kg. I tried some diets. It would work for some months, and then my weight would jump where it was, sometimes even to a higher number. I am sure you must have experienced something similar if you ever tried any diet.
When I reached over 100kg, I said to myself, “Enough is enough.” Something had to change.
I began to feel sluggish and lazy, and it wasn’t just physical tiredness—it was as if my entire system was slowing down. I’d wake up in the morning already feeling drained, and no matter how much motivation I tried to muster, it seemed impossible to shake off the heaviness that weighed me down. The worst part was the mental fog. My thoughts felt scattered, and focusing on even simple tasks was hard. The clarity I once had seemed to disappear, replaced with confusion and exhaustion.
At first, I thought the solution was just more sleep. So, I tried taking naps during the day, hoping they would refresh me. But instead of feeling energized, I’d wake up feeling more tired. My energy levels would spike randomly, but they were so unstable—one minute, I’d feel alert, and the next, completely drained.
I knew I had to do something. This wasn’t sustainable and affected every part of my life—my work, worship, and relationships. I tried many things—different diets, even cutting out certain foods. But no matter what I tried, I’d bounce back to old habits. I’d feel good for a week or two, but eventually, the lack of consistency would catch up to me, and I’d find myself back where I started, feeling hopeless and powerless.
During this period, I realized the deeper issue wasn’t just my diet or energy levels; it was my entire approach to taking care of my body.
I had to redefine what Body means to me, what food means to me and last but not least, what hunger means to me.
Power of Powerlessness It may sound paradoxical, but bear with me. Sh. Hamza Yusuf has a speech on the same topic. You can listen to or watch it fully online. Let me share the lesson I learnt in short here.
On this journey of life, we constantly face obstacles. Sometimes, they are so big that we can’t even imagine how we can overcome them. It was a similar situation with my Body challenge. No matter what I did, it was not working.
Then, you feel powerless and hopeless. You are focused so much on yourself and the end result that you forget who the One with Power is.
I felt so powerless that I realized with Him is the Power. He is the Powerful One. I am powered by Him. I made a dua in this desperate state: “O, Allah! You are the Real One. You are the Powerful One. I am sorry for my arrogance in thinking that I am the one who does things. But it is You. It was always You. It’ll always be You. Open my Mind and Heart. Guide my Soul to overcome this as You helped me all along the way. Thank you.”
Meaning. Mindset. Motivation. Methods. Have you ever wondered why we don’t do what we know and say as humans? As I shared above, we rely on ourselves too much. I sincerely believe the real change starts with a sincere dua to Allah SWT and a burning desire.
“Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” — (Quran 13:11)
What comes next is the following to achieve any goal:
Meaning – stories you tell yourself about this goal to make meaning. This is how we make sense of the world around us.
Mindset – your beliefs and worldview based on your stories.
Motivation – your WHY to achieve this goal. What is at stake? What will happen if you achieve this goal? What will happen if you don’t?
Methods – your ways – HOW to achieve this goal.
Most of the time, we may know our Goals (WHAT) and even Methods (HOW), but we skip Meaning, Mindset and Motivation in the middle, and then we wonder how we are stuck in a loop.
This is why I will start with Meaning – telling stories. Actually, I got many readers who told me after reading my first book how much they resonated with my stories. They felt like I was sharing their stories as well. It is not because I have some kind of special life story. We all have unique stories. Yet we all share the Hero’s Journey in some way, shape or form. As Muslims, we all believe that we are on the journey to Allah SWT. Stories connect us and help us make meaning in our understanding of each other and the world. Let’s get started.
Body as Vehicle When you make a dua, you have no idea how it all will work out. You need to trust Allah SWT that as long as you are sincere, take action, and persist, He will open the doors you couldn’t even imagine.
This is exactly what happened. I was attending an ICNA conference in Baltimore when I came across a bundle of books. It was the works of Imam Al Ghazali translated into English by Ihya Publishing. It was smaller books on Knowledge, Cosmology, Spirituality, etc.
So, I started reading and diving deep into Imam’s work. One of the things I admire about his writing is that he uses analogies a lot, making it simple to understand.
For example, here is an analogy of the Body. Al-Ghazali often likens the body to a vehicle or mount that carries the Soul during its earthly journey. Just as a rider uses a horse to reach a destination, the Soul uses the Body to perform actions and fulfill its Purpose in this life. He emphasizes that the body is not the end goal but merely a means for the Soul to achieve spiritual elevation and closeness to Allah.
The more I read, the more it made sense to me. So, my Body is a car. My Soul is the driver. I am on this journey to Allah SWT. Wait! My Body? Is it really?
Red Ferrari Before I really answer that question, let me take you for a ride. Imagine the car of your dreams. For some, it is a Red Ferrari. For others, it could be Rolls Royce. Go wild.
Now imagine someone who loves and cares about you a lot and offers to rent your dream car for a week. They say, “Here is the car key. Enjoy it for a week.”
How would you treat it? I don’t know about you, but the first thing I would do is thank them. Then I would ask what kind of fuel it needs, how I should take care of it, and what I should be mindful of about this car.
You wouldn’t pour cheap fuel into a Ferrari and expect it to perform at its peak. Any decent human would return the car in the same condition and ensure it is clean as well. Do you agree?
Think of your Body as a red Ferrari but infinitely better. The One who loves and cares about you is Allah SWT. We all rent our Bodies for a long-term lease from Him.
When I fully grasped the true meaning of this analogy and began to internalize it, it all became clear to me.
I needed to treat my body as an amanah—a trust from Allah—and begin nourishing it in a way that was sustainable and aligned with my Purpose. There was no other way. I needed to treat this long-term lease car as the Owner wanted me to. After all, it is His, and I will return it sooner than later.
Wildfit Since I redefined and discovered a new meaning for Body, I was looking for something that can help me redefine food and hunger.
This was when I encountered a program called Wildfit by Eric Edmeades that focused on eating what is natural and healthy for our bodies. In Islamic terms, it aligns with the concept of eating halal (permissible) and tayyib (pure and wholesome). This was a turning point for me, as I started seeing food as fuel, rather than just a source of temporary satisfaction. It wasn’t just about following a diet—it was about returning to the basics, halal and tayyib – pure and wholesome food Allah provided for us.
Will This Work? It will work if you believe in this and if it leads to a change in your mindset and beliefs about this. How do I know? As practicing Muslims, none of us eat pork. It is one of those things crystal clear that it is haram – not permissible to eat in Islam.
Alhamdulillah, as Muslims, we avoid haram foods and fuel for our bodies as much as we can. When Allah SWT talks about food in the Quran, He not only talks about halal (permissible) but also tayyib (good, pure, wholesome). This is what we are doing. We are extending from halal to tayyib as well so that we feed the right fuel to our “car”—our body—so it can do its job in the best form.
On The Other Side Of The Bridge I can promise you that if you follow this and it begins to work, you will experience the following: no more cravings—because you will not starve yourself as you may have tried in other diets.
You will have mental clarity, focus, and lots of energy because your Body will be using the right energy source, which is stable and long-term instead of instant ups and downs.
Last but not least, you will begin to lose weight and feel healthy even without any exercise. Look, I am not against it if you are already into fitness, but with this approach, you don’t have to. 95% of results will be based on your mindset and the food you eat.
Disclaimer I am not a health expert, nutritionist, or fitness coach. The information and experiences shared in this book are based solely on my personal journey and what I have learned along the way. They are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Before making any changes to your diet, lifestyle, or health routines, please consult with a qualified healthcare professional or your doctor to ensure they are safe and suitable for your individual needs. The actions you take based on the information in this book are at your own discretion and risk. I cannot be held liable for any consequences resulting from the use or misuse of the information presented here.
Your health and well-being are unique to you—always prioritize professional advice tailored to your situation.
If this sounds exciting and you are ready to start, here we go. First, we will understand four types of hunger.
4 Types of Hunger Based on what I learnt, there are four hunger types:
1. Thirst Hunger Sometimes, what feels like hunger is actually thirst. The body sends signals to the brain that are interpreted as hunger, but in reality, you might just need water. Many people mistake thirst for hunger, especially if they aren’t in the habit of staying hydrated. Drinking water can often resolve this type of hunger, and it’s important to differentiate between the two to avoid overeating when your body just needs hydration. Drink 5-6 cups of water a day.
2. Nutrition Hunger Nutrition hunger is the body’s way of signalling that it needs specific nutrients to function properly. This hunger arises when the body lacks essential vitamins, minerals, or macronutrients. Cravings for certain foods can often be linked to this type of hunger, where the body seeks the nutrients it’s missing. For example, a craving for leafy greens might signal a need for iron or magnesium. Addressing nutrition hunger requires focusing on whole, nutrient-dense foods to ensure the body gets what it needs. Eat natural food: vegetables and fruits. Below, you will find healthy plate graphics to help you with portions.
3. Emotional Hunger Emotional hunger is driven by emotions – feelings rather than physical needs. This happens when we eat not because our body needs fuel but to comfort ourselves, reduce stress, or cope with emotions like sadness, boredom, or frustration. It is important to recognize when you’re eating to fill an emotional gap rather than a physical one. Understanding and managing emotional hunger is key to developing a healthier relationship with food.
4. Empty Stomach Hunger Empty stomach hunger is the physical sensation of an empty stomach, often accompanied by growling or discomfort. This sensation doesn’t always mean you must eat immediately, especially if you’ve recently eaten. The body can sometimes signal hunger based on routine or habit, not actual need. Understanding this hunger can help you resist the urge to snack unnecessarily and focus on mindful eating.
Understanding these different hunger types is essential for developing a more mindful approach to eating. By recognizing whether you’re truly hungry or responding to another signal, you can better control your food intake and support your body’s natural rhythms.
Now, since we talked about the hunger types, it is story time.
Sugar Story Back in the old days, people had a very different relationship with sugar. It wasn’t everywhere like it is now. They’d get their sugar from fruits and berries, but only in late summer and autumn when these were available. And even then, the amount of sugar they ate was limited. They knew that winter was coming and, with it, fewer food options. The rest of the time, they had to eat whatever they could find—hunting meat and foraging for veggies. During those limited times when sugar was around, the body got the signal: “Store fat—winter could last months or even years.”
Fast forward to today, and it’s a whole different story. Now, almost everything we eat is loaded with sugar, especially processed foods. Your body is still getting the same signal it did back then: “Winter’s coming. Time to store fat.” But here’s the problem—winter never really comes anymore. We live in a world of food abundance, yet our bodies still act like we’re about to face months of scarcity. The constant sugar intake is tricking your body into thinking it needs to keep holding onto that fat, even though there’s no reason to.
Sugar Burn vs Fat Burn Most of us have been running our bodies in Sugar Burn Mode for so long. Think of it like the NOS boosters you might have seen in the Fast & Furious movies—it’s great for that quick, fast jolt, but you can’t keep running on it forever. It’s not sustainable, and it’s definitely not healthy. We’ve been abusing our bodies like that, pushing them hard in Sugar Burn Mode for years, and now we’re paying the price. What happens? Our body gets overwhelmed, starts storing fat, and our health takes a hit.
So what’s the solution? We need to go back to our origins, back to how our body was designed by Allah SWT to function properly. The original, natural fuel for the body isn’t sugar—it’s fat. Fat is stable, clean, and doesn’t burn out quickly. Let me put it this way: your body has over 200,000 kcal of fat ready to fuel you but only around 2,000 kcal of sugar/carbs. It’s like comparing clean, green energy to dirty, black smoke. Burning sugar is the dirty, high-emission fuel clogging your system. Fat, on the other hand, is like running on clean, efficient energy—it lasts longer and doesn’t cause as much damage.
We’ve been brainwashed for so long—by media, by food brands—that fat is the enemy. We’re told to exercise more and eat less fat. But in reality, the real enemy has been sugar all along. Sugar is Enemy Number One. Once you understand this, it becomes obvious that changing the fuel type for your body isn’t just a choice anymore—it’s a necessity.
Now, you’re probably wondering, “How do I do this?”. I promise I’ll share that with you soon. But before that, let’s cover 4fourtypes of food so we will cover the basics. Here you go:
4 Types of Food To keep things simple, let’s think of all the food we eat in 4 categories:
Vegetables & Fruits
Protein (meat, fish, eggs, etc)
Fat (nuts, avocado, oils, etc)
Carbohydrates (bread, baked stuff, sugar, etc)
When it comes to fueling your body, this Healthy Plate shows you exactly what you need to thrive.
50% of your plate should be filled with veggies and fruits. Think of them as your body’s protective shields—packed with vitamins, minerals, and fibre that keep your immune system strong and digestion smooth. These are your green lights, so go for it.
Next, 25% of your plate comes from fats—not the bad fats you’ve been warned about. We’re talking healthy fats like avocados, olive oil, nuts, and seeds. These fats are like clean fuel, keeping your energy steady, your brain sharp, and your body burning smoothly, especially in fat-burning mode.
20% of your plate should be filled with protein—the building blocks of your body. This is what keeps your muscles strong and repairs cells. Think clean proteins like eggs, chicken, fish, or plant-based options like lentils. Your body needs this to stay strong and agile.
And finally, we’ve got carbs, but only 5% of your plate. Carbs are like quick fuel—good for a short burst of energy, but you don’t want to run on them constantly. Stick to carbs from healthy sources like a small portion of whole grains or starchy vegetables.
This plate isn’t just a diet; it’s the blueprint for optimal energy and long-term health. You’re switching from that old sugar-burn mode into the fat-burn mode, using the body’s natural fuel the way it was meant to be. Eating like this means you’re not just filling your plate—you’re fueling your potential.
As promised, I will now share how you can benefit from what you just learned for your Body. Below I will share my goals, mindset, motivation and methods. Then we will dive into a weekly program and how I experienced it.
Body Goals – WHAT Return the Body in the best shape to its Owner. Make sure to put the right type of fuel. Take care of it to the best of my ability so I can arrive at the Destination and enjoy the Journey.
Body Mindset – Beliefs It was no longer my Body but a “super car” Allah SWT was leasing me. I had been “abusing” this car by using the wrong type of fuel for so long. I felt sincere regret and asked for forgiveness. Allah SWT always helped me with my other problems. If I am sincere and do this for Him, He will not let me down this time, either.
Body Motivation – Why Before, my motivation was to be fit and healthy and lose weight. After learning all these, I realized that, first and foremost, I had to take care of this gift. Remember the Red Ferrari story? This is the right thing in the sight of Allah SWT. If I do my part, everything else will follow: my health, fitness, and weight loss.
Instead of just theory or words, I wanted to ensure I would do what I said. So, I told my wife that I would set goals and had to reach them. If I don’t, we can agree on a certain amount so she can claim it from me. She gladly agreed 🙂
Body Methods – How This time, it was different. As they say, if you have a strong “WHY,” you will figure out any “HOW.” Moreover, my wife wanted to join, and I welcomed her. So, it is even better if you have a spouse or a friend who wants to join you on this journey.
Food Taqwa I first heard this term from Adam Khan – a Muslim Fitness Coach. Taqwa is often translated as fear of Allah. I think a better translation would be mindful or conscious of Allah. On top of that, as Muslims, we relate taqwa mainly to spirituality. What if we are mindful of what we eat as well? This is Food Taqwa for you.
When we eat with taqwa (God-consciousness), it changes everything. We begin to ask ourselves: Is this food halal and tayyib? Is it truly nourishing me? Am I mindful of what I put into my body? This conscious eating is not about being full—it’s about feeding your body what it truly needs to serve your greater Purpose.
It is such a huge topic that maybe I will end up writing a book about it. Let me know what you think. For now, let me share how I experienced my journey based on what I learnt from online resources and health coaches, and you can give this a try as well. Bismillah.
Week 1 – Inner Dialogue This week, you will not change what you eat. You keep eating as usual. I know it is strange, but trust me, you will understand why later. For now, all you need to do is remember the four types of hunger and be mindful of when, what, and why you eat.
Here is what I thought in Week 1. We’ve been told to eat three meals a day—breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But do we really need to? Back in the day, our ancestors ate when they could—some days, they feasted, and other days, they didn’t eat at all. There was no set routine.
Today, we have constant access to food, but our bodies are still designed for survival. Constant eating means our bodies never tap into fat stores for energy. It’s like refueling a car every five miles—unnecessary.
The key is to listen to your body. If you’re not hungry, don’t eat just because it’s “mealtime.” Let your body burn fat between meals, its original, more efficient fuel. You don’t need three meals daily—you need to eat when your body truly asks for it.
Week 2 – Drink 5 Cups of Water This week, our goal is to eliminate ThirstHunger. So, you will need to drink 5-6 cups of water every day. In my case, I started drinking a cup of water right after each prayer. Alhamdulillah, our religion has already established 5 checkpoints with 5 daily salah.
For the rest, you will keep eating as usual and be mindful of when, what, and why you eat. You will also need to be mindful of the other three hunger types: Emotional, Nutritional, and Empty Stomach.
By now, you have begun to realize that this is not like other diets, where you start removing food or starting to weigh yourself. It doesn’t take away anything yet. Instead, it adds mindfulness, and this week, just water. Because if you want a permanent change, you will need to start with Mindset and then turn the small thing into a habit.
Week 3 – Eat More Veggies Who likes veggies? Blah. I was one of those guys who disliked all veggies: cabbages, beets, radishes, turnips, etc. To be honest, I am not so much fond of these guys to this day. What!?
Most of them didn’t taste much. I will share a story in the next section explaining why. For now, let me share with you this small hack. If you don’t like these veggies, it is not the end of the world. There are hundreds of others. I tried many. In my case, I started to like cucumbers, so I started eating cucumbers for breakfast as well.
For the rest, everything stayed the same. I kept eating as usual and drinking a cup of water after each daily prayer. I was also mindful of what, when, and why I ate food one more week.
Week 4 – Eat More Fruits It is possible that you may not like fruits like me. I don’t blame you. The food industry hijacked the fruits. First, they pumped so much sugar into candies that fruits tasted sour compared to them. Then, they even used bright colours for candies to attract us right from the beginning when we were kids. Most of us were given sugar to celebrate happy moments in life. I did the same to fruits that I did to veggies. I tried different types. It seems I like oranges fresh. I started eating one orange per day. I cut them with a knife into four so I didn’t have to peel them.
I suggest you do the same. Find at least one fruit you enjoy. Then start eating more of it daily. You can also try different kinds.
This week, you are still eating as usual, drinking 5 cups of water, eating more veggies and fruits, and being mindful of what, when, and why you eat.
Week 5 – Eat More Protein I love meat: beef, lamb, and chicken. You don’t have to sell me on this. Other types, such as fish, not so much. Here is where it gets interesting.
After I started trying different types of proteins, I found out that even though I didn’t like fish baked, I liked it when it was grilled or fried. Moreover, it seems I like eggs, both boiled and fried. Below, let me share a bit more about proteins.
Let’s talk protein. Think of it like the construction crew for your body. It’s not the flashy sports car fuel, but without it, nothing gets built. Muscles? Protein builds them. Your skin, hair, nails—all protein at work. And guess what? Your immune system needs protein to fight off those bad guys (think of it like the defence team of your body).
Imagine trying to build a house without bricks—just doesn’t work, right? That’s what happens when your body doesn’t get enough protein. Your muscles can’t grow or repair, and you feel weak. But here’s the thing: not all proteins are created equal. You want clean, high-quality proteins like eggs, fish, chicken, and even plant-based ones like beans and lentils. They’re your bricks.
So the next time you eat, remember—you’re not just feeding yourself; you’re giving your body the building blocks it needs to stay strong and energized. It’s not just about looking good—it’s about making sure your body can do its job right every day.
This week, you are still eating as usual. Drinking 5 cups of water. Eating more fruits and vegetables mindfully. Now, you are adding more protein to your diet as well. Meanwhile, you are mindful of what, when and why you eat what you eat.
Week 6 – Eat More Fat By Week 6, I was still adding things to what I eat daily. This is where healthy fats became my best friend. I’ve already felt the difference. No more chasing after that quick sugar high, only to crash a few hours later. Instead, I was fueling my body as it was designed—slow-burning, steady, clean energy from fats. Think avocados, nuts, olive oil, even fatty fish. This isn’t the “fat is bad” nonsense we’ve been fed for years. This is what your body needs to run efficiently, day in and day out.
Now, here’s the thing—it isn’t about ripping away all your comfort foods and leaving you scrambling. That’s not how it works. Before we even talk about letting go of things like baked goods or sugar, we’ve already built alternatives. That’s the beauty of it. You don’t feel deprived because you’re not just losing food—you’re gaining real nutrition that sustains you. By the time we cut out the sugar and processed foods, your body won’t even crave them. You’re training it to run on real fuel—fat, not sugar.
So, load up on those healthy fats. Your energy will be stable, your mind clearer, and your body will finally shift into fat-burning mode like it was always supposed to. It’s all part of the plan, and you’re halfway there.
By now, if you have been mindful about what type of hunger you are experiencing, you should have noticed that you no longer should have Thirst Hunger (5 cups of water), Nutritional Hunger or Empty Stomach Hunger (due to an increase in veggies, fruits, proteins and now fat.)
Week 7 – Eat Less Baked Goods We were halfway through. Only in Week 7 did I start to remove flour. This was the toughest for me. As you remember, bread has been my comfort food since childhood. So many emotions had to be untangled.
On top of that, baked goods were my go-to. Muffins, cookies, croissants—it was all too easy to grab something quick, sugary, and satisfying. But here’s the thing: every time I reached for that soft, warm pastry, I was feeding more than just my hunger—I was feeding a habit. And that habit wasn’t doing me any favours.
You’ve heard the saying, right? “Beware of the three white poisons: sugar, salt, and flour.” Well, baked goods are full of them. Sugar spikes your blood sugar, refined flour adds empty calories, and together, they fuel the cycle of cravings and fat storage. It’s a vicious loop—eat, crash, crave, repeat.
The problem is that baked goods trick you. They give you that quick boost but leave you crashing soon after. You think you’re treating yourself, but really, you’re storing up that fat and giving your body fuel it was never meant to burn. The more I realized this, the clearer it became: I needed to break free.
So, I started cutting back. Instead of that muffin, I’d grab some nuts or an avocado. It wasn’t about denying myself—it was about fueling myself the right way. And guess what? The less I ate of those baked goods, the less I craved them. My body started running on real fuel, and the constant cravings disappeared.
You can start making better choices once you understand that those three white poisons are your enemy, not your friend. It’s not about going without—it’s about choosing what actually serves you. And baked goods? They just don’t.
Having said all of the above, I am the first to admit I am not perfect. It has been the most challenging, and it still is. My daughters learnt to bake this summer, and every week, I had homemade baked goods on the counter. The only difference is that I eat them one or two times a week but in a very small quantity.
Week 8 – Eat Less Sugar In Week 8, I started to eat less sugar. This is processed sugar, of course. Since I started getting my sugar from healthy sources such as fruits, it was easier to eat less sugar.
Let me share a story about sugar and sweetness with you. One of my friends loves eating hot, spicy food. He has been eating spicy food for as long as he can remember. In his culture, it is normal. In his case, it became extreme. He was eating spicier and spicier. Once he ate so much, he burned his taste buds. For a week or so, he couldn’t taste anything. It was the time he understood that he had taken it to the extreme.
So why am I sharing this story? While his story is about spicy food, most of us are not that different from him. I was one of those. Let me explain.
In this day and age, sugar is everywhere. Most of us are on sugar and flour-baked goods. Our bodies use sugar as fuel. Our taste buds are treated to sweeter and sweeter things every day. So we don’t even look at fruits and veggies any longer.
This week, once you start decreasing processed sugar, you will begin to taste the difference in fruits and even vegetables. At one point, even nuts began to taste sweet.
Week 9 – Eliminate Sugar & Flour In Week 9, you’ll need to totally eliminate processed sugar and flour-baked goods, even for a week. It will detox your gut. Speaking of gut, here is something you should know.
You’ve probably heard people say the gut is the second brain, right? But it’s not just some wellness buzzword—it’s a real thing. Your gut has its own nervous system, called the enteric nervous system, which communicates directly with your brain. So, when your gut’s out of whack, it’s not just your digestion that suffers—your mood, focus, and even mental clarity take a hit.
Now, here’s the kicker: sugar and flour are the biggest enemies of your gut. They mess up your gut microbiome—the good bacteria that keep everything balanced. When you’re loading up on baked goods, sugary snacks, or processed junk, you’re feeding the bad bacteria, and they throw everything out of balance. And when that balance is gone, it affects how you think and feel. Ever noticed how, after a sugar binge, you feel sluggish, moody, or just off? That’s your gut trying to send you a message.
The good news? You can reclaim your gut by cutting back on sugar and refined flour. Once you minimize those three white poisons, your gut starts to heal. The good bacteria come back to life, and suddenly, everything starts running smoother. Your digestion improves, your energy stabilizes, and that brain fog? It clears.
When I started cutting out sugar and flour, I immediately noticed a shift. It wasn’t just my body that felt better—it was my mind. I could think clearer and stay focused longer, and my moods weren’t all over the place. The gut and the brain work together, and when your gut’s happy, your brain follows.
So, the next time you reach for that sugary snack or that slice of bread, remember: you’re feeding more than just a craving. You’re feeding the second brain. And if you want to reclaim your health—start by reclaiming your gut.
Week 10 – Emotional Hunger Suppose you made it so far, mabrook! By now, you should be feeling only emotional hunger now and then because we have tackled all other types of hunger.
To overcome emotional hunger, you must develop awareness and strategies that address the underlying emotions rather than turning to food as a coping mechanism. Here’s how you can do it:
1. Identify the Triggers The first step is recognizing when you’re eating out of emotion rather than hunger. Is it stress, boredom, sadness, or even celebration driving you to food? Start by tracking what emotions come up when you feel the urge to eat. This awareness is key.
2. Pause and Reflect When you feel emotional hunger creeping in, pause for a moment. Ask yourself: “Am I really hungry?” Often, you’ll realize that the craving isn’t physical but emotional. By taking a few deep breaths and stepping away from the situation, you can break the automatic response to eat.
3. Find Non-Food Solutions Once you’ve identified the emotion behind the hunger, look for non-food solutions to address it:
If you’re stressed, go for a walk or practice deep breathing.
If you’re bored, engage in a hobby or call a friend.
If you’re sad or anxious, journal your thoughts or talk to someone you trust.
4. Stay Hydrated Sometimes, what feels like emotional hunger is actually thirst. Drink a glass of water and wait a few minutes before deciding if you really need to eat. Remember to drink five cups of water every day.
5. Eat Mindfully When you eat, ensure it’s a mindful, intentional experience. Sit down, slow down, and savour every bite. This will help you become more in tune with your body’s true hunger signals and prevent overeating.
6. Build Emotional Resilience The more you work on addressing the root cause of your emotions, the less you’ll rely on food as a comfort. Try incorporating practices like exercise and prayer to strengthen your emotional health and resilience.
7. Create Healthier Alternatives If you know certain situations will trigger emotional hunger, prepare healthy alternatives. Having nourishing snacks like veggies, nuts, or fruits on hand can help you stay on track while you work through the emotional issue.
Week 11 – Intermittent Fasting In Week 11, I started a new experiment. I stopped eating from 8 pm until 8 am. I was not feeling hungry anyway. After a few days, I started skipping breakfast. Remember, if you followed everything up until now, your body is burning fat instead of sugar. You have tons of fat – around 200.000 kcal in your body. On the bright side, as Muslims, we are used to fasting even more strictly during Ramadan. During intermittent fasting, you can drink as much as possible but no food.
Let me tell you something about intermittent fasting—it’s not just a diet trend. It’s a way to reset your thoughts about food and how your body uses it. We’ve been conditioned to eat all day long—breakfast, snacks, lunch, more snacks, dinner, dessert. But here’s the thing: most of the time, we eat for taste, not fuel. And that’s where the problem starts.
When you fast, even for a few hours, your body shifts. Instead of burning sugar from all those snacks, it starts burning fat—the fuel it was designed to run on. Your energy levels stabilize, your mind sharpens, and you feel more in control. You’re no longer a slave to your cravings or the clock telling you it’s time to eat. You eat when your body needs fuel, not just because it’s there.
The first time I tried intermittent fasting, I’ll admit—it wasn’t easy. My body was so used to grabbing food for taste, for that quick hit of pleasure, not for fuel. But the more I did it, the more I realized something: my body didn’t need all that food. I wasn’t actually hungry—I was just eating out of habit. Fasting helped me break that cycle. It forced me to listen to my body’s real signals, not the ones driven by taste or cravings.
And when I did eat, the food felt different. I wasn’t eating just to satisfy a craving but to fuel my body. That’s a powerful shift. You start to realize that food isn’t supposed to control you. It’s supposed to fuel you, to help you think clearer, move better, and live longer.
So, if you’re stuck in the cycle of eating for taste, try intermittent fasting. It’ll reset your relationship with food and remind you that the real purpose of eating is to fuel your body, not to chase a fleeting moment of taste.
Week 12 – Walking Welcome to the last week. By now, your Body is running on a new type of fuel—fats. You have already started losing weight without going to the gym. You don’t feel any cravings. Your head is clear. You are full of energy. How can you take it to the next level?
You can pick a sport or some form of daily exercise. For me, walking became the most effective way to stay active. It helped me reflect, release stress, and keep my body in motion. It’s a simple yet powerful way to care for the body, mind, heart and soul. You can click the link below to learn more about the Walk The Walk challenge. It is a course that teaches you to build a habit.
https://deenpreneurs.net/WalkTheWalk
Dua O Allah, grant us the strength to take care of our bodies, the patience to resist harmful cravings, and the wisdom to nourish ourselves with that which is halal and tayyib. Help us fulfill our trust by treating our bodies with care so that we can take care of “this vehicle” in the best way to carry our soul on this path to you. Ameen.
Goals: On a scale of 1 to 10, where do you see your Body? What are your Body goals to achieve 10?
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Mindset: What are your beliefs about “your” Body?
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Motivation: Why does it matter to achieve these goals? What happens if you do? What happens if you don’t?
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Methods: What is your plan to achieve your Body goals? What simple steps can you take today?
“Allah SWT says: ‘I am as My servant thinks of Me.” — (Sahih Bukhari, Book 97, Hadith 38)
In the previous chapter, we explored the Body as the foundation of our life journey—our vehicle that needs proper care and fuel to keep us moving forward. Without a healthy, well-maintained body, the journey becomes difficult, if not impossible. But the Body doesn’t operate on its own; it needs direction, focus, and awareness of the road ahead. This is where the Mind comes in— the entire dashboard of our life journey. The Mind gives us clarity, processes the map, controls the speed, and monitors the vital signs that guide our actions. It allows us to make decisions, adjust course, and stay alert to challenges along the way. In this chapter, we’ll dive into how mastering the Mind—our internal dashboard—helps us navigate through life’s obstacles with precision, balance, and control.
Witnessing As you know that Islam is built on 5 core pillars. The first one is to say and acknowledge that there is no god except Allah, and Muhammad (PBUH) is His Messenger. Have you ever wondered why saying these words out loud is the first step? It comes before we start daily prayers – salah, fasting, giving – zakat or going to hajj – pilgrimage?
This part of Islam was something I totally misunderstood for years. I promise to get back to you on this before this chapter is over. But as usual, we will start with a story.
Looking backward As the late Steve Jobs used to say that you can connect the dots only looking backward not forward. What he meant was that you can’t understand many things in your life why they happened, how they happened or when they happened. Only after many years some of them may make sense to you.
I was raised in a single parent family by my mom alone with my younger sister. My dad was never a part of our lives. It was hard. Especially, in a country like Uzbekistan because men are the breadwinners. I could have complained. I could have cursed my father, life itself and everything in it. Yet, I got the notion that I got to figure out things in life on my own.
Poverty and hunger were my good old friends. I could have stolen and justify. Yet I had the thought that education and knowledge were my way out of that world. So I studied hard. Somehow I believed that it will all work out.
When I was 14, I started a Turkish boarding school. I learnt English there. Among other things, I also learnt how to be independent. I was taught by passionate teachers. I was surrounded by students who were eager to learn. My classmates became lifelong friends.
Then I applied and was accepted at one of the best universities in Uzbekistan. It was not as I expected so I dropped out. Yet I got more life long friends there as well.
I also had an American Dream like everyone in my circle. But it never worked out for me to go to the USA. Instead, I got a chance to go to Denmark. I took the only chance I had. It was not all rainbows. I had to start with cleaning toilents and delivering newspapers at 5 am in the morning. I guess the patient needed it. It took me 17 years before I can move to Canada, not USA still.
You Plan vs God Plans So why am I telling you this story? I planned some things for myself. God planned other things for me. I could have been stubborn and didn’t budge. But it would not get me where I am today.
Each turning point in my life required a shift in my mindset and how I see the world. It will be the same for you.
Victim to Victor. Resentful to Resourceful. Regretful to Grategul. Step Backward to Step Forward. Moving Onwards. Moving Upwards.
You plan. God plans. God is the best of planners. It is often misquoted to convince you that planning is useless. It is actually the opposite. You plan – do your best effort. Then God plans something for you even better.
You do your part – harakah – your effort. God grants you barakah – abundance, guidance as long as you are travelling towards Him.
Does Allah need my belief in Him? The short answer is no. When I was young, I was told to believe in God, but I also heard contradictory messages like, “God doesn’t need anything from you.” This left me confused. Why should I do anything, such as pray, if God already has everything?
For a while, I thought simply believing in one God was enough. But I was still being told to pray and do other things. I resisted because I thought it was enough just to believe.
Belief Beyond Words As I grew older, I realized belief isn’t just about thinking there’s one God. It’s about what that belief drives you to do. Satan not only believes in God; but he knows God exists because he was there during the creation of Adam. Despite this, Satan’s belief didn’t save him because he refused to act in accordance with God’s will. The difference between simply knowing and truly believing lies in action and obedience.
Expanding The Concept of God
Have you seen those who have taken their own desires as their god? Allah left them to stray knowingly, sealed their hearing and hearts, and placed a cover on their sight. Who then can guide them after Allah? Will you not then be mindful? — (Quran, 45:23)
Above verse is one of the most scariest verses for me in the Quran. Why? God, as described in this verse, is not limited to a deity we worship in rituals. The verse that states some people take their desires as their gods struck me deeply. This taught me that anything—money, power, desires—can become a ‘god’ if it takes the central place in your life. When we declare, “There is no god but Allah,” we are saying that nothing else will take the center of our lives except Allah.
Who Is Your God?
When I asked this question when I was soul searching about 10 years ago, I found out that my “gods” were my career, money, my desires, etc. Because these were my focus day and night. Then I might have remembered God here and there. I knew then that I had to make a change in my life and priorities if I want to claim that I bear witness that there is nothing or no one worthy of worship except Allah SWT. So I pass on the same question to you. Who is your God?
Moving from Thought to Action Now you know the true meaning of testament of the faith in Islam, at the most basic level, belief in God starts with acknowledging Him with our tongues. But this belief must move into our hearts, becoming something we truly hold dear – Iman. Finally, it must manifest in our actions. The highest form of belief in Islam is Ihsan, where we act with excellence and beauty, fully aware that we are doing everything for Allah.
Arrogance, Confidence & Doubt There are three key attitudes: arrogance, confidence, and doubt.
Arrogance, as we learn from Satan’s story, is thinking you’re better than everyone else.
Doubt is thinking you’re not good enough.
Confidence is the balanced middle path—knowing you’re good enough but not better than others. Confidence, grounded in humility, allows you to act with purpose and sincerity towards Allah SWT.
A Story of Confidence and Trust in God I remember an event at an Islamic conference where a talented friend of mine was anxious before going on stage. I whispered to his ears, “Who brought you here? Who got you this far? Do you think the One who got you here will leave you now?”
This very moment this very reminder also made me realize that it’s not our own power that gets us through life’s challenges, but Allah’s help and guidance. Life is not happening to us. It happening for us. Once we understand this, everything begins to change.
One of the main takeaways from this chapter is the following. You see people who are arrogant and who thing they are self-sufficient. It leads them further and further away from Allah SWT. May Allah guide them. May Allah never let us be in that state.
Then you have people who live their lives in doubt, disbelief and waste. May Allah guide them as well. May Allah never let us be in that state either.
Sweet spot is the middle path: Confidence. You may have heard a hundred times that you have to be confident and believe in yourself. Maybe you still don’t. I am not going to repeat it. If you don’t believe in yourself, maybe you are right. Sometimes I don’t believe in myself either. Surprised? Let me explain.
Instead of believing in yourself, believe in Allah. What do I mean?
Even Angels Ask When Allah SWT created Adam AS, even angels questioned why He would create a being capable of bloodshed. Allah’s response was that He knows what they do not. Then Allah SWT teaches our father the name of things which symbolises the capacity of knowledge. This story reminds us of our unique gift as humans—knowledge.
Unlike angels, who can not sin, humans have free will. They can choose to follow God’s guide or not. Yet those who submit willingly to God’s will are superior even than angels. This was the meaning of Allah SWT ordering angels including Iblis to prostrate to Adam AS.
The Invitation God doesn’t force anyone to believe in Him because He wants us to come to Him willingly. Life is like an invitation from a king to His palace; it’s up to us whether we accept or not. God wants us to fulfill our potential, but we must first recognize this invitation and take action.
The Gift of Life and Sincerity of Action We only live once, and sooner or later, we all return to God. Understanding this, we should aim to live in a way that pleases Him. Our actions, even if unnoticed by others, are always seen by Allah. The sincere intention to please Him is what counts the most, and when we act with sincerity, Allah draws nearer to us.
Belief is not just a declaration; it is a journey from the tongue to the heart and finally to the hands, manifesting in action. We must move beyond asking the wrong questions that paralyze us and instead ask, “How can I live in a way that pleases my Creator?” When we act with this in mind, Allah’s promise is that He will guide us and be by our side.
Three Types of Relationships: Mind, Heart, & Soul
As we move forward, I want to explore three types of relationships: the one that relates to our mind, the one that involves our heart, and the one that touches our soul.
Mind: Self-Talk and Inner Dialogue
When it comes to the mind, it’s about self-talk. This is where confidence, doubt, and arrogance play out. We constantly engage in an inner dialogue, hearing thoughts that shape our actions and beliefs. The self-talk we entertain influences whether we see ourselves as capable or defeated. Later, we will explore how this dynamic changes when it comes to the heart and the emotions we experience with others, such as love, jealousy, and envy. For now, let’s deep dive into inner dialogue.
“Anytime you think you can, or you can’t–you’re right.” ― Henry Ford
Relationship with Yourself – Self Talk One of the most important relationships you have is the one with yourself. What do you say to yourself daily? Positive self-talk can fuel confidence and help you move toward your goals. Negative self-talk can destroy that confidence. Be kind to yourself in your internal dialogue, and remember that Allah has given you the ability to succeed, provided you keep Him at the center of your plans.
Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset You’ve probably heard of the terms growth mindset and fixed mindset. A growth mindset believes that abilities can develop and grow, while a fixed mindset assumes that nothing will change. But in Islam, we take this concept to a higher level. Even while you are reading this, you might hear thoughts like, “Who is this person? Who are they to think big? Why not just live a small life?” Or, “I’ve tried to change, but my problems are too big.” These are limiting beliefs.
God Is Greater My late teacher used to say, “Don’t tell Allah how big your problems are, tell your problems how big Allah is.” This shift in mindset changes everything. Instead of seeing obstacles as insurmountable, we recognize that nothing is too big for Allah.
The Power of Belief and Mindset Between where you are now and where you want to be, the biggest obstacle is your mindset. You need to be clear about what you want in life and approach it with a positive, confident mindset. If you believe your dreams are too big or unattainable, you will never take action. Without hope, there is no progress. This is why it’s crucial to question your mindset. Do you have a limiting mindset, or do you embrace a mindset of growth and possibility?
Mind Taqwa Taqwa—God-consciousness—doesn’t only reside in the heart; it lives in the mind too. When we are conscious of Allah in our thoughts, we make better decisions. We prioritize what truly matters, and we stay focused on our greater purpose. Having taqwa in the mind means filtering out distractions and aligning every thought with what pleases Allah.
For over 20 years, I haven’t watched TV news or read newspapers, and some people ask me how I stay informed. The truth is, if something important happens, people will tell me. I avoid mainstream media because it thrives on fear, and I don’t want to live in a state of constant fear.
Just like the story of creation where only one perspective was considered, many people focus on the negative. But the reality is that there are both good and bad people in the world. Focusing on goodness allows for a positive mindset, which is why I prefer to fill my mind with uplifting content.
Food for Thought Just like the body needs food for nourishment, the mind needs the right kind of information and input to thrive. What are you feeding your mind? Are you engaging in knowledge that enriches your life and strengthens your faith? Or are you allowing negative, destructive content to occupy your thoughts?
Garbage In, Garbage Out There’s a saying in the tech world: Garbage in, garbage out. The same applies to the mind. If you fill your mind with useless or harmful information, that’s what you’ll get out of it. On the other hand, if you fill it with beneficial knowledge, positivity, and wisdom, that’s what will reflect in your actions.
With this foundation, our mindset becomes deeply rooted in faith, and we begin to navigate life with a clear, focused purpose.
Awareness Awareness is the key to mastering the mind. The more aware you are of your thoughts, the better control you have over them. Awareness helps you differentiate between the useful and the harmful thoughts that pass through your mind. This is the essence of muraqabah—watchfulness over your thoughts and actions, knowing that Allah is always watching you as well.
Tafakkur Tafakkur, or reflection, is one of the most powerful methods to engage the mind. It involves contemplating the signs of Allah, His creation, and our purpose in life. By making tafakkur a daily practice, we sharpen our mind’s ability to think deeply and focus on the right things.
Tawakkul Jim Kwik, a well-known expert on brain performance, talks extensively about the power of mindset. The way we think shapes our reality. If you believe you can, you will. If you believe you can’t, you won’t. This simple truth is at the core of personal and spiritual growth. In Islam, our mindset is grounded in tawakkul—relying on Allah, trusting His plan, and doing our best with what we’ve been given.
Questions for Reflection:
But what are your goals for your mindset? Imagine your mindset was a 10 out of 10—what would that look like? What are the barriers stopping you from getting there? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves.
1. What are your goals for your mindset? What would your life look like if your mindset were at its full potential?
2. What beliefs do you hold about your mindset? Do you have limiting beliefs, or do you hold uplifting and empowering beliefs?
3. What motivates you to achieve your mindset goals? Why do you want to change your mindset?
4. How will you reach these goals? What actions will you take to develop a growth mindset?
Goals: On a scale of 1 to 10, how you evaluate your Mindset? What are your Mind goals to achieve 10?
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Mindset: What are your beliefs about your Mind? What is holding you back to achieve 10 out of 10? How do you talk to yourself? Are your internal conversations encouraging or discouraging? ……………………………………………………
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Motivation: Why does it matter to achieve these goals? What happens if you do? What happens if you don’t?
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Methods: What is your plan to achieve your Mind goals? What simple steps can you take today?
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Dua O Allah, grant us clarity of mind and purity of thought. Help us control our inner dialogue, so we speak kindly to ourselves and maintain confidence in You. Guide our minds to be aware of Your presence and help us fill our thoughts with wisdom, knowledge, and faith. Remove the barriers of disbelief from our minds and hearts and replace them with positivity, an abundant mindset, and, most importantly, good thoughts about You. Guide us on this path and help us stay focused on our ultimate goal: pleasing You.Ameen.
“Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” — (Quran 13:28)
Heart: The Spiritual Guide on Our Journey As we’ve established, the body is like a car, and the mind functions as the dashboard, directing us along the way. Today, we shift focus to the heart.
Heart as the Spiritual Engine Consider the heart from two perspectives. Physically, it powers the body, acting as an engine. But spiritually, the heart is far more than a muscle; it’s the seat of our emotions, the essence of our feelings. Where the mind handles our thoughts, the spiritual heart holds our emotional landscape.
Heart as Guiding Light In the journey of life, the spiritual heart filled with Iman (faith) becomes our guiding light. In our car analogy, it’s the headlights—lighting the road ahead. Without this light, we’d navigate in darkness, battling uncertainty and fear. But with Iman, we see the path clearly. We need to make sure to keep it clean.
Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: “Surely, when the servant commits a sin, a black dot appears on his heart. If he repents from it, his heart is polished clean. However, if he increases in the sin, the blackness continues to increase.”
Spiritual Heart filled with Iman only illuminates our Path. It is still on us, to make the move. This is where Soul comes in. For now, remember that a heart rooted in Iman is our guiding light.
Communication and Connection The mind governs self-dialogue, but the heart shapes our communication with others. A healthy heart recognizes that everyone is on their own journey; it doesn’t compete or undermine others. Competition driven by envy or superiority signals a heart in need of healing. A pure heart sees others as fellow travelers, uplifting them whenever possible. Most importantly, it remains focused on Allah as the ultimate destination, striving to stay connected to Him and purifying itself along the way.
The Role of a Healthy Heart A heart aligned with Allah understands its purpose—to embody sincerity, compassion, and kindness. It knows that each person is seeking purpose and fulfillment, that we’re all travelers on the same road. This heart resists arrogance or envy and finds joy in helping others grow.
By keeping its focus on Allah, a healthy heart remains pure and open, a source of strength and light for both itself and others. Without Iman, our journey grows dark and uncertain. A heart filled with faith, however, illuminates our path, giving us the clarity and direction to walk toward Allah. To succeed on this journey, we must fill our hearts with faith and trust in Allah, letting His light be our guide. A healthy heart constantly aligns itself with Allah, avoiding the distractions that would pull it off course.
Keeping up with the Joneses It is an expression that describes the act of comparing oneself to others, particularly in terms of material possessions, social status, or lifestyle. It reflects the desire to match or surpass one’s neighbors, friends, or peers in outward signs of success and wealth.
In a way, it exactly describes my lifestyle since I came to Denmark in 2003 for the next 10 years. First I finished my studies and started working. Then got married. Then moved a larger apartment. It turned into a house. Then we got a car. Then we I moved to another job. You got the point.
After a while, I got bored. In the end, I didn’t need 50 cars or 10 houses. There was always someon who got a better car or a better house. How long was I supposed to play this game?
Like everyone, I’ve compared myself to others—thinking about who has more, who seems better. These comparisons introduce negative emotions like envy, jealousy and so much more.
On the other hand, I was also soul searching at the same time. Alhamdulillah, I was guided back to Islam. I came accross this verse in the Quran:
˹Some of˺ the nomadic Arabs say, “We believe.” Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “You have not believed. But say, ‘We have submitted,’ for faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger ˹wholeheartedly˺, He will not discount anything from ˹the reward of˺ your deeds. Allah is truly All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” –Quran, 49:14
Faith Beyond Words This verse speaks to the heart of what it means to be Muslim. It’s about more than just saying “I believe” or “I’m a Muslim”—it’s about living it, feeling it, embodying it. Allah addresses a group of Bedouins who came to the Prophet ﷺ and claimed, “We have believed.” But Allah corrects them, saying they haven’t truly believed yet. Instead, they should say, “We have submitted.” Why? Because Iman—true faith—hasn’t yet entered their hearts.
The Difference Between Submission and Faith Here, Allah shows us the difference between Islam and Iman. Islam is the outward act of submitting to Allah’s commands—praying, fasting, following the rules. But Iman is something deeper; it’s when that belief becomes part of your heart, something you feel and carry with you. Iman goes beyond the surface. It changes how you see the world, how you respond to others, and how you handle challenges.
The Journey to True Faith Allah SWT acknowledges that faith doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s a journey. Sometimes we start by doing the outward actions, by submitting. But over time, through consistency and sincere effort, we begin to feel that connection to Allah deeply. The heart starts to wake up, and that’s when true Iman begins to grow.
Obedience as the Path to Faith Allah continues, “If you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not deprive you from your deeds of anything.” This is a reminder that even if your faith isn’t fully developed yet, your efforts still count. Keep obeying, keep striving. Through obedience and dedication, you can nurture that faith and move closer to Allah. Every small act of sincerity is valued, and none of it goes unnoticed.
Allah’s Forgiveness and Mercy Finally, Allah reassures us: “Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” He understands that we’re all at different stages of our journey. He knows faith is a process, and He’s willing to forgive and show mercy as we grow. The doors are open for those who are still finding their way.
The Takeaway Faith isn’t just words; it’s a journey of the heart. You may start by outwardly submitting, by showing up and doing the actions. But over time, if you stay committed, something beautiful begins to take root within you. Iman grows, transforms, and lights up your path. Remember, Allah values every step you take towards Him, and His mercy is always there, embracing you as you go.
Discovering the Power of Allah’s Names One of the things helped me a lot during that time was learning Allah’s Names.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said,
“Allah has ninety-nine names; whoever memorizes them will enter Paradise.” (Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim)
This hadith is more than just a promise of Paradise. It’s an invitation to know Allah on a deeper level, because knowing Him changes everything—including how we handle our emotions.
As I began my journey of learning the 99 names of Allah SWT, I uncovered a powerful truth: at the root of every negative emotion, there’s a misconception about who Allah truly is. It’s like a veil that clouds our understanding, keeping us stuck in feelings that don’t serve us.
Take envy, for example. When we feel envious, we’re essentially unhappy that someone else has something we want. But what does that reveal about our belief? Envy implies a lack of trust in Allah as Ar-Razzaq, the Provider. It suggests we think Allah hasn’t given us what we deserve, or that He’s limited in what He can provide. But Allah’s blessings are limitless, and He distributes them with wisdom and justice. Understanding Allah as Ar-Razzaq helps us let go of envy and trust that He has provided us exactly what’s right for us at this moment.
Or consider jealousy, where we fear someone else might take something that’s meant for us. Here, there’s a missed understanding of Allah as Al-Wakeel, the Ultimate Trustee. Allah is in control, and He guards what’s meant for us. When we truly believe in Al-Wakeel, we realize that no one can take away what Allah has decreed for us. This belief dismantles jealousy at its core.
Learning these names has been transformative. Each name of Allah reveals an aspect of Him that speaks directly to the emotions we struggle with. Every negative feeling—whether it’s fear, doubt, resentment, or disappointment—has its roots in a misunderstanding of who Allah is. As I grww in knowing Him through His names, those misconceptions faded, and my heart found peace. It’s not an overnight change, but with every name I learned, I felt the burden of negativity lifting, replaced by a deeper trust and serenity. I strongly suggest you start learning and living Allah’s Names as well.
Competing with Myself, Not Others As I continued learning the 99 names of Allah SWT, I realized something transformative: knowing Allah isn’t just about theology or memorization—it’s about reshaping how I see myself and my journey. This understanding brought me to a crucial insight: on this Path, my only competition is who I was yesterday, not anyone else.
Knowing Allah’s names taught me that every blessing, every provision, every success in this life comes from Him alone. When I truly understand Ar-Razzaq (The Provider), I don’t feel the need to measure myself against someone else’s success or wealth. Allah has written my sustenance, my opportunities, and my trials just as He has done for everyone else. My focus shifted from comparing my path to someone else’s to nurturing my own unique journey, rooted in gratitude and acceptance.
When I reflect on Al-Adl (The Just), I’m reminded that Allah’s wisdom is beyond human understanding. He has created each of us with a unique purpose, and His distribution of strengths, opportunities, and challenges is perfectly just. This understanding freed me from the cycle of comparison. Instead of asking, “Why don’t I have what they have?” I started asking, “How can I make the most of what Allah has given me?” Each day became an opportunity to improve upon who I was yesterday, to take one more step closer to Allah.
Understanding Allah as Al-Hadi (The Guide) also taught me to trust my unique path and timing. I don’t have to look at others and wonder if I’m “falling behind.” Allah is guiding me on my journey, step by step, according to His perfect plan. Instead of racing against others, I find myself striving to be more patient, more grateful, more sincere than I was the day before.
This mindset transformed my perspective on self-growth. Learning Allah’s names wasn’t just about memorizing words—it was about internalizing His attributes and letting them guide my actions and emotions. It turned the Path into a personal journey of growth, where I’m not trying to “catch up” or “keep up” with anyone. I’m simply trying to become a better version of myself, day by day, step by step, guided by the light of His names and attributes.
On this path, my only competition is yesterday’s self, and my greatest goal is drawing closer to Allah through the lessons embedded in His beautiful names. And ask the question “How is my Lord going to pull me towards Himself today?”
Relationship with Others Our hearts are also the source of our relationships with others. A purified heart is one that fosters good relations, filled with compassion, empathy, and forgiveness. On the other hand, a heart weighed down by jealousy, resentment, or arrogance damages not just the individual but the community around them.
Heart Taqwa Just as the mind can have taqwa (God-consciousness), so too can the heart. A heart filled with taqwa is always aware of Allah’s presence, even in the most challenging situations. It remains soft, humble, and receptive to the truth. A heart that has taqwa trusts in Allah’s plan and avoids becoming hard or desensitized by worldly concerns.
Focusing on the Heart’s Journey As we conclude this chapter, let’s pause and reflect on the heart’s true purpose as our guiding light. A healthy spiritual heart isn’t just a source of emotion—it’s the compass that keeps us aligned on this journey toward Allah. When filled with the love of Allah, the heart naturally radiates love and empathy for His creation. This love isn’t just a feeling; it’s a way of being. It’s seeing others not as rivals but as companions on their own paths, with their own struggles and blessings, all crafted by the same Merciful Creator.
A heart connected to Allah doesn’t waste energy on competing with others. Instead, it focuses on improving itself, one day at a time, learning from yesterday’s missteps, and setting intentions for today’s growth. When we let go of comparison, we free ourselves from the distractions that pull us away from our true purpose. A heart rooted in Iman and guided by Ihsan—striving for excellence with sincerity—sees only one goal: coming closer to Allah with each step.
In this journey, a heart filled with faith and compassion becomes a bright headlight on the dark path of life. It helps us see beyond immediate obstacles, guiding us through challenges with patience and resilience. It reminds us to prioritize what truly matters—our relationship with Allah and our duty to uplift others.
So, as we move forward, let us nurture this heart, keeping it pure, humble, and aligned with our purpose. Let it be a source of kindness and strength, always focused on drawing nearer to Allah, step by step, day by day. And may this journey, illuminated by a heart of faith, be a witness to our sincere effort to reach Him.
Questions
Mindset: What thoughts occupy your heart the most? Are they beneficial or harmful?
Motivation: Why do you desire a pure heart? What does a peaceful heart mean for you?
Methods: What actions can you take to cleanse your heart and nurture it with love, gratitude, and sincerity?
Methods One of the most effective methods to purify the heart is engaging in dhikr (remembrance of Allah). The more you remember Allah, the softer and more aware your heart becomes. Another method is practicing forgiveness. Holding grudges or ill feelings can harden the heart, so letting go and forgiving others frees the heart from negativity.
Goals: On a scale of 1 to 10, how you evaluate your Heart? What are your Heart goals to achieve 10?
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Beliefs: What are your beliefs about your Heart? What is holding you back to achieve 10 out of 10? Are you competing with others or yourself? ……………………………………………………
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Motivation: Why does it matter to achieve these goals? What happens if you do? What happens if you don’t?
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Methods: What is your plan to achieve your Heart goals? What simple steps can you take today?
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…………………………………………………… Dua O Allah, turner of hearts, purify our hearts from envy, hatred, and arrogance. Fill our hearts with Your love, gratitude, and humility. Make our hearts soft and receptive to Your guidance and firm in Your Deen, and help us foster good relationships with others. Ameen.
“O, Soul At Peace! Come back to your Lord well-pleased (yourself) and well-pleasing (unto Him)! So join My servants and enter My Paradise!” — Quran 89:27-30
Welcome to one of the most intriguing topics we will explore—Soul. The soul, or “rooh” in Islam, is fascinating precisely because it is the least understood part of us. Unlike the body, which we can see and touch, the soul is something we cannot touch or see. Yet, that it is a fundamental part of who we are.
Soul: The Driver of Our Journey So, we have established the body as the car, the mind as the dashboard that guides, and the heart as the engine. When inspired by faith, the heart becomes the headlight, illuminating our path. But what about the soul? Where does it fit into this Life Journey analogy?
The Dual Nature of the Soul The soul has two aspects—the upper self, which we often call the spirit, and the lower self, commonly known as the ego. The soul, in this analogy, is the driver—the actor that controls the entire vehicle. This is how it should be, according to the teachings of Islam. The soul should be in charge, leading the body, mind, and heart in the right direction.
Islamic Perspective on Freedom
When we talk about freedom, it’s important to understand that Islam frames it differently from the Western perspective. Western society often emphasizes the “freedom of the self,” promoting the idea of obeying your desires, following every urge, and indulging in the whims of the ego—“obey your thirst,” they say. But Islam offers a different paradigm: true freedom is the freedom of the soul.
The Ego’s Place: A Child in the Backseat
The ego, or nafs, must be put in its rightful place. Imagine it as a small child sitting in the back of your car, strapped securely in a car seat. You cannot get rid of it entirely, nor should you—it’s a part of who we are. The ego has needs that must be met, but it should never take control of the vehicle. It should be managed, disciplined, and put in a position where it doesn’t disrupt the journey.
The Soul and Ego: Two Sides of Our Inner Reality
Next, we’ll dive deeper into the two dimensions of our inner being—the upper self (the soul) and the lower self (the ego). Before we get into the specifics, it’s important to understand the two realms that the soul can occupy according to Islam.
The Two Realms: Fitrah and Ghaflah
The soul can be found in either of two states:
Fitrah: This is the soul’s natural state—its original, awakened disposition. When the soul is in this state, it is connected to Allah, acting in harmony with its true purpose.
Ghaflah: On the other hand, it represents a state of heedlessness or spiritual sleep. It’s not physical sleep, but a kind of disconnection from one’s spiritual purpose. The ego thrives in this realm, steering us away from our higher calling.
The Three States of the Soul
Between these two realms, the soul can exist in one of three different states based on the Quran, the teachings of Imam Ghazali as well as Islamic Psychology. Understanding these states helps us identify where we are on our journey and how we can progress toward inner peace:
Nafs al-Mutma’inna (The Soul at Peace) This is the highest state of the soul—a state of tranquillity and contentment. It’s the state where the soul is aligned with Allah’s will, experiencing peace and serenity. It’s the destination we strive for on our journey.
Nafs al-Lawwama (The Self-Reproaching Soul) Somewhere between the soul at peace and the commanding soul lies Nafs al-Lawwama. This is the state of the self-reproaching soul—one that is conscious of its shortcomings and feels guilt or remorse when straying from the right path. This state represents an inner struggle, but it’s also a hopeful stage, as the soul strives to correct itself and move closer to Allah.
Nafs al-Ammara bil-Su (The Commanding Soul) At the other end of the spectrum, we have Nafs al-Ammara bil-Su, the lowest state of the soul, which inclines toward evil. This is when the soul is overpowered by the ego, leading us to act on desires and impulses that are disconnected from our higher purpose.
The Self-Reproaching Soul (Nafs al-Lawwama)
Most of us exist in the state of Nafs al-Lawwama, the self-reproaching soul. This is the phase where we’re trying our best—we do good, we slip, and then we turn back to Allah, seeking His forgiveness. It’s a cycle of rising and falling, a wave that goes up and down, repeatedly. This constant struggle signifies our effort to grow, to recognize our mistakes, and to keep trying. It’s a journey marked by both setbacks and sincere repentance.
The Evil-Inclined Soul (Nafs al-Ammara bil-Su)
Now, let’s talk about the other extreme—the Nafs al-Ammara bil-Su, the soul inclined to evil. When I was a child watching cartoons, I often wondered, how do people become so evil? As I grew older, and especially through the lens of Islamic teachings, I understood that no one becomes wicked overnight. It’s a gradual process of losing sensitivity to right and wrong.
The Slippery Slope of Indifference
It begins with small actions and indifference. You make a mistake, and if you do not hold yourself accountable, you start to not care. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) explained that every sin leaves a black dot on the heart. When you seek forgiveness, your heart becomes polished again, regaining its purity. But if you ignore the sin, those black dots accumulate until the heart becomes covered, and eventually, the spiritual heart no longer shines—your guiding light goes dark.
A Locked Heart and a Dark Path
When this happens, your heart gets locked, your mind becomes blocked, and you begin to walk in darkness. You lose the clarity needed to navigate life, and, tragically, even though you try to fulfill yourself, nothing brings satisfaction. This discontent leads many to seek to escape through harmful behaviours like smoking, drugs, or alcohol—temporary distractions that only deepen the darkness.
Seeking Refuge from This State
This is the most dangerous state we could fall into, and we ask Allah SWT to protect us from it. This is why, as Muslims, we’re asked to pray five times a day—to regularly recalibrate, to check in with ourselves, and to remember our direction and purpose. These moments of prayer are our opportunity to renew, cleanse the heart, and stay connected to our true path.
The Soul at Peace (Nafs al-Mutma’inna)
Now, let’s shift gears and talk about the opposite state—the soul at peace, or Nafs al-Mutma’inna. To understand this state, let me share an analogy from one of my favourite movies, The Matrix. At the end of the first movie, Neo, the protagonist, doesn’t just see the agents anymore; he sees the green code behind everything. He finally understands the reality—that the world he is in is just a simulation. With this awareness, Neo becomes powerful enough to manipulate his surroundings, effectively becoming Superman.
Seeing Through the Illusion
Similarly, as Muslims, we are reminded by Allah that this life is a temporary reality, a test, a kind of simulation. Everything that happens here is by His will. Once we grasp this truth—not just intellectually, but deeply in our hearts—our perspective changes. We begin to see beyond the apparent challenges and blessings, recognizing that everything comes from Allah. This deep realization brings us to a state where we can genuinely say, Alhamdulillah ‘ala kulli haal—“All praise is due to Allah in every situation.” Whether something seemingly good or bad happens, we know that it’s from Him, and we respond with gratitude or patience, knowing it’s ultimately for our growth.
Living in a State of Peace
The soul at peace is in constant alignment with this understanding. If something good happens, it says, Alhamdulillah. If something challenging occurs, it still says, Alhamdulillah, recognizing that even in trials, there is a purpose and an opportunity to grow. The soul understands that nothing bad reaches us except what we earn and that even these challenges are tests from Allah meant to purify us.
Balancing the Spiritual and the Worldly
Of course, I’m not suggesting that we become monks or live in isolation from the world. We’re meant to be in the world, to work, to contribute, to make our mark. The key question is: How do we carry this peaceful state of the soul while engaging with the world? That’s what we’ll discuss next.
Discipline: Mastering the Self
Before moving on to the next stage of our journey, let’s talk about three important concepts. The first one is discipline.
Disciplining the Soul and Ego
One of the main objectives of the soul is to take control—to be the leader, the actor, and the one directing our actions, putting the ego in its rightful place. Discipline is key to ensuring that the ego remains where it belongs—secured in the back seat, with the soul firmly in the driver’s seat.
Fueling the Body and Nourishing the Mind
Discipline starts with understanding the purpose of food. Food is primarily fuel for your body to keep it healthy, and taste comes second. When it comes to your mind, discipline means choosing useful thoughts and beneficial information over mere entertainment. It’s about prioritizing what benefits us most.
The Heart and Emotions
The heart often gets carried away by emotions. Discipline involves using the soul and the mind to guide these emotions, to resist doing only what feels good at the moment. Sometimes, the best path is not the one that brings instant comfort, but the one that leads to growth.
Salah: The Discipline Tool
To help us achieve discipline, Allah has already provided us with a powerful tool—Salah (prayer). Salah is our five-times-a-day check-in, ensuring that we stay focused on our journey towards Him. When I was younger, I used to think that Salah was something optional, something I’d do when I felt like it, or perhaps when I got older. But now, I understand it’s like driving to a destination.
The GPS of Life
When you’re driving, you don’t simply rely on your instincts to reach a new destination which you have never been to before; you use a map or GPS. Similarly, Salah is your GPS in life. It’s a structured tool meant to discipline us, not just an emotional or spiritual experience we engage in when we feel inspired. Sure, there may be moments of spiritual elevation, but Salah is primarily about consistency, about setting our internal compass toward Allah.
Discipline, then, begins with Salah, aligning the Body, Mind, Heart, and Soul in a consistent pursuit of our journey’s goal.
Priorities: Putting Things in Order
The goal of the soul is to put everything in its rightful place. As the driver, the soul must make wise decisions, and for that, it must keep the ego in check—strapped in the back, like a child. Never let the ego roam free, and certainly never let it sit in the driver’s seat, as it would lead to a crash. Prioritizing correctly is key to maintaining control on this journey.
Freedom of the Soul
The soul’s purpose is to free itself from the shackles of worldly distractions. Unlike Western ideals, which glorify the freedom of ego-driven desires, Islam speaks about the freedom of the soul—to strive for growth, to ascend, and ultimately to return to its divine origin.
Allah breathed His spirit into Adam, and by extension, each of us carries a spark of the divine. The soul desires to reunite with its Source, to find peace in submitting to the divine flow. This is the true freedom that the soul craves.
Our task is to let the soul flourish, to align our desires with the will of Allah, and to submit happily to Him. The journey continues as we now explore our Purpose in life, who we truly are, our Passions, and how we can use these to travel the Path towards the Most High.
I’ll see you in the next chapter, where we dive into purpose and its meaning.
Goals: On a scale of 1 to 10, how you evaluate your Soul? What are your Soul goals to achieve 10?
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Beliefs: What are your beliefs about your Soul? What is holding you back to achieve 10 out of 10?
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Motivation: Why does it matter to achieve these goals? What happens if you do? What happens if you don’t?
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Methods: What is your plan to achieve your Soul goals? What simple steps can you take today?
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Reflective Questions
What are your goals for your soul? Reflect on the type of soul you want to cultivate. Is it a soul that’s at peace, content with Allah’s decree?
Why do you want this for your soul? Understanding your motivations will help you stay committed to the path of spiritual growth.
How will you get there? Write down the steps, no matter how small, that you will take to nurture your soul. Consistency is key.
Dua O Allah, help us purify our Soul and make it content with Your decree. Grant us the strength to overcome our ego and guide our Soul to be at peace with You and everything You send our way. Let our Soul shine brightly, reflecting Your light, and guide us on the path that leads to You. Ameen.
We did not create the heavens and the earth and everything in between without purpose. –Quran 21:16
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We continue our life analogy as a journey, with the body as the car that moves us forward, the mind as the dashboard showing us information and direction, the heart filled with faith as the guiding light that illuminates the path, and the soul as the driver, steering us with intention. But the question remains: where are we going?
This brings us to Purpose. Our destination is not random; it’s carefully set. We are on a path that leads us back to Allah, toward the ultimate meeting with our Creator. Every part of us—the body, mind, heart, and soul—works together to reach this divine destination, a journey of meaning, growth, and preparation for the eternal life beyond.
Blessed are those who discover their Purpose lives and live it with Passion in Prosperity. Research on purpose-driven living shows that only a small percentage of people truly live with a clear sense of purpose, passion, and prosperity. Various studies estimate that about 10% of the population actively pursue life with a strong sense of purpose, aligning their passions with meaningful goals. Out of this group, an even smaller subset—perhaps around 1%—experience true prosperity as they define it, which includes both financial stability and emotional fulfillment.
Many people may feel passionate about certain aspects of their lives but lack a clear, unified purpose, and fewer still are able to align that purpose with a lifestyle that feels prosperous in a holistic sense. This underscores the rarity and value of aligning purpose, passion, and prosperity in one’s life.
One of our my purpose of writing this book is to help you among this 1%. Because, if you reach this goal, you will enter a state of flow and bliss by Allah SWT so you don’t have to escape your reality to games, drugs, alcohol, smoking or any other drugs or addictions. You will play the Infinite Game of Life as you are created for. Live your life to the fullest. In this chapter, we will cover Purpose. Passion and Prosperity will come later. If you are ready for the journey, let’s start.
What would your answer be if I asked you a simple question “How is your life?”? Usually, there tend to be two different types of answers. Some of you say, “Life is tough. Life is unfair. Life is cruel.” Others say, “Life is beautiful. Life is amazing. Life is the best gift.”
Most of the time, the only difference between these groups of people is that the second group discovered their purpose in life and lived it.
“He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.” – Nietzsche
I have been on both ends. Growing up, life was tough. Later on, I studied and got a job. Life got easier in a materialistic sense. However, until I found out my why and followed that path, I was not truly experiencing life to the fullest.
Why am I here?
Have you ever wondered: Who am I? Why am I here? What’s the purpose of life? What am I supposed to do here? Is there a life after death? Why is there so much suffering in this world?
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. – Mark Twain
In this book, I will share my journey of how I discovered answers to these questions. Hopefully, you will benefit, inshaAllah.
I could have written this book in a way that proclaims, “This is the Truth. It’s my way or the highway!” But as I get older, I realize that we humans are not rational but rather emotional beings.
Universe is the greatest love poem ever being written… What verse are you? What metaphor are you? What do you mean? – Amir Sulaiman
With that in mind, I have decided to write this book as if I am talking to a friend sharing my story instead of preaching. That’s how I’m most comfortable connecting with others anyway. So there will be more questions than answers. There will be dialogues. You are welcome to question everything you read on these pages. If you come across a better answer, please, share it with me.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for being open-minded and open-hearted.
Another rags-to-riches story?
I also could have framed this as a rags-to-riches story about yet another multi-millionaire (at least on paper). But it would be misleading. Now that I am in my 40s and looking back and connecting the dots, I clearly see The Guide guiding me all along the way, alhamdulillah.
So, in a way, this is His story–the one that Allah SWT wrote and that I am grateful to be a part of. That’s why I’m so excited about the story He is writing in your life too.
Now, let’s go back to the questions. Asking those questions mentioned above would be a luxury when I was growing up. I had more pressing matters, such as finding food to eat to survive daily life.
You see, I was born in 1983 in a small city called Qarshi in the southern part of Uzbekistan. For those who don’t know where this country is (trust me, many people don’t), it is in Central Asia where you find lots of other countries ending in “-istan.” When I usually say I am from Uzbekistan, people usually confuse it with Pakistan which is totally another country.
Out Of Comfort Zone
Depending on whom I am talking to, I came up with a different way to introduce my country. If they are Muslims, I say I am from the country of Imam al-Bukhari and Imam al-Tirmidhi. Alhamdulillah, these scholars are very well-known among Muslims. The hadith collection Sahih Bukhari is the second most popular and authentic book after the Quran.
If they are non-Muslims, I say I am from the country of al-Khorazmi–the guy who invented Algebra, and even the word algorithm is based on his name. Do you see what I did there? I just introduced where I am from with a little story. It will help you memorize better. Because numbers tell but stories sell. For now, just remember: redefine the situation you are in, just like I do when it comes to overcoming the hurdle of explaining where I’m from. Instead of feeling inferior and confused when you’re in a situation outside of your comfort zone, try to find a positive side and an advantage. Trust me, there is always at least one!
Bitter or Better?
Why was it a luxury for me to ask questions while growing up? Simply put, I had more existential questions to deal with. Often that question was just: How do I find food to eat today?
You see, I was raised in a single-parent family. It seems that our father left us for another family. My mom (may Allah (SWT) give her the best in both worlds) raised my sister and me on her own. My maternal grandmother also lived with us. My mom was a dressmaker and she did her best to provide for the family.
Bitter to Better
I clearly remember feeling that I didn’t have a father growing up. I watched my childhood friends get bikes, chocolates, gums, and many other cool things I wished I could have as a young boy, while our family barely survived. My mom did her best, but she could provide only for the basic needs of the family such as bread and milk. I wondered about our situation and wished that I could do something about it.
Now looking back, I can see that this experience was one of those deciding moments in life. I could have cursed and blamed life, or fate, or even questioned God. But I said, “Ok, I don’t have a father. It means I have to figure out how to get those things on my own if I want those things.” If you ask me why I took the path of responsibility instead of victimhood and blaming life, fate, or God, I don’t know what to say except, “The Guide guided me.”
We all struggle, and those struggles become our defining moments. In the end, it is your attitude that determines the decisions you will make. Your story includes challenges, problems, and calamities just like mine did. Ultimately, you can decide to be bitter or better. The choice is yours.
Cockroach Theory
Here is a story from Sundar Pichai – CEO of Google – on this point.
At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic-stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but it landed on another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.
In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behaviour of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant. Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behaviour? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?
He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.
I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.
It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturb me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.
Lessons learnt from the story:
I understood that I should not react in life.
I should always respond.
The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.
Reactions are always instinctive, whereas responses are always well thought of, just and right to save a situation from going out of hand, to avoid cracks in a relationship, to avoid taking decisions in anger, anxiety, stress or hurry. A beautiful way to understand…………LIFE.”
The HAPPY person is not because Everything is RIGHT in his Life. He is HAPPY because his Attitude towards Everything in his Life is Right!
How could I do otherwise!?
Here is another story of twin brothers who were raised by an alcoholic father. One grew up to be an alcoholic. When asked what happened, he said, “Have you seen my father? How could I do otherwise!?”
The other grew up and never drank in his life. When he was asked what happened he said “Have you seen my father? How could I do otherwise!?” Two boys, the same dad, two different perspectives.
Your perspective in life will determine your destination. Below you will find yet another story about our inner dialogue, mindfulness and making the right choices.
The Wolf You Feed
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Balloon Entrepreneur at age 7
Necessity is the mother of all inventions. —Proverb
I soon realized that to achieve what my friends had, I needed to take matters into my own hands. I knew there was no one else who could do it for me. With that in mind, I asked myself, “How can I get my hands on some candies, gum, balloons, and other cool stuff?” I also knew that whatever I did had to be enjoyable for me, not just a means to make money. I was, after all, just a child.
By some stroke of luck, I obtained one som (Uzbekistan’s national currency whose value has since significantly decreased). I was only seven years old at the time. I lived near an old bazaar where thousands of people walked by our streets every day. I had enough foot traffic; all I needed was something to offer them.
I went to the wholesale bazaar, which was much further away but offered much cheaper prices. After searching, I found a set of 100 balloons that caught my attention, so I bought it and headed home.
Upon arrival, I hung the balloon set on a metal bar that was part of the gas distribution system on every street. I had set up my booth, and the fascinating thing about this set was that it had a large balloon in the center. When someone bought a balloon, they could choose a number to win the big one. If they chose the right number, they would receive a huge balloon, but if not, they would still get another balloon from the set.
After doing some research, I discovered that the average balloon price was around one som. I was taken aback by the price difference between wholesale and retail, but it was a pleasant surprise. So, I set the price at one som per balloon and did some quick calculations. To my delight, I realized that if I sold all of my balloons, I would earn 100 soms, despite only spending one som.
I couldn’t believe it! I was eager to begin selling.
At age 7
My first customers
As soon as I hung up my balloon set, my friends from the street gathered around my booth. All I did was explain how it worked, and how they could win the big balloon. The game had started. My friends ran home and begged their moms and dads to win the big balloon.
Building on One Idea
In a mere matter of days, I had sold all of my balloons. I did earn 100 Uzbek Soms (national currency). Suddenly, I could afford chewing gums, candies, and whatever I thought was cool at that age just like everyone else. I couldn’t believe it at first. It felt like a true miracle. But as I sold more and more balloons, I became more and more confident. I realized that earning enough money for our family to be able to afford extra things was a real possibility. As I was busy selling the balloons, another idea came. Why not sell chewing gum and candies to my customer friends? I knew their parents were already buying these from somewhere every day. Why wouldn’t they buy from me?
Guess what I started selling next? 🙂
My First Employee
In September, summer ended and I had to go to school. Of course, when I was at school, no one would attend my booth, so no sales. After some thought, I asked my mom (the central figure in my 7-year-old social network) if she could attend my booth while I was gone. She agreed. From that day on, I would rush home and ask about how much we sold. Suddenly, I was making money even when I was learning at school. Without even knowing, it seems that I hired my own mother as my first employee!
Catch Me if You Can
As I reflected on my situation, I also realized that my only way out from my city to a larger world was education. This led me to study hard at school. The more I learned, the more I got curious about the things I learned about. In first grade, they teach the alphabet for six months. I asked my grandmother if she could teach me the letters and she did (she was my first teacher – may Allah (SWT) grant her Jannat al Firdaws). In a week or so, I learned all the letters and how to join them so I could read words. I enjoyed it so much that I started and finished the alphabet book we were supposed to complete in six months in only one month.
From that moment, I did the same with other subjects, such as math and others. Alhamdulillah, I started getting straight A’s. Soon my class teachers and other teachers at school started noticing. They started giving me extra homework. Since I already did my class homework, this extra work was not a big deal to me.
When I was in 5th grade, I became easily bored in class since I had already read and completed the books in advance. The school noticed and moved me from the second half of 5th grade to the second half of 6th grade. I had to catch up on a year’s worth of work, and I did. Later, they moved me again from the second half of 7th grade to the second half of 8th grade.
Believe it or not, I was on my way to finishing high school at the very young age of 12. But then something happened in the summer of 1996.
At this point, you might be thinking, “OK, Maruf was a straight-A student. But I wasn’t.” Bear with me–the point I am trying to share has very little to do with straight As.
Consider the 2002 movie “Catch Me If You Can.” At one point, the film’s main character Frank teaches as a professor at a university even though he never studied that subject. Later on, when the FBI interviews him and asks about this, he simply says that he only read one chapter ahead.
The lesson is: if you are proactive and do a bit more than others, you will go further faster. Now back to the story.
Crushing my Ego
In the summer of 1996, a friend told me that there was a new boys-only boarding school in town. The high school was known as the Uzbek Turk Anadolu Lisesi, and all subjects were only taught in English.
The school was inviting students to come to take exams. I followed my friend there and took the exam. I found the exam very strange and intriguing. It didn’t assess any of the knowledge I had learned in school but was instead a set of questions that didn’t require predefined knowledge. Later I found out that they were logical questions to find out my IQ.
After a week or so, the results came back. My score was one of the top three scores among the thousands of students who had participated. I was very surprised and happy. I knew I had made my mother and grandmother proud. But now I had to make a tough decision.
If I stayed in my public school, I would be on my way to graduating with honours and being one of the youngest in the whole country to do so. If I switched to this Turkish high school, I would lose all this progress and join my classmates at the same age and the same grade.
Little did I know that making these types of decisions would later become a recurring event in my life.
After giving it some thought, I knew that mastering English could help me in my future education and career. I also considered that if this new school’s exams were different, their teaching must be different as well. I ultimately decided to go with the Turkish gymnasium.
Oh, boy! What a difference! The school started in September. I went in thinking that I was at the top. Soon I realized that I was at the bottom of the class. You see, at this new school, they mainly taught English for 20 hours every week for the first year. It was called the Preparation class. While my English was considered good at the public school, I barely knew only a few words, such as “apple,” “red,” “table,” and the like.
For my first year, Mr. Selim Vural was my English teacher. He was one of the first truly passionate teachers that I witnessed in my life. One of the most admirable things about him was his passion to teach English not only to skilled students but also to struggling students as well, which is much more challenging.
At the end of each week, he would test all of us. The test would show each of us where we were. Lo and behold, I was at the bottom. It crushed my ego. One moment I was seemingly at the top, and the next I was at the bottom of the class getting low marks on tests.
Turkish High School class photo. Mr. Vural is sitting in the first front row. Can you find me in this photo?
At this moment, I could have gone back to my old school where I was at the top. But I knew deep in my heart it was not the right path. Instead, I decided to stay and take on this challenge as a game. I had to get better every week, even if just by one point on the test.
Because it was a boarding school, my classmates from outside the city could stay in the dormitory while the students from the city could go home. Most of my city classmates went back home every day. But I decided to stay.
First, I thought it would be fun for me to spend time with my classmates outside school as well. Most of them were smarter than me. I knew I could learn a thing or two. I knew they studied together, so I joined them.
Secondly, I would save so much time by avoiding the traffic involved in going home and coming back.
Last, but not the least, I would also save my family my travel costs and daily food. So I only visited my family during the weekends.
Dorm life was fun. My new friends and I played soccer and basketball together, but we also studied hard. As we spent day and night together, over the years we developed an extremely strong bond of friendship. I am still friends and in touch with most of them from that period until now, alhamdulillah.
Staying at the dorm with smarter friends and studying hard started showing results. I started climbing up the ranks in our weekly English tests. By the end of that first year, I would be among the best in the class, alhamdulillah. Even Mr. Vural would ask me and other top students to teach and help some of our classmates.
Looking back, I can now connect the dots and see how pivotal that first year, my teachers, my friends at the dorm, and the whole environment at the Turkish gymnasium were in my life journey. The whole experience, especially embracing English, opened many new doors in the future. Even this book you are holding now would not be a possibility if it weren’t for that experience.
Peer Pressure
My next target was the university. Everyone was trying to enroll in the most popular and prestigious one: The University of World Economy and Diplomacy. I said to myself: “This is where I am going then.”
Now the competition was even higher. You had to aim to be among the top 1,000 students in the country, otherwise, you had to pay an arm and a leg to attend, which I simply couldn’t afford.
There was only one problem.
Mastering Math
To enroll in this university, students had to master English, Uzbek, and Math. While I was good in English and Uzbek, I had to master math which I didn’t like. At least, I didn’t like how it was taught to me at that time.
Yet another teacher, Ulugbek Ustaz (Ustaz means master or teacher in Uzbek), introduced me to Advanced Math and Geometry on another level. I started finally understanding and slowly began to like and eventually love math. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly in his 40s which was a great loss for our community. May Allah grant him the best in the next life.
What I learned from my time with him is that you can learn anything. Right now, you may have subjects you were not good at and hated at school. If you had a great teacher who could actually teach you that subject with passion, you would be hooked. Because there is really no boring subject, especially at school. It just takes the right teacher to illuminate that subject and bring it to life.
What’s Best for Others May Not Be Best for You
After mastering math, Allah (SWT) graced me with admission into the most prestigious university in Uzbekistan. I started learning about the International Economy.
But soon I found out that what is best for others may not be the best for me. Learning about the economy was too much theory for me. Besides, I couldn’t see myself using this knowledge after my graduation in a newly independent Uzbekistan. My country had been ruled under a planned economy, rather than a market economy, with tremendous corruption during the last 100-year reign of the Soviet Union. I was interested in other things.
Love at First Sight
I showed up to class mainly to make an appearance, but the class ended up being the place where I was introduced to personal computers for the first time. Don’t get me wrong–we had computers at boarding school. But we had almost no access. Computer classes were mainly about some gibberish commands on a blue screen to copy and paste files from one location to another without really knowing why.
While in university, I suddenly had access to Pentium III computers with colourful displays where you could drag and drop. I was hooked. It was love at first sight.
I knew I had to get one of these. But how? One of my roommates knew how to assemble computers. I started offering that service to my fellow students; I was no stranger to hard work and earning an income in creative ways. Soon, we found a few students who needed help setting up their computers. After setting up just two or three computers, I had saved up enough to buy one for myself.
As soon as I had my hands on the computer, I started clicking and checking out each application on it, and following each link and where it leads. Meanwhile, I was thinking about how I could make a living out of this field.
There were many assignments from the university. Each student had to prepare short papers on different topics. The students had to type those on the computers and print them out. They had to cross the street to print them out. It was a bit of a burden.
Just like my childhood balloon shop, I soon realized that all I needed was to buy a printer to make my dorm into a print shop! I got a printer and just like that, my investment started paying off. My service soon got so much demand that students wanted to use my printing services 24/7. I had to hire my roommate so he could take care of it when I couldn’t.
I knew then that computers were the future. I told myself that I had to do something with this. I didn’t know what exactly yet. I also knew that Uzbekistan was way behind in Information Technology. If I really wanted to learn and master this, I had to go abroad. My first goal was to go to America. For whatever reason, it never really worked out. It was not written for me.
Deciding on Denmark
One day a friend suggested that interviews were being held for students to receive full scholarships to study in Denmark. The program was related to computers, especially multimedia design. I said to myself, “Why not?”
My strategy was simple, straightforward, and honest. I said in the interview with full confidence: “Thank you for this opportunity. I admit I don’t know much about computers. I recently got one and I am obsessed with it. I really want to learn IT. I realize that I need to go abroad to do this. If you give me this chance, I will do my best to study Multimedia Design.” I got a call after a few days that I was granted the full scholarship.
Now I had to make another decision.
Was I willing to leave the most prestigious university in Uzbekistan and let go of two years of study, to start over at a college in Denmark? By now, it was clear to me which way to go. I knew going abroad was the only way to advance in my desired field of computers and technology. Still, many of my friends told me I was crazy to drop out of the university which was a dream place to study for hundreds of thousands of people.
On January 20th, 2003, I landed in Denmark with $7 in my pocket. I spent all the money I had to buy a one-way ticket to Denmark. On one hand, I had tremendous joy. I felt like I had made it. I was finally abroad where I could learn what I loved. On the other hand, I only had $7 and knew I had to find a job to survive.
It was a mixed feeling. Somehow, overall I felt good, alhamdulillah.
Looking back, I don’t know what I was thinking. How could I relocate to another country with only $7 in hand? On the other hand, I had nothing to lose. I didn’t have a wife or kids. I had to figure out how to survive in the new place.
Delivering Newspapers at 5 a.m.
Finding a job was much easier than I thought. A gentleman named Jim visited our dormitory and offered a job to deliver newspapers and earn 50 cents per delivery. I couldn’t believe my ears. I did some quick math: If I could deliver 300 papers a day, I could earn $150 per day. That was a month’s salary back home! I signed up for that job right there and then without much hesitation.
I soon realized I had to deliver these papers early in the morning around 5 a.m., no matter the wind, rain, or snow. Sometimes I had to go up and down four to five stories or flights of stairs just to deliver one paper. Moreover, Denmark was one of the highest tax-paying countries, and my salary was taxed at 47% or more.
But I had no other choices. It was still better than any job I could imagine back in Uzbekistan.
Over the years until I finished my studies, newspaper delivery turned into cleaning toilets, cleaning office buildings, assembling furniture, washing restaurant dishes, and so many others.
My experience is not unique. Anyone who has to establish themselves on their own goes through a similar journey. What is great about this journey is that it will teach you to be humble and grateful for what you already have. During those times, the only thing that kept me going was that it was temporary. I kept my sights set on my goal: I would finish my studies and finally get a job I would like, inshaAllah.
Climbing The Career Ladder
Finally, that day came. I got a web designer position in a small web design agency. I started designing beautiful web pages that would be delivered to the client, and then we would move on. However, I began to notice that most of these sites were not visited often. I started learning web analytics, information architecture, search engine optimization, marketing, and whatever I could find to learn not only how to make websites look good, but to make them useful to many people.
Over the next 10 years, I changed companies every two to three years in order to take on an even bigger challenge. I was advancing and climbing my career ladder fast.
My last corporate job was at Vestas, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, where I was a part of the team responsible for the intranet and website. The job was great. The team was great. The salary was great.
By that time, I got married and had two beautiful children. I had a house and a car. It seems that I have finally checked all the items on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I was, by many standards, a “success.”
Yet something, or more accurately Someone, was missing. Later I found out that Maslow wrote one more step on his pyramid which is called Transcendence but never published it. I won’t describe this here because I feel I have found an even better module that is Allah-centric, but it is worth looking into.
Identity Crisis
Parallel to climbing the career ladder, I had been asking myself the same existential questions shared at the beginning of this chapter. Who am I? Why am I here? What is the purpose of life? In the beginning, it was from time to time. The more time passed, the more frequently I kept asking these questions.
Just to give you context, let me explain. I knew very little about Islam. Most of what I knew was hearsay and I probably didn’t understand why I did what I did. I arrived in Denmark two years after 9/11 – September 11, 2001. Danish TV channels kept showing long-bearded guys shouting and blowing up stuff. Little did I know that it was propaganda showing only one side of the story.
On the other hand, a young man who leaves his sunshine country for cold, windy, and gloomy weather without seeing the sun for weeks at a time naturally begins to ask some existential questions. Why do I wake up every morning? What am I doing here? Who am I? Am I really a part of a religion that hates these people and blows them up? It was a classic identity crisis. I didn’t know these fancy terms back then. But that’s what it was.
Straight to Science
Some people believe in things without question. I am not one of them. I need to check and verify. So when I wanted to know our origin as human beings and the origin of the universe, I didn’t want to go to religion but straight to science. Science at least provides some evidence, I thought.
So I started with the theory of evolution. While it explained how living things might have evolved, the theory had many missing elements. I am not going into a long debate on this. If you do a bit of research on the internet, you will find the missing parts.
I wanted to go even further, so I dived into Cosmology. That path takes us to the Big Bang. Beyond the Big Bang, it is all assumptions, even in science.
Later I would discover the Kalam cosmological argument originated by Imam Al Ghazali as the following:
Everything that begins to exist has a cause.
The universe began to exist.
Therefore, the universe has a cause.
This Cause must be a Powerful Creator, uncaused, outside time-space, eternal – beginningless, immaterial among other things.
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” —Albert Einstein
Comparative Religion
I once read somewhere that science studies how, while religion studies why. So I started looking into different world religions. Before I dove into thousands of world religions, I established some criteria:
Religion must have a God because otherwise, it is just a set of man-made rules and values (even the Big Bang was started by something or by someone!).
Religion must have a scripture that I can read and verify to my satisfaction.
By applying these rules, there were not many religions to examine. I was looking into Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I thought I knew Islam so I disregarded it easily. I also noticed a pattern: one God kept sending messengers with a similar message. When looking into Judaism, I found out that I can’t join simply because it is complicated or you must ethnically be a Jew. I thought to myself “If there is a God, that God must be just. Judaism can’t be a global religion since I have no control over which race I am born. It is not fair or just.” So, Judaism was not a choice for me.
Second, I looked into Christianity. I read the Bible. I liked many of the teachings and stories. However, I was really surprised how prophets – special people God chose – could do such sins as sleeping with their own daughters, etc. Moreover, since I was exposed to One God in Islam, I couldn’t understand or accept Trinity. It just didn’t make sense to me.
When it came to Islam, as I said before, I thought I knew it. It is ironic that when you know very little, you think you know so much. Besides, Soviet propaganda about Islam as a backward religion in Uzbekistan really worked well on our people, including me.
I thought I was at a dead end. I almost gave up. And then I came across an e-book entitled “Scientific Miracles in the Quran.”
Quran Rediscovered
This book describes the scientific miracles in the Quran such as the expanding universe, the rotation of the planets, the development of the human embryo, and so much more. I started cross-checking each claim in the Quran with English translation. It was right there.
Then it hit me.
I had actually never read the Quran with the proper translation and understanding until then. I assumed it was an old book with some stories and commandments on how to behave. It began to seem to me that it was perhaps more than that. So I picked up the Quran and started reading, to understand.
I was reading the Quran to answer my questions. The first one was…
So Why Are We Here?
My first question was: Why am I here on this planet? What is my purpose? This is what I found in the Quran:
I (Allah) did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me. Quran, 51:56
When I read or hear the word worship, the only thing that comes to my mind is someone performing salah – the five daily prayers or prostrating in sajdah. I thought, “If this is the only reason for human creation, then we are failing greatly at that!” Then I came across “Even Angels Ask,” a book authored by an American convert to Islam and math professor Dr. Jeffrey Lang. He asks similar questions in his book and explains that even the angels would ask Allah SWT in the Quran about the purpose of man’s existence.
˹Remember˺ when your Lord said to the angels, “I am going to place a successive ˹human˺ representative on earth.” They asked ˹Allah˺, “Will You place in it someone who will spread corruption there and shed blood while we glorify Your praises and proclaim Your holiness?” Allah responded, “I know what you do not know.” Quran, 2:30
From Worship to Service
Later I would discover that the same Arabic word, ‘ibadah, expands in meaning from not only worship but to serve God as well. I also would find out that Allah doesn’t need any serving or my prayers. As humans, we serve Allah (SWT) by serving His creation as His representative on Earth.
The way we serve is to show mercy because we are the servants of The Most Merciful. We act kindly because we are the servants of the Most Kind. We act justly because we are the servants of The Most Just. This service would include not only our five daily prayers or remembrance of God (dhikr), but any action done with a sincere intention to please Him and serve Him and Him alone.
The Prophet (SAW) said: “When one of you has sexual intercourse with his wife, he receives the reward of sadaqah.”
They said, “O Messenger of Allah! Will he still receive the reward when he satisfies his lust?” He answered: “Would it not be haram if he satisfied his lust through haram ways? When he satisfies his lust through halal (legitimate) ways, he will receive rewards.”
Sahih Muslim 1006
For example, even sleeping could be your way of serving Him if you make a sincere du‘a that you are resting in order to wake up tomorrow and be able to serve Him.
Say, “Surely my prayer, my worship, my life, and my death are all for Allah—Lord of all worlds.” Quran, 6:162
I came to the incredible realization that true Islam–true submission to God–was about being God-conscious in every step you take and every move you make.
This totally changed how I perceived Islam. The more I learned about Islam from the sources, the more new things I discovered. I asked myself “What if I misunderstood even the basics such as the five pillars of Islam?” So I started to examine everything I knew about Islam.
There is no God but Allah?
Growing up, I used to think that if I believed (like I believe that it may rain today) that there is a God, I am good. I might decide to do some prayers later when I get old because this is what I saw in my country. To be honest, I was often told that God is free of all needs. So I thought, “He doesn’t need my prayers anyway. I may do some good here and there in my life, but the rest of it I can enjoy as I want.”
Then I came across a video by Shaykh Yasir Qadhi (may Allah (SWT) reward him) on YouTube where he explains the meaning of “la ilaha illa Allah.” Usually, it is translated as “There is no god except Allah.” But who is God? I mean, what does the word God mean? Because I knew that the Arabs of old times were wrong to worship many idols as gods, I figured that as long as I believed that one God existed, I was safe. But I was struck by how Sh. Yasir explained that the concept of god extends beyond this literal meaning into anything or anyone you put in the center of your life. The same meaning is found in the following ayah from the Quran as well:
Have you seen ˹O Prophet˺ those who have taken their own desires as their god? ˹And so˺ Allah left them to stray knowingly, sealed their hearing and hearts, and placed a cover on their sight. Who then can guide them after Allah? Will you ˹all˺ not then be mindful? Quran, 45:23
I began to realize that a “god” could be someone or something you place in the center of your life as the main goal. Anyone or anything you chase and your primary focus in your life. It could be money. It could be fame. It could be power. It could literally be anything. When I looked into my life and examined it, I witnessed that at the center of my life was dunya – material wealth.
What is at the center of your everyday life?
Struggling to Surrender
Once I understood the true meaning of the first pillar of Islam–to submit yourself, your desires, your life, your work, and your everything to Allah and Allah alone–I experienced a period where there was internal conflict and struggle to submit.
It is like having your first child. Up until that moment, you are the center of your universe. Then after the birth of your child, he or she becomes the center of your universe. That same experience was happening again, but this time the transition was how to willingly submit myself to Allah (SWT).
One of the best things that helped me is to get to Allah (SWT) by His Beautiful Names. One of His names is Al Warith – The Inheritor. As I told myself that I needed to submit to God, I soon saw how many tricks my ego played. Remembering Allah’s name Al Warith helped to reorient me. I owned nothing, really. In reality, He is the Owner. I didn’t own this body. It was from Him. It will return to Him. I was temporarily renting this shell. Slowly but surely, I was surrendering bit by bit, alhamdulillah.
There is a famous saying in the Islamic tradition: “Die before you die.” While it’s not clear if this was originally stated by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), there is another close statement by Umar ibn al-Kttab (RA): “Take yourself into account before you are taken into account…” in Muhasabat al-Nafs 2.
I bear witness that there is no god (nothing or no one to put in the center of my life) except Allah (SWT) and I bear witness that Muhammad (SAW) is His servant and messenger.
This is the statement I have been slowly and gradually embracing in the last 10 years. Maybe that’s something you’ve struggled with, or are still struggling with, as well.
But why did it take me so long to reach that point?
Islam & Secularism
Over the last decade, I have talked to over 1,000 Muslim Entrepreneurs and Professionals one on one. The recurring theme was that they were not happy where they were in life. They wanted to live a life with meaning and purpose. At first, I thought the concern of each person was just related to their personal path in life. But then I saw a pattern that was too repetitive to ignore.
I recognized what was going on after reading the book “Islam & Secularism” by Syed Muhammad Naquib Al Attas. To understand the concept in this book, we need to go back to Europe’s Dark Ages, which was the same time as the Golden Ages in Islamic civilization. During the Golden Ages, Muslim scholars and scientists were leading science and invention. “1001 Inventions” by National Geographic is a good book to look into if you are interested in more about this Muslim legacy.
For example, Muslims invented many things. Fatima Al Firhi founded the first university in 859. Muhammad Al Khwarizmi invented Algebra and even the term algorithm is based on his name. Around the year 1000 Ibn al-Haitham proved that humans see objects by light reflecting off of them and entering the eye, dismissing Euclid and Ptolemy’s theories that light was emitted from the eye itself. The first hospital was the Ahmad ibn Tulun Hospital, founded in 872 in Cairo. Ibn Al Haytham (965–1039) was a polymath and he is considered to be the father of modern scientific methodology due to his emphasis on experimental data and the reproducibility of its results.
Muslim scholars and scientists saw their work as their service to Allah (SWT). They were looking into the sky and into themselves, upwards and inwards, and anywhere in between, all with wonder and hope of seeing the signs of Allah (SWT) as is encouraged in the Quran.
While in Europe, the situation was different. The church suffocated science if it was going against what the church believed. Galileo’s story is a good example: his belief that the earth moved and revolved around the sun led the Catholic church to deem him a heretic. The church believed the earth did not move and was the center of the universe. From that moment on, religion and science started to go their own ways.
It was the start of secularism. Here is the definition from Wikipedia: Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened to a similar position seeking to remove or minimize the role of religion in any public sphere.
From the past until the present day, secularism spread everywhere. They have removed God from almost any book we read, and any media we consume. Unfortunately, it has also affected how most of us understand and practice Islam. We have limited Islam to masjids or our five daily prayers–or even less.
Muslims read these secular books, watch secular movies, and listen to songs. We are building our business based on these secular ideas. We are pursuing careers based on these secular ideas of success. I know this firsthand because I experienced it myself.
While this path may or may not result in material wealth, it will not fulfill you as a human being. Why? For that, we need to look into ourselves and examine ourselves better. Who are we? Are we bodies with souls? Or are we souls with bodies?
Soul Searching
In order to practice what I preach, I wanted to really understand science-based approaches to how human beings achieve success. That’s what led me to become a certified life coach by Tony Robbins. I am also a habits coach by B.J. Fogg, who holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford University. I learned so much about human psychology and why we do what we do from these programs. They helped me to create new good habits and get rid of bad ones.
However, I was still not satisfied. I realized the same thing. They did their best but God was out of the equation.
This is when I looked into Islam to see if it offered a similar approach. I came across the following Islamic Psycho-Spiritual Model by Dr. Abdallah Rothman on a Productive Muslim blog.
Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord. Source: Hilyat al-Awliyā’ 10/208
Alhamdulillah, Islam has such a huge treasure of knowledge we don’t appreciate. Unfortunately, most of this is still in Arabic. Even this work is built upon the Muslim scholars of the past such as Imam al-Ghazali and others. It is also based on the Quran and Hadith. Let me share what I learned from this.
Fitrah
Basically, we as humans are in one of these two states: Fitrah or Ghaflah.
Fitrah is our natural disposition and our awake state. It is the soul’s true identity. This is the state where we see reality as it is without any blinds. It should be our goal to be in this state. This is the state mentioned in the following hadith:
Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet (SAW) said, “No child is born but that he is upon natural instinct – fitrah. His parents make him a Jew, or a Christian, or Magian… ”. Sahih Al-Bukhārī 1292
Ghaflah
Then there is another state: Ghaflah. This is the state of being spiritually asleep or involved in the forgetfulness of Allah. It is the state we keep straying to without course correcting. We don’t care. We are indifferent. We don’t come back to Allah. If we keep doing this consistently, Allah eventually seals our hearts, minds, eyes, and hearing. We may see the signs, but we don’t realize them. There is acovering.
Allah has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and their sight is covered. They will suffer mighty punishment. Quran, 2:7
Mindset, Bodyset, Heartset, Soulset
According to this model, we not only have a body that makes us a physical entity, but we also have a mind, heart, and soul that make us rational, emotional, and spiritual entities as well.
Recently, the term mindset became so popular that everyone seems to know what it is and how we can benefit from it. While it is true that how we think has a huge impact on our daily lives, so do the other parts.
I first heard the terms “bodyset,” “heartset,” and “soulset” from Canadian writer and leadership expert Robin Sharma. I think he is onto something. We should be taking care of not only our mindset (how we think), but also our bodyset (how we move), heartset (how we feel), and soulset (how we get to know the One).
Three Types of Souls
If only it were that easy to have our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls all aligned in perfect health and balance! There’s just one problem: our Self (ego or nafs). While our soul is called the Upper Self, our lower base ego self is called the Lower Self, since it is driven by worldly desires such as food, shelter, intercourse, and other base drives.
In fact, the Qur’an and Islamic tradition describe three types of selves:
Nafs al-Mutma’innah – Content Soul at Peace
Nafs al-Lawwamah – Self-Reproaching Soul
Nafs al-Ammarah – Evil-Commanding Self
The battlegrounds of our lives are such that we will have the opportunity, and challenge, to experience and choose between these three states. When there is a covering on our hearts by Allah SWT because we don’t care and are in a state of Nafs al-Ammarah, we manifest character qualities that are destructive, such as anger, jealousy, and envy; these are called destroyers.
When we are engaged in struggling against our lower selves (jihad al-nafs), attempting to reign in our lower tendencies toward individuation and self-direction, we are in a state of Nafs al-Lawwamah, where we take ourselves to account and make an effort to do the work of turning our hearts toward God.
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “there is a piece of flesh in the body, and when it is sound the whole body is sound, and when it is corrupt the whole body is corrupt and indeed that is the heart.” Sahih Al Bukhari
When we have moments of success in this process we can experience the soul in a state of peace and rest, the state of Nafs al-Mutma’innah. While it is rare to fully achieve this state, out of His mercy God provides us glimpses of it that keep us motivated to do the work of striving toward that next best version of ourselves, having more frequent experiences of that state of the soul.
Freedom
One of the takeaways from all of this for me was about true freedom. Our capitalistic society in which we live tells us that it is all about freedom. But the kind of freedom offered is the freedom of worldly desires that feels good to our lower ego selves.
Contrary to this notion, the Islamic paradigm is also about freedom– not freedom of the ego, but freedom of the soul from the ego. When we tame and control our egos, we free our souls. When the soul is polished and purified, it is a guiding light by Allah that will help us come closer to the Source in every step we take.
Making Sense All of These
So how do we make sense of this? After learning all of this knowledge, I just wanted to connect the dots and make meaning. The ideas we just covered are life-changing! They change your perspective and how you look at the world. They take you to a different dimension.
As Muslims, we believe that this world is a temporary place, a simulation or test. If you’re a movie buff, you can call it something like a matrix.
As I considered all of this, I wanted to know if I had missed something. I went back to the origin story of human life in the Quran, which begins in Surah al-Baqara, verse 30, where Allah (SWT) says, “I’m creating a representative on Earth.” But the angels ask, “Why would you create something that sheds blood and does bad things, while we glorify your name?” Allah (SWT) says, “I know something which you do not know.” Then He teaches Adam (AS) the names of things, which symbolize knowledge. This indicates that we humans have the capacity to learn new things.
So when I have fashioned him and had a spirit of My Own breathed into him, fall down in prostration to him. Quran, 15:29
Another verse in the Quran mentions that Allah (SWT) breathed out of His Spirit into Adam (AS), which is the soul that we discussed above. Then, as the story goes, Adam (AS) is given free will.
So the initial elements of man’s creation are knowledge, soul, and free will. As I pondered these verses, I noticed that the real conflict emerges when Allah (SWT) asks the angels and Iblis to prostrate to Adam (AS). All of the angels do so, except Iblis, who says, “I am better than him.”
Who is this human being? Who is this immensely valuable creation to whom Allah (SWT) asked all his angels to prostrate, despite the human being’s shortcomings? Who is this human being that even Iblis (Satan) became an outcast for in an attempt to lead him astray?
Allah (SWT), in His ultimate wisdom, knew all the pluses and minuses of creating human beings. Yet He wanted and created us. We are here, even as the innocent angels perfectly glorify His name in His presence. Still, Allah (SWT) asked the angels to bow down to man, symbolizing he is better. So what does this really mean to us? What does this say about who we really are, in the sight of God?
Life is a Precious Gift
Let’s recap. We, humans, were given the gift of life, including the capacity for knowledge, a soul, and free will.
This is a human experiment. The test of life is tough. Yes, there will be those who don’t care. There will be those who are distracted by dunya – all materialistic things or destructive desires. Many will fail.
Yet against all odds even in these conditions, there will be those who sincerely want to know and get closer to their Creator and strive in His path. Those are the successful ones. Those are even better than the angels.
This is the moral of the Grand Life Story. Once you realize that, you appreciate your life. Because it is such a beautiful gift. It’s such a beautiful opportunity. It’s such a beautiful invitation to live up to that status, inshallah. We ask Allah (SWT) to make us among those beautiful souls. Ameen.
Islam, Iman, Ihsan
That invitation is Islam. That path is Islam. Islam is not simply a set of rules and beliefs, but also the path of constant self-improvement. Our purpose is to come closer and closer to the Creator, to become excellent servants and moral leaders, to the point that our individual will and the eternal Will of the Creator become perfectly aligned. It is the moment when we join all of creation and fulfill our created purpose. It is the moment we get into what psychologists describe as “a state of flow.”
But Islam is in levels. The three levels of our deen were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in the famous hadith about his encounter with the Angel Gabriel (AS). Gabriel came to the Prophet (SAW) while he was surrounded by his companions and he said, “O Muhammad, tell me about Islam.”
The Prophet (SAW) said: “Islam is
to testify that there is no true god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
to establish (5 daily) prayers,
to give charity,
to fast the month of Ramadan,
and to perform the Hajj pilgrimage to the House if one can find a way.”
Gabriel (AS) said, “You have spoken truthfully,” and then he said, “Tell me about faith/iman.”
The Prophet (SAW) said: “Iman is to believe in
Allah,
His angels,
His books,
His messengers,
the Last Day,
and to believe in the Divine Decree (al-qadar), both it’s good and it’s evil.”
Gabriel (AS) said, “You have spoken truthfully, so tell me about excellence (Ihsan).”
The Prophet (SAW) said: “Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him. Even though you do not see Him, He surely sees you.”
This hadith describes our journey before us, from religious infancy to spiritual maturity: surrender (Islam), faith (Iman), and excellence (Ihsan).
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah explains the hadith, writing:
“The hadith of Gabriel clarifies that Islam is built upon five pillars, which is Islam itself. It is not based upon anything other than its foundation. Rather, the Prophet (SAW) designated three degrees of religion. The pinnacle is excellence (Ihsan), its middle is faith (Iman), and its base is Islam.”
Solving for Firdaus
The Prophet (SAW) said, “… if you ask Allah for anything, ask Him for the Firdaus, for it is the last part of Paradise and the highest part of Paradise, and at its top, there is the Throne of Beneficent, and from it gush forth the rivers of Paradise.” Sahih al-Bukhari 7423
The Prophet (SAW) encourages us to ask for the best. For us to get there, we should also aim for the best: the pinnacle of our deen which is Ihsan. After all, the best reward is given for the best effort.
Imagine being one of these blessed people on the day of Judgement:
As for those given their book (of deeds) in their right hand, they will cry (happily), “Here (everyone)! Read my book! I surely knew I would face my reckoning.” They will be in a life of bliss… Quran, 69:19-21
Our journey is to Allah (SWT). Our destination is Allah (SWT). We belong to Him. Surely, our return is also to Him. We have nowhere else to go. He has also given us so much that we can’t even imagine or count our blessings. What is the best gift we can present to be thankful?
We should pay close attention to this example of such a blissful life that Allah (SWT) shows us in this verse. How do we solve for that person and their book? Imagine this is your book. What would it say inside?
Do you think that there will be some good things you did here and there happening haphazardly? Or do you think this book will be about you and your beautiful life story and how you lived your life on your journey to Allah in a way that is planned with a purpose, in a way where you are the main hero?
Have you ever wondered why we love stories? Especially those stories and movies where the main hero overcomes a challenge that seems impossible. I sincerely believe it is in our fitrah– our natural disposition or DNA or whatever you call it–that we as humans are born to overcome challenges against all odds.
If we are overcoming challenges because we believe in a higher cause with meaning and we are on the right path, we feel alive and awake and in a state of flow. Not because we are powerful on our own. But because we are backed by the Most Powerful if we seek His help.
At times, it may seem too much. We hope and intend to do better. But we fail. We fail again. When we fail, we should remember the following hadith:
Aisha (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Follow the right course, be devoted, and give glad tidings. Verily, none of you will enter Paradise by his deeds alone.” They said, “Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet said, “Not even me unless Allah grants me His mercy. Know that the most beloved deed to Allah is that which is done regularly, even if it is small.” Sahih al-Bukhari 6467
If I understand the hadith above properly, it means even the Prophet (SAW) can’t enter the final destination by his deeds alone. It gives hope to you and me. So if we are not judged by our deeds alone, then how are we evaluated?
In Islam, what matters is not the result but rather our sincere intentions and consistent actions and efforts. In other words, you do your best and Allah does the rest. You know and Allah (SWT) knows what that best is.
Journey vs. Destination
So what is the best way to live? Shall we just focus on the Destination? Or shall we just focus on Journey – how we live here? In other words: Deen or Dunya? This is a delusion that leads us to analysis paralysis. It is a trick by Satan, the outcasted one, to put us in a never-ending debate.
Here are some undeniable facts we all agree on: We are here only for a while until death catches upon us. We don’t know when. As Muslims, we believe we are on our way to Our Creator. We live only once, and not in the sense that we can do whatever we want because we know we will be held to account. So, how can we live this life to the fullest that will be best here and hereafter?
What is required from us to succeed?
Sincere Intention (ikhlas and niyyah for His sake)
Consistent Action
Remember: we should not be bound to the outcome. Because we have to remember Who is in control.
We as Muslims have to remember that Allah (SWT) is in charge and every step we take and every move we make is recorded. They will never go to waste.
So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it. Quran, 99:7
We have to trust in Allah (SWT) that He will deliver His promise either in this world or the next, as long as our intentions are sincere and we sincerely do our best.
In the end, it is about our intention and attitude. We can decide to be bitter or better. We can be either Human Seeings or Human Beings. We can stay where we are and barely survive, or we can do our best to thrive. We can ask Allah (SWT) to help us to live our lives in the best way so we can prepare this life as our gift in the book of our life story, inshaAllah.
Blue Pill or Red Pill
I now present you with two options. In the movie “The Matrix,” Morpheus presents Neo with two pills: blue and red. If he takes the blue pill, he will wake up in the world he used to know as if nothing happened. Or if he takes the red pill, Morpheus promises him to show another reality.
In a similar way, there are two ways to read this book:
You can read this book for your entertainment. You are welcome. You may find some personal stories you can share with others later.
You can also read this book with the intention to discover your purpose, your why, your passion, and your superpower so that you can create the story of your journey to Him that will allow you to serve in the best way. In doing so, you will not only find prosperity, but you will also enter a state of flow and a different reality that you don’t have to escape any longer, inshaAllah.
One of my intentions in writing the book is not only to share my story and journey with you but to also help you discover your story for your life storybook to show on the day of judgment.
Imagine that we are holding our life story books in our right hands with joy on that Day. Is it not something worth living for?
If so, take this book as something not only you read, but also something you take action on.
I’ve provided your first action steps below. The first one is to do everything with sincere intention, followed by consistent action..
“..Allah does not change a people until they change what is in themselves” Quran, 13:11
Daily Du‘a
Let’s start our journey with a prayer to The Responding One (Al Mujeeb). Please, add these du‘as to your daily prayers. If necessary, rephrase them as they sound natural to you but please keep their meanings intact:
I bear witness that there is nothing and no one worthy of worship/service to place in the center of my life except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (SAW) is his servant and messenger.
O, Allah! I ask you to help me to get to know him and his life so I can follow his example in the best possible way.
O, Allah! Give us the best in this world and the next and save us from the fire.
O, Allah! Please, open my heart, open my mind, and guide me so I will discover for what reason You created me, so I will discover what special gifts and superpowers You have granted me, so I will use these gifts to serve You and You alone.
O, Allah! You have given me the best gift–the gift of life–witnessing all around getting to know you and eventually loving you. While my good deeds will never be enough to enter your garden, I will ask for your mercy since you are The Most Merciful.
O, Allah! Guide me so that I live my life as You want me to live, so every step I take, and every move I make will be counted as my ‘ibadah/service/worship to You. Make my whole life my gift to you to bring on the Last Day.
O, Allah! Help me on my journey to You, because You are The Best Helper. You are the Most Caring. You are the Most Kind. You are the Most Loving. You are the Most Generous. You are the Best Giver of Gifts.
Daily Prayers
Ideally, you should make these du‘as after each of your five daily prayers. What if you don’t pray yet? I’m not here to judge you. I have been on the other side as well. There were times I didn’t pray too, because I didn’t really understand. I thought if Allah was not in need of anyone or anything, why did He need my prayers? Actually, He didn’t need my prayers. It was I who needed these daily prayers.
There are endless benefits of daily prayers. I will not count them all here. You can read about them on your own.
Which of the two choices did you choose? If you are just reading this book, then keep reading. Hopefully, you will gain some benefit.
On the other hand, if you are reading this book to implement these seven steps in order to change your life for the better, then starting on your daily prayers is a must. Treat the daily prayers as checkpoints. When we drive to a new location, we use GPS / Google Maps in our cars. One of the ways we make sure we reach our destination is to keep checking if we are following the map.
It is the same way on our spiritual life journeys. If you took Option 2, then you decided to implement these steps. The first one is to make a sincere intention to submit our life in full to serve Allah and Allah alone. Even without knowing the full details yet, you should be proud that you took the first step.
This is why we are asking those things in our du‘as. We will keep asking them every day. We may extend some of the du‘as, but we will keep asking.
The five daily prayers will be our checkpoints throughout the day, and they only take a few minutes. If you don’t pray at all, start praying once a day. Then twice a day. Until you start praying five times a day. The new way of life requires a new way of taking action. We will get there slowly.
If you are not already praying five times a day, then include this dua as well in your daily prayers:
O Allah! Thank You for guiding me to remember You every day. Please, keep me consistent in my daily prayers. Help me increase my daily prayers so I will pray at least five times a day as every Muslim should do.
Remember, your purpose in life is to serve/worship Allah not part-time but to willingly submit to serve Him full-time to fulfill your potential. You can do that if you live your life in a fully awake state (fitrah) where you are the Main Hero in your own story/life movie. Your story is that against all the odds through hardships in your life, you are on your way to Him, and to Him is your final return. As long as you are sincere in your intention and you walk toward Him, you will find Him running toward you.
What does it all mean? Spend some time thinking, contemplating, and reflecting (tafakkur) and doing the same in a way that encompasses your mind, heart, and soul (tadabbur). It is possible your mind may come up with hundreds of questions: “How do I do that? What do I do next?” Everything has its own timing. We will discuss those questions soon. For now, focus here and now. Allah (SWT) invited you to read this book. Now. You are here. This is what matters the most. Bismillah.
Service: The Essence of Purpose
The greatest minds have always said that the purpose of life is service—to serve others, to uplift our communities. Our purpose as human beings is to get to know and love Allah SWT, and to strive to embody His attributes in our actions. This isn’t just theoretical—it’s something we can experience and feel when we align our actions with divine guidance.
So, the question is: What is your specific purpose? What are you meant to do? What role do you play in this grand journey of life?
Finding Your Unique Purpose
Everyone’s journey is unique, and each one of us has distinct talents and skills. To find your purpose, you must reflect deeply. What are your gifts? What are the unique talents that Allah has blessed you with? And how can you use these talents to serve others, and in doing so, serve Allah?
It starts with asking yourself four important questions:
What are your beliefs about your purpose? Do you think you can find your purpose, or do you believe it’s unattainable? Reflect on this honestly.
What are your goals for your purpose? What do you want to do in life? Our goal is to discover our skills and use them in the service of others, which in turn becomes a service to Allah—full-time, not part-time.
Why does it matter? A strong “why” drives you forward. When you have a clear reason, you can overcome any obstacle. As the saying goes, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” Understanding your purpose gives you a strong reason to endure and persevere.
How are you going to get there? What steps will you take to fulfill your purpose? Write down your goals, and envision the path forward. Don’t worry about having all the answers right away—just start with writing them down.
Moving Forward
Understanding your purpose is just the beginning. In the next chapter, we’ll explore how to connect this purpose with your passion—how to identify your skills and talents and use them to contribute to society meaningfully. Remember, this journey is about finding the path that aligns with who you are, so that you can serve in the best possible way.
Are you ready to take the next step?
Dua O Allah, we ask You to guide us on this journey of discovering our purpose. Help us to align our talents and skills in a way that serves You and benefits humanity. Make us among those who fulfill their true potential and attain Your pleasure. Ameen.
Goals: On a scale of 1 to 10, how you evaluate your Purpose? What are your Purpose goals to achieve 10?
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Beliefs: What are your beliefs about your Purpose? What is holding you back to achieve 10 out of 10?
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Motivation: Why does it matter to achieve these goals? What happens if you do? What happens if you don’t?
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Methods: What is your plan to achieve your Purpose goals? What simple steps can you take today?
“You’ve got to find what you love. The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” —Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple Inc.
Do you like your life movie? Are you the main hero? Do you love what you do? Do you do what you love so it doesn’t feel like work or a job? Are you great at what you do so you feel confident and others look up to you? What about helping others? Does your work create so much impact in others’ lives that it is so fulfilling? Do you get paid well by doing what you love?
If your answer is not a resounding yes to the questions above, keep reading. Before we move on though, let’s recap our analogy. Life is a journey, and every part of us plays a vital role in navigating it. The Body is the car, requiring care and discipline to keep moving; the Mind is the dashboard, providing clarity and direction; the Heart is the headlight, illuminating the path with faith and empathy; and the Soul is the driver, steering us toward our ultimate destination: closeness to Allah.
Our Purpose defines where we’re going, while Passion shapes how we feel during the journey and the type of car we’re driving: racecar, land rover, sedan, convertible, SUV, etc. Passion fuels the engine, bringing energy and meaning to the trip. By knowing ourselves—our strengths, talents, superpowers, and gifts—we align our calling with our capabilities, ensuring that our journey isn’t just purposeful but fulfilling and empowering, allowing us to thrive and get into the state of Flow as we move closer to Allah.
Flow is being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one… —Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Today, I can truly say that I love what I do. Alhamdulillah, I am good at what I do and I am getting better every day. My team and I serve millions of Muslims by helping Muslim Entrepreneurs and Professionals. We get paid well, alhamdulillah.
However, it was not always like this. If you asked me these questions 20 years ago, I would reply to you not to waste my time.
The Question I Hated The Most
You see, years ago I was in a different state: survival mode. Have you been there before? Are you there now, maybe?
This may sound familiar: I did everything I could legally do in order to earn money. Growing up in poverty in a single-parent household had a long-lasting impact.
As a child, the question I hated the most was: “What is your favourite colour?” It is not that I didn’t understand the question. I did. Let’s say you have a blue pen, red pen, and green pen. With those three pens in front of you, the questions “What is your favourite colour? Which one do you like better?” are easy.
My problem was: that I didn’t have a pen at all. Not a blue one, a red one, or a green one. So when you presented a pen to me, it didn’t matter what colour it was. I would take any pen with any colour.
The moral of the story is that you can’t think about passion when you are in survival mode. It is a luxury.
Fast forward to today, and I know my favourite colour. I know even the favourite colours of my kids. What changed? Now I can afford to buy things for myself and my family. They have options. They have a choice.
Money-Driven Only
Most people live just in the pursuit of money. In my first 10 years abroad in Denmark, I got a house, a car, and a well-paid job, alhamdulillah. But as I said earlier, something was missing.
We need money only to a certain point, but then it has a lesser and lesser effect on the quality of our lives. If you are reading this, you are one of two states: either you have been through what I am describing and you know what I am talking about, or you are still on your way and you may think, “No way. If I only had money, I could get anything in life!”
But if money isn’t everything, what is?
Passion-Driven Only
Then you see some people, who talk only about passion, passion, and passion. I love this and I love that. Unfortunately, I see that most of them are also broke, financially. What comes to my mind are countless artists, singers, and people who mainly deal with self-expression and art.
These people think only about their passion and themselves. They may miss the part about how their work will serve others and how they can turn it into something valuable that others will support. Without these missing parts, these people will not make it.
But if passion isn’t everything, what is?
Ikigai
If money or passion is not enough, what is? I am glad you asked. There is a better and balanced middle path. In the previous chapter, we talked about finding your purpose and why.
When we as Muslims as well as human beings seek our purpose in life, we eventually discover that our purpose is to serve God by serving His creation. So how do we serve? Once you understand that you are here to serve humanity and all types of Creation (God doesn’t need our service), your passion becomes easier to uncover.
So the question is, how do we best serve Him? This is a question I’ve been asking myself for the last 10 years. I’ve found the best example to illustrate this point and have found it in the Japanese term ikigai.
Ikigai: (生き甲斐, literally. ’a reason for being’) is a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living. It encompasses four primary elements:
what you love (your unique passion – your superpower),
what the world needs (your mission – how you serve Allah SWT by serving others),
what you are good at (your work – your profession), and
how you can make a living by doing what you love.
How do you find your Ikigai? It requires some thinking and some alone time. Go for a walk in nature. You can also go to a room where you are alone. Take some paper and a pen, but no device. Make a du‘a: “Oh, Allah! Open my heart and my mind so that I will discover the gifts You have given me so I can serve You by serving Your creation in the best way.” Then ask these questions.
What Do I Love?
What would you do for hours that are so fulfilling to you, even if no one paid you? What are the things that when you do them, you lose track of time? Make a list of as many of those things as possible and write them down one by one. Treat it as a brainstorming session. Keep writing. You need at least 3 to 5 things you love. If you have 10, even better.
What Does the World Need?
How does this thing you love connect with your purpose of serving God, by serving His creation? Ask this for each thing you love that you listed in the question above.
The next element of ikigai is what the world needs, your mission. As we discussed in Step 1 Purpose, this is the most important thing. Aligning with your purpose will not only give meaning to your journey but also give you a reality check that what you love to do can actually benefit others, not just yourself. This is extremely important because helping others leaves our souls feeling satisfied, and draws us nearer to God.
For example, you may love lying on the beach. You may love it and even be good at it, but who benefits from you lying on the beach besides yourself? The key here is to hone in on the things that help you and benefit others at the same time. The intersection of what you love and what benefits the world is what we are trying to uncover. Spend some time pondering what the world currently needs. What are some major and minor social issues? Do you see any overlap with areas that interest you?
What Am I Good at?
Next, let’s examine another element of ikigai–what you are good at. You may be good at math, drawing, or computer programming. If you’re not sure what you’re good at, consider what others compliment you on. What have colleagues or previous superiors told you that you do well? Did you receive formal recognition for work performed or an award or acknowledgment? Begin writing a list of what you are good at, including personal accomplishments for which you have been recognized. This exercise aims to get to know yourself better before diving head-first into your business.
Are you good at any of the things you love to do?
How Do I Get Paid?
You now want to list things that you love doing that you can get paid for. This can be uncovered by detailing tasks you have done in the past for income. Also, add jobs to the lists that you would like to be compensated for. When your “what the world needs” and your “what I can be paid for” lists align, all that’s left to do is to learn the business side, and all other elements will quickly fall into place. There are many ways to make money from what you love and what you are good at. Ideally, you want to couple those passions with a solution that solves a problem for someone. When all the pieces come together, you’ll realize that you can get paid for doing what you enjoy while helping people.
Connecting the Dots
Once you check all the boxes on the four elements of ikigai, you come away with work that is both meaningful and worthy of doing. Passion alone is not enough, because if you cannot figure out how to make money from your passion, you won’t be able to transition it from a hobby to work that is sustainable financially. We aim to find something for you that’s worth making a living from–to find purposeful work that becomes the main thread of your life.
Frequently people find that when they apply themselves to work that they genuinely care about, they naturally elevate to being among the best in their field. When you do things you love and that the world needs, it can become your mission. When you combine your passion with your mission, you get an irreverent sense of satisfaction from your work.
But I don’t want you to settle for just finding your passion, going after a significant mission, or achieving a certain level of education. My advice would be to strive for excellence that is exhibited when all of these essential elements meet. I want to believe that you can have it all and go after your heart’s desire, especially when it comes to the work that you focus on in your life.
Delight, but No Wealth
Look at the ikigai diagram again. Maybe you find something you love, are good at, and that the world needs, but you cannot get paid for it. At the top of the diagram, you see you can be delighted and full but have no wealth. Consequently, if no wealth is involved, your work may still be doable but present challenges. Without financial means, you may not be able to offer your family a good life; of course, we all want a good life with our families that allow us to provide them with a good education, food, shelter, etc. So while attaining wealth is not the sole focus, we also don’t want to be in a position where we don’t have sufficient means.
Feeling of No Purpose
Let’s look at another example. Say you find work you love, are good at, and can even be compensated for. However, if your work consists of things the world doesn’t need, you may feel some sort of complacency. You can feel satisfaction from doing constructive work and still feel you need to improve if you’re solving a problem. A good example of this is found in some YouTube personalities, who make videos with no particular point and may feel useless because they’re not solving a real problem.
Feeling Empty
Alternatively, you might be in a position of doing what you’re good at, being paid for it, and the world needs it, yet you may not love it–your passion lies elsewhere. It’s comfortable, but the feeling that something is missing causes you to continue to ponder other career paths.
Feeling Uncertain
Lastly, you might love your work, the world needs it, and you’re being paid for it, but you may feel you’re not good (or not good enough) at it. Perhaps you’re struggling in your work, and your skills are not where you want them to be. Not feeling like your work is good enough can lead to uncertainty because certainty and confidence come from being good at what you do.
As you seek to gain a better understanding of this multi-layered philosophy, I’d ask you to focus on ‘what you love’ first. This is because when you find what you love, your passion lies there, and with time and effort, you can also become skilled at your optimum passion.
From Stutterer to Speaking World Champion
I recently interviewed Mohammed Qahtani – the 2015 Public Speaking World Champion. On his first day of school, his teacher scolded him for stuttering and told him that he would never amount to anything.
Mohammed believed in what his teacher said. For the next few years, he didn’t speak at all in class, all the way until high school. Then a friend suggested that Mohammed could speak, but told him that he needed to challenge himself by making the school’s morning announcements.
The first time Mohammed made the announcements, he stuttered. Everyone laughed. He was ashamed and went back to his friend in defeat. But his friend encouraged him to keep trying and gave him hope that eventually, he would improve.
Mohammed persevered. He kept making the school announcements every morning. He began to stutter less and less. Fewer and fewer people laughed. He also joined a Toastmasters Public Speaking club. He knew it would take years to master public speaking, but he kept at it. In 2015, he became a World Champion of Public Speaking.
Mohammed’s story is incredible. He faced his most avoided fear–speaking–and kept at it until he mastered it. Now public speaking is his passion and purpose. He is great at it and he gets paid all around the world. I encourage you to watch his award-winning speech here:www.deenpreneurs.net/champion
Life Mastery
Canadian journalist and New York Times bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell has popularized a notion called the 10,000 rule. The rule states that it takes about 10,000 hours of intensive practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials. That translates to ten years of study.
Would you spend ten years studying something you weren’t passionate about? Of course not!
Ottoman Schools Motto
In Ottoman Schools, every child was evaluated due to his/her talents and every child had different courses. The Motto of the schools was written on the walls:
“Here No Fish will be forced to Fly and No Bird will be forced to Swim”
My Ikigai
We learn by example and by doing, not just by theory. That’s why I want to share with you some examples of how I myself have implemented the ikigai approach in my own life. It has allowed me to help others in the form of helping Muslim entrepreneurs. In doing so, I discovered by experience that one of the best things in life is to do meaningful work that helps others. It brings true satisfaction to the soul.
Ten years ago, when I decided to start my business, it was because I wasn’t feeling fulfilled. I was at a point where I was paid well, good at my job, and solving a problem; I was a part of the team. I worked at a company called Vestas, which made wind turbines. Yet still, I thought, this is not something I love doing. That love is what I was lacking, and I just felt a sense of emptiness.
I was also soul-searching during this time; I wanted to find my purpose and do something impactful, but I just didn’t know what it was. That was around the time I came across the concept of ikigai, so I started creating my own list of things I loved to do. Here was the list of things I loved at that time: design, startups, entrepreneurship, Islam, learning, and serving the Ummah.
This list would expand and change at a later point in my life, which is normal. After I made the list, I didn’t know what to do or how it would play a role in the next phase of my life.
What I did know is that I wanted to follow my purpose and my passion somehow and someway. So I made a du‘a to Allah (SWT): “O, Allah! Help me to find a way so whatever I do will be a full-time service for You in this world and the next.”
The answer to that prayer began to unfold in my own life story. It started through an old friend of mine named Jamaliddin. Together, we started the world’s first social network for Muslims called Ummaland. You can read the full story later in the book “7 Steps To Success In Deen & Dunya”. While it was not a success financially, it was the starting point for Halal.Ad and many more ventures to come. One of those ventures is Quran Era.
Quran Era
This adventure started through yet another old friend of mine named Nadir, who I have had the privilege of getting to know very well while we both studied in Denmark. He is originally from Uzbekistan like me. He’s known for being very kind, and also passionate about teaching the Quran. In fact, I have even taken Quran lessons from him.
He moved from Denmark to Australia and settled there with his family. He and I kept in touch, as he studied and taught Down Under and I also studied and worked in Denmark.
He followed the work I was doing with different startups and companies, and I followed his work as well. And at one point, he reached out to me, saying he wanted to create something to help teach the Quran to children. “That’s great,” I told him, “Just go do it. You don’t need my help because you are an excellent Quran teacher.”
He replied, “No–I want to do something special here, but I don’t know exactly what that is.” That prompted us to have a deeper conversation.
I’m telling you his story because it is an excellent example of what we’ve been covering. I knew he was passionate about teaching the Quran, but he hadn’t outlined the other principles of ikigai that would create a foundation for what he was trying to achieve. He needed to take time to specify the things he was good at, what particular problem he could solve, and how he would be paid for his concept.
He was clearly passionate about teaching the Quran to children. But he needed to figure out the other pieces to the puzzle. For six months to a year, we had ongoing conversations about his goal, where we would ping-pong ideas back and forth between each other. He wanted to do something different than what was already being offered, but couldn’t quite figure it out.
Eventually, I said to him, “Look, if you’re just doing a basic Quran academy, I don’t think that’s going to be enough. It’s been done, repeatedly. What you really need is something unique and meaningful to the Ummah, something that no one else is doing.”
These conversations and ideas were the early stages of a startup company that Nadir and I co-founded, now known as Quran Era, an online Quran reading app that teaches how to read the Quran the most fun way via games, video stories, songs, and many other activities.
When it came to purpose, Nadir and I were aligned. As Prophet (SAW) said: “The best among you are those who learn and teach the Quran.” Our purpose was to serve Allah SWT by teaching Muslim children to get introduced to His Book in the most fun way, while also teaching them how to read the Quran in the best way.
Nadir and I also had aligned passions. He had been learning and teaching the Quran for years.
Yet, these two elements–passion and purpose–were still not enough on their own to get us to what is now a world-class product that thousands of Muslim children love, and that thousands of Muslim parents pay to access.
The next chapter explains more about the next step we need to take. For now, however, let’s review what we learned in this chapter through the next set of action steps.
Write down your reflections on the four ikigai elements:
What you love (things that put you in a flow state)
What the world needs (your mission)
What you are good at (your skills, talents)
What you can earn an income from (get paid)
Be sure to do each action step carefully, especially step two. Don’t rush through this step; you may want to ask a spouse or close friend, or family member to help you with some options here if they do not come to you easily. Try to aim for a minimum of three items for each element, but more items are preferred. This will give you plenty of ideas to work with as we expound upon them later.
Dua O Allah, help us find our passion in serving You. Grant us the clarity to align our love, skills, and mission with what pleases You. Make our passions a means of benefiting others, and let us find joy and fulfillment in living our purpose. Ameen.
Goals: On a scale of 1 to 10, how you evaluate your Passion? What are your Passion goals to achieve 10?
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Beliefs: What are your beliefs about your Passion? What is holding you back to achieve 10 out of 10?
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Motivation: Why does it matter to achieve these goals? What happens if you do? What happens if you don’t?
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Methods: What is your plan to achieve your Passion goals? What simple steps can you take today?
So, going back to our analogy, we’ve defined who we are through the body, mind, heart, and soul. We’ve also set our destination in the Purpose chapter, and in the Passion chapter, we got to know ourselves better—our strengths, talents, and unique gifts. Now comes the next step: the Path. This is where we connect it all. We can also call this chapter Deen.
But what is Deen, and how should we approach it? Before diving deeper, I want to start by acknowledging the limited understanding many Muslims have of Deen. It is often seen as just the rituals—praying, fasting, giving zakah. While these are fundamental pillars, Deen is much broader than this.
In this chapter, I’d like to offer an expanded meaning of Deen that goes beyond rituals and includes a holistic way of living. I hope this perspective will bring value to your journey, helping you understand Deen not as a set of isolated practices but as the entire framework of how we move through life—integrating faith, purpose, and action.
Deen as The Way of Life
When we talk about Deen, we often say that Islam is our Deen, our way of life. Many Muslims understand this in a limited sense, focusing on the daily Salah, Dhikr, giving Zakat, fasting in Ramadan, or going to Hajj and Umrah. While these acts are undeniably foundational, they represent only a part of what Deen truly encompasses.
Let me propose a broader, more holistic understanding of Deen—an understanding that I’ve drawn from the Quran, Hadith, Sunnah, and the insights of scholars. Deen is not just our spiritual obligations; it is everything we do. For a Muslim, Deen is a complete way of life. Every action—big or small—can and should be a part of our Deen. Whether it’s our work, relationships, sleep, or even recreation, every aspect of our existence can become a part of worship if aligned with the right intentions.
This holistic approach transforms how we view Deen. It’s no longer just about fulfilling certain rituals but about integrating faith into every moment. By doing so, we align our entire journey—our thoughts, actions, and goals—with our ultimate destination: returning to Allah SWT.
Choosing the Right Path for Your Journey
On this journey, Deen is our road, the path we take to fulfill our purpose. Now that we know who we are—our body, mind, heart, and soul—and have clarity on our purpose, it’s time to choose the path that best aligns with who we are.
Think of it this way: if your body is a car, the path you choose should match your vehicle. If you’re a Land Rover or Jeep, you thrive on mountain roads, tackling rugged terrains with resilience. If you’re a racecar, your path should be smooth, built for speed and precision. Similarly, in life, understanding your unique strengths, talents, and passions is crucial to choosing the right path.
This understanding helps us avoid frustration and inefficiency. Imagine a racecar trying to navigate a rocky mountain trail—it’s a great vehicle, but it’s simply not built for that terrain. Or think of a fish trying to climb a tree; no matter how hard it tries, it won’t succeed because it’s not aligned with its nature. The same applies to us: knowing ourselves allows us to choose the path that maximizes our potential and aligns with our purpose.
The Practical Paths Ahead
For some, the path might be entrepreneurship—building something from the ground up, solving problems, and creating value in the world. For others, it might be the employee path—contributing meaningfully within a team or organization. There are countless paths ahead, and no single one is “better” than another. What matters is finding the one that aligns with who you are and how you can best serve Allah’s creation.
Ultimately, all paths lead back to Allah SWT. Our goal is not to question the destination—it’s the same for all of us. Instead, our focus is on understanding ourselves and identifying the best way to serve Him. When we choose a path that aligns with our unique talents and calling, our journey becomes smoother, more fulfilling, and more impactful.
In summary, the Path—or Deen—is not just the road we travel but the way we integrate our purpose, passion, and actions into a life of worship. It’s about knowing who we are and selecting a path that aligns with our strengths, ensuring that every step brings us closer to Allah SWT.
Understanding Your Place on the Journey
One of the most important realizations to embrace on this journey is that you are exactly where you are meant to be. Right now, at this moment, you are in the right place, at the right time. Nothing in this life is coincidental or accidental. Everything happens with purpose, even if we don’t always understand it in the moment.
Instead of questioning, “Why am I here?” or feeling stuck in your current situation, ask yourself a different question: “Where am I going?” Your current position isn’t as important as the direction you’re heading. Trust that Allah has placed you exactly where He wants you for a reason. The challenge isn’t to fight your present reality but to align yourself with the path Allah is guiding you toward.
A Personal Story: Finding My Path
Rather than just offering theory, I find it more meaningful to share my personal journey. My story of finding my path reflects a transition—a journey through conventional employment to discovering entrepreneurship. Each step, each phase, had its purpose, and it taught me valuable lessons about aligning my strengths, passions, and calling with my ultimate destination.
In the next part of this chapter, I’ll take you through this journey. It’s not just about what I learned but about helping you reflect on your own journey, so you can find the path that best serves your unique purpose. Stay with me as we navigate the twists and turns of this road together.
A Lesson From My Early Journey
One of my earliest lessons in finding my path comes from a story about my mom, may Allah grant her the best here and hereafter. She is a beautiful soul, full of care and love for her children. My mom used to work as a tailor, and in her wisdom, she thought this path might also be a good fit for me. She even went out of her way to find one of the best teachers, a master tailor, and enrolled me in tailoring lessons.
Now, as much as I wanted to respect my mom’s wishes, tailoring wasn’t something I wanted to do. But, being the good son I wanted to be—and because she promised me ice cream—I went along with it. Every day, I’d walk to my lessons, stop to buy ice cream, and then reluctantly study how to be a tailor.
I spent about a month learning tailoring, and let me tell you, it was miserable. I was terrible at it. I wasn’t just bad; I felt like I was selling my soul every time I walked into that place. The work drained me, and I couldn’t see myself doing this for the rest of my life. After a month, I finally mustered the courage to tell my mom, “I can’t do this anymore. I’m not good at it, and I’ll never be great at it.”
Why do I share this story? Because many of us are in similar situations. We end up doing things we don’t like, things that don’t align with who we are, just for the sake of money or to meet someone else’s expectations. We compromise our passions, our talents, and sometimes even our souls, for the sake of “fitting in” or earning a living.
That experience taught me a valuable lesson early in life: you can’t force yourself into something just for the sake of money, status, or someone else’s approval. Whatever path you choose, it has to be something you enjoy and something that aligns with your strengths and values. Otherwise, you’ll be running on empty, and your journey will feel like a burden rather than a meaningful pursuit.
This was the starting point of my life’s journey—recognizing what didn’t work for me. It’s a lesson that shaped how I eventually found my path, one that felt authentic and fulfilling. And it’s a reminder for all of us: find a path that resonates with who you are and what you’re meant to contribute. Anything less isn’t worth it.
Finding My Path: The Denmark Chapter
The next part of my journey in finding my path takes me to my time in Denmark. When I first arrived, I didn’t know many people, and I had to start from scratch. To survive, I took on all kinds of jobs—delivering newspapers, washing dishes, cleaning toilets, working in restaurants, and even baking pizzas. It was tough, but I knew these jobs were temporary. They were something I had to do, not what I wanted to do.
While doing those jobs, I kept my mind alive by dreaming about what I would do one day. At that time, my dream job was to be a web designer. I would think about web design and imagine myself working in a studio, creating beautiful, meaningful work. This dream kept me going through the long hours and difficult days.
After a couple of years of hard work and persistence, I finally landed my dream job as a designer. I enjoyed it immensely—it felt like I had finally arrived. But after some time, I realized that simply designing beautiful websites wasn’t enough. I wanted to do more, to grow further. So, I expanded my skillset into areas like analytics and marketing. Later, I took on leadership roles, managing teams and guiding projects.
That journey—from arriving in Denmark with nothing, working odd jobs, to becoming a design team lead in one of the largest corporations—took me nearly seven to ten years. It was a gradual process, with many challenges and lessons along the way. Achieving my dream job felt like the culmination of all that hard work.
But as I’ll share in the next part of this story, even that dream job wasn’t meant to be my final destination. It was just another step on the path, guiding me toward the purpose I was truly meant to fulfill.
Rediscovering Purpose
About ten years ago, I found myself at what should have been the pinnacle of my career. I had my dream job, a good salary, and a happy family—everything that should have made me feel fulfilled. Yet, as I shared earlier in this book, I felt a sense of emptiness. Even though I was doing things I liked, it wasn’t serving a greater purpose. I found myself soul-searching, trying to understand why I felt this void despite having everything I had once dreamed of.
It was during this time that I rediscovered Islam. I realized that my purpose in life wasn’t just to earn a living or achieve personal success—it was to serve Allah SWT. This realization changed everything for me. I wanted my work to reflect this deeper purpose, to be more than just a job, to serve Allah full-time.
To be honest, I had no idea how to do this. I was navigating between my spiritual awakening and my entrepreneurial instincts, and they seemed to collide in unexpected ways. I made dua, asking Allah SWT to guide me: “O Allah, I want to serve You. Show me the way.”
What followed was a journey of transition—from being an employee focused on climbing the career ladder to becoming an entrepreneur pursuing freedom and alignment with my faith. It started with an idea for a social network for Muslims. That venture didn’t succeed, but it taught us valuable lessons. Those lessons paved the way for our next venture: a Muslim ad network, which eventually grew into a marketing agency. Over time, I began helping other startups as a co-founder, advisor, and sometimes even an investor.
This journey of entrepreneurship, faith, and rediscovering purpose wasn’t linear, nor was it something I could have predicted. If you’d asked me ten years ago if I’d end up here, I would have laughed. But here I am.
The reason I’m sharing this part of my story is because your journey will likely feel the same. You may not know where you’ll end up, but you need to trust your story. Trust that Allah SWT has a plan for you. As long as your intention is sincere and you remain persistent in your actions, Allah will guide you. You will find the path that allows you to serve Allah in the best possible way. It may take time, and there will be challenges, but every step will bring you closer to living your purpose.
Entrepreneur or Employee
There comes a point in your journey where you face an important decision: should you follow a professional career or take the entrepreneurial path? Both options are valid, but there’s wisdom in taking the time to build a strong foundation first.
If you’re considering entrepreneurship, don’t rush into it. My advice is to first gain experience. Work for someone else, join a company, and learn a skill. In this process, you not only become proficient in a specific area but also discover your strengths, your passions, and your weaknesses. Entrepreneurship becomes meaningful and sustainable when you know yourself and understand the problems you want to solve from the inside out. When you deeply understand a challenge, when you’ve honed your skills and built your resourcefulness, you’re much more prepared to tackle it better than anyone else. That’s when entrepreneurship becomes a natural next step.
If you decide to take the professional career path, focus on joining a cause that aligns with your purpose. When you know yourself—your skills, your strengths, and your values—it becomes much easier to identify the right team or organization to join. When your work aligns with your purpose, it no longer feels like just a job—it becomes a form of service and fulfillment.
For those who want to pursue entrepreneurship, I encourage you to read my first book, 7 Steps to Success. It outlines the practical steps and mindset shifts needed to start and grow a business with purpose.
The People You’ll Meet on the Path
On your journey, you’ll encounter different types of people. Understanding their roles in your life is key to making your path meaningful and aligned with your purpose.
People Who Inspire You These are individuals doing incredible work—beautiful souls creating impact in ways that resonate with you. If their work aligns with your purpose, don’t hesitate to join them. Collaborating with like-minded people makes the journey more meaningful and fulfilling. Compete in doing good.
People You Serve Professionally If you choose the entrepreneurial path, you’ll meet people who need your services and are willing to pay for them. Serving your customers with Ihsan (excellence) is a form of Ibadah (worship). There’s no shame in providing value and being compensated for it. Remember, by serving others well, you’re serving Allah SWT.
People You Serve Selflessly Along the way, you’ll also encounter those who can’t pay you—those in genuine need, like the poor, the miskeen, or the orphan. Helping them, without expecting anything in return except from Allah, is one of the highest forms of service. This is where charity and zakah come in. As Muslims, we are commanded to give at least 2.5% of our wealth in zakah. It’s not just a financial obligation—it’s an opportunity to bring barakah (blessings) into your wealth and serve Allah through acts of compassion.
Our Role on the Path
As we navigate this journey, our job is not to judge the people we encounter but to help them. Some will inspire us, others will depend on our services, and some will require our compassion and generosity. In every case, our actions should reflect sincerity and excellence, trusting that Allah SWT will reward our efforts.
Let me conclude this section with a story that highlights the essence of serving with purpose, inshallah.
The Call to Serve: A Lesson from Tawaf
One of the most profound lessons I learned came during my first journey to Umrah. As I joined thousands of other Muslims circling the Ka’bah during Tawaf, I found myself repeatedly proclaiming the powerful words:
لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ “Here I am, O Lord, here I am.”
At first, I reflected on the translation: “Here I am.” But the question struck me: Why are we saying this? What is the purpose behind these words?
In that moment, I realized something life-changing. Hajj and Umrah are not just acts of worship; they are profound reminders of our ultimate purpose. These words, “Here I am, O Allah,” are not only declarations during Tawaf—they are declarations for our entire life. They remind us why we are here in this world: to serve Allah SWT.
Hajj and Umrah are a preparation for the next life, a chance to realign ourselves with our grander purpose. As we say, لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ, we remind ourselves, “O Allah, You called me, and I answered. I am here to serve You.”
A Lifelong Prayer for Guidance
This declaration doesn’t end with Tawaf; it’s a prayer for our entire journey. Before we step fully onto our path in life, we must remember to say:
لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ “O Allah, here I am. Here I am again, ready to serve You. Please guide me to the straight path. Open my heart, open my soul, and expand my chest, so that everything I do is pleasing to You. Show me the path that brings me closer to You, and forgive me for my shortcomings. Verily, You are the Most Forgiving, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful.”
This prayer is not just a ritual; it is a framework for life. It’s a reminder that our ultimate purpose, no matter where we are or what we do, is to serve Allah SWT in the best possible way. When we internalize this, our path becomes clear, and every step forward is taken with intention, sincerity, and hope for His guidance and mercy.
The Tawaf and the words of لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ ground us in this truth: we are here because Allah called us. And our response should always be, “Here I am, O Allah, ready to serve You.” This is the mindset we carry as we navigate our path, always asking Allah to show us the way that pleases Him and brings us closer to Him.
Dua O Allah, guide us to the Straith Path that is best for us. Whether we choose entrepreneurship or a professional career, help us align our work with our Purpose and Passion. Grant us success in this life and the next, and make our efforts a means of serving You and benefiting others. Ameen.
Goals: On a scale of 1 to 10, how you evaluate your Path? What are your Path goals to achieve 10?
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Beliefs: What are your beliefs about your Path? What is holding you back to achieve 10 out of 10?
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Motivation: Why does it matter to achieve these goals? What happens if you do? What happens if you don’t?
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Methods: What is your plan to achieve your Path goals? What simple steps can you take today?
“Our Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.” — (Quran 2:201)
Introducing Prosperity: Beyond Dunya
Building on our life analogy, we’ve described who we are—our body, mind, heart, and soul. We’ve discussed our destination, defined our purpose, discovered our passion, and chosen our path. Now comes the next chapter: Prosperity.
I could have easily named this chapter Dunya, as it encompasses everything we encounter on our journey. But I chose Prosperity intentionally. Why? Because as Muslims, we don’t just want Dunya—we want it to be full of Barakah (blessings).
The Concept of Barakah in Islam In Islam, prosperity is not just about material success or wealth. True prosperity is defined by Barakah—a unique type of blessing that multiplies goodness in every aspect of our lives, whether in our wealth, health, relationships, or time.
This is the kind of prosperity we seek when we make the daily dua:
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ “Our Lord, grant us the good in this world and the good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the Fire.”
When we ask for the “good in this world,” we’re asking for a life filled with Barakah. We’re not just seeking material success but a life of purpose, meaning, and blessings. This chapter will explore what prosperity means in Islam, how we can attain it, and why it’s essential to align it with our journey back to Allah SWT.
Stay with me as we redefine prosperity, not just as Dunya, but as a life rich with blessings that bring us closer to our Creator.
Untangling Money Misconceptions
Before we dive deeper into prosperity, we need to address a critical aspect of the journey: our relationship with money. Many of us have misconceptions that cloud our understanding. You might have heard people say, “Money is a fitna,” or “Money is a test and inherently evil,” or even, “Rich people must be greedy or corrupt.” These beliefs often stem from our experiences, upbringing, or societal conditioning, and they can greatly influence how we perceive wealth.
Rather than presenting a lot of theory, let me share my own story. I grew up in a poor family, and for much of my childhood, I viewed money through a narrow lens. I believed money was a fitna, that it was evil, and that those who had it—“the rich”—must be greedy and corrupt. Since I didn’t have much, it felt like those who did were somehow tainted.
But as I grew older and interacted with more people, my perspective began to shift. I realized that the world wasn’t black and white. Not all rich people were bad, and not all poor people were generous or kind. There are poor people who are stingy, unwilling to share even the little they have, and there are wealthy individuals who are incredibly generous, giving without hesitation.
One Ramadan stands out in my memory. A wealthy family gave us something small during the holy month, but their gesture carried immense meaning for me. It completely changed my perspective. I saw that wealth, when used to help others, could be a powerful tool for good. It wasn’t about the amount they gave; it was about the sincerity and impact of their generosity.
Through experiences like these, I began to untangle my misconceptions about money. I learned that wealth isn’t inherently good or bad—it’s a tool. It reflects the intentions and character of the person who wields it. Just as there are good and bad rich people, there are good and bad poor people. It’s not about how much you have; it’s about how you use it and whether it aligns with your purpose.
The Lesson for the Journey As we walk this path, it’s essential to examine our own beliefs about money. If we see it as evil or corrupt, we may unconsciously distance ourselves from it, even when it could be used for good. If we see it as the ultimate goal, we risk losing sight of our purpose. The key is to understand money for what it is: a resource, a trust (amanah), and a means to serve Allah and His creation.
In the next section, I’ll share how I further untangled the mystery of money and developed a balanced perspective that aligns with Islamic principles and my personal journey toward prosperity.
Is Money Evil? A Balanced Perspective
Let’s address the question head-on: Is money evil? The same way we might ask, Is fire good or bad? The answer depends on how it is used. Fire can be good—it bakes bread, cooks food, and keeps us warm. But it can also be destructive, causing harm when uncontrolled.
Money operates in much the same way. On its own, it’s neutral. Money isn’t inherently good or bad—it’s a tool, a resource. What makes it good or bad is the intent and character of the person who uses it. In essence, money is an amplifier. It magnifies what’s in your heart.
If your heart is pure, guided by faith, and aligned with purpose, money can become a powerful tool for good. It allows you to give charity, support your family, and serve your community. But if your heart is corrupted by greed or selfishness, money can fuel destruction, harm relationships, and distance you from Allah SWT.
A Timeless Maxim on Wealth One of my favorite maxims comes from Imam Al-Qarafi, who beautifully summarized the relationship between wealth and the heart: “No matter how much money you have, it won’t harm you as long as it stays in your hand and not in your heart. But even if you have none, it will destroy you if it resides in your heart.”
This wisdom offers a profound lesson: wealth isn’t the problem—it’s the attachment to it. When money is in your hands, it becomes a tool to navigate life, serve others, and fulfill your obligations. But when it takes residence in your heart, it consumes you, whether you have a lot or none at all.
Living with a Balanced Approach I try to live my life guided by this principle, though I’ll admit it’s easier said than done. Money is a test for all of us—whether we have it or not. But our goal as Muslims is clear: to ensure that money remains a means, not an end. It should serve us, not control us.
Ultimately, we should aim for a balanced relationship with money—recognizing it as a tool to amplify the good in our hearts while guarding against its potential to corrupt. When we keep money in our hands and out of our hearts, it becomes a source of Barakah (blessings), enabling us to live with purpose, serve others, and seek the pleasure of Allah SWT.
Mastering Money: The Key to a Balanced Journey
As we continue the analogy of our life’s journey, we understand that as we move through Dunya on the path, money becomes a resource—our food and fuel. Without fuel, the journey becomes impossible. But when it comes to money, how we approach it determines whether it helps us move forward or derails us completely.
There are three common relationships people have with money:
Avoid Money Some people avoid money altogether, believing it’s inherently bad or corrupting. They treat it like forbidden food, thinking they’ll be purer by keeping their distance. While this approach might seem noble, it limits the ability to contribute meaningfully to society or support one’s obligations.
Chase Money Others take the opposite extreme, making money the ultimate goal of their lives. They chase wealth relentlessly, prioritizing it above all else. For them, money becomes a god they worship, controlling their thoughts and actions. This approach leads to emptiness and spiritual ruin, as the pursuit of wealth replaces the pursuit of Allah’s pleasure.
Master Money As Muslims, this is the relationship we are called to adopt. We must master money, ensuring it serves us rather than controlling us. Money should be a tool we use to fulfill our purpose, support our families, give in charity, and grow closer to Allah SWT by serving His creation. When money is in our hands, not our hearts, it becomes a source of blessings (Barakah), empowering us to navigate life’s journey with clarity and purpose.
A Choice to Make Ultimately, we must choose one of these paths. If you avoid money, you’ll find yourself unable to fulfill many of life’s responsibilities. If you chase it, you risk losing your soul in the process. But if you master it, you harness its potential to support your journey toward Allah SWT.
Mastering money requires overcoming misconceptions, understanding its true role, and ensuring it remains a means, not an end. It’s easier said than done, but it’s the only path that aligns with our faith. Money should help us fulfill our obligations and serve Allah, not become the focus of our lives.
So, as you continue on your journey, ask yourself: How can I master money so that it serves my Deen and supports my purpose, rather than distracting me from it? The answer lies in aligning your wealth with your values, ensuring it remains in your hand and never in your heart.
How Do We Master Money?
Mastering money is a skill, and one of the best frameworks I’ve come across to understand this is Robert Kiyosaki’s Cashflow Quadrant. It provides a clear roadmap for how to navigate the money game, transitioning from simply working for money to having money work for you. Let’s break it down.
The Cashflow Quadrant
The quadrant consists of four stages, divided into two sides:
The Left Side: Trading Time for Money
Employee
This is where most of us start. As an employee, you work for someone else, selling your time for a fixed amount of money. While it provides stability, it’s a form of modern slavery—you exchange your most valuable resource (time) for limited compensation.
Self-Employed
In this stage, you work for yourself, which offers more freedom and control. However, you’re still trading time for money. You might earn more than an employee, but your income is directly tied to how much you work. If you stop working, the money stops coming.
The Right Side: Leveraging Systems and Wealth
3. Business Owner
This is the stage where you level up. As a business owner, you build systems and processes where others work for you. Your income isn’t limited to your personal efforts anymore; it scales with the work of your team. This stage requires vision, leadership, and the ability to create value on a larger scale.
Investor
The final stage is the investor, where money works for you. This is where you use your wealth to generate passive income, whether through real estate, stocks, or other investments. As an investor, you’re no longer tied to selling your time for money. Your money grows independently, giving you freedom to focus on what truly matters in life.
Mastering the Money Game
Transitioning through these stages requires a mindset shift and skill development:
Learn the Basics: Start by understanding money, budgeting, and managing your resources effectively.
Invest in Yourself: Build skills that increase your value, whether as an employee or entrepreneur.
Level Up Strategically: Transition from self-employed to business owner by creating scalable systems.
Build Passive Income Streams: Use your earnings to invest wisely, creating financial freedom that aligns with your Deen.
Why Mastering Money Matters
Mastering money isn’t about chasing wealth for its own sake. It’s about freeing yourself from the constant need to trade time for money, so you can focus on fulfilling your purpose and serving Allah SWT. By mastering money, you ensure it serves you, enabling you to create impact, support others, and live with Barakah.
Remember, the goal is not to become a slave to money or to avoid it altogether. The goal is to control it, use it as a tool, and align it with your ultimate purpose: to worship and serve Allah in the best way possible. This is how we turn Dunya into a means for success in both this world and the next.
The Value of Each Dollar Earned
Not every dollar earned holds the same value. For each of us, there is a basic level of income we need to live a good, comfortable life—not luxurious, but sufficient to provide for our family, cover necessities like housing, transportation, and food. This amount varies from person to person and region to region. For example, in countries like the US or Canada, a family of two to three might live comfortably on $10,000 a month.
Now, here’s a crucial question to consider: would you prefer to earn $10,000 working fewer hours, say 10 hours a week, and have more time for your family and other meaningful pursuits? Or would you rather earn $30,000 a month working 70-80 hours a week, leaving little room for anything else?
For me, the answer is simple. I would choose the first option: earning what I need while keeping time for my family, personal growth, and serving Allah SWT. It’s not just about how much you earn but how balanced and fulfilling your life feels. Of course, the choice is yours. The important thing is to understand that wealth isn’t just about numbers—it’s about how you use it and how it fits into your purpose.
The Responsibility of Extra Income
When we earn more than what we need, it’s essential to remember our obligations. Whatever surplus we have is a trust from Allah, and we are accountable for how we use it.
Zakah: The minimum obligation is to give 2.5% of your wealth in Zakah. This purifies your earnings and ensures that the blessings (Barakah) in your wealth remain intact.
Sadaqah: Beyond Zakah, I encourage giving at least 1% of your business revenue to charities that align with your values or the nature of your work. This practice not only benefits the community but also brings immense Barakah to your business.
Remember Allah’s promise: “Whoever spends in the way of Allah, their return will be multiplied up to 700 times.” (Quran 2:261). This isn’t just a spiritual reminder; it’s a practical way to build blessings in your wealth and to align your financial success with your ultimate purpose.
A Mindset Shift
The goal isn’t just to earn and hoard wealth but to use it wisely—to meet your needs, give generously, and build a life that balances financial security with time for faith, family, and service. In the next section, I’ll discuss inspiring examples of wealthy Muslims who mastered this balance, living their lives with purpose and earning their Jannah. Stay tuned!
Here’s a breakdown of those among the ten who were particularly notable as wealthy individuals or successful businessmen:
1. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (RA)
Status: Wealthy
Profession: Businessman and tradesman, particularly known for his success in the cloth trade.
Contributions: Abu Bakr used his wealth extensively for the support of Islam, funding many early efforts and even purchasing the freedom of enslaved Muslims, such as Bilal ibn Rabah (RA). He is well-known for giving nearly all his wealth in the cause of Allah on multiple occasions.
2. Uthman ibn Affan (RA)
Status: Extremely wealthy
Profession: Successful merchant in the caravan trade, especially dealing in textiles and goods.
Contributions: Known for his immense generosity, Uthman funded many public works, including the famous “Well of Rumah” in Medina, which he purchased for the community. He also equipped the army for the Battle of Tabuk, spending a substantial portion of his wealth to support the Muslim cause.
3. Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf (RA)
Status: Extremely wealthy
Profession: Prominent businessman, known for his skills in trade and commerce.
Contributions: Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf was famous for his business acumen. He donated large amounts of his wealth in charity and supported many charitable causes, including feeding the poor, assisting widows, and funding military expeditions. He is an example of someone who continued to work hard and accumulate wealth while regularly giving generously for the sake of Allah.
4. Talha ibn Ubaydullah (RA)
Status: Wealthy
Profession: Tradesman, known for his success in business.
Contributions: Talha was known for his generosity, often giving large sums of money in charity. He used his wealth to support the Muslim community and helped many people in need. His wealth allowed him to contribute substantially to Islam’s growth and the welfare of others.
5. Zubair ibn al-Awam (RA)
Status: Relatively wealthy
Profession: Involved in business and trade, though he was more noted for his role as a warrior.
Contributions: Zubair invested in land and other forms of business, enabling him to support the Muslim cause. While he was known for his bravery and fighting skills, he also used his resources for the benefit of the community.
The Waqf Story of Uthman (RA)
During a time of drought in Medina, there was a dire need for water. A Jewish merchant owned the only well in the city, and he charged exorbitant prices for access. Uthman (RA), driven by his love for Allah and the Ummah, negotiated with the merchant to purchase the well. The merchant refused to sell it outright, but Uthman cleverly proposed a shared ownership, where Uthman would buy half the well and alternate days of its use. The merchant agreed.
Uthman (RA) then made the well free to use on his days, encouraging people to collect enough water to last through the merchant’s days. Realizing he was losing business, the merchant eventually sold the remaining half of the well to Uthman. Uthman dedicated the well as a waqf (endowment) for the benefit of all Muslims, ensuring free access to water for generations to come.
The waqf didn’t stop there. Over time, the land around the well was developed, and the revenue from it has been used to benefit countless Muslims, even centuries later. To this day, the income generated by Uthman’s waqf funds charitable initiatives, hospitals, and mosques, leaving a legacy of Barakah and service.
The Lesson for Us
These examples teach us that wealth, when used with sincerity and purpose, can become a powerful tool for earning Jannah. The companions didn’t see their wealth as a source of pride or attachment but as a trust from Allah SWT. They understood that true prosperity lies in serving Allah and His creation, using their resources to support the community and leave lasting legacies.
We, too, can adopt this mindset. Whether through small acts of charity or larger contributions, we can align our financial success with our ultimate purpose: seeking Allah’s pleasure and striving for Jannah. Let’s remember their stories as we navigate our own journey of mastering money with faith and intention.
The Barakah Mindset
At the heart of true prosperity is adopting a Barakah mindset—a mindset rooted in generosity, sincerity, and service. To master money and align it with our purpose, we must embrace the following principles:
Give Before You Get Always lead with generosity. Whether it’s time, money, or effort, give without expecting anything in return. Trust that Allah SWT will multiply your efforts in ways you cannot imagine.
Give More Than You Get Strive to contribute more value than what you receive. In business, relationships, or daily interactions, always overdeliver. This creates lasting Barakah in both your life and the lives of others.
Give to the Needy Prioritize helping those who cannot repay you. Whether through Zakah, Sadaqah, or acts of kindness, giving to the miskeen, orphans, and those in need ensures your wealth is purified and blessed.
Give with a Full Heart Give with sincerity and love, not out of obligation or guilt. A heart filled with gratitude and faith enhances the reward of your giving.
Give Ten Times in Value Whatever you give—whether financial, intellectual, or emotional—aim to deliver ten times its value. This mindset ensures that your contributions are impactful and far-reaching.
A Dua for Barakah in Our Wealth
May Allah SWT help us master money, allowing it to flow abundantly through our hands to serve His creation without ever touching our hearts. O Allah, bless our journey, enrich us with Barakah, and align our wealth with Your pleasure. Grant us the best in this world and the Hereafter, and save us from the fire.
Dua O Allah, help us master money, allowing it to flow abundantly through our hands to serve Your creation without ever touching our hearts. O Allah, bless our journey, enrich us with Barakah, and align our wealth with Your pleasure. Grant us the best in this world and the Hereafter, and save us from the fire. O Allah, increase our gratitude for what we have, and give us the strength to give freely for Your sake. Bless our wealth and make it a means of attaining Your pleasure. Ameen.
Goals: On a scale of 1 to 10, how you evaluate your Prosperity? What are your Prosperity / Barakah goals to achieve 10?
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Beliefs: What are your beliefs about your Prosperity? What is holding you back to achieve 10 out of 10?
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Motivation: Why does it matter to achieve these goals? What happens if you do? What happens if you don’t?
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Methods: What is your plan to achieve your Prosperity goals? What simple steps can you take today?
“Indeed, by the remembrance of Allah, hearts find peace.” — (Quran 13:28)
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Peace: The Final Chapter of the Journey
We’ve traveled this journey together, reflecting on each stage of life’s path. We began by defining the body as a vehicle, the physical means through which we navigate this world. We explored the mind, heart, and soul—the drivers steering us forward. We defined our ultimate destination, our why, and our purpose: to return to Allah SWT.
We got to know ourselves better through passion, understanding the kind of “car” we are—our strengths and abilities—so we can serve more effectively. Then, we discussed the Path, the road we take, and how to choose the best one that aligns with our purpose and values. Afterward, we dove into Prosperity, understanding the resources around us, including wealth, and how to use them with Barakah to fulfill our purpose without being distracted by Dunya.
And now, we arrive at the final chapter: Peace.
Peace: The Thread That Weaves It All Together
Peace is the culmination of everything we’ve discussed. It’s the state that binds the journey, the destination, and the how. It’s not just about the end goal—it’s about how we feel during the way. True peace is not just found at the destination; it is experienced on the journey itself.
This chapter isn’t just about reaching a place of tranquility in the Hereafter. It’s about achieving inner peace while navigating the challenges, detours, and blessings of life. It’s about walking through this world with calm, clarity, and a heart firmly anchored in trust in Allah SWT.
In this final chapter, we’ll explore how to align all the parts of our journey so that our steps are steady, our hearts are content, and our souls are at peace, no matter where we are on the path. Because, ultimately, peace isn’t just a goal; it’s a way of walking through life – it is a state of being.
The Three States of the Self
As we journey through life, our soul (nafs) moves through three distinct states, as mentioned in the Quran:
Nafs al-Mutma’inna (The Soul at Peace) This is the state of the soul that has achieved tranquility and contentment by being aligned with Allah SWT’s will. It is free from conflict, fully trusting Allah, and deeply connected to Him. This is the ultimate state we strive for—the soul at peace.
Nafs al-Lawwama (The Reproaching Soul) This is the soul caught in the middle, constantly shifting between good and bad. It reproaches itself for its wrongs and strives to improve, but it is not yet at peace.
Nafs al-Ammara bil-Su’ (The Evil-Inclined Soul) This is the lowest state of the self, the soul dominated by desires and inclinations toward evil. It is the state where sins are committed without care or remorse, and the heart becomes hardened, leading to spiritual blindness.
The State of the Spiritual Heart and Its Light
As we discussed earlier, the spiritual heart acts as the headlight guiding us on the path. When we commit a sin, even a small one, a black spot appears on the heart’s light. If we immediately turn to Allah SWT in tawbah (repentance), that spot is polished away, and the light shines again. But if we neglect repentance and allow sins to pile up, those black spots multiply, eventually covering the heart entirely.
When this happens, the light of the heart is blocked, and our spiritual headlight turns off. We lose the ability to see the world clearly through the lens of faith, falling into the state of Ghafla (heedlessness). This is the condition of Nafs al-Ammara bil-Su’, the evil-inclined soul, which Allah SWT warns us about:
“Their hearts have been sealed, so they do not understand.” (Quran 9:87)
In this state, the heart is locked, the mind is unable to discern truth, and the eyes fail to perceive the signs of Allah. It is the worst state to be in—cut off from the guidance and mercy of Allah SWT.
A Prayer for Guidance
We ask Allah SWT to protect us from ever reaching this state of heedlessness and spiritual blindness. May He keep our hearts pure, our lights shining brightly, and our souls aligned with Him. May we always turn to Him in repentance and strive to achieve Nafs al-Mutma’inna, the soul at peace.
“O Allah, do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided us. Keep us firm upon Your path, and grant us Your mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower.” (Quran 3:8)
Nafs al-Lawwama: The Reproaching Soul
Now, let’s reflect on Nafs al-Lawwama, the reproaching soul. This is the state where many of us, as Muslims, often find ourselves. It’s a state of fluctuation, where we change between good and bad, between obedience and sin, between progress and setbacks.
When we do something good—say our prayers on time, give charity, or help someone—we feel a sense of accomplishment and gratitude, saying, “Alhamdulillah.” But then, life happens. We slip, we commit sins, and we feel the sting of regret. The Nafs al-Lawwama reproaches us, reminding us of our shortcomings and urging us to turn back to Allah SWT.
A Cycle of Seeking Forgiveness
This state is not static—it’s an ongoing cycle of falling and rising, of making mistakes and asking for forgiveness. It’s the nature of being human. As the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
“Every son of Adam is a sinner, and the best of sinners are those who repent.” (Tirmidhi)
In this state, we acknowledge our flaws but refuse to remain stagnant. We repent, we recalibrate, and we strive to move closer to Allah. The reproaching soul keeps us grounded, reminding us to turn back to Him whenever we falter.
A Stable Yet Imperfect State
For many of us, Nafs al-Lawwama is the default mode of our spiritual journey. It’s a state of self-awareness, where we recognize when we stray and take steps to return to the right path. While it is not the ultimate state, it’s a necessary and natural part of the process.
A Dua for Strength
We ask Allah SWT to help us rise more often than we fall, to grant us the strength to turn back to Him whenever we slip, and to guide us toward the higher state of Nafs al-Mutma’inna.
“O Allah, forgive us for our shortcomings, help us overcome our weaknesses, and guide us to be among those who are steadfast on Your path. Ameen.”
In the next section, we’ll explore the ultimate state we aspire to reach: Nafs al-Mutma’inna, the soul at peace. This is the state of tranquility that brings us closer to Allah and aligns our hearts and actions with His will. Let’s reflect on what it means to truly live in a state of peace.
Nafs al-Mutma’inna: The Soul at Peace
The ultimate state we all strive for is Nafs al-Mutma’inna, the soul at peace. This is the soul that understands the temporary nature of the world, seeing it for what it truly is—a test. A soul in this state isn’t overwhelmed by the ups and downs of life because it realizes that everything, good or bad, comes from Allah SWT and serves a purpose in the grand design of our existence.
Dhikr, Fikr, Shukr, Sabr In Islam, peace is deeply connected to four key practices:
Dhikr: The remembrance of Allah
Fikr: Reflective thinking or contemplation
Shukr: Gratitude for Allah’s blessings
Sabr: Patience in the face of hardship
These practices ground us in the present moment and remind us that true peace comes from within. When we engage in dhikr, we remind ourselves of Allah’s presence, which calms the heart. When we practice fikr, we contemplate the deeper meaning of life, which helps us see beyond temporary struggles. When we show shukr, we shift our focus to the blessings in our lives, and when we exercise sabr, we learn to be content with Allah’s plan.
The World as a Perfect Test
The world, in its essence, is perfect—not perfect in the sense of being free from flaws or challenges, but perfect for its purpose. Allah SWT created it as a test, and a test must include both good and evil, joy and hardship, to fulfill its function. For the soul at peace, this understanding brings clarity. It sees beyond the apparent imperfections of the world and recognizes its role in the divine plan.
This is why we say, “You are exactly where you are supposed to be.” The question isn’t where you are right now—the question is where you are going. What choices will you make? What actions will you take to align yourself with the will of Allah SWT?
Flowing with the Divine Harmony
Allah SWT tells us that everything in creation glorifies Him, existing in a constant state of flow, submitting to His will. The stars, the trees, the oceans—they all operate in perfect harmony with their Creator. But for us—jinn and mankind—we were given free will. And with that freedom comes the responsibility to choose our path:
Will we use our free will to follow our desires, letting the distractions of Dunya lead us astray?
Or will we submit willingly to the divine harmony of Allah’s will, embracing Islam—submission in peace?
When we align ourselves with Allah’s purpose, our soul enters a state of tranquility. We become part of the divine flow, experiencing a sense of balance and harmony that transcends worldly challenges.
A Metaphor for the Soul at Peace
One of the best examples of this state is a moment from The Matrix, when Neo finally sees reality for what it is. The agents, once terrifying, appear as mere green blobs of code—no longer a threat but part of the system he now understands. With this realization, Neo is able to bend and mold reality.
For the soul at peace, life’s trials and tribulations are like those agents—temporary and inconsequential in the grand scheme. When we understand this, we stop resisting and start flowing, trusting Allah’s plan. This isn’t about being passive; it’s about recognizing that everything we experience, good or bad, is a stepping stone on the journey back to Him.
Submission Leads to Peace
Islam is more than just peace—it is submitting in peace so we can be at peace. A soul in this state embraces whatever comes its way, knowing it’s all from Allah. Whether we face ease or difficulty, we turn to Allah for forgiveness and mercy, and we continue forward, steadfast and serene.
A Dua for the Soul at Peace
“O Allah, grant us the tranquility of Nafs al-Mutma’inna. Help us see beyond the trials of this world and trust in Your divine plan. Guide us to align our free will with Your will, and allow us to live and die in a state of peace, submitting fully to You. Ameen.”
This is the state we strive for—a life where our soul is in harmony with Allah SWT’s will, navigating the temporary trials of this world with clarity, trust, and peace. It is the ultimate destination, the goal of our journey, and the promise of eternal peace in the Hereafter.
Life: An Unfinished Love Poem
One of the great Muslim poets once said, “Life is an unfinished love poem.” It’s a profound metaphor, isn’t it? If life is this unfinished poem, the question we must ask ourselves is, What verse am I? What do I mean?
Life is a beautiful invitation, a divine gift from Allah SWT, patiently awaiting our every move. Each moment presents us with a choice—a chance to add another verse to the story of our lives. So, my question to you, and to myself, is this:
How will we live our lives?
What mark will we leave on this world?
What will be our next move?
This chapter and this journey come to an end with this powerful reflection. As representatives of Allah on earth, entrusted with this beautiful life, how will we rise to the challenge? Against all odds, we’ve been given this chance to align our lives with our purpose, to seek Allah’s pleasure, and to leave behind a legacy of meaning and faith.
A Final Dua for Peace
We close this journey with a heartfelt du’a:
“Ya Allah, Anta as-Salam wa Minka as-Salam. You are Peace, and from You is Peace. Grant us peace in our hearts, our minds, and our souls. Make our journey peaceful and easy upon us. Grant us clarity to understand our purpose, and the strength to submit to You with our free will. Let us join the harmony of Your creation, glorifying You, coming closer to You, and seeking Your pleasure.
O Allah, You created us against all odds. You gave us this beautiful gift of life. Help us live it as Your representatives on earth, rising to the challenges with steadfastness and trust in You. Forgive our shortcomings, guide us to the Straight Path, and make us among the muqarrabun—those who are closest to You.
Let us be among those with whom You are pleased. Let us join Your messengers, Your friends, and those You have honored. In the end, let us fulfill this journey, meet You, and join Your divine party. Ya Allah, grant us this, and accept our efforts. Ameen.”
Closing Reflection
Life is an unfinished love poem, waiting for us to add meaning to its verses. So, as we conclude this journey, let us commit to living with purpose, passion, prosperity and in peace, and submission to Allah SWT. Let us rise to the challenge of being His representatives on earth, writing our story with every choice we make.
The pen is in your hands. What will your next verse be?
Goals: On a scale of 1 to 10, how you evaluate your Peace? What are your Peace goals to achieve 10?
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Beliefs: What are your beliefs about your Peace? What is holding you back to achieve 10 out of 10?
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Motivation: Why does it matter to achieve these goals? What happens if you do? What happens if you don’t?
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Methods: What is your plan to achieve your Peace goals? What simple steps can you take today?
