I asked our Barakah Effect course students to practice a simple exercise. Before every action, they needed to pause and ask themselves, “How can I please Allah SWT through this?”
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Are you bored from your worship?
I see boredom for someone sincerely trying to get closer to Allah as a stretch of ‘dryland’ between two spiritual oases. The first oasis was when they first tasted the sweetness of that worship. When Salah felt deep, when fasting brought clarity, when dhikr filled their heart with calm. The second oasis is the deeper level of worship waiting for them if they push through the dryness with consistency and sincerity..
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When You Just Don’t Feel Like It (Overcoming Laziness)
I wrote about ‘ajz, that feeling when you want to do good but feel powerless to act. Today, I want to explore its close cousin: kasal (laziness).
While ‘ajz is “I want to, but I can’t,” kasal is “I want to, but I just don’t feel like it.”
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The Sacred Art of Writing Books (& How AI Might Change It)
As I held my pen, I wondered: in an age where AI can write entire books in hours, what makes human writing uniquely valuable? And how do we honor the sacred act of writing while engaging with these powerful new tools?
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🧗♂️ Why Self-Actualization Might Be Hurting Your Soul
Your life’s purpose isn’t self-actualization. Your life’s purpose is to worship Allah. Don’t let any self-help book or guru convince you otherwise.
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👁️ How Evil Eye & Envy Impact Your Productivity (And How to Protect Yourself)
The Quran and Sunnah don’t treat these as mere superstitions. Allah SWT commands us to seek refuge from “the evil of the envier when he envies” (Quran 113:5), and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “The evil eye is real. If anything could overtake the divine decree, it would be the evil eye.” (Muslim)
Yet many of us dismiss these spiritual realities as “superstitious” or “old tales,” especially professionals trying to “fit in” with secular workplaces.
I want us to understand this topic from a balanced perspective. There are usually two extremes: those obsessed and anxious about “nazar” and being envied, and those who dismiss such claims and expose themselves to the harm of the evil eye.
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