Gems

If you possess some skill you can utilize to the benefit of the people everywhere, never hold back. Don’t hold it to yourself. Forget about what other people are thinking. Focus on how they can benefit from it. This applies especially if a) you have relatively rare talents, or b) nobody knows about your skills. Wallahu ‘alim.

When you choose a leader, someone always disagrees with you. No matter who you are and who your leader is, you cannot please everyone. So get used to it inshaAllah. During the time of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) chose ‘Usama ibn Zayd (son of Zayid ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with them both) as the leader of the army. And they had high-status alumni sahaba in that army, like ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab (radiallahu ‘anh), who was in his 40s or so.

Front Leaders: These leaders take charge, set the vision, and lead the way. They take the initiative, and step up to the call when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) calls them. Back Leaders: These leaders encourage, gather everyone’s opinion, call meetings, and encourage mutual agreement and compromise. In Islaimc work, and in any project, you need both types of leadership. Like when a group hikes through a trail. You need someone at the front to pick the path and set the pace.

To optimize your meetings and keep them clear, concise, and on-topic, follow the following two rules as much as possible: Two Cents: Keep your two cents out of it. Nobody wants to hear your opinion anyway, and spewing one opinion denies other opinions their right. When you compound personal opinion with rebuttal with re-rebuttal, your main topic quickly derails. (Never tolerate deviations from this rule.) Two Sentences: _When you speak, l_imit your dialogue to two sentences max.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover or a man by his beard, because what’s behind the beard can be weird.” Apply this to your lives, and you’ll find that, bi ithnillah (by the permission of Allah), you will never be surprised or dissapointed. When you make great assumptions about people, where can they go except down? Great assumptions often lead to great letdowns. Wallahu ‘alim.

“If you fear the creator, you will never fear the creation.” -Imam Anwar al-Awlaki If your heart trembles in fear of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and awe of His majesty, nothing in the dunya (world) can ever overshadow that fear. The dunya can throw a bigger army at you, better weapons, everything and anything. And if you fear Allah the way He deserves to be feared, none of that can overshadow your fear of the Creator.

“Islamic work isn’t something we do for a hobby–it’s our life.” Work for the cause, don’t abandon it. Don’t neglect it to play video games or watch TV or surf the internet. It isn’t a hobby. It isn’t part-time. It’s full-time, all out, no holds-barred work for the cause of Allah. If you consider the illustrious sahaba, radiallahu ‘anhuma ajma’een, they all gave their all for the cause. Their wealth, their health, their free time, even their very lives.

“Very few things in life are worth crying over.” Ponder it. Very few things in life are worth throwing a fit over or complaining about. In Islamic work, especially, people attach importantance to things that aren’t issues, tempers rise, fights break out, and brotherhood dies. And in the end, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) controls over all things. So sit back, chill out, and let it run by you. No harm done, right?