Enrich your Life!

By Hajah Rosmani Mahmood

Stop and think!

Make this blessed month of Ramadhan a starting point for change. We are on this planet for only a short while - like a bubble in the sea of eternity - so have the wisdom to enjoy our journey profitably. Enrich your life!

Maintain a Perspective

Maintain a perspective of your life, know your objectives so you may be amongst the successful in the Hereafter.

“I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me” (Az-Zariyat : 56)

“Those who rest not their hope on their meeting with Us, but are pleased and satisfied with the life of the Present, and those who heed not Our Signs, their abode is the Fire, because of the (evil) they earned” (Yunus : 7-8)

Live a Life of Honesty

We live in a world full of broken promises. People treat words lightly. Keep your promises, however small. People will respect you, and you will get Jannah.

Rasullullah SAW said:

“The signs of a hypocrite (munafiq) are three:-

1. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie.

2. Whenever he promises, he always breaks it (his promise).

3. If you trust him, he proves to be dishonest (if you keep something as a trust with him, he will not return it).”

(Sahih Al-Bukhary: Kitab Al-Iman : Chptr 25)

So beware that we do not fall in this trap.

Get up Early In The Morning

Start your day early. There is a special sense of peace the first few hours in the morning.

It is narrated by Fatimah binti Rasullullah RA:-

“Rasullullah SAW came to my house while I was lying down in the morning. He woke me up with his foot while saying ‘O my daughter, get up and observe the ‘Rizk’ from Allah SWT and do not be amongst those who are unmindful. Verily Allah SWT gives out ‘Rizk’ to mankind from the beginning of fajr until sunrise.”

This is the time that differentiates between a resourceful, hardworking person and a lazy one. Make it a habit to rise early. The secret is to have a restful sleep. Remember it is the quality that counts, not the quantity.

Tips to getting a good sleep :

1. Do not rehearse the activities of your day before you sleep.

2. Do not eat after 8 pm ( if you must eat, have something light )

3. Do not watch the news before you sleep.

4. Do not read in bed.

Remember the saying “Early to bed, early to rise, Makes a man healthy and wise!”

Know your priorities

Time is the most precious commodity, yet most of us live our lives as if we have all the time in the world.

“……He (Allah) has subjected the Sun and the Moon! Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He doth regulate all affairs, explaining the Signs in detail; That ye may believe with certainty the meeting with your Lord” (Al- Rad : 2)

The secret to getting control of your life is to know how to focus your days- know your priorities- know what is to be done. The secret to getting things done is to know what things need to be left undone!

Management guru Peter Drucker wrote “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”

Do the ‘Action’

Most of us know what we should do with our lives. The real problem is that we do not take the action to do what we know.

A highly motivated person will do, not what is fun and easy to do but consistently do what he ought to be doing rather than do what he feels like doing.

Dreaming is great. But thinking big thoughts alone will not build a business, pay your bills or make you into the person (a Muttaqin) you know you can be. The smallest of actions is always better than the boldest of intentions.

Master your time.

Commit yourself to managing your time effectively. A true Muslim should love his ‘time’ because that ‘time’ is his life. We should utilise our time to the fullest and not let time ‘kill us’ by doing useless acts.

“On the Day that Allah will raise them all up (again) and tell them of their deeds (which) Allah has reckoned and which they forgot, For Allah is Witness to all things” (Al-Mujaddalah : 6)

Let us rethink and reorganise our lives so that we may be the Ummat Wasathan that Allah SWT describes in the Quran:

“Thus We have made of you an Ummat justly balanced that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves………” (Al-Baqarah : 143)