Muslima Success

How many of us dream of having the most righteous and successful family? How many of us envision ourselves making a profound difference in the world? How many of us ultimately dream of the highest level in Jannah, Al-Firdaws? Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was indeed one of the forerunners in teaching us about great ambition and doing all we can with ihsan (excellence). He (peace be upon him) was the first to encourage us to dream bigger as he says: “If you ask for jannah, then ask for al-firdaws, the highest” ( Muslim & Bukhari) .  He, peace be upon him also encouraged us to work hard to achieve these great ambitions by stating: “If one of you shall do a task, then he shall do it with ihsan (excellence)”. Yet, many of us may hold back from great ambitions and may not achieve or experience the true fulfillment we are capable of.   One of the main reasons for this phenomenon is what we may label as a lack of resources: time, money, knowledge, etc.  And yes, we may indeed lack ...

How many of us dream of having the most righteous and successful family? How many of us envision ourselves making a profound difference in the world? How many of us ultimately dream of the highest level in Jannah, Al-Firdaws? Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was indeed one of the forerunners in teaching us about great ambition and doing all we can with ihsan (excellence). He (peace be upon him) was the first to encourage us to dream bigger as he says: “If you ask for jannah, then ask for al-firdaws, the highest” ( Muslim & Bukhari) .  He, peace be upon him also encouraged us to work hard to achieve these great ambitions by stating: “If one of you shall do a task, then he shall do it with ihsan (excellence)”. Yet, many of us may hold back from great ambitions and may not achieve or experience the true fulfillment we are capable of.   One of the main reasons for this phenomenon is what we may label as a lack of resources: time, money, knowledge, etc.  And yes, we may indeed lack ...

Many have a deep desire to be successful and happy, yet do any of the following apply to you? *Do you feel like you’ve heard lectures, read books, sought advice from friends and family but still can’t seem to achieve the success you truly feel you are capable of? *Do you set goals for yourself, year after year, but cannot seem to maintain the motivation needed to achieve them? *Do you know the secret to achieving success both in this world and in the next given that to ‘succeed’ in this world there seems to be such an emphasis on materialism and to succeed in the next there is an emphasis on faith.  Do you know how you can reconcile the two so you can be happy and fulfilled now and later? *Do you have a way of planning for and tracking your success that is practical and keeps you motivated? If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, then you have certainly been thinking about and quite possibly expereinced some success. And in my upcoming co...

Many people have great dreams, aspirations and goals.  Yet they do not experience a lot of success.  Are any of these barriers to success holding you back? 1) Lack of Ambition Do you believe that your dreams or goals are too great to accomplish and that sometimes ambition in our community is labelled as being unrealistic or even arrogant? 2) Self Limiting Beliefs Are self-limiting beliefs such as your financial situation, time, fear of failure, or cultural interpretations that are not in line with Islamic principles of a Muslim woman’s role holding you back from pursuing your goals? 3) Lack of Motivation Do you find one of your biggest obstacles to success to be a lack of motivation and persistence to achieve your goals, especially when things don’t go as planned? If you answered “yes” to any of the options above, these are usually the top barriers to success and this is why most people will STOP and give up on achieving success.  Please know this is completely normal, and I...

Many people will spend years or even an entire lifetime not living the life they really want – one that is filled with  success, happiness, and fulfillment .  They will settle for mediocrity and live a ‘normal’ life. Have you heard the story of  “Mrs. Normal”?   Mrs. Normal grew up in a ‘normal’ family, received a ‘normal’ education, married a ‘normal’ man, had ‘normal’ children, and then, died. The story of “Mrs. Normal” is probably the story of 95% of people and some may ask,  but what is the problem with being ‘normal’ ? Normal is fine alhamdullilah and growing up with a family, receiving an education, being married and blessed with children are all in deed good things in theory. But is solely achieving these series of steps considered  amazing or outstanding ? Is it living our life with true   ihsan  (excellence) as Allah (Swt) asked of us? Is it fulfilling the role Allah (Swt) assigned as in the Quran as caretakers ( khulufa’a)  of this earth whose responsibility is to make a posi...

I had a sister recently email me with a situation that I hear and have seen often yet don’t see very much done about.  She’s a sister who moved to a new city after being married,  became pregnant soon thereafter and was blessed to become a mother, yet she is struggling in her marriage, she feels lonely and she wants to get her life back in order. I feel many sisters will suffer in silence and subhana’Allah, although to some it may seem like there is really nothing to complain about when a sister these days has even had the opportunity of being married and was blessed again with the gift of children.  Yes, we should be thankful in times of goodness and patient in times of tribulation and always turn to Allah (SwT) first and foremost, yet we know Allah (swt) says: ““And the human being was created weak” (Surat al-Nisa, 4:28).  Although our faith in Allah (swt) should give us tremendous strength and perseverance, at the end of the day we are human beings and we will...

I wanted to share a quote with you today from Omar ibn Abdil Aziz, considered to be the 5 th  righteous Caliph, who is reported to have said: “Indeed, I have an ambitious soul that craves the finer things.  Every time I reach a status in life, I ambitiously crave a status higher then that.  When I achieved the Caliph position, even though there is no position higher then that, my soul still craved a higher position. And so my soul now craves that which is higher … Jannah! “ How many of us have this kind of ambition to always achieve that which is greater for the sake of Allah, and ultimately, crave to enter a jannah that spans a heavens and the earth, that has that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has even contemplated? All of us were bestowed by Allah (SwT) with skills, talents, and passions to accomplish something great in sha Allah and it is ambition that can drive those God given gifts you have and really enable you by the grace of Allah ...