Muslima Success

In light of all the tragic and heart breaking events happening to people all around the world, of all faiths, I write this knowing that I and many of the people reading this are infinitely blessed, which can therefore cause a great amount of guilt and feelings of helplessness when we see great suffering happening around us. Indeed, Prophet Muhammad says “Whoever wakes up safely in his home and is healthy in his body and has provisions for his day, would have acquired all the worldly possessions he is in need of.” (Al-Tirmidhi). I am writing this though to help us all form a new lens – yes indeed, people around the world are being tested with losing their homes, their families, and their lives – with losing everything dear to them.  So what is our test? What is our test when we are blessed from head to toe with safety, shelter, food, and family amongst countless other blessings? Our test is how we will use those blessings to make this world a better place. Our test is how we ...

Alhamdullilah, as Muslims, we are given the gift of understanding our purpose on earth, which people will spend a lifetime searching for, in the Quran in the following verses: “I have not created mankind and jinn except to worship Me” (51:56) “When your Lord said to the angels: ‘I am placing on the earth a caliph” (2:30) These two verses would need pages and chapters written to reveal their full depth and meaning.  Very briefly though, ‘worship’ in the first verse is not limited to our prayers and fasting for example but can truly encompass everything we do in our lives when we do it with the intention of drawing nearer to Allah.  So it can include our eating, sleeping, spending time with our loved ones, studying, working, etc. As for the meaning of ‘caliph’ – this term is used to define the one who will take care of this earth, help build it, make a positive difference and fulfill the role of leadership that Allah (Swt) has placed them in – whatever that role may be – from a Hea...

When any kind of turbulence or tribulation strikes in our lives, we must remember that it does not have to break us or stop us from pursuing our path to Allah (Swt).  In fact, we can by the will of Allah (Swt), use it to confirm and affirm our convictions and to increase our determination, trust in Allah (Swt) and our good deeds in this world that will in sha Allah lead to a place of ultimate bliss and happiness. The prophet peace be upon him has told us that “If Allah loves a servant, He shall test him” so imagine that even in the midst of the tribulation you are facing, the King of the Worlds, the One Who Holds the Dominion of the Heavens and the Earth, the All Merciful, the All Compassionate, is there with you, loving you and guiding you, every step of the way.  The key is will you turn to Him? Will you turn to Him to allow you to transform that tribulation or difficulty into a source of energy and motivation to step into something bigger and better in sha Allah?  Indeed...

You know how sometimes you really want something to happen or there’s already something really important happening in your life, yet you feel like there are so many challenges and obstacles to overcome? Whether it’s a personal or community project, a new relationship like starting a marriage or expecting a child, or acquiring a new job, you will notice more often than not, that anytime we as human beings want to do something great or important and start creating more fulfillment in our lives and in the lives of others, that there will be all sorts of tests and tribulations along the way. We have so many examples of this from our Islamic history.  Think about the Prophet peace be upon him.  He was the one man on earth at the time who had revelation coming down to him, peace be upon him, from the seventh heaven.  He was the most beloved human being to Allah (Swt) and had an ever so important message to deliver, yet he faced trials and tribulations, one after the other. After his first in...

The Power of Your Decisions -By Raghad Ebied Have you decided where you want to be in the next 5 to 10 years of your life? Anthony Robbins makes such a simple, yet thoughtful statement.  He says “You see, ten years from now, you will surely arrive.  The question is: Where? Who will you have become? How will you live? What will you contribute? Now is the time to design the next ten years of your life – not once they’re over”. Many times, we are in the “I wish I had done that” mode – we always seem to realize what we could have done a lot later than when we could have actually done it.  This statement also comes up several times in the Quran when people wished if they had believed or they wished if they had done good. The reason for this is that we are not able to make firm decisions and commit to them.  Or we let the circumstances or the people around us make our decisions for us. What does it take to make a decision? Making a decision takes an honest and courageous stance from you to...

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 ...

When I first thought about the question posed in a program I watched today about the most important characteristic of success – a lot of things came to mind – vision, passion, patience – but once the speaker explained that it is in fact adaptability, I understood its importance. The case made by the speaker for adaptability being the most important characteristic of success was that change is the only constant we have in life.  Nothing is guaranteed. We can plan, and execute, and persist; but ultimately, things may not happen the way we expected or wanted. Thus, the case for adaptability.  In order to be successful and overcome the odds, challenges, surprises that you encounter, adaptability can be the single most important characteristic of success. The speaker gave the example of Farouq Al-Baz – who believe it or not – was actually one of the  forerunners of helping man land on the moon.  He was an Egyptian Muslim who grew up in the country-side in Egypt and dreamed of being an amazi...

When was the last time we told our children they can accomplish anything they want in the world, no matter how big it seems or how impossible it may be?   Do you think that a six year old could raise enough money to build a well inAfricaand 12 years later continue to fundraise until he has built 500 hundred water projects in 16 countries, bringing water and improved sanitation to over 620,000 people?   Well this six year old really exists – his name is Ryan Hreljac and he has his own international non profit organization called the “Ryan’s Well Foundation”.  Over 12 years ago, after his grade one teacher told him there are children dying inAfricabecause they don’t have clean water, he went home to his parents and demanded that he do something about it.  I heard his mother, Susan Hrejlac, recently share her experience at an event, and she relates that they did not take him seriously until one night at the dinner table, Ryan looked her and his dad straight in the eye, ...

I am not a feminist, but I am an advocate for justice and equity for all members of society: women, men, children, people of all races and faiths, the poor and the oppressed.   In my understanding, feminists today are still fighting for women’s rights, as are all other types of advocates on behalf of other populations.  Yet, as a young Muslim Palestinian-Canadian woman, I am so honoured and humbled by how my faith, over 1400 years ago, brought justice to all members of society: especially women.   Today, Muslim women are seen by some as oppressed and backward; yet, I feel quite the contrary.  I feel liberated, empowered, and ultimately blessed.   I feel liberated because wearing my headscarf encourages others to deal with me according to my character and intellect as opposed to my physical appearance.   I feel empowered because Islam gave me the rights to knowledge, to handle my own financial matters, to inherit, to take part in the political and social sphere, and t...

Rare are the times when you are so profoundly affected by the story and power of a single human being.  A human being that although having experienced tremendous tragedy and sadness, rises from the tragedy to spread a message to the world titled: “I Shall Not Hate.” Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Muslim Palestinian medical doctor, who was the first official doctor to practice in an Israeli hospital, enlightened us with his presence in Ottawa on March 5, 2011 in the Ottawa Public Library.  Dr. Abuelaish was here to share us with us the story behind his best seller book, “I Shall Not Hate”.  The Gaza based doctor, now living and practicing at the University of Toronto, lost his wife to leukemia in September 2008, leaving behind eight children.  Dr. Abuelaish spoke so beautifully of his late wife and the significant role of a mother having experienced firsthand how tremendous the role of his mother was in his life to push him to succeed and achieve what nobody else in his place had achieved be...

Your Contribution to Humanity One of the questions that many of us may have been asked as children was: “So, what do you want to be when you grow up?”  And maybe to a certain extent, many of us still ask that question of ourselves.   Choosing a career path is certainly not an easy matter for your career choice could impact everything in your life – your health, your family, your relationships, your financial status – and even your faith.  So many people have ended up in careers they are unsatisfied with because they never took the time to really think about it and plan for it.   As a Muslim, what should you base your career choice upon? Let us first take a step back  and remember our ultimate purpose on earth.  Allah (swt) tells us: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me ” (Quran 51:56) and “When your Lord said to the angels: ‘I am placing on the earth a caliph…” (2:30).   So when thinking about a career path, it’s important ...

If you want it, believe in it, pray for it, work for it…. You will achieve it in sha Allah.  I decided the very first post I write on this website after the welcome message would be how this project came to fruition.  It has been months if not years since the thought of having a project like this has been circulating in my mind but having gone multiple transitions from moving to marriage to motherhood, it was delayed.  It was delayed until I reached a point where I longed to make a true difference in the world, where my soul searched and searched for true contentment, and where I prayed to Allah (SwT) that He guides me to the best and grants me an opportunity to make that profound difference I have always longed for. And subhana’Allah, it was only days after, that I mustered the energy, strength, and inspiration to launch this project.  After Allah (SwT), I owe a thank you to my husband who encouraged me to take the leap and pursue my dream. My dream of touching the lives of Musli...