I hate routine. Except when it comes to morning routines :) That’s something I try and stick to! ;) There’s something about starting your day on a number of pre-planned actions that really set your day straight. Below I describe the ‘ideal’ ProductiveMuslim morning routine. (Note: I assume that Fajr Athan is at 5.00am and that work starts at 8am, feel free to ‘adjust’ the routine below to suit your timetable inshaAllah) 4.00AM – 5.00AM: 5 Essential Actions 1. Wake up! Perhaps the first and

If you want to up your protein intake, bulk up on all essential vitamins (except Vitamin C) and amino acids, then there's nothing better than eggs. So you can forget the old warning that suggests you can't eat more than three or four eggs a week because they are high on cholesterol. Innumerable studies and experts have confirmed that 'the cholesterol we eat has little or no effect on blood cholesterol levels, and that we actually need cholesterol to build cell membranes, digest fats and make hor

We communicate with people on a daily basis, and what’s better than learning some important types of etiquette that could improve our daily interactions! I personally worked as an elementary school teacher in Sharjah for a period of time. After Allah  blessed me with my third child, I couldn’t get back to work and I didn’t miss the work environment much except for a few wonderful things that used to happen. I reminisced all those small, lovely things and especially remembered the peace greetings

An old friend of mine once said to me, “There’s a myth that’s going around these days, the myth says: If you can manage your time, you can do anything!”. Four years from hearing this advice, I don’t believe it’s a myth anymore. We all hear about time management and it’s importance, and people shout at us from time to time that we should time manage properly, but rarely do we hear a concise methodology of how to time manage! In order to understand how to time manage, you firstly need to und

You should aim to develop the following 7 Spiritually Productive activities into habits so that you can hopefully continue benefitting from them throughout your life. I consider these activities as the spiritual ‘bread and butter’ of any ProductiveMuslim. To develop them as habits is the essence of embarking on your journey towards the love of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) and constantly increasing in your eman, inshaAllah: 1) Pray the Sunnah Prayers before and/or after Prayer: I know it’s easie

By Shahul Hameed The prostration in prayer symbolizes the worshipper's total and unconditional submission to God Almighty. Islam signifies the subjection of all activities in all walks of life to the Law of God Almighty, and leaving nothing to the whims and fancies of anyone else. God has commanded the believers to declare: {Truly, my prayer, my service of sacrifice, my life, and my death, are (all) for Allah (God), the Cherisher of the Worlds.} (Quran6:162) This means that

Are you usually punctual or late? Do you finish things within the time you stipulate? Do you hand in your reports/work on time? Are you able to accomplish what you want to do before deadlines? Are you a good time manager? If your answer is “no” to any of the questions above, that means you’re not managing your time as well as you want. Here are 20 tips on how to be a better time manager: Create a daily plan. Plan your day before it unfolds. Do it in the morning or even better, the night b

These two stories from the Prophet’s (S.A.W.S.) ahadith (sayings) shed light on Allah’s happiness when we ask Him for His forgiveness for our sins. The stories also show that Allah is always looking for ways to forgive his believing slaves – we just need to make that strong intention to look inward, recognize our sins, and then to repent for those sins and ask Him for His forgiveness. In a popular hadith, Ibn Mas’ud narrated that the Prophet said: “Indeed, Allah is more happy with the re

Al-Rum (The Romans) - Chapter 30: Verse 8 (partial) "Have they not reflected on their own selves?" There are plenty of signs and evidence which point to the Hereafter but people are heedless of these due to their own shortsightedness. They only see the apparent and outward aspect of this worldly life and they are unaware of what is hidden behind it. If people reflect on their own selves, apart from the external phenomena, they will realize the necessity of a second life after the present

A Dutch study has concluded that that eating a lot of fruits and vegetables with white flesh, such as apples and pears, is linked to protecting against stroke. While previous studies have linked high consumption of fruits and vegetables with lower stroke risk, the researchers' prospective work is the first to examine associations of fruits and vegetable color groups with stroke. The color of the edible portion of fruits and vegetables reflects the presence of beneficial phytochemicals such

The believers are encouraged to be thoughtful and to speak only with discretion and forethought as to the likely effects of the words they utter. For those who do so, the following Hadith promises a great spiritual reward: "When a servant of God says that which is clear and correct (i.e. having given thought to whether it is beneficial or not), through (his words) he is distanced from the Fire by a distance greater than that what is between sunrise and sunset." [Riyad As-Saleheen] When quoti

Clarifying expectations is to create shared vision and agreement about what is to be done up front. This is one of those behaviours that people rarely pay enough attention to. It is the behaviour of prevention because if you focus on this one up front, you will avoid heartaches and headaches later on. Clarifying expectations can be challenging. We each bring our own meaning to language and experience. Meaning is not in things; it's not even necessarily in words. Meaning is in people. So even if

Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage) - Chapter 22: Verse 34 (partial) "Herald (the good news) to those who humble themselves." Humility is one of the precursors of the state of serenity; it is the inception of safety from reversal and hesitation. It consists of three levels: The first level is having virtuousness overcome desire, willpower staving off carelessness and the quest winning over coziness. The second level consists in not having any cause diminish one's willpower, any incident alienat

Lack of sleep has led me to make many bad decisions: I've fumbled at work, eaten an extra meal, forgotten important events and on more than one occassion, worked through a terrible headache. I never attributed these mistakes to lack of sleep until recently when I rediscovered its true value. Sleep makes people happy, productive and more energetic. But the lack of it can contribute to a string of health problems: weight-loss, high blood pressure, lower immunity and low productivity. Accordi

Al-Furqan (The Criterion) - Chapter 25: Verses 75, 76 "These will be rewarded for all their patient endurance [in life” with a high station in heaven, and will be met there with a greeting of welcome and peace, and there they shall abide; how goodly an abode and how high a station." The Arabic text uses the term al-ghurfah, which is translated here as ‘a high station in heaven’. The term may be taken to mean in this context either heaven, or a special place in heaven. Linguistically speak

Some foods are better than others for providing a superior source of antioxidants and essential nutrients. These "superfoods" are whole foods that pack a lot of punch for theirweight as far as nutrition goes. Here are ten superfoods that are readily available for most of the year, and which should be incorporated into your diet on a daily or weekly basis. Try to eat as many of them organic and unprocessed as possible.   Green Leafy vegetablesGreen leafy vegetables are so readily a

Understanding the Prophet's Life  Just in Love Our love for the Prophet should encourage us toward love for humanity, kindness, and forgiveness. It should never be an excuse to foment hatred, which can lead to violence against other people. Whether we are living as a minority community or make up the majority in any country, Muslims must never fall into the deadly habit of collective blame for crimes. In specific, we must never generalize and harm our neighbours who may share the faith of t

Indian Republic Day is an event that commemorates the date, 26 January 1950 on which the “Constitution of India” came to existence by replacing Government of India Act 1935. This day is very significant in Indian history as on this day India became republic from the ‘British Dominion’. Every year this day is celebrated with much enthusiasm throughout India. A massive parade is organized to showcase the growth of Indian from every aspect. Origin Though India had got its freedom from the han