In the Name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Compassionate, What do you do in your spare time? and what do you do in your private time? Time is perhaps the most valuable thing. Not a second can we bring back. We have worldly duties too, we go to work, school, college, we are parents, siblings, spouses and so on. Doing these duties with the right intentions may also be a form worship. Yet, there are times in which we are alone and we may have an hour or two to spare. Perhaps for some even more so and perhaps for some much less. What you do in this time speaks a lot about who you are. This time is precious in renewing your intentions, in keeping a self check and even more to i

In the Name of Allah the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, To ensure that every act becomes worship we must tell our heart: 'This is for Allah alone.' If people are pleased, that is no success. We have been fooled. The goal for us should be: That Allah the Almighty is. ~ Umar ibn al-Khattab reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, 'Verily, deeds are only with intentions and every person will have only what they intended. Whoever emigrated to Allah and His Messenger, his emigration is for Allah and His Messenger. Whoever emigrated to get something in the world or to marry a woman, his emigration is for that to which he emigrated.' Sou

My boss shared this weird story where in one year he had to report to three different managers at the same time. He had to go through his performance review (PR) at the end of the year with the three of them. Two were pleased with his performance, one was not. They had to go through arbitration, did he perform well on that year or not?! That is exactly what happens when you have multiple gods, not necessarily being worshipped besides Allah, but when you have multiple deities and different forces pulling you into different directions. back to the story: it turned out that the manager who gave my boss a bad review expected him to be on his desk all eight hours, whereas the other t

Does Allah love the man praying in the masjid all day and night more? Or does He love the woman barely able to make sujood without three little kids hanging off her back in the middle of the chaos of raising young children? Does He love the woman who teaches Quran all day without charge more? Or the man who works all day so he can financially support her ability to do so? Does He love the elderly father who is caring for his disabled adult son more? Or does He love the custodian of the masjid who cares for His House? Does He love the woman who is working night and day in the hospital saving lives more? Or the teacher who makes his classroom a safe space for kids in high risk areas?

A motive lies behind every deed, decision, and act of worship. Our motives are the engines behind our actions. They stem from our most fundamental feelings: love, hate, fear and desire. To get ourselves to do something, we have to be motivated. When we love, we will do anything to please our loved one and guard them from harm, even at great inconvenience to ourselves. Every day, we do things that are difficult or seemingly inefficient, because we are motivated by something greater than the action itself. Parents stay up at night when their children are sick out of love and fear for their well-being. We undergo uncomfortable medical procedures, and many of us exercise to the point of soren

Abu Hurayrah narrates: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: 'The earth will discharge its hidden treasures like pillars of gold and silver. Then the murderer will come and say: ‘I murdered for this?!’ Then the one who cut ties will come and say: ‘I cut ties with my family for this?!’ Then the thief will come and say: ‘My hand was cut for this?!’ They will then leave it and not take anything from it.' [Authentic: Narrated by Muslim (1013)]

Abu Hurayrah narrates: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: 'Allah does not look at your physical forms and wealth, but rather looks at your hearts and deeds.' [Authentic: Narrated by Muslim (2564:34)]

Ubay b. Ka‘b narrates that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: 'Give the good news to this nation of women, elevation, victory, and establishment in the earth. But whoever among them does the work of the afterlife for this life will not have any share of the afterlife.' [Sound: Narrated by Ahmad (21220), and authenticated by Ibn Hibbân (405), and al-Hâkim (4/311), and al-Maqdisi in al-Mukhtârah (1154)]

Ibn ‘Abbâs narrates about the verse: And of the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. [22:11] A man would arrive in Madinah, and if his wife gave birth and his horse delivered a baby, he would say: 'This is a good religion.' If, however, his wife did not give birth, and his horse did not deliver a baby, he would say: 'This is a bad religion.' [Authentic: Narrated by al-Bukhari (4742)]