Alhamdulillah, I turned 18 years old on 19th July 2023. I honestly felt cool and like a grown-up with my responsibilities, which was very exciting! I am genuinely so grateful to Allah for being able to witness these eighteen years on this planet and I also want to share some of the wisdom that I learned in these eighteen years with you all!

So, in this article, I will share 6 of the 18 life lessons that I learned in 18 years of my life. These life lessons are based on self-development, self-love and becoming the best version of yourself. I hope that you benefit from this article, and let’s get started!

This is part 3 of this part 3 series. Check out part 1 here and part 2 here!  

If you can’t solve a problem within 24 hours, then you need to speak up within 48 hours.

Many people do not know when to speak up when they have problems. Some spend too long trying to fix their problems on their own and bottle up their emotions while others try to vent every problem they have. So here is a rule of thumb that may help you: unless it is an emergency, speak up only if you can’t fix the problem within 24 hours and speak to someone within 48 hours. 

By doing this you can build up your own problem-solving skills but at the same not bottle up your emotions and suffer with your problems.

Don’t compromise on your standards.

This is one you have to remind yourself constantly. And that is to never compromise on your standards and self-respect. Whether it is for your dream house or a partner, don’t think that your standards are too high. Of course, nothing is perfect in this world so you need to have at least three non-negotiables to ensure you are not compromising on your standards and hence your self-respect along the way. By having three non-negotiables, it ensures that you remember your worth and you don’t settle for less.

For those people who tell you that you are too picky or too difficult or too unrealistic, it is because of their scarcity mindset. Honour your three non-negotiables and stick to them as Allah finds you worthy and He wants to give you the best. People less qualified than you are also getting what you want.

Learn to love the bad days

When I was younger, I used to be harsh on myself whenever I would have a bad day. I would ask myself why I have bad days and thought it was abnormal to have bad days, or that everyone else is always happy. That is not true. Everyone has bad days, whether it is your teachers or whether it is your favourite celebrity. I have two things to help with this: 1. Love and accept your emotions but don’t follow your emotions

2. If you are feeling bad at night, you are probably just tired. 9 times out of 10, you will feel better when you get up the next morning. So try to have an early night.

Have the right support system (the 3-person rule)

I had to mention this one. And that is because so many young people are listening to whatever they can find. The truth is that I understand that Allah puts us all in different circumstances. Some of you may have been brought up with loving parents, while others are not so lucky and have been brought up with abusive parents. Some of you may have had parents that were loving but simply did not have enough time, while other parents had all the time but not the resources or the knowledge. So here is the 3 person rule: have someone who cares about you (preferably older and someone related to you who is similar in values to you), someone who is your role model and always look at someone who you don’t want to be like and don’t follow the wrong advice they give you. And of course, remember that you and Allah are also part of your support system.

Always do what makes you happy long term

This is the advice that we need to scream out, especially to young people: look at how your actions will affect you long term! Always think about your high-value version of yourself and embody your high-value version of yourself always. Would he/she be doing this action? If it is what your high-value version of yourself would do and if it makes you happy long term then do it. By doing this, you are not wrecking yourself down the line and suffering later. You can be happy long term by taking the right actions for the rest of your life.

Always follow your gut.

Your gut is a very powerful tool. Trust your gut always and don’t doubt your gut. If you doubt your gut, you are more likely to take the wrong decision. Always trust your gut fully when taking a decision. If a gut says yes to something, do that thing. This is because your gut gives you the best and the right decision for you based on all the knowledge you have. So many books and even Mufti Menk has talked about trusting your gut. 

So always follow your gut!

That was the third part of six of the eighteen lessons I learnt in eighteen years of my life. I hope that this article benefitted you in any way. Please share this article with others, because what you share with the world comes back around to you!

If you want to read the other 12 lessons of this series, check it out here and here.  You can subscribe here to check out my blog whenever I publish: Get My Blog On Your Emails For Free

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

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• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
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• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
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• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

Alhamdulillah, I turned 18 years old on 19th July 2023. I honestly felt cool and like a grown-up with my responsibilities, which was very exciting! I am genuinely so grateful to Allah for being able to witness these eighteen years on this planet and I also want to share some of the wisdom that I learned in these eighteen years with you all!

So, in this article, I will share 6 of the 18 life lessons that I learned in 18 years of my life. These life lessons are based on self-development, self-love and becoming the best version of yourself. I hope that you benefit from this article, and let’s get started!

This is part 2 of this part 3 series. Check out part 1 here.

Failure is inevitable. Then, try not to make mistakes.

Failure is going to happen. It is guaranteed. I remember hearing this piece of advice from a motivational video and it really resonated with me. Because I personally hate and detest failure. I hate the fact that I have to feel a mixture of feeling sorry for myself, feeling overwhelmed and also disappointed in myself. But the truth is that you can never avoid failure forever. And if you do, that means you are not trying anything new.

Now, I also do not want to romanticise making mistakes. Many people also are now falling into the trap of damaging themselves now but then trying to cure it later.

The key is to always follow your gut and always do what makes you happy long term. If you end up failing, being rejected or making a mistake, let yourself feel and process all the emotions. However, don’t follow these emotions and don’t let these emotions dictate your actions. You have to learn from your mistakes and then get back up. Then, try not to make mistakes.

Only do everything for you and Allah.

I have two references for this specific lesson. The first book is ‘The Courage To Be Disliked’, where the author discusses how many people tend to see the relationships in their life as ‘vertical’ and there is a hierarchical system. Many people want to impress the people above them, and unfortunately mistreat the people below them. However, you should instead perceive your relationships to be as ‘horizontal’ which means that you treat everyone equally. That way, you don’t feel the need to impress anyone and you can do everything for you. Regardless of who is with you, you are always embodied in your boundaries and values.

The second reference is from the book ‘Loving Yourself To Great Health’. The book states that the key to every problem in this world is to love yourself more. Many people suffer from a deficiency of self-love and hence, they try to fill that emptiness within themselves by seeking approval from others. However, this is a low-value trait, filled with highs and lows. 

If you want to live a peaceful life where you can regulate your emotions and you are doing what is best for you, always do everything for you and Allah. The best three ways to do this are: always follow your gut, always do what makes you happy long term and learn more about yourself and Allah.

Diversify your identity.

It is shocking how many people live in the digital age of social media and the Internet, yet they are still struggling to do what they love. I believe that every young person should have a hobby outside of school. Not only does this mean that you will have a break from school, but it also means that you are not solely relying on school for an income in the future or to form your whole identity. Your hobbies can be monetizable or even a simple addition to your identity that can turn you into a polymath.

You are worthy all the time regardless of the situation.

You are worthy. Full stop. There is no question. There are two main ways to always remind yourself of your worth. The first reason is that Allah decided to create you as a human with free will.

However, Allah finds you and me worthy which is why we are still living humans on this Earth. The fact that we are surviving means that He is not done with us. 

The second reason is that there are people less qualified than you who have this mindset that ‘I am worthy’ and who believe in themselves, that are achieving your goals. They are living their dreams simply because they are so firm in their high self-worth. You can cultivate this mindset of high self-worth too. We are all humans and therefore, we are all worthy.

There are two components to success.

Many people believe that success comes from only one thing, and that is hard work. This could not be further from the truth. True success comes from not one, but two things: hard work and luck/unfair advantages. Both luck and unfair advantages come from Allah. In other words, for whatever you desire in this world, whether it is good grades or your dream car, you have to work hard but also pray to God because He knows what is best for you.

The best way to remind yourself is this: there are many who have gotten all A*s, the best grades and exceeded all the entry requirements for their dream university, and yet could not get in. On the other hand, another candidate may have scraped the entry requirements but somehow still get into the university. That’s why you should never give up on your dreams and keep praying to Allah.

No one is coming to save you.

I said it. It is the harsh truth you need to know. You need to stop living in the victim mindset that someone is coming to save you. And if you do feel that you need someone to change you, you may need to heal. I know that it is easier when someone helps us, but you are the one who has to work on yourself.

Once you have tried fixing the problem but it hasn’t been solved, ask someone else and always seek help from Allah.

That was the second part of six of the eighteen lessons I learnt in eighteen years of my life. I hope that this article benefitted you in any way. Please share this article with others, because what you share with the world comes back around to you!

If you want to read the first six lessons of this series, check it out here. You can subscribe here to check out my blog whenever I publish: Get My Blog On Your Emails For Free and for part 3!

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

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It is the harsh truth and it breaks my heart. But yet, it is never too late. Whether you are going through a good or bad time, whether you are religious or not, know that you are good enough. We are good enough to return to Allah. It will happen to everyone by default through death so don’t let death come to you before you turn to Allah. Now, you might be feeling scared or maybe you are thinking, please! How does one know that God even exists?

Well, the irony is that no one ever questions the unseen emotions. We cannot see love, yet we believe that true love exists. We don’t question that ‘love might be a social construct’ or ‘businesses are romanticising love to profit from customers’. No! Because babies are innately born with love, we believe that love exists. We don’t question whether happiness exists nor do we question whether sadness exists. But for some reason, when it comes to the emotion of peace one feels when they are talking to Allah, they questions whether He exists. Subhanallah! 

Even though there is no question that Allah exists, Allah still proves Himself and His love for us through the Quran. How do you know this is the right book? Because it has the answer to every single question you can think of. If not, go to the Hadiths, which are from the Prophet (pbuh) who is mentioned in the Quran. Allah even allows us to ask questions, when there are no questions to be asked. Islam is perfect.

Failure is inevitable. We should try our best not to make mistakes. When your heart gets attached to another person or another thing, let this be a reminder to you. That Allah is here. He is closer than you think. We are all worthy all the time and Allah is allowing us to breathe because He is not done with us. So if you are going through betrayal, heartbreak or rejection, know that you are not alone. Your past self has survived all the bad by the will of Allah and many humans just like you have been through it. 

Now here is what you need to do, regardless of who you are.

1. Forgive yourself for your mistakes. Promise yourself you will try your best not to make mistakes again. 
2. Seek forgiveness from Allah for allowing your heart to attach to something else besides Him. It is okay to care about this world but don’t get too attached.
3. Start working towards building those good habits again. Focus on yourself every day. Seek support if needed and do not feel alone. You have a whole Ummah behind you. Just because one person betrayed you does not mean everyone is a traitor.
4. Trust that Allah will bless you with someone and something better. He is the one who can heal your broken heart. He is the one who can wash away your fears through your tears. He is the one who has promised that the reward of all the good you do will not be lost and that indeed, what is to come will be better than what has gone by.

Remember to keep smiling. I’m not telling you to hide your emotions but rather to have the approach that

Tie your camel and trust in Allah.’

Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2517

I promise you are on your way to focusing on yourself and loving yourself.

May Allah make it easy for you Ameen. 

Share this article to everyone you know!

With love,

Surobi 

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
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This article is for anyone out there – you might be someone who prays all your prayers, but at times when you might feel lazy or you want to reflect on why you pray, this article is for you. You might be someone who wants to start praying and you want to have a motivation to pray. Or perhaps you are a new Muslim or a non Muslim here to answer your questions on why Muslims are committed to their Salah. Worry not, this article is for you. 

Disclaimer: There are an abundant number of reasons why Salah is a pillar of Islam. Here I have just listed a few of these reasons in this article.

To pray, you cleanse yourself which refreshes you physically and spiritually.

For our prayers, Muslims must ensure they are in a state of Wudhu (purity). For some, making Wudhu feels like a chore, but in reality Wudhu cleans you. Cleanliness is half of one’s faith in Islam and taking a break to make Wudhu is a great way to be clean and also wake you up, especially when you are fasting and have low energy levels. Also, a Hadith states that:

When a Muslim man performs ablution, his sins are removed from his hearing, his sight, his hands, and his legs. If he sits down, he will sit down forgiven. Musnad Aḥmad 21623, Grade: Sahih

Making Wudhu shows that you honour and respect your Lord. 

Another major reason why making Wudhu is powerful and mandatory is because it logically makes sense. Imagine if you were to meet your favourite celebrity. Would you go to see them unclean and sluggish? No, you would ensure you are clean and you smell good and you look presentable. So why should there be an exception for our Lord? He is the Creator of the Heavens, the galaxies, and this Earth. Such a being deserves the utmost respect and honour when we go to talk to Him. That is why we clean ourselves before prayer.

Salah is a constant reminder why we are here on this Earth and who we worship.

Let’s be honest, it is very easy to get caught up with this world. It is very easy to forget in this world of materialism that we require spirituality in our hearts. We need that time to bring peace and remember in the good times and bad times, everything so temporary which can be liberating. We remember that Allah is the one who can help us and protect us and we should not be attached to anything else except Him. 

Salah improves your physical and mental health.

I cannot even begin to explain how many scientists discover things and make it a trend after seeing all the benefits of it when that same thing was already told by us 1400 years ago from the Quran and Sunnah. An example is yoga. Many non Muslims do yoga to stay fit, remain flexible and destress and we Muslims already move our bodies five times a day during prayer. People also now have a gratitude journal and plan out their goals, but Salah already establishes this as you are grateful to Allah for your blessings and you can ask Allah for whatever you want that will make you happy long term. 

Salah helps you to manage your time.

One tip that everyone should follow is to plan your day around Salah, rather than the other way round. The five prayer times are fixed, so when you are studying, you could tell yourself that you will complete one chapter before Asr and then do three chapters before Maghrib. 

Salah helps you to refocus on your goals and remember your priorities. 

Unfortunately, this world and social media has made it so easy for us to compare ourselves to each other. But Islam tells us to focus on ourselves and being the best version of ourselves. The time to make Dua to Allah is so powerful because you ask Allah for what you want and you remember that it is possible if Allah wills.

Salah is what differentiates a believer from a non believer. 

One of the main motivations for me to start praying Salah was the fact that it differentiates a believer from a non believer. 

“Between a man and shirk and kufr there stands his neglect of the prayer.” Muslim in Kitaab al-Eemaan

Salah is a commandment of Allah. It is the first thing asked when you die. 

Salah is your foundation. The first thing asked when you die is whether you performed your Salah. It is the basis of faith. This is shown in the Hadith below.

“The first action for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, he will have prospered and succeeded. If they are lacking, he will have failed and lost. Sunan al-Tirmidhī 413

Salah is a direct way to make your message heard in the Heavens.

One of the most beautiful things I heard was ‘Sujood is so powerful because when your head is on the ground, you are reaching the highest of Heavens.’ 

Salah deletes sins and reaps great rewards. 

Every good deed is taken into account and is being taken on your scales for the Hereafter. Allah is All Hearing and All Seeing so He sees every time you pray your Salah, and every word you utter. Prayer is a form of Dhikr and Dhikr reaps rewards and deletes your sins.

Salah protects you from evil – both evil others put on you and also prevents you from committing sins.

The Quran states that:

“Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book, and perform the Salah. Verily, the Salah prevents from Al-Fahsha’ (immoral sins) and Al-Munkar (evil deeds) and the remembering (praising) of Allah is greater indeed. And Allah knows what you do.” Surah Al-Ankaboot (29:45)

There was also a video from Smile 2 Jannah where a real magician talks about how they find it difficult to do magic on Muslims who pray their Salah because praying Muslims are protected. You want to be protected and remain healthy? Pray your Salah.

Salah is a time where you can talk about your worries to the One who can solve them.

If we want to meet any celebrity such as Elon Musk or even Barack Obama, we need to book appointments and perhaps wait weeks, if not months to be able to talk to them. However, Allah, the Greatest and the Most Important has made it so easy for us to talk to Him. We just need to raise our hands and ask Allah to get rid of our problems, our struggles. How liberating is that? 

Salah teaches you discipline.

Who would you consider more disciplined: the person who wakes up at 5am to pray in the morning, and then goes on about their day such as exercise or work, or the person who wakes up 15 minutes before their class starts and rushes to class with their pyjamas on looking tired? Of course, the former is more disciplined and more healthy. This is what prayer does to you. It gives you purpose to wake up and succeed. That is why the Adhan (call to prayer)  even says: ‘Come to prayer. Come to success.’

There are so many reasons I can discuss why Salah is crucial to success in all aspects of life, but I will finish here. I hope you found this article beneficial, and don’t be afraid to read this article whenever you need a reminder

As always, Allah knows best. 

For those of you who may not know, I have now started my Medium blog linked here. If you would like to support my work, please comment down below this post, or head over to Medium to support me there, as well as thousands of other creators on the platform for free. 

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

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• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

These tips were given by Ustadh Abu Taymiyyah and the link to watch this lecture where I obtained these tips is down below.

Purify your inner and outer self. 

The first trait of a high value Muslim is someone who is constantly purifying themselves in and out. From the outside, this can mean staying hygienic, being clean and also using your senses to look at clean, Halal things. It also means teaching others about the Scripture and being a leader. For the inside, it means having a good diet, but also being spiritual by praying your 5 prayers and structuring your life according to the Scripture. Remember that you need consistency because surely: 

The best of sinners are those who turn back to Allah. 

Allah will humiliate you if you don’t follow Him so don’t focus your time and energy on pleasing others and instead seek to please Allah. 

A high value man is one who maintains and finances for his woman.

This may be applied to men but I think women can learn from this too. Being a high value Muslim is someone who is not lazy and who is striving to fulfil their responsibilities. These are your tasks you have to complete and Islam teaches us that a man should be the masculine provider of the family and a woman should be the feminine complementary role who provides peace to herself and her husband. Mastering and understanding your responsibilities and acting upon them can make you high value and help you to have the right focus to achieve your goals. 

A high value man is one who has Ghayrah (protective jealousy).

Protective jealousy is missing amongst many men today. It is when a man does not want his women to be exposed and keeps her safe. Of course, this does not mean that a man should not let the women in his life achieve their goals, because surely men should be supportive to their wives. But for example, a man should not be okay with letting their wife just roam around outside at 1am in the morning for no legitimate reason. Feminism can trick many women into believing that women are weak and going out at night makes them strong, but Islam teaches us that women already have all the rights they need and we should feel safe and protected by the men in our families. For a woman, it is to know your boundaries and values that is really helpful to protect yourself. They should not expose their adornment. They should be self aware. 

Those were the three main tips shared in the lecture and the explanation for each tip was based on the lecture but also based on my research and experience.  Jazakallah Khair for reading. Please share this article with anyone who can benefit!

For those of you who may not know, I have now started my Medium blog linked here. If you would like to support my work, please comment down below this post, or head over to Medium to support me there, as well as thousands of other creators on the platform for free. 

The lecture I watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7arv31OhJs

As always, Allah knows best.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

“O Messenger of Allah! It is a great Mercy of God that you are gentle and kind towards them; for, had you been harsh and hard-hearted, they would all have broken away from you.”

(Quran 3:159)

This is so beautiful and the absolute truth. The reason that some of these people who were once non Muslims, who were once burying their daughters alive, who were once committing the filthiest acts, all came to Islam were because of the Prophet’s character. It is because of the Prophet’s warmth, kindness and love. The way the Prophet understood their struggles but taught them patience. The way the Prophet forgave others despite being hurt. The way the Prophet gave to the orphans and the needy. This was the beauty of his character that brought people to Islam.

One Surah that was sent down to beautify your character to the Prophet (pbuh) was Surah Hujurat. Here are some of the takeaways I learnt from this Surah through this beautiful lecture (linked at the bottom of the article) from Ustadh Abu Taymiyyah (May Allah bless him):

Surah Hujurat was sent down to adorn the people of faith with the best of etiquettes 

The Prophet was sent to perfect our morals and teach us how to be kind. 

There are two types of etiquettes: with Allah and with people 

Once you fix the etiquettes with Allah and you please Allah, Allah will take care of what is between you and others because Allah changes the heart of people. 

To fix etiquettes with people, we need to remember that we do not have a guarantee that our good deeds have been accepted. We are all humans who always need to better ourselves so we should be kind to each other. 

Allah causes the righteous acts of people to disappear if you are doing sins behind closed doors.

You need to be righteous in front of people but also righteous with Allah behind closed doors. If you are faking it, then Allah will be displeased with you and will cause your sins to get exposed in front of others. These private sins will lead you to go astray.

The best way to be righteous both alone and in public is to do more righteous deeds alone than in public. 

By doing more righteous deeds alone, you know that you are being sincere and you are not showing off to others. In Sha Allah, this will help to purify your intentions. 

There are three reasons why Allah exposes your sins. 

Allah gives you chances but after a certain point, He will expose your shortcomings. This is to act as a punishment, notification or as a lesson for the people. 

If you want Allah to forgive you, forgive others.

Not only are you increasing your chances of Allah for forgiving you, but you also improve your character by doing so. 

Don’t listen to tale carriers.

Tale carriers are those who spread rumours about others and separate between loved ones. This is a huge sin and it is prevalent today where couples are getting divorced, and this affects the future generations and their Islam. 

There are six things every believer should do when there is a tale carrier. 

Don’t listen to the tale carrier and don’t trust them, advise them, hate them for the sake of Allah as they are despised by Allah, don’t have bad thoughts about the victim whose rumours are being spread around about, don’t spy on one another and do not tell others what they said. 

As part of good character, you can joke but you should follow these six conditions when joking.

Don’t mock the deen of Allah, don’t mock people, don’t lie, don’t shock people, don’t be excessive, choose the right time to joke.

Check out the lecture I gained the knowledge from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9y1NcEAO2g 

I hope that In Sha Allah this article has benefited you in some way. For those of you who may not know, I have now started my Medium blog linked here. If you would like to support my work, please comment down below this post, or head over to Medium to support me there, as well as thousands of other creators on the platform for free. 

Jazakallah Khair for reading. Share this article to a loved one and In Sha Allah, you will be rewarded.

As always, Allah knows best. 

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day! 

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

“Between a man and shirk and kufr there stands his neglect of the prayer.”

I know how it feels. You are a busy student in school, you may not have many Muslim friends, and you really want to pray your Salah in school, but you don’t know how to. How do you keep your Wudhu? How do you make the time to pray? How do you get rid of the embarrassment of someone walking into your room when you pray? Worry not, because in this article, I will be sharing with you all the tips on how to pray even in school or at work, whether you are a Hijabi or a non Hijabi. 

What is Salah?

Salah is one of the pillars of Islam. Muslims perform prayers and pray their 5 prayers throughout the day at set assigned times.

Before school/work:

Make Wudhu.

Hopefully, you are making Wudhu in the morning for Fajr anyways. You can choose to keep this Wudhu on for the rest of the day or even do Wudhu right before you leave the house. Regardless of when you do Wudhu, wear a pair of socks while you are in the state of Wudhu. Even if you do not plan to break your Wudhu, if it ends happening, you can just do Masah over Socks.

Take the essentials with you.

If you are a non Hijabi, always keep a headscarf with you, preferably the long home ones. You can just buy one only to wear outside and always keep it in your bag. Also have a pocket prayer mat. If you wear makeup, and you suspect you will need to wipe your make up off, have a cleanser and cotton pads to wipe them off. Keep a water bottle to use in the toilet, if you need to use the toilet. For me as a Hijabi, I just carry a pocket prayer mat with me everywhere. I also keep a moisturiser to moisturise my face after Wudhu. 

It might seem like a lot, but trust me, it is not that much in the long run. 

Check the prayer times and make a to do list around your prayers.

This is the best way to ensure your prayers are incorporated. You can also fit your tasks around your prayers. Another reason why you should do this is because then you also know when your free periods are to make Wudhu so you can get prepared for prayer.

During School/Work:

Do Wudhu.

So it may feel a little scary to do this in public. But please do not be ashamed of doing Wudhu in front of others. Muslims will usually know what you are doing and if you encounter non Muslims, tell them that you are getting ready for prayer. If they have questions, seek knowledge about Wudhu. Remember that you are not only spreading Dawah but you are also cleansing yourself and your sins are falling off before prayer. So make Wudhu with confidence.

You also don’t need to wash your feet if you did Masah over socks. If you want more information about this, check out this article.

Find a spot to pray. 

You are incredibly lucky if you have a prayer room in your school/work place. I am absolutely blessed that my school does have a prayer room and I thank Allah for it. If you don’t have access to a prayer room, find a spare room to pray in. No one should ever restrict you from prayer unless you are interrupting anything. Have the app on your phone to find the Qibla and then place your pocket prayer mat on the ground and pray!

Bonus tip: consistency is key!

On those days where your Imaan is low, you may find it hard to pray. There will be days where you ask yourself what is the point, you may feel lazy or too sad. But remember that Allah sees your efforts. And indeed, Allah promises that:

Make friends who also pray if possible! You can keep each other accountable! You can then start to go to Islamic events and improve even more. But always keep your intentions pure. 

So keep praying! It will pay off in this life or/and in the Hereafter In Sha Allah!

That is it! That is how you pray! 

I hope you have enjoyed reading this article. If you enjoyed this article or found it beneficial, please check out my other articles too:

As always, Allah knows best. Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

Assalamu Alaikum to the Muslims or hello to the non-Muslims! In this article, I will be sharing my fabulous and exciting trip to East London Mosque where I listened to a talk from The Sunnah Guy and Abu Taymiyyah. This happened on the 14th January 2023, and it was the first Islamic event I attended on 2023 Alhamdulillah. So what did I learn?

Disclaimer: As usual, I was not able to list all the lessons I learnt on this blog post, so I am just sharing some of the key highlights that I learned.

What is the ‘Shaytan’s Khutbah’ event?

This event happened in the East London Mosque, held by The Sunnah Guy and Abu Taymiyah. They discussed some of the social issues of the 21st century so it was the perfect talk for everyone.

Timeline of Events:

The doors opened at 6:30pm. My sister and I arrived slightly later. This event was so packed with thousands of people that they had to open up the first floor Subhanallah! My sister and I went upstairs and we were able to watch it from the big screen. It was spacious and there were many sisters there. 

1. First Speaker: The Sunnah Guy 
2. Prayed Isha in East London Mosque
3. Second Speaker: Charity 
4. Third Speaker: Abu Taymiyah 
5. The Sunnah Guy and Abu Taymiyah 
6. QnA session 

First Speaker: The Sunnah Guy

• I was so excited to see The Sunnah Guy as his shorts on YouTube are very engaging and beneficial. You can find them here: https://youtube.com/@thesunnahguy
• ‘The best of sinners are those who turn back to Allah.’ 
• One’s desires are their shackles so don’t be fooled by social media as they may lack fulfilment and instead have the right expectations in this world
• Focus on yourself and save yourself from the Hellfire by being with ode who encourage you to be on right path and never feel shy to be Muslim. 

Second Speaker: Charity Partner

Third Speaker: Abu Taymiyah

• There will be four directions which are the ways Shaytan takes you away from Allah:
• Front – doubts about the Hereafter and religion (through philosophy)
• Back – cause them to love the Dunya and keep asking ‘what’s next?’  when in reality the heart craves for its Creator. 
• Right – blocking away from knowledge.
• Shaytan cannot come above and in between you and Allah. 
• Our ultimate purpose is to worship Allah.
• Shaytan can use other tricks such as through pronouns/surgery/watching movies. But the most beloved act of Shaytan is drugs and intoxication.
• Every man is for himself so don’t do evil acts for anyone and you are the one who accepts the invitation. 
• The two types of clothing are:
• Clothing to wear on our bodies.
• Clothing of Taqwa: having self consciousness 
• Men are made weak so be careful how you conduct yourself.
• The more you learn about Allah, the more glorified it will become.
• The 6 tricks of the devil: committing Kufr/Shirk, innovations, major sins, minor sins, busying yourself with what is less virtuous, and your family members. 
• Always ask yourself, ‘what is the root cause of all these sins?’ 
• Everyone is welcome in the mosque, whether you are a non Hijabi or whether you are a niqabi, Whether you are a drug addict, whether you are practising or non practising, you are welcome into the mosque and into Islam.

Fourth Speaker: The Sunnah Guy and Abu Taymiyah 

• Stay close to your elders and a man and a woman should not be secluded. 
• The more Haram you do outside of marriage, the less Baraka in your marriage. 
• Men’s weakness are women and money so make sure you have good people around you. 
• Music will cause hypocrisy as it exposes you to women, takes you away from Quran and the love of music and Quran cannot happen together. 

Q&A session 

• Work towards being a righteous person. Look for a wife not only with looks but also who will be a righteous mother. 
• To stop watching inappropriate content online, get rid of smartphone just like Sulaiman (pbuh) slaughtered his branded horse. 
• Pray two rakats when you fall into sin and keep going.

Food:

In terms of food, my sister each had our own egg bread which was bread containing egg which was really huge and quite delicious. We also had pakoras. 

Alhamdulillah, this was my article on this amazing event! I really enjoyed this event by the mercy of Allah and I would highly recommend anyone to come to events such as these. It was very engaging and both speakers were fabulous (may Allah bless them). 

Please share this article with anyone who can benefit.

Of course, as always Allah knows best.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

“By Allah, that Allah guides a man through you is better for you than a herd of expensive red camels.”

Sahih Al Bukhari 2487

Assalamu Alaikum to my Muslim readers or hello to my non-Muslim readers. I had the pleasure and the privilege of going to an Islamic event on Friday 16th December 2022. This event was known as ‘Paradise on Earth’ and it featured four great speakers Subhanallah. They were none other than Hamza Tzortzis, Yahya Rabbi, Asim Khan and Kazi Ashiqur Rahman.

In this article, I will be sharing my experience at this event. I was not able to list all the lessons I learnt, but In Sha Allah, you can still benefit from this article.

What is the ‘Paradise on Earth’ event?

The ‘Paradise on Earth’ event is an event that was hosted by some speakers. This event was held at the London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel, London.The four topics that it consisted of were: ‘Up All Night’, ‘Pathway To Paradise’, ‘Your Mother’ and ‘The Great Struggle’. This event was for brothers and sisters.

Timeline of Events:

The doors opened at 6:30pm. My female friends and I arrived around that time and after we got registered, we took our seats. There was food available such as sweets and samosas. At around 7pm, the event began whereby the host went over some logistics before going over to speakers. 

1. First Speaker: Kazi Ashiqur Rahman
2. Prayed Isha in East London Mosque
3. Second Speaker: IlmForum
4. Third Speaker: Hamza Tzortsis
5. Fourth Speaker: Charity Partner ‘Action For Humanity’
6. Fifth Speaker: Yahya Rabbi
7. Sixth Speaker: Asim Khan
8. Seventh Speaker: Closing Dua
9. ‘The Divine Reality’ Book Signing 

First Speaker: Kazi Ashiqur Rahman – Pathway To Paradise

• Allah gives you 10 Salams when you give Salam to the Prophet (pbuh).
• Some of the ways to get to Jannah:
• Repeat after the Muezzin when he does the Adhan, except when they say ‘Haya alal Falah’ and ‘Haya alal Salah’, where you say ‘La hawla la quwwata illa billahil alliyul azeem’.
• As long as you do no Shirk, you pray your Salah, fast in Ramadan, do the 5 pillars of Islam and do many acts of Ibadah, you will go to Jannah.
• If you visit a sick person, it is very rewarding.
• There are a few signs that one will go to Jannah when they are in their grave: perfume/scent will emanate from the grave, the grave is widened and it is a peaceful death.

Second Speaker: Ilm Forum

• ‘Charity extinguishes sins like water extinguishes fire’.

Third Speaker: Hamza Tzortzis – The Greatest Struggle

• Dawah is to invite and it is to spread the essence of Islam and the Quran which is Tawheed. The main messages one should spread when giving Dawah is: to promote the oneness of Allah, to encourage using the Prophet (pbuh) as a role model, to reduce hatred of Islam, and showcase its superiority as Islam is not a failed civilization.
• Allah praises us if we give Dawah. We have a collective duty to give Dawah as Muslims and Allah favours, honours and considers those who give Dawah/perform good work as the best of people.
• Dawah also means you start connecting to the Quran more and there is an Imam Bukhari Hadith that states that guiding people to Islam is the best type of wealth.

Fourth Speaker: Charity Partner ‘Action For Humanity’

‘Tara Taree’ Samosa and Chicken Roll

Each of the food items were £1.50 and they were being sold in the centre. The samosa was filled with the chicken and the delicious Asian flavours. It was large in size and had a nice golden colour at the front and filled with the toppings inside. It was definitely a nice snack to have while listening to the lecture.

The chicken roll looked like one of my favourites, ‘Aloo Chop’. It was nice and large, and it had the orange-golden colour. Overall, this also tasted delicious as well but it did have a hint of spice in it! It was yummy!

‘Cakes And Craves’ Chocolate Cake and Custard

Yum! This was just yum! In the mosque, there was a selection of desserts available and I had a hard time choosing one. In the end, I chose this chocolate cake and custard and there were no regrets Subhanallah! This chocolate cake combined with the custard was absolutely tasty and it was smooth at the top. Even just looking at the cake was tempting. I really enjoyed this dessert, and it was £4.

This charity, Alhamdulillah raised over £30,000 for charity in less than an hour Alhamdulillah, which really shows the generosity of Muslims.

Fifth Speaker: Yahya Rabbi – Up All Night

• No act of worship is more important than Salah.
• Prayer protects you from Haram, and if it doesn’t make you feel bad for committing sin, then it either means that you have not been praying, or it has not been observed properly.
• Salah differentiates whether you are Muslim or not ‘Whoever abandons the prayer, there is no religion.’

Sixth Speaker: Asim Khan – Your Mother

• Imam Bukhari, the great author of the Sahih Bukhari books, was partially sighted and eventually became blind. His mother made so much Dua for him and saw a dream with glad tidings for him that He regained his eyesight.
• His eyesight was even better than he had previously and he got photographic memory after the Dua. 
• The 3 prayers were always accepted: the Dua of the Oppressed, the Dua of the Traveller, and the Dua of both parents. In terms of your parents, make the best of the situation by doing what you think Allah would want. 

Book Signing

I received the book ‘The Divine Reality: God, Islam and The Mirage of Atheism’ for free with the book signing by the author!

Alhamdulillah, this was my article on this amazing event! I really enjoyed this event by the mercy of Allah and I would highly recommend anyone to come to events such as these. Please share this article with anyone who can benefit.

Of course, as always Allah knows best.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

When creating new routines, incorporate your 5 Salahs. 

At this time of year, many people are creating their ideal morning and evening routine to follow every day. So if you are, add in your prayer times first and then all your other tasks. That way you prioritise your prayers and also work everything around your prayers. I know prayers can sometimes be difficult to do for some people, but without the constant remembrance of Allah 5 times a day, you won’t have a foundation and it would be hard to build up your faith in Allah. 

Make learning about Islam exciting.

Shaytan can make you feel like learning about Islam is difficult or complicated when in reality it is so simple and exciting. Find ways to learn about Islam from authentic sources. If you love reading books, pick up some books on Islam. If you like listening to podcasts, subscribe to some. The world has a wealth of resources so don’t be afraid to dig in and incorporate some research every day. 

Invest in some good materials.

While thinking of going back to school shopping for stationery and books, have you thought about shopping for some Islamic items? For me, I went to the Zam Zam store recently, and I bought myself a new cotton hijab to wear while praying. Buy yourself some items (you don’t need to break the bank) that could possibly motivate you to get closer to the religion and help fulfil your Sunnahs, whether it is a comfy prayer mat, Atar or even a nail cutter.

Connect with the Quran.

Again, a very simple habit but one that many struggle to do. If you feel overwhelmed with the thought of reading 10 chapters of the Quran every day, then don’t. Because a) you don’t need to overwhelm yourself and b) you don’t even need to read 10 chapters. Find a way that will make reading the Quran a habit, even if it is two verses every day. Whether it is by installing an app such as Quranly that motivates you to read the Quran or having a set time in the day e.g. after Zuhr, you can find a way to read a few verses every day for some time. Indeed, something is better than nothing.

Accept that seasons change but consistency is key. 

One thing that you need to accept as you strengthen your connection with Allah is that your Imaan (faith) will have seasons. There may be times where you feel so connected and you feel like to pray your extra prayers, read more of the Quran or attend the mosque daily. And there may be other times where even praying the 5 compulsory prayers gets difficult for you. And that is okay. You are not perfect, but you are practising and that is what matters. Even if you have time where you don’t feel connected, my biggest tip would be to just keep being consistent with your prayers. Because as soon as you start missing your Salah, it is easy to forget about all the other aspects of Islam. Be self aware of your bad habits and keep working on them. Keep working on your relationship with Allah. I promise you that it feels so good to know that there is someone out there for us, guiding us, loving us, and always there to forgive us.

I hope that these five tips help you to start supercharging your Imaan and I pray that we all feel the peace and contentment in our souls that we can only feel with the presence of Allah in our lives.

Of course, Allah always knows best.

Please share this article with anyone going back to school/work! 

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know