One concern that often crops up in the lives of those who want to achieve but cannot because of an inability to translate their desires and motivation into action is, how does one get out of this rut. A sister recently, may Allāh bless her, penned it so eloquently. I saw myself in her words, as I’m sure many others do so as well. She wrote about her desire to commit the Qurʾān to memory. She has the intelligence, she…
“The treadmill is, in fact, an appropriate metaphor. By some estimates, about 40 percent of people who buy home exercise equipment later say they ended up using it less than they’d expected. How hard we push ourselves in a given workout matters, of course, but I think the bigger impediment to progress is that sometimes we stop working it altogether. As any coach or athlete will tell you, consistency of effort over the long run is everything. How often do…
You can attend Islāmic seminars, talks and conferences regularly but none of it combined will have the same effect as attending a circle of knowledge at the feet of scholars in a house from the houses of Allāh, where the focus is on conveying ʿilm (rather than jokes and light humour with a copious amount of free-mixing *ducks*). You can attend circles of knowledge at the feet of scholars regularly but none of it will have the effect that attending…
Have you every observed students of knowledge? What is that one thing that is monumental in their success? Consider students who are memorising Qurʾān; what ensures that he or she reaches completion? There are so many who start off ḥifḏh, students of varying intelligence levels, of different backgrounds, and those with different limitations in their access to resources. Why isn’t it that ONLY the most intelligent ones succeed? Or only those who speak Arabic well see completion? Or only those who live…