Split your du'a into 3 areas...

The past: Beg Allah to erase your past sins and mistakes

The present: Ask Allah for guidance and steadfastness in all that you do

The future (the big one): Pray for the ultimate success in the Hereafter Palms up together

Don't Worry About The Future

Shaykh Aidh Al Qarni

📚How Can I Bring Myself to Read More?

1. Address the issue of why you don't read as often as you want to. Are the books that you have not engaging? Are they in a language/topic that you do not understand well? Is it too long? Do you feel that you do not have time? After discovering the issue, find a solution for it.

2. Look at various genres to see what interests you the most, and start with that. If you are not enjoying a particular book, put it on a pause and read something else in the meantime.

❗️Don't allow your mind to associate reading with burdensome, boredom & difficulty.

3. Set a goal of how many/what books you want to read, and break down your goals into short enjoyable sections. Set a time daily to complete that section.

4. Start with shorter books. After you have successfully finished reading it, you'll be motivated to continue reading.

❗️Success → motivation → success → motivation. It's a great cycle.

5. Remind yourself of your goals. Sometimes, just reading 'for leisure' or 'because it's trendy' is harder to do than if you want to read to gain knowledge, seek advice, rectify yourself, or even to write a book review.

6. Surround yourself with like-minded people who are avid readers and discuss different titles together for motivation.

7. Surround yourself with books. Have a book in the car, on your desk, near your bed, on the sofa, so that you are constantly reminded/invited to read.

8. Invest in books so that you have a wider selection of books to choose from. Visit the library often if possible.

[thehadithdisciple]

The incident of Tāif where the Messenger ﷺ journeyed to for the sake of inviting the people of the city to the religion of Islām.

Events soon took a turn for the worse as he ﷺ was forced out of the city in disgrace.

Listen to the wisdom of this incident.

[Shaykh Abdul Aziz al-Turayfi]

Ibn Hazam رحمه الله:

“In terms of wealth and health, look at those who are less fortunate [in return you will be grateful for what you have], and in knowledge and religion look at those above you [in return you will realise how much you lack in this regard]

[الأخلاق والسير]

Learning the Qur’ān & Developing Sublime Character come hand-in-hand.

Both require you to take and be reliant on a teacher.

Both require you to be humbled and corrected.

Both require you to constantly improve.

Both are based on practical implementation to achieve excellence.

Constantly strive to prepare yourself for the meeting with Allāh regardless of whoever or whatever is apart of your life or not. Don't put your righteousness on hold waiting for marriage or the attainment of a worldly matter, for none of that is promised. However, death is!

Lowering the gaze

[Shaykh ‘Ābdul Razzaq al-Badr]

غض البصر - للشيخ عبدالرزاق البدر

For those brothers who are searching for their spouses, it is important to be the best person you can be before investing your life with someone else.

Match your visions of what you both seek in life and remove any bad habits which can hinder your companionship.

Seek patience (and lots of it) because there’ll come a time when you’ll need to handle situations and to take control as problems come. Which is why I always believe being proactive is the key.

Also, always prioritise in your Ṣalāh and pleasing your Creator.

Regrets - both big and small - are normal. However, as with most emotions, excessive regret can have debilitating effects on our wellbeing.

Here are a few ways we can better cope with regret when it does inevitably happen:

رضي الناس غاية لا تدرك ورضي الله غاية لا تترك فاترك ما لا يدرك وادرك ما لا يترك

The pleasure of people is a goal you cannot achieve.

While the pleasure of Allah is a purpose that cannot be abandoned,

So leave what cannot be attained

And acquire what cannot be forsaken.

Solitude is necessary for the believer to reflect on their deeds, and refine their heart.

Indeed Allah سبحانه وتعالى is always there, even when everything in your life turns upside down, have faith in Him and hold on to Him. Everything will be just right for He alone is enough to get us through tough times.

Realising that you're in control of your perception and gratitude is huge and a lesson that should be learned immediately.

Life is short, and a negative mindset will always find something to be sad about.

Change your perception and you can control your own happiness.

If you can change something and you have control over it, then change it. If you cannot, then adopt dua and change your perception of that thing. Find the silver lining. There is always a silver lining.

Every good that we do, we should do solely for the sake of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and we should always ask him to remove any ostentation, pride etc from our hearts.

Sometimes we do things for other people, once and then they ask us over and over and over again and we may not like it or we get tired of doing things for others.

But if we remember Allāh and remember that we'll be rewarded for every little thing then we'll have no limit to giving. You also don't know what little thing you may have done for someone that could take you to Jannah

This also doesn't mean that you don't look out for yourself and let people walk all over you. Looking out for yourself is important too.

May Allah سبحانه وتعالى accept everything that we do for His sake and reward us for every little thing in the Aakhirah. آمين يا رب العالمين

Life is a garden and trials are rain drops. At first it feels gloomy but it's worth it when the flowers bloom.

What does the word Heart mean in the Arabic language?

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf