Ismail Kamdar

Ismail Kamdar is the Founder of Islamic Self Help and Izzah Academy, author of over a dozen books, and the operations manager of Yaqeen Institute.
Ismail Kamdar is the Founder of Islamic Self Help and Izzah Academy, author of over a dozen books, and the operations manager of Yaqeen Institute.
Take Ownership of Your Choices

Take Ownership of Your Choices

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying, “A strong believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone, (but) cherish that which gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allah and do not lose heart, and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you, don’t say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do and your” if” opens the (gate) for the Satan.”

Sahih Muslim 2664

Too many people live off excuses. They make excuses for why their business failed, their marriage failed, or their life sucks. This mindset does not help them in any way. An excuse is just a means of projected responsibility onto someone else. If your failure is the government’s fault, the media’s fault, or society’s fault, then you have an excuse to stay where you are and never advance in life. This mindset is itself a failure and will lead to nothing but more failure.

To succeed at anything, a man must take complete ownership of his choices and their consequences. He must own his decisions, own his mistakes, own his experiences, and own his consequences. It is only when we start taking ownership of these things, we do that we truly grow and mature. Maturity comes from understanding your mistakes and learning from them. Wisdom comes from making mistakes and never repeating the same mistakes. Growth comes from trying new things even if you fail at them. Success lies on the other side of ownership, to succeed you must take full responsibility.

Qadar is not an excuse

Umar ibn al-Khattab reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If you were to rely upon Allah with reliance due to Him, He would provide for you just as He provides for the birds. They go out in the morning with empty stomachs and return full.”

Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2344

You cannot use Qadar as an excuse to sit around and do nothing. Nobody knows their Qadar, so we all need to go out there and do our absolute best. The result for that day is your Qadar for that day. But you do not know your Qadar for tomorrow, so try again tomorrow and give it your best again. Do this, every single day. Taking ownership for your choices means giving it your best, trying your hardest, being your best, and then accepting what God has written for you for that day.

Take ownership every single day for your choices and actions for that day. Analyse your actions, recognize your mistakes. Learn, improve, grow with each move.

Someone who sits around and just cries about his bad luck will never move forward. His own thoughts and self-defeating beliefs will keep him exactly where he is or pull him further down. To be your best, you must change your mindset. You must approach life with responsibility and optimism.

Optimism is part of faith

Abu Huraira reported that the  Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Allah Almighty says: I am as My servants expects of Me. If he thinks good of Me, he will have it. If he thinks evil of Me, he will have it.”

Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 639

A believer must be optimistic. He must think good thoughts about God and hope for the best. A negative attitude towards life is a negative attitude towards the Creator. The believer views everything in his life as part of God’s Plan. He sees the lesson in every mistake, the growth in every trial, and the blessing in every success. The believer takes full responsibility for his own actions but attributes all success to the Creator. This is part of gratitude and living a life of worship.

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “I am amazed by the believer. Verily, Allah does not decree anything for the believer except what is good for him.”

Musnad Ahmad 12495, Grade: Hasan

Slow and gradual is the surest path to success

Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Take up good deeds only as much as you are able, for the best deeds are those done regularly even if they are few.”

Sunan Ibn Mājah 4240

There are no guarantees in life besides death. But in business and personal growth, slow and steady tends to win. Too many people look for get-rich-quick schemes and the fastest path to riches. They want shortcuts to good health, piety, and retirement. But life does not work like this. Everything worth having takes a long time and a lot of effort to get hold off.

To be successful at anything, you need to be patient. You need to work hard, piece by piece, every day. You need to be committed to the long run. Your business may not become truly profitable in its first year. Your marriage may not be a dream in the early years. Your children may be difficult to be deal with at certain points in their lives. In every aspect of life, you need to be committed to the long term.

It takes a lot of effort over a long period of time to produce anything great. A great marriage is a result of decades of love and sacrifice. Great children are the result of twenty years of invested parenting. An amazing business is the result of at least a decade of hard work. Even piety is not attained overnight. It takes a lifetime of spiritual growth to become a truly righteous person, and that struggle never ends until we leave this world.

Life is not easy. Embrace that fact. Take responsibility for your actions. Avoid excuses. Be optimistic. And be committed to the long-term in anything that is important to you.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Positive Thinking, Productivity
Some Reflections on Dawah, Conversions, and Gatekeeping

Some Reflections on Dawah, Conversions, and Gatekeeping

A new problem that I see among the younger generation of Muslims is that they do NOT want people to convert to Islam UNLESS these people already share the same beliefs and ideas that they do.

It does not help that many of these young people are clinging to liberal ideas, and only want people of similar liberal leanings to be Muslim. But there are other factors here that are baffling.

Until this generation, it was normal for Muslims to be excited if any celebrity, no matter how corrupt, expressed interest in Islam or converted to Islam. This is because we view Islam as a transformative force that could CHANGE that person and make them better.

We now have youngsters who see Islam as an IDENTITY and do not want to share that identity with people they disagree with. So they actively hope that some people DO NOT convert to Islam, because their identity is more important to them than the guidance of humanity.

We need to revive the proper understanding of Dawah and Conversion. We should do Dawah to ALL disbelievers, believing that anyone can change when the light of Islam enters their hearts. We SHOULD be excited when anyone converts to Islam because we are happy that a brother/sister in humanity has discovered the truth and will be transformed by it in shaa Allah.

We should also give converts time to learn to the religion and grow spiritually. A new convert should not be platformed too much, especially on deeper topics. My advice to converts in general is to avoid the public eye for the first few years and to focus instead on learning the religion, purifying the soul, and growing spiritually.

After a few years of transformation and growth, and once faith is firm in the heart and they have firm knowledge, then it may be beneficial to publicly be involved in Dawah and Islamic discussions.

In summary:

1) Islam is for humanity, not only the people you agree with

2) We should be happy when anyone converts to Islam and make dua for them

3) We should see Islam as a transformative force that can change the worst of people into the best of people

4) We should give converts space and time to learn the religion and work on improving their spiritual state, instead of throwing them immediately into the spotlight.

I ask Allah to guide every sincere seeker of truth, to keep every believer firm on the truth, and to soften and guide all our hearts.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Islam
6 Time Management strategies that work amazingly well

6 Time Management strategies that work amazingly well

Getting more done every day is difficult. With so many distractions and problems to deal with daily, it is too easy for days to go by without accomplishing anything.

Try these tips to get more done daily:

1. Plan on paper

When we try to do all our planning internally, it can be overwhelming and our train of thought can get derailed easily.

To get things done faster, think on paper or at least via typing. Write/type out your thoughts, analyze them, and work through them.

2. The Two-Minute Rule

If something takes less than two minutes to get done, then do it immediately. This will save you a lot of time, and free up your mind to focus on deeper topics.

3. Work in batches

Instead of answering email throughout the day, schedule specific times for answering emails. Do the same for phone calls, admin tasks, and other small tasks that take up the bulk of your day. This will free up a lot of time for deep work.

4. Optimize your work environment

Remove distractions, cut out social media, and ensure that you only have access to the tools you need for work. The more optimized your environment, the easier it gets to concentrate and get things done.

5. Do the hardest tasks during your peak performance time

Figure out which time of the day you are at your peak (early morning, afternoon, late night) and schedule your most important work for that time.

6. Stay healthy

Eating healthy, exercising, and getting enough sleep are all necessary for maintaining the energy and brain power needed to do great work. Taking care of your health is part of taking care of your time.

Want to learn more?

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Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Time Management
The History of al-Andalus in 10 Points

The History of al-Andalus in 10 Points

Muslims ruled over parts of the Iberian Peninsula for around 700 years. (711-1492 CE). Here is a brief history of al-Andalus.

1. In the reign of King Walid I, Tariq Ibn Ziyad led an army from North Africa to victory in the Iberian Peninsula. This land became known to Muslims as Al-Andalus and became part of the Umayyad Empire.

2. Al-Andalus was mostly ignored during the early Umayyad Era, due to its distance from the capital. It was seen as insignificant. Only Caliph Umar II paid special attention to it and had its details researched and documented.

3. When the Abbasids took over the Muslim World, the last Umayyad prince Abdur Rahman Ibn Muawiyah went into exile. He eventually made his way to Al-Andalus, where he took over the country and established it as an independent Muslim state.

4. The Umayyads ruled Al-Andalus exclusively for 290+ years. Their full focus was on developing Al-Andalus into a model country. Under their leadership, Al-Andalus became a striving civilization and world leader of science and education.

5. Al-Andalus peaked with the reign of Abdur Rahman III, a descendant of Abdur Rahman Ibn Muawiyah. Abdur Rahman III ruled Al-Andalus for around 50 years, and turned it into a massive empire. He eventually declared himself a Caliph, rivaling the Abbasid Caliph.

6. After Abdur Rahman III, Umayyad rule slowly declined in Al-Andalus. The country fell into a state of civil war and each province became an independent nation, some Muslim and some Christian. This state of war lasted around a century.

7. Al-Andalus was reunified under Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, a military leader of the Muratib (Almovarid) Empire known for his courage and piety. It remained under Muslim rule for two more centuries.

8. After brief reigns of the Murabit and Muhawid empires over Al-Andalus, it fell into a state of civil war once again. This time the Christian kingdoms began to grow. They were inspired by the crusader movements in the East to reconquer the land.

9. With the Reconquista in full swing after the conquest of Córdoba in June 1236, Granada became the last independent Muslim state in Western Europe. Eventually Granada too fell, and Al-Andalus was no more.

10. Islam was eliminated from the land through a series of harsh policies, exiles, and forced conversions. Its influence over Europe can still be seen across various fields and sciences.

It is time to reconnect with your legacy and history. Over 1400 students have signed up already for our History of Islam course, and now it is your turn!

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Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Islam
A Beautiful Habit – Moments of Silence

A Beautiful Habit – Moments of Silence

A simple habit to improve mental health – moments of silence

Make time daily to sit in silence with your thoughts. Just you, a cup of coffee/tea, and your thoughts.

No phones, internet, people, or background music. Just you and your thoughts.

Ideally, do this in a place with a lot of nature, a garden or park. If that is not possible, then in a room that gives you peace.

If needed, keep a pen and journal at hand to record your thoughts. Just sit in silence for thirty minutes a day to think deeply.

We live in an era of noise. We are constantly distracting our minds with music, social media, videogames, and movies.

We give our minds no time or space to develop and do not allow our thoughts the silence they need to mature.

Rediscover the joy of silence and being alone.

Get comfortable with working and thinking alone in silence.

This will impact the quality of your thoughts, your productivity at work, your mental health, and even your concentration in prayer.

Time alone with your thoughts is an investment in yourself.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Inner Peace