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.
06
Apr
2019
How Social Media is ruining Dawah

How Social Media is ruining Dawah

Exhibit A:

Shaykh posts on social media a list of rights of wives. He gets thousands of likes, comments praising him, and shares.

He then posts an equally valid and similar sized list of rights of husband. He received hundreds of angry comments, accusations of being a misogynist and calls for him to be fired. Quietly, he deleted the posts and never discusses the topic again.

Exhibit B:

A Muslim activist discusses how racism is prohibited in Islam. She posts various verses of the Quran, hadiths, and quotes from scholars to prove her point. She is praised for serving the Deen and advocating human rights.

She then posts a similarly valid discussion about how homosexual practices are prohibited in Islam.
She posts various verses of the Quran, hadiths, and quotes from scholars to prove her point. She is accused of being an extremist and homophobe, with threats to get her fired from her job. She deletes the post. A few weeks later, she is seen at a rally supporting LGBT rights.

Exhibit C:

An elderly scholar has spent his entire life studying and teaching Islam. He is boycotted on social media for being too old fashioned, out of touch and conservative. He is unable to reach the youth because people keep sharing lies and slanders about him. Quietly, he fades away and nobody notices.

A hip young guy starts making funny YouTube videos and snarky tweets. He gains a large following on social media. After a while, he starts posting his own opinions on various Fiqh issues. He has no Islamic qualifications, but his fans don’t care. They take his views as Gospel and follow it as if it is the Quran itself. He becomes the next big thing in social media.

So what’s going on?

Simply put, Muslims have embraced several unIslamic practices as the norm on social media. These include cyber-bullying, backbiting, slander, threatening to get people fired from their jobs, and a mob mentality.

The result is a very hostile environment to do Dawah in. Slowly, over the past few years I have seen more and more scholars quietly move away from social media, while many Non-scholars gain thousands of followers who take their religion from them. We need to figure out a way forward for the ummah as soon as possible.

Advice to Islamic teachers

Being bullied by those who disagree with you is part of the job. In the past, it may be one or two people in a crowd that you have to deal with. Now it is thousands of people online threatening you, your family and your livelihood. We have to be brave, yet careful.

We need to gain a thick skin when dealing with cyber-bullying. It is simply part of the job and we need to learn to live with it. It is not possible to go through life teaching Islam without facing harassment from the public.

However, I also recommend two other things. The first is to secure such sources of income that nobody can threaten to get you fired. This can be done either by working for organizations that share your opinions, or being financially independent. Either way, try to get into a position where these threats can’t be carried out.

The second is to keep most of your Dawah off social media. I honestly no longer consider social media (with the exception of YouTube) as a good avenue for Dawah. People on social media tend to be too emotional. They tend to misunderstand posts easily. And they have a mob mentality.

Instead consider doing Dawah in person, teaching classes (both online and offline), having your own website and being active in your communities. Leave social media as simply a means to draw people towards all of these. Keep the more controversial discussions for more controlled environments where you can discuss things maturely, and with as much details as possible. This is far more fruitful than trying to explain things through a Facebook post (or worse, a tweet).

For Everybody Else

There is no place for bullying in Islam, especially bullying people of knowledge. This modern day ‘call out culture’ is unIslamic in most cases. (The exception being when someone is genuinely harming society)

And threatening to get someone fired from their job because you disagree with them is never justifiable. Will you deprive an entire family of income and subject them to potential poverty because you disagreed with a tweet? Don’t be so selfish! People’s income should never be threatened. It doesn’t just affect them, but their families too. (Again the exception being if a person is abusing that job/position to harm people)

We must maintain Islamic manners, both online and offline. We must learn to discuss things politely, maturely and with a willingness to learn. And we must be willing to follow the truth even when it goes against popular opinion.

If we don’t do this, then we risk changing the religion and being accountable for that on the Last Day.

Summary

Cyber-bullying is ruining Dawah on social media. Scholars need to be braver, but also need to secure better sources of income and focus more on their Dawah outside social media. Leave social media to be a means of drawing people towards your other resources.

Muslims, in general, must let go off cyber-bullying, mob mentality and threatening people’s livelihood. We must start being more emphatic towards each other, and deal with each other maturely. These steps are necessary if we want Islam to thrive.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar
01
Apr
2019
Why Your Ramadan Resolutions Don’t Work

Why Your Ramadan Resolutions Don’t Work

Ramadan 1440 AH is just four weeks away. The internet is filling up with blog posts, videos, courses and social media posts on how to get the best out of Ramadan.

But something isn’t right. No matter how many Ramadans go by, and how many of these videos you watch and articles you read, things just don’t change.

You feel like the some person you were before Ramadan began. And it is really bugging you out.

This may be the reason why you are unable to make your Ramadan Resolutions work.

Ramadan 2019

You are setting the bar too high

I get it. You want to be the best Muslim possible. You want to be perfect and sinless. We all do. But it isn’t humanly possible. Sooner or later, you will slip up and err.

So when you set your Ramadan goal as ‘never commit a sin ever again’, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. The truth is that as a human being, you will make mistakes, you will err, and you will fall short at times. If you expect perfection from yourself, you will never be able to achieve that goal in this life.

Instead try this: set a realistic goal like giving up one specific sin or adding one specific good deed to your life. This is specific and measurable enough that you can stick to it for life.

Ramadan 1440

You try to accomplish too much in one month.

We often overestimate what we can accomplish in the month of Ramadan. And we underestimate how much we can accomplish in our lifetime.

Sometimes, you can get so excited about Ramadan and goal setting that you try to cram too much into it. You plan to read 10 books, study the Tafseer of the entire Quran, pray Taraweeh every night, recite the entire Quran 10 times, donate $10000 in charity, and spend two hours every night in Qiyam Al-Layl.

After three days, you will be burned out and give up.

Instead, set moderate practical goals. Understand your limits and set your goals accordingly. Do not overburden yourself. It is better to focus on two or three practical goals, than ten impossible goals.

So pace yourself and make sure you schedule some downtime during Ramadan as well.

Ramadan Goals

You limit your goals to Ramadan only

Personal growth is a life-long process. Ramadan may give us a super-charge but it cannot be the only time of the year we spend trying to be better people. That needs to be a life long commitment.

If you set goals for Ramadan, and forget to follow up on them after Ramadan, you will not experience long-term change. Long-term change comes from working on yourself all year round.

If you set a goal to recite 1 Juz of Quran every night of Ramadan, then also commit to 10 minutes of Quran daily for the rest of the year. This is manageable and will help you maintain your spiritual level throughout the year.

Summary

We tend to fail at our Ramadan goals because we set goals that are too high, too many, and restricted to Ramadan. If we instead aim at realistic goals, restrict the number of goals, and keep working on them all year round, then we will experience more meaningful growth during Ramadan.

To learn more about preparing for Ramadan, sign up for our free course here.

Ramadan Course
Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Inner Peace
22
Mar
2019

A List of Good Deeds That Erase Sins

This is an extract from The Book Of Hope For Sinners. Access the full eBook here.

Part of Allah’s Infinite Mercy is that He legislated many good deeds that wipe away our minor sins. The beauty of this is that even people who don’t actively seek forgiveness may still have their minor sins forgiven if they commit to these good deeds.

These specific deeds are mentioned in the hadiths below and include the following:

1. Establishing the five daily prayers:

Jabir Ibn Abdullah (radiallahu anhu) reported that the Messenger of Allah (salallahu alahi wasalam) said, “The similitude of five prayers is like an overflowing river passing by the gate of one of you in which he washes five times daily.” Hasan said, “No filthiness can remain on him.”(Muslim)

2. Prostrating to Allah in the salah:

Ubadah ibn al-Samit (radiallahu anhu) narrated: The Prophet (salallahu alahi wasalam) said, “No servant prostrates for the sake of Allah except that Allah will record for him one good deed, erase one sin, and raise his status by one degree. So, perform many prostrations.” (Ibn Majah)

3. Performing ablution and praying two rakat with khushu:

Uthman (radiallahu anhu) narrated: The Prophet (salallahu alahi wasalam) said, “He who performed ablution like this ablution of mine and offered two bowings of prayer without allowing his thoughts to be distracted, then his previous sins will be forgiven.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

4. An accepted umrah or hajj:

Abu Huraira (radiallahu anhu) narrated: The Prophet (salallahu alahi wasalam) said, “The umrah pilgrimage to the following umrah will expiate whatever sins were committed between them, and the accepted hajj pilgrimage has no reward other than Paradise.” (Bukhari)

5. Converting to Islam, emigrating for the sake of Allah, or an accepted hajj:

‘Amr ibn al-‘As (radiallahu anhu) narrated: The Prophet (salallahu alahi wasalam) said, “Do you not know that embracing Islam wipes away all sins committed before it, that emigration wipes away what came before it, and the hajj pilgrimage wipes away what came before it?” (Muslim)

6. Fasting the days and praying during the nights of Ramadan for the sake of Allah:

Abdur Rahman ibn Awf (radiallahu anhu) narrated: The Prophet (salallahu alahi wasalam) said, “Verily, Ramadan is a month in which Allah Almighty has obligated its fasting. And verily, I have instituted for Muslims the (recommended) practice of its prayer at night. Thus, whoever fasts it with faith and expecting reward will be rid of sins like the day he was born from his mother.” (Musnad Ahmad)

And many others

There are many other good deeds that also wipe away our sins. This is just a glimpse of how merciful Allah is to us and how many opportunities He gives us to be free from our sins.

If Allah wanted, He could have made forgiveness dependent only upon repentance. Instead He created so many ways for us to be forgiven that it would be our fault alone if we missed every one of these paths to forgiveness.

It may be impossible to avoid committing sins for the rest of our life, but it is possible to do so many good deeds that Allah may forgive all our minor sins on account of our good deeds.

The Most Important One

In order to earn this forgiveness, we must commit to these good deeds. Begin with praying five times a day. Establishing the five daily prayers is the most important good deed in the life of the believer.

Prayer is the second pillar of Islam, the first thing we will be asked about on the Last Day, and a means through which all minor sins can be forgiven.

The Prophet (salallahu alahi wasalam) compared it to bathing in a river five times a day. Just as bathing five times a day would wash away all physical dirt, praying five times a day washes away all sins.

So let us start with this. Let’s commit to praying five times a day for the sake of Allah. And let us make this a priority and habit in our lives. This one habit alone could save us on the Last Day and be the means through which our sins are forgiven.

To learn more, purchase the full eBook by clicking here.

Good deeds that erase sins
Also available in Kindle and Paperback.
Posted by Ismail Kamdar
07
Mar
2019
Hard Work is Hard…and Work

Hard Work is Hard…and Work

“I want to do it but it is too much work and too hard!”

It always baffles me when people say they want to accomplish great thing without hard work. Some people assume that there is a easy path to success. There isn’t.

There is no shortcut to success. (in any definition)

Whatever you wish to accomplish, there is only one way to do it: hard work.

If you want to go to Paradise, be prepared to work hard for it.

Do you want a successful business? You need to put in the necessary hard work.

What about a successful marriage? Again, it is all about hard work.

Even parenting, when done right, boils down to hard work.

But it is hard

Of course, it is hard. That is why it is called hard work.

Anything worth accomplishing is difficult to accomplish.

That is one of the things that makes victory so sweet. The fact that you overcame the difficulty.

Getting into Paradise means living through several tests of life, all of which are hard.

Succeeding at business means pushing through the difficult times and adjusting your strategies accordingly.

Making a marriage work can be very difficult, but is extremely rewarding when both parties work hard together.

And raising children properly is extremely hard work.

But it is too much work

No! It is the right amount of work.

Everything you want in life requires work, so be prepared for work.

Lazy people get left behind, but those who work achieve.

Do you want Paradise? Then work for it by doing good deeds.

A thriving business requires you to show up every day and work for it.

You need to constantly work on your marriage to make it something special.

And parenting is work. In fact, it may be the hardest work you ever do.

But it is also highly rewarding

We often complain about things being too hard or too much work. But we forget that these same things are also highly rewarding, and worth the hard work.

A successful business is worth working hard for.

The love and peace that a happy marriage provides is worth the work put into it.

Raising your children and helping them grow into amazing men and women is deeply satisfying.

But most of all, there is nothing more rewarding than reaching Paradise.

So put aside the excuses, and dedicate your life to hard work.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Productivity
28
Feb
2019
5 Tips For Effective Self Study

5 Tips For Effective Self Study

Self-Study VS Formal Study

I believe we are entering an era in which self study is more important than formal studies. With almost any subject available online for study in the form of eBooks, online courses, and videos, self study is easier than ever.

But self study is very different from formal classes. And for those of us who grew up accustomed to having a teacher tell us what to learn and when to learn it, self study can feel very daunting. So it is important for us to first learn how to self study effectively.

These five tips will help you effectively study almost any subject you choose.

1. Plan Your Studies

Don’t just grab the first book you see on the topic and start reading. Have a game plan instead. Organize your thoughts on a piece of paper and write the following:

  1. What subject do I want to study?
  2. Why do I want to study it?
  3. What do I hope to achieve from this study?
  4. What do I already know about the subject?
  5. What is the most effective method for me to study it?
  6. What is the best starting point for me?

By figuring out the above, you can choose your first book/online course more rationally and work accordingly.

2. Start at the beginning

It is never a good idea to jump into an advanced book or course if you are new to a field.

I see this all the time in Islamic Studies. New students who haven’t learn the basics of Islamic principles and Arabic grammar yet ask to be taught the highest level academic books.

If you do this, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Everything has a system and an order.

So the wise thing to do is to start at the beginning with the most basic course/book. Find out what is an introductory course or book in a field and study that first.

This is especially important for subjects that have their own language. It is essential to learn the lingo of the subject before studying the subject itself.

3. Make time to study and stick to it

Self Study requires self-discipline.

The reason many of us lack self-discipline is because we are accustomed to teachers and parents telling us when to learn. But you are your own teacher now. So it is your duty to tell yourself when to learn.

Set a standard study time and stick to it daily.

It could be an hour in the morning or evening, or any time you prefer. Simply choose a time that suits you and train yourself to stick to it. (Hint: Choose your peak concentration time or time with least distractions)

This level of self-discipline is crucial for ensuring that you complete your studies and don’t go off track.

4. Hand Written Notes are key

One problem with online education is that too many of us depend on others for notes.

We like to download notes and email them to each other. We assume that just reading someone else’s notes is enough. It may be enough for short-term study, but not long term learning.

The key is to hand write your notes (not type them). This helps your brain store information in your long term memory and understand it deeper.

Whether you are reading a book, reading an article, studying an online course or watching a YouTube video. Whatever it is, make sure you have a pen and paper nearby. then write down everything you learn in your own words.

That last part is crucial.

Writing it in your own words means you have understood it. It also means you are less likely to forget it.

To study even deeper, rewrite your notes into small summaries. And then write your own reflections on it as well. All of this will help you actually learn deeper.


5. Test Yourself

Testing has a place and purpose i.e. to help you realize how much you remember and understood.

So with self study, it is your responsibility to test yourself. The purpose of such a test is to check if you understood the work clearly. This helps you find the gaps. Then you can then go back and restudy the areas that remain unclear.

How do you test yourself?

There are many ways.

My favorite is to rewrite a summary of each lesson from memory, and then check if I did it correctly.

Other methods could be to make up a self-quiz, get a friend/family member to test you, or to take an online quiz on the topic.

Summary

Self study is highly effective if you do it right.

Plan your studies, start from the beginning, and make a time and stick to it. Then make sure you take down notes, rewrite them for understanding, and test yourself.

Doing all of this will ensure you gain maximum benefits from your self study.

Looking for exciting and life changing self study courses? Check out our online course section and get started with one of our free courses today.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Life Hacks