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.
07
Nov
2016

5 Powerful Benefits of Establishing Salah

Establishing Salah

Establishing Salah

Salah is the second pillar of Islam, and the most important physical act of worship. For anybody who wishes to improve their spirituality, begin with establishing Salah. This is the primary command in the Qur’an after believing in Tawheed. Salah is our direct connection with Allah. Salah is our foundation. Salah is, in many ways, an essential part of believing in Islam.

Multiple times in the Qur’an, Allah instructs us to “Establish the Salah”. The commandment isn’t just to pray but to establish the Salah. Establishing Salah means praying properly on time consistently with pure intentions and clear objectives. Salah is not meant to be a mechanic ritual, it is an active means of communication, reflection and self-improvement.

When Salah is prayed properly and established properly, there are many benefits including the following:

1. A Regular Break from Dunya

The daily Salah are purposely set at five intervals throughout our day which include being the first things we do when we wake up, a priority during our lunch breaks, and one of the last things we do at night before sleeping. There is a clear reason for this.

We live busy lives trying to work hard, provide for our families and enjoy the Halal of this world. However, in doing so it can be easy to forget Allah, get caught up in materialism and lose sight of the purpose of life. Salah stops all of this from happening.

By taking regular breaks five times a day to worship our Creator properly, we remind ourselves to prioritize Allah over the world. We remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We remind ourselves to stay focused on building what truly matters, our Afterlife. Establishing Salah keeps us focused on what matters.

2. A Structured Life

Salah on time creates structure and regular timetable. By praying on time every day, we create a schedule around which to plan the rest of our day. People who pray on time are more punctual and live more structured lives. This is one of the most obvious benefits of praying five times a day, creating a structure around which to shape the rest of our day.

3. Maintained Spirituality

Spirituality and faith are constantly fluctuating. Our faith is always going up and down. One of the key methods to prevent our faith from crashing is to establish the five daily prayer. The more we pray, the stronger our spirituality will be.

Many people complain about decreasing Imaan levels. This can be avoided by establishing the Salah, and praying regularly with purpose and clear intentions. A conscious purposely Salah can do wonders to boost your Imaan. Established as a regular practice, it becomes your daily savior from your own Nafs.

4. Inner Peace

Inner Peace cannot be found in new age ideas, man-made ideas or worldly pleasures. True inner peace comes from having a close relation with your Creator. This can only be established through regular Salah.

Salah is the key to inner peace. This isn’t easy to achieve but regular practice at praying with concentration and understanding can help us reach a level in which we experience this.

Once that level is reached, the level of inner peace you will experience in the recitation and Sajdah is unexplainable. It needs to be experienced to be understood.

5. A Divine Connection

The final and most important benefit of praying five times a day is establishing a connection with our Creator. Allah has promised that if we remember Him and worship Him in times of ease, He will be there for us in times of difficulty.

This means if we establish our Salah during times of ease, we can expect Allah’s help during the hard times. We all need Allah’s Help. We all need a direct means of communication with Him. We all need to connect with Allah. This alone should be reason enough to motivate us to pray on time.

May Allah grant us all the strength and consistency to establish the Salah and remain steadfast on it for the rest of our lives.

Shaykh Ismail Kamdar is the Founder of Islamic Self Help and the author of multiple books including Getting The Barakah: An Islamic Guide to Time Management and Best Of Creation: An Islamic Guide to Self-Confidence.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Inner Peace
03
Nov
2016

4 Times when you should give up on your goals

Never Give Up

Never Give up…or should you?

The old saying in Self Help “Never give up!” isn’t always true. While it is true that attaining noble goals requires sacrifice, hard work, persistence, and a long period of time. It is also true that there are certain times when you should consider giving up on your goals. Here are four situations when giving up on your goal is the right thing to do:

When the goal is Haram

You may have set the goal when you were ignorant and unaware that it was prohibited in Islam, or harmful to others. If that is the case, as soon as you gain knowledge and realize that it is Haram, you must give up that goal for the sake of Allah, even if your Nafs desires it.

Any goal given up for the sake of Allah will be replaced by that which is better than it, as Allah does not allow any sacrifice to go unrewarded.

When it isn’t worth the sacrifice

We all know that attaining goals require sacrifice. However, we must approach our goals with balance and realism. If attaining a goal requires sacrifice, it needs to be worthy of that sacrifice. Too often, we sacrifice that which is better for goals which are lesser. Take a look at your current goals and the sacrifices needed to attain them. Are they proportionate? Is it worth it?

There are some things you shouldn’t sacrifice for worldly goals. You should never sacrifice your religion/relationship with Allah for a worldly goal. You should never allow your goals to break up your marriage or destroy your relationship with your children, and you should never chase goals that will compromise your integrity.

Life is about balance. We need lofty goals, but we also need to fulfill the rights of those in our lives. If a goal interferes with those rights, it may be time to consider letting go of that goal.

When it takes you away from your vision

Sometimes a goal starts of as a good idea, but ends up taking you down paths very different from what you envisioned. When working on your goals, it is crucial to analyze your goals within the framework of your life vision.

If your goals are moving you towards your vision, then continue pursuing them. But if they are taking you away from your vision, then it is time to let them go.

When something better comes along

Sometimes we set our goals when our resources are low and our opportunities few. As a result, the goals are not ideal or optimal. Some people become so obsessed with such goals that they end up missing better opportunities that present themselves along the way. This is why it is crucial to put your vision before your goal.

While working towards a goal, if something better comes along. If some opportunity that can move you towards your vision faster comes along. If something comes along that would be an even better goal. Then it is time to give up your goal in order to make time for the better one.

Gain the skills to accomplish your goals with our bestselling eBook:

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Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Goal Setting
31
Oct
2016

My favorite book that I wrote

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My favorite book that I wrote:

Alhamdulillah, over the past few years I have written many books. These include books on Aqeedah, Time Management, Tafseer, and Fiqh. However, from all of these books one book remains closest to my heart i.e. Best Of Creation: An Islamic Guide to Self-Confidence. This is my favorite book from all the books I have written.
 
Best of Creation is a special book which I still read myself whenever I feel my confidence waning. It isn’t often that an author continuously goes back to reading his own book, but I can testify that this is the case with Best Of Creation.
 
Best Of Creation started as a series of notes to myself to boost my own confidence. If you met me a few years ago, my confidence was very low. I was unable to chase my goals out of fear of failure or looking stupid in the process.
 
To deal with these internal issues, I researched confidence building techniques and started writing my own notes on the topic. These notes gradually evolved into a 190 page book tackling almost every key area related to confidence from an Islamic Perspective.

Breaking it down

The book begins with a discussion about the importance of confidence from an Islamic perspective. This is followed by a clarification of the differences between confidence and arrogance.
 
The next chapter is vital as it covers popular causes of low self-confidence. In this chapter, you confront the causes of your confidence problems and push through them.
The following three chapters focus on Islamic beliefs that build our confidence which include: Tawheed, Tawakul, Dua, the purpose of life, the nature of this world and the status of humans over other creatures.
 
The remaining chapters tackle the major issues we all face when it comes to confidence and offers concrete advice on dealing with each of these issues, which include: Friends, Setbacks, Mistakes, fear and comfort zones.
 
The book ends with a chapter full of tips on how to maintain confidence on a daily basis. My personal favorite is my motto: Be yourself as long as being yourself is Halal!
 
As you can see, the book is very comprehensive. In it, you will find the results of years of research, testing, practicing and writing. These concepts have helped me evolve into a confident individual constantly chasing after higher and higher goals, and I hope it will inspire you to do the same.

The eBook is currently available for purchase at the link below:

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Posted by Ismail Kamdar
29
Oct
2016

The Asma Al Husna and Optimism

Asma Al Husna

The Asma Al Husna

In the Quran, Allah refers to Himself by dozens of names, collectively called the Asma Al Husna (The beautiful names). Each of these names encompass a perfect attribute of Allah. It is very important that we take the time to study, analysis and reflect on these names. Doing so will help us to understand our Creator and improve our relationship with Him.

In this article, I wish to share some of my personal reflections on some of the names of Allah that inspire optimism. These are not the only names of Allah that inspire optimism, and this is not the only benefit from these names. However, I hope this article will assist you in reflecting on these names and increasing in your optimism accordingly.

Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem

Both of these names refer to Allah’s perfect Mercy. Ar-Rahman refers to His Mercy that encompasses all of the creation, while Ar-Raheem refers to His special Mercy for the believers.

When we reflect on these names, our hope in Allah’s Mercy should increase. In this world, we see expressions of Allah’s mercy all around us. We must have hope that Allah will have mercy on us, just as He has shown His Mercy to so many before us. Whenever you feel the need for Mercy, call on Allah by these names and ask Him for it.

Al-Kareem

One of the translations of Al-Kareem is the Most Generous. A generous person is called Kareem, and the verb form of this word is used in the Hadith instructing us to be generous to our guests and neighbors. Allah’s generosity is perfect and limitless.

To benefit from Allah’s Generosity, we must strive to obey Him and then make dua utilizing this name asking for whatever we want. We must be optimistic that the Most Generous will provide for us generously. Call on Allah by this name when asking Him for the things of this world and the next.

Al-Wahhab

Al-Wahhab translates as The Giver of Gifts. Not only is Allah most Generous but He gives us gifts that we don’t deserve and gives us more than we realize. Reflect on your life and how many times Allah gifted you with good things, despite your sins.

Some people have developed the negative attribute of asking people for freebies. This is not appropriate for believers as it is a form of begging. If you desire something, do not ask people for it. Rather call upon Al-Wahhab as He is the one who can give you gifts you never imagined.

At-Tawwaab

At-Tawwaab means the One who accepts all repentance. This name of Allah should inspire even the biggest sinner. No matter how great a sin you have committed, if you sincerely repent then At-Tawwaab will accept your repentance. Whenever you feel despondent about your sins, reflect on the name At-Tawwaab, and reflect on the following Hadith Al-Qudsee:

Anas Ibn Malik (RA) narrated: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say, “Allah the Almighty has said: ‘O Son of Adam, as long as you invoke Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O Son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and you then asked forgiveness from Me, I would forgive you. O Son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the Earth, and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it [too].’ ”  (Tirmidhi)

I hope this article has inspired you to be optimistic and to strengthen your relationship with Allah through reflecting on His Asma Al Husna.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Positive Thinking
04
Oct
2016

4 Personal Development Lessons from Surah Duha

Surah Duha

Lessons from Surah Duha

Surah Duha is considered one of the earliest Surahs to be revealed in Makkah. It was revealed at a time which the Prophet (pbuh) faced great emotional stress regarding the future of Islam. The core theme of this Surah is one of hope and optimism. This makes it an excellent Surah to analyze for personal development lessons.

Translation of Surah Duha

  1. By the morning light
  2. And by the night when it darkens
  3. Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased
  4. And what is to come is better for you than what has passed
  5. And soon Your Lord will give you and you will be pleased
  6. Did He not find you an orphan, and He gave you a family?
  7. And He found you wondering, and granted you guidance
  8. And He found you in need, and enriched you
  9. So as for the orphan, do not mistreat him
  10. And as for the beggar, do not repel him
  11. And as for the blessings of your Lord, then proclaim

Lesson One: Be Optimistic

This is the core theme of this Surah and as such, it is the primary lesson of this Surah. As Muslims, our approach to life must be one of optimism. We are not meant to be a pessimistic people. Rather, we must live our lives with hope in Allah’s Assistance and Mercy.

Every project we undertake must be fueled by optimism and hope. We must trust that Allah will help us eventually, if we are sincere and if the project is beneficial for the ummah. It is this attitude that should drive us forward.

Lesson Two: Be Grateful

In order to maintain optimism, this Surah also reminds us of the times in the past when Allah assisted His Messenger (peace be upon him). In our own lives too, there are many times in the past when Allah granted us success and turned around a bad situation.

We must reflect on such times, be grateful for them, and use them as further motivation to maintain optimism that Allah will continue to assist us moving forward.

Lesson Three: Be Charitable

A believer’s goals are not selfish and materialistic. Our goals should revolve around the ummah, and one way to build this is to become people of generosity. Generosity fuels the Muslim world and causes everybody to grow. The generous person is blessed by Allah, and his wealth multiples because of it. The one who receives the charity also is blessed and now has some money to move his own life forward.

Charity is a Win/Win situation. Everybody benefits and everybody grows. This is what believers should may for. We must avoid paths and goals that make us selfish and materialistic. Our focus must remain on serving others, and that begins by being generous.

Lesson Four: Contribute to society

Generosity must lead to an ummah-centric personality. A Muslim’s goals should be goals that uplift and benefit the ummah. Every project should aim at benefiting others. If our primary goal is to assist the ummah, then Allah will put Barakah in our efforts, businesses, wealth and time. Service should drive us forward, as we are one ummah and we all want to see this ummah rise up in greatness again.

Bringing it all together

Be positive about the future, remember Allah’s blessings on you in the past, be generous and serve the ummah. These are some of the lessons we can extract from Surah Duha, and these concepts will drive us forward with Ihsaan (excellence) as an ummah.

For more Tafseer, check out our eBook below:

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Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Productivity