1)Simplicity: Less stuff, Less Work, Less Expenses. Equals More Money, More Time, More Joy

 

Over the last decade or so life has consistently been enriched because of more and more facilities, on-going gadgets inventions and day by day increment in luxuries. This is quite exciting however during the same period of time, people have increased their love for materialistic things abruptly which has directly or indirectly reduced their overall happiness index. Now a days, we have more luxuries but less delights and high stress levels. We have more sugar, blood and heart patients then it used to be a decade back. The reason for all the stress and anxiety is simple that we are not living a simple life. 

 

Below are some tips which can simplify your life and may amplify the happiness scale of your life. 

1-    Avoid getting influenced: You don't have to follow every single trend in society. If your friend has purchased a new BMW, you don't need to buy a Mercedes to impress. Live for yourself not for others. If you purchase a high-end luxury car today, your love for this will end soon and you will be selling it at considerable financial loss though I am not forbidding to purchase luxury things once in a considerable duration of time. 

2-   Avoid impulse buying: You don't need to buy every single gadget instantly which you like in this shop. Do your Needs Vs Wants analysis. Buy only if it is really increasing your peace of mind. Remember that now a days the standard life of every gadget (phone, tablet, laptop, jewelry etc) is more or less 6 months because of new and new products release by several companies. 

3-   The 6 months Rule: Generally speaking, anything which has not been used in last 6 months will not be used in next 6 months most likely. Give such things (shoes, garments, toys, mobiles, house hold items) in charity. This will help spreading happiness in society and reducing your space at home.  

4-   Avoid Credit Cards Usage: Avoid this as much as you can. Debt is a silent stress and eating up your mental health slowly. Your brain might get old while you are young at heart. You might develop high BP or sugar because of stress due to credit. Live a credit-free life. 

5-   Learn to say No: Don't accept every single attractive offer from the bank representative or a car loan company. Do your "Needs Vs Wants" analysis. Careful spending is always recommended. 

6-   Reduce too much social gatherings: Stay at home. Spend quality time with your spouse and kids for empowered relationships. You don't have to say yes every time to your friend who is coming to pick you from home to join another late night social get together.  

7-   Reduce your love for money: Careful spending and saving is important but don't allow your brain to keep doing the calculations all day long. You love for money is pulling your brain strings and damaging your peace of mind silently. Stay away from too much thoughts about your financials. 

8-   Less TV more Books: It is proven that people who watch more movies generate high level of stress. Read quality books to learn wisdom and attain high degree of happiness. 

9-   Spend time with Nature: Instead of going to cinemas and malls repeatedly, spend time in parks. This will relax your brain, body and soul. 

10- Change your eating habits: why eating lavish foods by visiting costly restaurants again and again in a week. The purpose of food is to fill your belly for some hours. So the suggestion here is to go for simpler and healthier food. Remember, most of the food items in the market are fried which are increasing your cholesterol level silently hence making you a heart patient in the long run! 

 

Courtesy: M Junaid Tahir

 

2) 6 things that will prevent you from knowledge

1. Giving up
OK so most of these point really go hand in hand but it comes to no ones suprise that giving up stops a person from gaining more knowledge (for real Aboo Thaabit?)
This is because as human beings we are very impatient, we want everything right now. We think if we attend one class for a month or two, we become students of knowledge if not scholars.
We want to become Ahmad bin Hanbal over night, Imaam al-Bukhaaree in a week and so on. And when this doesn’t work out we look at ourselves and get disappointed. Yet the true scholars sought knowledge for 60 years if not more! How can you attain what they did within a year or two?Not to mention that seeking knowledge is an everlasting quest, it is not like becoming an engineer or a doctor, you dont ‘graduate’ and say now I am a Shaikh rather you keep seeking knowledge until the day you die.So do not overwhelm yourselves, take it one step at a time, it is a very long road ahead, and it is not as glamorous as you might think it is (I know I make it seem all cool and everything, but it really isn’t). Many nights will be spent reading and memorising and fighting with one’s own intentions.And you will quickly notice if your intentions are off, once you quit because you’re not getting all the ukhti’s (brothers I am talking about you) or if seeking knowledge doesn’t make you the most popular sister around the block (yes I said it), you will quit because your intentions were never for the sake of Allaah to begin with.

2. Riyaa – Showing off

Not only a problem for those who seek knowledge but a problem for anything you want to do in life.
Allaah does not accept Riya in any form it might take, and those who fall into riyaa will have their good deeds nullified. And since today being a student of knowledge has become the new fashion, this has become more dangerous than ever.
A student of knowledge gets all the pretty ukhti’s, a student of knowledge gets the respect of the community, a student of knowledge gets the opportunity to move to a Muslim country, a student of knowledge gets all the ukhti’s (did I mention that already?).
So with all these factors it becomes crucial that you seek knowledge for the sake of Allaah and Him alone. The punishment of not doing that is very severe, and the Hadeeth actually tell us that such individuals will be burnt in the hell fire before the mushrikeen themselves!
The scholars warn us again and again, and say that whoever tries to show off with his/her knowledge, Allaah will not only punish them in the hereafter, but even in this dunyaa they will be prevented from seeking true beneficial knowledge. So you will see these type of people, always trying to show off in the gatherings, they love to appear as students of knowledge but it is all for show.
Do not be from amongst these people dear brothers and sisters.

3. Not prioritising
By this I mean, a student might be eager to seek knowledge and rightfully so, but he does not have a schedule, he starts by listening to Kitaab at-Tawheed one day and then gets bored, only to move on and study Buluugh al-Maraam the next day.
And if you were to stop him and ask, ‘Brother what about the Qur’aan?’ He will tell you ‘I’m doing it bro, I am doing it!’ And this is one of the main problems with people, they seem to always go for the big books, as if they want to prove to people ‘look at me, I study Saheeh Muslim, oh you’re still memorising juzz ‘amma sis? Poor you!’But the truth of the matter is, the one who starts from the bottom and works their way up towards the top, that person is the one who will benefit the most. Focus on yourself, you’re seeking that knowledge for your own benefit first and foremost.
Let the people laugh if they see you walking around with a book teaching you the Arabic alphabet, don’t pay attention to them if they happen to be carrying Tafsir Ibn Kathir. It was never about the people in the first place, so why bother? Which leads us to our next point (see how I made it flow?)

4 Qeel wa Qaal – Busying yourself with hearsay
This is a BIG problem amongst students of knowledge, especially those who are new to seeking knowledge.
Instead of busying themselves with memorising books and sitting with knowledgeable people they fish around for the latest dirt as if Islaam was something from Hollywood where you get the latest gossip in tabloids.And if you were to ask these very same individuals to recite Faatiha they might stutter, or if you ask them about Tahaarah they will tell you ‘akhee ask a shaikh, I’m no shaikh’ yet when it comes to labelling individuals he/she is Shaikh-ul-Islaam himself!
However with all due respect, this is not to be confused with those sincere individuals who report on the behalf of the real scholars, warning people against innovators. These blessed people call mankind back to the scholars and the pure form of Islaam, the way the Companions and those after them understood it.
What I am mentioning here are those people who lack knowldege and are trigger happy when it comes to issue a fatwa concerning whether or not a person is a upon the right manhaj or not (without any evidence from any scholar). This leads us to our next point.

5. Arrogance
This is the opposite of the previous point, in this case the person seems to think of themselves as a scholar, anything you tell them they wave of as ‘Oh yeah I knew that already’ and this is a very bad trait.
This will lead the person to stop going to local classes because he/she feels like that stuff is below them, granted they might attend when or if a big scholar comes and visits the city but other than that they tend to look down upon weekly classes held at the masjid.
They might even think of it as ‘cute’ that brothers and sisters are studying ’40 hadiths by Imaam an-Nawawee’ or ‘al-Osool ath-Thalaatha’ and when invited to such a class they will quickly blurt out ‘Yeah no, I studied those books a gazillion years ago, memorized them and plus I was buddies with bin baaz too (what? i never told you?)’This type of attitude towards knowledge will never benefit the individual, rather it will only stop them and prevent them. What is the harm in studying one book twice? If anything you’ll only increase your own knowledge, and if not even that, you will gain the tremendous reward of sitting in a gathering where Allaah is remembered.
So do not belittle any knowledge dear brothers and sisters.

6. Shyness
Have you ever attended a class? Only to find the teacher talking and explaining whilst using a particular word, be it in Arabic or your own native tongue (it might even be in Klingon for all you know) and you think to yourself ‘I wonder what that means?’
But of course instead of raising your hand and cutting the teacher off, you just sit there smile and nod your head whilst remaining ignorant. I mean everyone else in the class seems to understand the teacher, you can’t embarrass yourself and make everyone think your dumb or something right?
Little do you know though that it is highly likely that half of the class you are sitting with are all sitting there with the same goofy looking smile not understanding the teacher. So now you really only have one of two options, either you remain ignorant and let this shyness get in the way, or you man up (woman up if you’re a sister of course) and ask.What is the worst that could happen? Most teachers are good people, and won’t make you feel silly (even though it is fun to tease students, no lie), and in truth, you only came to benefit and not show the people in the class how goofy you look when smiling all clueless.
Also, think of the Sahaaba, how they asked very embarrassing questions at times (even female Sahaaba) in order to benefit, even Jibril asked the Prophet ‘What is Islaam’! So please never feel shy when it comes to learning about your religion, whether it be how you pray, how you make wudhu etc. People wont turn around and say ‘What! You’re twenty two and you are asking me now!’ I promise you it is all in your head.

Courtesy: hussein ali [This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.]

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