If we were to look for an Islamic
definition of Productivity, it can probably be summarised in the word
“barakah” or Blessing. Being able to achieve more with few resources,
doing much in little time, and generating a lot with little effort is
surely a blessing from Allah (Subahanahu Wa Ta’ala). Yet Barakah has
somehow become a lost treasure these days; everyone’s looking for it,
but no one seems to find it! You always hear people complaining that
there’s no barakah in their time, no barakah in their sleep, no barakah
in their money and the rest of it.
In this article, we’ll solve this mystery inshaAllah: we’ll find out what Barakah is and where you can find it!
What is Barakah?
A Well-known daee explains it as follows:
والبركة: هي ثبوت الخير الإلهي في الشيء؛ فإنها إذا حلت في قليل كثرته، وإذا حلت في كثير نفع، ومن أعظم ثمار البركة في الأمور كلها إستعمالها في طاعة الله عز وجل.
“Barakah is the attachment
of Divine goodness to a thing, so if it occurs in something little, it
increases it. And if it occurs in something much it benefits. And the
greatest fruits of Barakah in all things is to use that barakah in the
obedience of Allah (Subahanahu Wa Ta’ala)”
Sources of Barakah
I’m a firm believer that Barakah is not a
lost treasure, rather, it’s right in front of our eyes! This treasure
is only available and ready to be handed over to the one who works for
it. Below, I list some of the sources of Barakah. It’s not an exhaustive
list, therefore, I do hope you can contribute to it with your comments
inshaAllah so we can all share and extend our understanding of this
great treasure at ProductiveMuslim.com!
1. Good Intentions
If you want something to have barakah
attached to it, have good intentions for it. More specifically, make
sure that deed is intended for the sake of Allah (Subahanahu Wa Ta’ala).
Looking again at the definition of Barakah, you may guess that without
us intending what we have or do for the Sake of Allah, the “Divine
goodness” won’t be found in our deeds.
2. Piety and Belief in Allah
Allah says in the Quran: “If the
people of the towns had but believed and feared Allah, We should indeed
have opened out to them (All kinds of) blessings from heaven and
earth…”(Surah Al-A’raf, Verse 96). And He says in the Quran: “And
for those who fear Allah, He (ever) prepares a way out. And He provides
for him from (sources) he never could imagine” (Surah Al-Talaq, Verses
2-3).
3. Putting your trust in Allah
Allah says in the Quran: “And if any
one puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him. For Allah
will surely accomplish his purpose. Verily, for all things has Allah
appointed a due proportion” (Surah Al-Talaq, verses 3)
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “If only you relied on Allah a true reliance, He would provide sustenance for you just as He does the birds: They fly out in the morning empty and return in the afternoon with full stomachs. (Ahmad, An-Nasa’I, Ibn Majah, Al-Hakim and At-Tirmidhi)
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “If only you relied on Allah a true reliance, He would provide sustenance for you just as He does the birds: They fly out in the morning empty and return in the afternoon with full stomachs. (Ahmad, An-Nasa’I, Ibn Majah, Al-Hakim and At-Tirmidhi)
4. Reading Quran
This is the fountain of Barakah! But subhanaAllah, we rarely drink from it! Allah says in the Quran: “And
this is a Book which We have sent down, bringing blessings, and
confirming (the revelations) which came before it…” (Surah Al-An’am,
Verse 92). So read the Quran, and observe the blessings and barakah
of Allah enter your life. The further we are from this Book of
Guidance, the less barakah we will have in our lives.
5. Saying Bismillah
When you say “Bismillah” before anything
you do, you’re invoking the Name of Allah on that activity; not only
will that activity be blessed but shaytaan cannot take part in it! So
always say “Bismillah” before anything you do! SubhanaAllah, it’s easy
for us to forget to say “Bismillah”. Sometimes we’re so used to saying
it that we cannot remember whether we said it or not! Try to be
conscious of saying “Bismillah” and understand what you’re saying before
your action is performed.
6. Eating with People
Anyone who has had the experience of
inviting guests to his/her house will know this one. No matter how
little you think the food you’re presenting to your guest is, it’s
always more than enough! (Note: this is not an excuse to be miserly when
you invite guests over; in fact we should follow the Sunnah of our
Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) whom when visited by the angels
prepared a large meal for them). What I’m referring to here is the
blessing that occurs when eating together, confirmed in the hadeeth of
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who said: “Eat together, for blessing is in Jamma’a (congregation or being together)…” and in another hadeeth: “Whoever
has food enough for two persons, should take a third one, and whoever
has food enough for four persons, should take a fifth or a sixth (or
said something similar).” (Bukhari, Volume 4. Book 56. Number 781)
7. Honesty in Trade
This is for all of the business people
out there (include ebayers!). We shouldn’t assume lying and deceiving
people will make our trade profitable. On the contrary, it will remove
the blessing from your trade. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
“The buyer and the seller have the option of canceling or
confirming the bargain unless they separate, and if they spoke the truth
and made clear the defects of the goods, then they would be blessed in
their bargain, and if they told lies and hid some facts, their bargain
would be deprived of Allah’s blessings”.( Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 34,
Number 293)
Yes, it’s difficult to be honest when you’re trying to sell something, but trust me it’s worth it.
8. Dua
Ask Allah for barakah! If you take note
of some of the Duas of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) you’ll
notice that the Prophet used to make dua for barakah. We always say:
“May Allah bless you!” Well, guess what? That’s a source of barakah!
Also, when you’re invited to someone’s house, Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) advised us to make the following dua for the host: “O Allah, bless for them, that which You have provided them, forgive them and have mercy upon them.”
9. Halal Income/money
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “O people, Allah is good and He therefore, accepts only that which is good” (Scholars say this refers to Halal income and the importance of it).
A scholar also said of the one who eats
Haram, that his limbs will disobey Allah whether he likes it or not, and
that the one who eats Halal and seeks Halal income, his limbs will also
do good and will be given the permission to seek goodness.
This concept of your limbs being
‘blessed’ and enabled to do good is truly a blessing and a barakah we
should all seek. It reminds me of a story of an old man who jumped a
large distance that the young men were unable to jump. When the young
men asked the old man how he did it, he replied: “These are our limbs: we protected them from committing sins when we were young, so Allah preserved them for us when we got old”.
10. Following the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad in everything
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it
again, the most Productive Man in the history of humanity is our beloved
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Therefore, by simply following
his lifestyle and the acts of Sunnah we so often hear about, we obtain a
great source of Barakah!
Some of these Sunnahs include: eating
Suhoor, eating with the right hand from the side of the plate, going out
for Eid Salah, licking your fingers after finishing your meal, sleeping
on your right hand side, using the siwaak, and many more. Look out for
these Sunnahs and follow them, for imitating the life of the most
blessed man on earth is surely a source of blessing!
11. Praying Istikhara
Praying istikhara in all matters and
then leaving the outcome to Allah as well as accepting His Decree is a
great source of barakah. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught
us this beautiful dua which helps us make decisions and not regret the
choices we make in the following hadeeth:
On the authority of Jaabir Ibn ‘Abdullah he said: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) would instruct us to pray for guidance in all of our concerns, just as he would teach us a chapter from the Qur’an. He (peace be upon him) would say: ‘If any of you intends to undertake a matter then let him pray two supererogatory units (two rak’ah optional nafil) of prayer and after which he should supplicate: ‘O Allah, I seek Your counsel by Your knowledge and by Your power I seek strength and I ask You from Your immense favour, for verily You are able while I am not and verily You know while I do not and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allaah, if You know this affair -and here he mentions his need- to be good for me in relation to my religion, my life, and end, then decree and facilitate it for me, and bless me with it, and if You know this affair to be ill for me towards my religion, my life, and end, then remove it from me and remove me from it, and decree for me what is good wherever it be and make me satisfied with such.”
One who seeks guidance from his Creator
and consults his fellow believers and then remains firm in his resolve
does not regret for Allah has said:
‘…and consult them in the affair. Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah…” [Quran 3: 159]
12. Giving thanks to Allah in abundance
Allah says in the Quran: “If ye are grateful, I will add more (favours) unto you”.
A scholar once told me that if one looks into this verse, the Arabic
word that is used to confirm that Allah Wills favours unto the person
who thanks Him is actually in the form of an Oath – “La azidannakum”. So
Allah is promising the person who thanks Him an increase in goodness
and blessings, and Allah never breaks His promises.
13. Charity
In a Hadeeth Qudsi, Allah says: “O son of Adam, spend (in charity), and I’ll spend on you!” Whenever
you are broke, or you feel barakah is zapped out of your life and
urgently need it to return, the quickest of way of gaining barakah in
your life can be through giving charity. For example, let’s say barakah
was removed from your life due to a sin you committed; charity cleanses
your sins, adds good deeds and is a source of barakah.
I cannot describe the instantaneous gratification of giving charity and the barakah that follows it. Try it NOW!
14. Tying your ties of kinship
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, “Allah
created His creation, and when He had finished it, the womb, got up and
caught hold of Allah whereupon Allah said, “What is the matter?’ On
that, it said, “I seek refuge with you from those who sever the ties of
Kith and kin.” On that Allah said, “Will you be satisfied if I bestow My
favours on him who keeps your ties, and withhold My favours from him
who severs your ties?” On that it said, “Yes, O my Lord!” Then Allah
said, “That is for you.” Abu Huraira added: “If you wish, you can recite: ‘Would
you then if you were given the authority do mischief in the land and
sever your ties of kinship?” (Bukhari, Volume 6. Book 60. Number 354)
15. Waking up early
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Allah made the early hours blessed for my Ummah.”(Ahmed)
This hadeeth was what spurred me to
create ProductiveMuslim.com! Such gems of productivity are the sources
of blessings which we should seek to make our life productive. Waking up
early is such an important step to being blessed and feeling good
throughout your day.
Try to wake up for Tahajjud, and then work during the hours before Fajr Salah. If you cannot, then at least wake up for Fajr and stay up till sunrise before you return to sleep. Those hours are filled with Barakah. If you’re able to go to work in those hours, do so, you’ll get much more work done than the whole day put together!
Try to wake up for Tahajjud, and then work during the hours before Fajr Salah. If you cannot, then at least wake up for Fajr and stay up till sunrise before you return to sleep. Those hours are filled with Barakah. If you’re able to go to work in those hours, do so, you’ll get much more work done than the whole day put together!
16. Marriage
Allah says in the Quran: “Marry
those among you who are single, or the virtuous ones among yourselves,
male or female: if they are in poverty, Allah will give them means out
of His grace: for Allah encompasseth all, and He Knoweth all things.”
(Quran 24:32)
Speaking of marriage, I highly recommend the following training course to anyone seriously thinking of getting married: www.Practimate.com.
17. Salah
Allah says in the Quran: “Enjoin
prayer on thy people, and be constant therein. We ask thee not to
provide sustenance: We provide it for thee. But the (fruit of) the
Hereafter is for righteousness”. To illustrate the point of Salah
further, just imagine your life without this great act of ibadah. Where
would Barakah come from? For those of you who are still wavering in your
Salah, please get back on track; this is your lifeline for the final
destination in the hereafter, and the daily food for your soul.
18. Asking Allah for forgiveness
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “If
anyone continually asks forgiveness from Allah, Allah will appoint for
him a way out of every distress, and a relief from every anxiety, and
will provide for him from where he did not reckon.”
