Seeking Excellence in Career & Deen | Shareef El-Arbi | 049

For this episode, we have a conversation with Ustadz Shareef El-Arbi to share some insights on the Barakah of Striving for Excellence - or ihsan - in Career and Deen, especially in seeking knowledge and da’wah.

Ustadz Shareef El-Arbi is of Libyan-American descent and has lived most of his life in the United States of America. He has a Bachelor in Business Administration from the US and an MBA from Australia, and is currently residing in Malaysia with his family.

Having being blessed to be active with Muslim youth from a young age, he has undertaken Arabic and Islamic studies in Jordan, Libya, Saudi and the US.

Many of us in Malaysia would know him through his regular Islamic classes and lectures in various different local organizations such as Revivers and Alkhaadem, and as a speaker for Islamic conferences in Malaysia such as The Straight Path and The Awakening convention.

Professionally, he works full-time in the corporate world, with over 18 years of experience under his belt from various different industries such as telecommunications, IT, banking, medical, retail and education. He Specializes primarily in project management, quality management and people management.

In this conversation, Ustaz Shareef shares

- his life journey and personal experience, of being brought up and raised in America

- The hostile high school environment that he was raised in

- His journey in seeking knowledge and pursuit of his worldly career, the interesting "balancing act" of treading the path of deen and da'wah while the dunya keeps pulling him back

- Maintaining his Islamic identity at his workplace, especially in working environments and corporate cultures that are predominantly non-Muslims

- Da'wah - what it means to have true ikhlas. How any of us can contribute, and how Allah opens up doors of opportunities if we are truly sincere in our intentions to contribute to the ummah. How to

- A lesson of tawakkul in Raising Children:

00:00:00 Biography: Ustaz Shareef

00:05:39 Introduction - Ahlan wa sahlan

00:11:14 Studying is from the Cradle to the Grave: don't forget to "pay zakah" for your knowledge!

00:15:43 Upbringing, being raised in USA

00:21:30 Schooling in America: it's difficult to find "good company"

00:31:14 The important role of his father: instilling Islamic identity and values #ProudToBeMuslim

00:35:55 Deciding to pursue College: at crossroads between islamic vs. secular studies

00:40:25 Abandoning college for Islamic studies: a foolish move?

00:42:09 Experience of Studying Qur'an, Arabic and Sharee'ah in Jordan and Libya

00:50:31 How living in Jordan accelerated Mastery in Arabic (& why it's difficult to learn Arabic in Malaysia!)

00:56:28 Returning back to the States during the Gulf War. Now what?

01:01:37 How a Dentist inspired Ustaz Shareef that "you can give da'wah no matter what"! #NowEveryoneCanMakeDawah

01:06:14 WHY do we give da'wah? 3 major wisdoms on why da'wah is a source of barakah

01:14:37 Inspired by a da'ee for the wrong reasons? What if we are "not sincere"?

01:45:04 The Legacy that Ustaz Shareef wishes to leave behind

01:49:51 Don't be a slave to your company and your career

01:52:05 Ikhlas: ONE ayah of Qur'an can change the trajectory of another person's life

01:58:06 The Key to Barakah is...