The Barakah Effect

Family - can't live without them. .. And sometimes, kind of difficult to live with them, too! All of us have faced challenges in dealing with difficult and perhaps even toxic people among our family. From narcissists, criticizers energy drainers, manipulators and victims - people like these exist in society. And some of them just so happen to be in our family! In this episode of The Barakah Effect podcast, we discuss: What are the mindsets, tips and strategies can we adopt to best handle ourselves in handling these types of people whom we can't just "get rid off"? How do we deal with family members who enjoy bullying us? Who refuse to reciprocate our kindness? Who ruthlessly hurl insults at us? Who psychologically torture us with their endless comparisons? All this, plus an interesting little Star Wars reference down the line that teaches us how we can use this to bring some humanity and empathy to help us cope with these undoubtedly challenging situations. 0:00:00 Intro 0:03:09 Why Syahmi chose this often-avoided "taboo" topic 0:07:08 A problem that affects practicing Muslims too 0:11:50 Discussion outline - Examples of "difficult" / "toxic" family 0:19:43 Senior Family members who bully you 0:26:33 Principles of Akhlaq and good behavior to family 0:31:46 Lower expectations: Don't expect others to reciprocate good akhlaq 0:34:15 You cannot change other people - hidayah is in the Hands of Allah 0:37:59 Whoever helps another Muslim, Alah will Help him on the Day of Judgment 0:41:58 Handling uncles & aunties who love comparing with others #ChangeTheGame 0:44:06 Perfectly normal to have difficult family members: Even Prophets of Allah 0:48:56 Showing Empathy to your family members 0:51:35 Hate the sin, but not the sinner - don't Label others 0:56:37 Let them observe our maturity 0:59:43 Prioritization: identifying those who have more rights to us 01:04:30 Respond in a better way

In this episode on the theme of caring for our mental health, we approach it from the perspective of prevention: How can we equip ourselves better to care for ourselves and the people around us, towards having the right mindset and building resilience in our mental health? Join us as we explore practical tips and strategies that the common person can incorporate in their everyday lives to insha Allah to help us maintain healthy mental well-being and be better prepared when we are experiencing the downtimes. DISCLAIMER: As always, we are not experts on this subject, we may make mistakes and if we do, please do get in touch with us or send your comments down below. We would love to hear from you if you have any feedback for us to improve. 00:00:00 Intro 00:55:30 Having a Healthy Habit Routine keeps you motivated 00:57:23 Having a Healthy Habit Routine keeps you motivated 00:57:23 Power of Du'aa and Speaking to Allah 01:03:52 Morning and Evening Dzikir 01:11:46 Answering sceptics: "how can du'aa solve my problems?" 01:17:10 Read books - 01:18:57 Make the Quran a Source of Comfort 01:24:25 Making Akhirah our ultimate goal 01:34:30 Healthy relationship 01:37:00 The signs that Allah loves you 01:46:34 Develop and Nurture Healthy personal relationships 01:49:16 What if you don't have "Best friends"?? 01:53:14 TBE #Bromance Moment 01:55:56 What is the Basis of your friendship & relationships? #LoveForTheSakeOfAllah 01:58:45 The Awkwardness of Initiating conversations and making friends 01:59:43 Aziz - Be Proactive, take a Preventive approach 02:02:02 Amir - Always focus on the present: With patience and gratitude 02:03:22 Syahmi - Know Allah in your times of ease 02:05:47 Faisal - Uncover the Care and Love that Allah has for us and Call others on that Path 02:13:22 Reeza - Discover the beauty of Islam & Be inspired

Are you struggling with your career progression or struggling to chart your career path? Developing a career takes time and attention. It’s a journey. In this episode, we are going to share how to chart your career path based on our experiences. The things we wish we knew before we start our career years ago. Such as; 1. What to consider when choosing a career path? 2. What should be our main drivers or motivation in choosing a career? 3. Understanding the reason for working as a Muslim. 4. Real-life examples. 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:30 Why talk about charting our career path? 00:11:45 The (muslim’s) motivations behind work: The big picture 00:18:34 Knowing and being firm on our sense of purpose 00:23:34 What to look for when choosing a career? 00:54:50 “Fish out of water” syndrome 00:57:40 Changing your career path might be good for you 01:03:30 You are greatness in progress 01:06:00 How do we find the opportunity? 01:13:05 Networking 01:17:00 You have your own pace 1:22:24 Managing fear 1:24:36 Zayd ibn Thaabit’s “career” progression 1:30:09 It’s never too late to chart your career path 1:34:55 Always start by purifying your intention 1:39:45 Make your intention for the sake of Allah 1:41:50 Are all the Sahaba are the same? 1:44:40 The Bedouin who urinated in the masjid

Mental health is THE issue that plagues our society in this day and age, and for a long time, there is such a big stigma in our society surrounding mental health that people who do suffer from it, unfortunately often suffer in silence.  One question we’d like to invite all of us to reflect on is: How much do we really know about mental health? In this episode on the theme “caring for our mental health", we discuss how does Islam views and address mental well being.  What are the attitudes and outlook of the Muslim when faced with calamities and are there solutions within our religion to help us navigate the ups and downs of life and build resilience through difficult times?  DISCLAIMER: As always, we are not experts on this subject, we may make mistakes and if we do, please do get in touch with us or send your comments down below. We would love to hear from you if you have any feedback for us to improve.  00:00:00 Intro 00:04:50 Reza’s personal experience 00:11:10 Faisal’s personal experiences 00:20:14 Our hopes after you listening to this episode 00:22:10 Allah created our mind and emotions 00:26:40 Relationship between Islamic theory and practical 00:29:00 The problem with psychology theory 01:00:04 Blessings of Calamity: How Qadar instils us with Optimism! 01:04:30 Remembrance of Akhirah puts our short life in perspective 01:11:06 For believers, the test itself is a reward from Allah! 01:14:18 Why does an All-Loving God inflict suffering in this world? 01:21:24 The Importance of understanding the wisdom of trials and tribulations 01:25:14 We are accountable for our choices, not for HIS Will on us 01:28:46 Confronting the anxiety of covid and fear of death

It is difficult to imagine that so many people have to bring their work home - before covid-19. The idea of working/studying from home is a notion not many companies and organizations entertain and give consideration to.  However given the fact that covid-19 is nowhere to stay, working and studying from home have become the new norm for people all around the world.  And of course, for a lot of people it is awkward and at times, stressful. Especially when we think of our homes as a place to wind down from a long day at work or school, a place to focus on the family etc.  So how can we reconcile work and 'me time'/ family time at home? This is the topic of today's discussion. We'll also be sharing our own experiences and how's the struggle like for us. This is the Barakah Effect Podcast, the weekly podcast that explores productivity tools and mindsets from the Quran and sunnah for us to apply in our daily lives. We hope you will find benefit from this episode. BarakAllahu feekum.

As the cases of mental illnesses, depression and suicide keep growing worldwide amidst this COVID-19 pandemic, even in our country in Malaysia, it became increasingly clear that we need to speak about the subject of Mental Health here at the Barakah Effect podcast. We need to know what WE can do: Not as experts, but as regular people who will be confronting with day to day challenges and exposed to the risks of mental illness: How can we, as regular members of society, how can we take a more proactive approach to mental health? How can we take practical steps to take action to IMPROVE or at least maintain our mental health, so that we can continue to be healthy and productive citizens who can continue contributing to the well-being of others around us, as a society, and as a Muslim ummah. In this first part of the discussion, we will be discussing about the context: How did we get here? Why are mental illnesses constantly on the rise, even before the coming of the pandemic? We will also break down our context as a whole: How our modern lifestyles in this digital age of the 21st century is almost hardwired to make us emotionally and mentally ill if we are not careful. And we hope that through this discussion, we can gain some insight and an improved awareness of our surroundings, so we can take action to stay on tip-top mental health. DISCLAIMER: As always, we are not experts on the subjects, we may make mistakes and if we do, please do get in touch with us or sound of your comments down below. We would love to hear from you if you have any feedback for us to improve.

"Kerja itu Ibadah" - Satu ungkapan yang biasa kita dengari. Namun, apa yang dimaksudkan dengan ungkapan tersebut? Pada satu sudut, mungkin ada yang tertanya-tanya: Bagaimanakah pekerjaan dan perniagaan kita - usaha mencari duit dan "meng-kayakan" diri - dikaitkan dengan ibadah kita yang lain seperti solat, umrah dan membaca Al-Qur'an? Ini seolah-olah dua dunia yang berbeza! Pada satu sudut yang lain pula, mungkin ada yang tertanya: Mengapa perlu bekerja, sedangkan tujuan penciptaan manusia itu hanyalah untuk menyembah Allah semata-mata, seperti yang difirmankan dalam Al-Qur'an? Bukankah cukup sekadar tawakkal? Bukankah "rezeki kita sudah tertulis"?! Dalam episod minggu ini yang julung-julung kali diadakan dalam Bahasa Malaysia, tim The Barakah Effect podcast akan berkongsi bagaimana perkerjaan anda sekarang boleh dijadikan ibadah, serta implikasi di sebalik prinsip ini.

Ibn Al Qayyim said: “Whomsoever seeks knowledge to revive Islam, then they are from amongst the truthful ones and their ranking (in the Afterlife) will be after the rank of Prophethood” (miftah das as saadah) What a high-status Allah has prepared for the sincere seekers of knowledge, and it is no wonder that we find in many authentic ahadeeth evidence to support this fact! Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned “Whoever traverses a path in search of knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for them” (Muslim) The question is, in this day and age, how do we as average Muslims can begin to tread this path of seeking knowledge?  In the previous episode, we touched on why seeking knowledge of the deen is important and the challenges we face in this contemporary era just to begin to seek knowledge  To pick up from where we left off, this week we continue with practical tips for the laymen Muslim on how we can seek knowledge despite our busy work-life schedule.

The pursuit of Islamic knowledge is one of the greatest acts of worship that a Muslim can undertake. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever traverses a path in search of knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him" (Muslim) The pursuit of knowledge is such a virtuous act, that many scholars among our righteous predecessors, used to consider that seeking knowledge is the BEST act of worship after the obligatory (wajib) deeds! But the question is: 🤔 How do we find time to seek knowledge? Especially if we are working full-time, have to manage our families, and with all these responsibilities and obligations on me in my hectic day to day schedule? 🤔 What are the Islamic subjects available, and which ones I should prioritize? What is the extent of "what I should know?" 🤔 How can I find suitable resources, learning institutions and teachers for me to achieve my goal? 🤔What are some strategies and tips I can optimize my routines to put a slot in knowledge as a priority? 🤔 How do I balance out between memorization, revision and progressing to learn new things? Is it too late to start? 🤔WHY should I even be bothered about this pursuit of knowledge, in the first place? After all, I am not an Ustaz or a Shaykhah - I'm just a family guy/career person/full-time mother. Isn't that what scholars and mufti's are for? Yes - we too, ask these tough but critical questions! Join us at #TheBarakahEffect podcast where we discuss these issues and more, in our latest episode 23, "Seeking Knowledge in a Hectic Work-Life Schedule"! 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:38 Why this topic is important? 00:16:00 Why do we need to seek knowledge? 00:25:45 Should I just leave it to the scholars? 00:32:30 Isn't just fulfilling the obligations enough? 00:37:35 Steps to happiness 00:42:10 We think we know, but we really don't 00:46:30 Contemporary challenges on seeking knowledge 01:00:36   Proper Islamic knowledge broadens the horizon 01:03:19   Know the correct objective and path in seeking knowledge 01:08:30   Ibn Uthaymin's advice to seekers of knowledge 01:17:40   Which subjects to begin with?

In Part 2 of our discussion, we discuss further HOW we can Nurture a Growth Mindset in all aspects of our lives. 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:00 Monitoring Fixed Mindset Triggers 00:06:32 Self-Awareness: By Knowing Allah, you Know yourself 00:09:00 Admitting our Faults; thinking of feedback as a GIFT! 00:11:20 Having a Growth mindset will trigger and inspire others around you too! 00:13:44 Set High Benchmarks: Appoint Worthy Rivals to push ourselves for continuous improvement 00:18:22 Keep Going! Emphasize the JOURNEY, not the destination. Efforts, not results. 00:21:14 Simplify: Small & easy steps, done consistently 00:27:10 Embrace imperfection; taking challenges as "education", not a failure 00:30:22 Overcoming gaps is a long journey of self-discovery 00:34:37 Don't let anyone tell you otherwise 00:37:25 Look for role models 00:40:05 Developing grit and emotional resilience 00:50:14 ‘Worthy rivals' 00:52:00 Find an accountability partner 00:57:30 Dunya is a place of implementation, Akhirah is a place of accounting 01:01:00 Syahmi: Focus to better yourself 01:12:30 Aziz: Prioritize on critical aspects you want to see growth 01:16:24 Faisal: Gaps are simply “I am not good at it YET” 01:21:19 Start your journey to self-improvement by asking Allah for guidance 01:24:45 Let’s strive to be a grounded, high achiever