The Barakah Effect

THIS is what The Barakah Effect podcast is all about: Nurturing a Growth Mindset. The constant discovery of how we can take small steps to continuously improve our lives in every way possible, to achieve success in dunia and akhirah. The “Growth Mindset” is to essentially have that fundamental belief and attitude that skills and capabilities CAN be developed through efforts, strategies, and by learning from others, no matter how “gifted” or how old you are. This is the attitude we should have as Muslims: To have that optimism KNOWING that Allah has Created us with the capacity to develop ANY skill or capability that we want, if we put in the consistent effort and remain steadfast in that pursuit, bi idznillah. In the first part of this Episode of The Barakah Effect podcast, we discuss why this topic is so significant to us, what is the Growth Mindset about, and some techniques on How we can adopt and nurture the Growth Mindset in all spheres of our lives - our careers, capabilities, our relationships, and most importantly, as Muslims and our worship of Allah. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:04:30 Human beings' amazing capacity of growth 00:08:02 As we age, we evolve into the Fixed Mindset 00:09:25 Syahmi's perspective of the Growth Mindset 00:17:44 Why the Growth Mindset plays such a huge role in Faisal's life 00:28:16 Amir's ever-expanding cooking & cutlery skills 00:31:58 Aziz's "weight problem" & doubts in starting a podcast 00:35:47 Reeza initial thoughts about MC & podcasting - "never in a million years!" 44:11 What exactly is the growth mindset? 49:56 Allah gave us an innate capability to continually learn 00:54:45 A hadith that teaches us that we can change! No matter what! 01:01:46 Find the sweetness in the process 01:07:20 How to develop a growth mindset? 01:14:02 Outro

In these trying times, jobs are relative uncertainties. How many people have lost their "secure jobs" as an effect of the covid-19 pandemic? Virtually every other day, a pilot opens up a burger stall, or an engineer turns into a full-time food delivery guy. On the other hand, those who get to keep their jobs face new challenges. Working from home and overwhelming workloads - that might be because others have been retrenched. Also, many public figures encourage people to leave unfulfilling jobs and chase their dreams. Thus, there is a tug-of-war going on between the need to hold on to a job to make ends meet and the desire to give it up to pursue a passion. Subsequently, all of this may contribute to heightened levels of anxiety. In this episode, The Barakah Effect talks about what does it mean to dislike a job, why it happens, and how we may perhaps even find joy, fulfilment and passion in our jobs. 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:50 Skilful but not passionate 00:05:49 A survey on 1 billion workforce 00:07:26 The brothers discuss experiences of hating their jobs 00:09:34 Our work is a big part of our identity 00:11:28 Three angles to a job that you might like 00:13:39 The most attractive jobs for engineers 00:16:51 Steve jobs advice for job seekers 00:18:14 The passion trap 00:22:23 Why do people hate their job? 00:28:10 Look for something positive on your job 00:34:07 Be the change you want to see 00:37:30 Challenges give you satisfaction 00:39:50 Adopt a 'learning mindset' 00:43:24 Embrace the process of discovery 00:45:58 How to start discovering your passion? 00:49:06 Finding passion in places where you least expect

Hajj: The Journey of a Lifetime. Oh, how do we yearn for an opportunity to see the Ka'bah in person, to circumambulate around it, to drink fresh Zamzam water and to personally witness the largest gathering of men ever recorded in the history of humanity! In this Hajj Special episode, we dive into the hajj experiences of brother Faisal and brother Syahmi, who were both blessed by Allah to perform their Hajj at a young age, as we flesh out some tips, advice, and productivity hacks from their experiences in the hope of encouraging fellow Muslims to invest and prepare for this epic journey. LabbaikAllahumma labbaik! 00:00:00 Intro 00:05:33 Initial Hajj Expectation 00:12:47 What motivated Syahmi to Hajj? 00:19:24 What motivated Faisal to Hajj? 00:27:09 Strategies to get your chance to Hajj 00:32:20 Faisal’s 4 years struggle to get Hajj visa 00:42:11 Tips: How did Amir get his Hajj visa? 00:47:04 The Journey: Hardships and challenges on the way 00:53:08 Hardship of Walking: it's more difficult than it seems! 00:57:20 Types of Hajj 01:03:13 Atmosphere in Al-Haram before Hajj 01:07:18 Arrival Makkah 01:11:20 Leaving off to Mina @ 8th Dzulhijjah (Tarwiyah) 01:16:00 Syahmi's legendary sense of direction 01:18:24 Walk from Makkah to Mina 01:24:08 9th Dzulhijjah. Road to Arafah 01:27:44 How Arafah really looks like 01:32:20 The "scene" of Wuquf in Arafah 01:38:32 Should you have a Du'aa List? 00:00:00 The best provision is that of Taqwa: Preparations 00:08:08 From 'Arafah to Muzdalifah 00:16:32 The precarious walk to the Jamaraat 00:26:43 Relief and accomplishment after stoning the Jamrah 00:31:19 The relaxed days of Tashriq in Mina 00:49:15 Pro tip: Do as the Prophet ﷺ did. 00:53:00 Waste disposal: from Mina to Miri 00:57:53 Hajj uncovers the generosity of Muslims 01:00:50 The ending of the Pilgrimage 01:11:27 Episode takeaways: the conclusion

قَالَ سُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ أَكْثَرِ مَا يُدْخِلُ النَّاسَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَالَ ‏"‏تَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَحُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ"‏‏.‏ وَسُئِلَ عَنْ أَكْثَرِ مَا يُدْخِلُ النَّاسَ النَّارَ فَقَالَ ‏"‏الْفَمُ وَالْفَرْجُ"‏ The Prophet ﷺ was asked about that for which people are admitted into Paradise the most, and he ﷺ said, "Taqwa of Allah, and good character”. And he was asked about that for which people are admitted into the Fire the most, and he ﷺ said: "The mouth and the private parts" (At-Tirmidzi) From this excellent Hadith, we clearly see the importance of good akhlaq in our deen. However, an important question arises; how do we begin to inculcate excellent akhlaq which is in line with the principles of our deen? In this episode in collaboration with Qalby, we discuss what exactly is good akhlaq, its role in Islam, its relationship with Taqwa and our Aqidah, and how good akhlaq be your golden ticket to Jannah 00:00:00 Intro 00:06:45 The Link between Taqwa, Aqidah and Akhlaq 00:18:58 Good Akhlaq: The Golden Ticket to Jannah 00:31:48 Perfection of Akhlaq in Islam = Our Unfair Advantage 00:43:54 Planting A Growth Mindset in Akhlaq 00:58:38 Prioritizing Akhlaq: those closest to you 01:15:07 Closing remark

Have you ever felt a sense of dread whenever you come across a particular person? This feeling might be a red flag that you are in a toxic relationship with that person. It can be a boss, a friend, a family member or even an organization. Before the advent of social media, toxic relationships might have been significantly small in number. However, these days toxic influences exist in various forms and it is worrying as they might cause a myriad of complications. Islam offers solutions that are holistic for people who are affected by toxic influences. The importance of Iman goes hand in hand with physical and mental wellbeing in handling toxicity. Hence in this week's episode, we discuss the meaning of toxic influence, its causes and practical tips to handle it effectively. 00:00:00 Intro 00:05:31 Effects of toxic influences 00:07:37 Definition of toxic influences 00:09:36 Hadith regarding influences 00:13:41 Toxic person are still human 00:18:01 Types of a toxic person 00:27:51 What are emotional vampires? 00:29:30 Bullying culture 00:32:10 Toxicity can come from many angles 00:33:23 Differentiating between truth and falsehood 00:37:02 The story of Imran ibn Hittan 00:41:00 You are influenced by who you sit with 00:44:08 Importance of being authentic 00:45:37 Najashi the Christian King and the sahabah 00:46:25 Toxic influences of Bani Israil 00:49:20 The munafiqun/hypocrites 00:53:25 Similarity of Abdullah bin Ubay's methods to toxic office politics 00:56:56 Focus on your goal 00:59:48 A trait of a munafiq is bringing the fight out of the ring 01:02:50 The effect of the toxic environment - the killing of Uthman bin Affan r.a 01:05:40 The "Loud minority" with a severe potential for harm on society 01:07:03 HOW should we handle toxic influences? 01:08:57 Find positive replacements: good company! 01:11:45 Three tips in dealing with toxic people 01:16:16 Most important key trait: Sabr! Don't allow the toxic environment to shape you 01:20:35 Appreciating the wisdom of toxic environment: to be BETTER 01:24:25 Go against the grain: Play your part to enjoin the good (in spite of the toxic surroundings) 01:25:55 Change your environment, walk away (where applicable) 01:28:23 The hijrah of a drug addict to become a Quran teacher 01:30:43 Exercise wisdom in getting rid of the bad apples 01:35:10 There will be goodness coming out from every difficulty 01:38:56 Constantly advise and bear patient on toxic people 01:45:19 Reality check! Impossible to completely avoid any difficult people 01:46:08 4 basic principles in confronting any issues 01:47:19 Take steps to rise above toxic influence 01:48:59 What scent is your personality?

"Remember who you are" Umar ibn Al-Khattab said, ‎نحن قوم أعزَّنا الله بالإسلام فمهما ابتغينا العزَّة في غيره أذلَّنا الله "We are a people whom Allah HONORED us through Islam, and when we sought honor from other than Islam, Allah humiliates us" Umar reminds us that this blessing of Islam is a huge honor - a great blessing from Allah. But it's NOT an entitlement, it's a responsibility. It's only when we own up to that responsibility to uphold our values, our principles, our identity - that's when we receive this honor, this izzah from Allah, that’s when we achieve our success. And this is the challenge that we tend to face at the workplace. Sometimes we get so carried away amidst the day-to-day challenges at work, in our careers, we get swept away by peer pressure, the corporate culture, the rat race towards seeking promotion and performance appraisals, we tend to lose sight of this core identity. So in this week's episode, we discuss, how can we uphold this honorable identity and embody the people we need to be to achieve success as Muslims, and in our careers as well. 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:13 Why talk about the Muslim Identity? 00:08:18 "Authenticity" can be a corporate trap! 00:10:29 What are the main components of a "Muslim Identity" 00:15:09 The big test and trial of this ummah is WEALTH 00:16:49 Basic identity of a Muslim is Tawheed 00:19:24 What does Integrity means? 00:22:50 How to be authentic at work? 00:29:56 What does ‘Yes-man’ means? 00:31:58 Communicate to your peers regarding your Religion 00:33:49 Standing by our principles 00:35:58 Do you worry about your Rizq? 00:39:09 Honest conversations lead to mutual respect 00:42:52 Whoever leaves a thing for the sake of Allah, Allah replaces with better than it 00:44:55 Confrontational colleagues keeps us on our toes 00:50:06 Keeping up the Muslim appearance 00:51:07 Who sets the benchmark for “what’s in and what’s out” 00:53:54 History of women not covering up in the past 00:57:19 Umar at his deathbed reminding a young man 00:59:53 Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad pioneered proven leadership traits 01:02:49 Good manners by itself alone is not dakwah 01:06:14 Make the change to implement the muslim identity 01:08:57 The importance of istiqamah 01:09:34 Do not be apologetic for being a Muslim 01:13:29 Learn, put it into practice and persevere! 01:14:21 Be firm on your belief! 01:19:03 The righteous predecessors used to made dakwah by portraying their Muslim Identity

In this episode, The Barakah Effect team has a look at the typical day in the life of the contemporary family man, the challenges that we face, examples from the deen in fulfilling this role, and we explore strategies on how to be better in our roles as family men, especially as husbands, fathers, and children to our parents! So what does it mean to be a family man in light of our deen? The family is the foundational cornerstone of a successful society, and the family man plays a key role in leading the family unit Allah mentions in the Quran, ‎يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا قُوْٓا اَنْفُسَكُمْ وَاَهْلِيْكُمْ نَارًا O you who believe, save yourselves and your families from the fire (Surah At-Tahrim, 6) When one really reflects on this ayah, we begin to appreciate the weight of the responsibility placed on the person with respect to their responsibilities on their family. So how do we do so effectively, while balancing the heavy responsibilities of our day-to-day duties in our jobs, and personal Islamic obligations? Join us and find out! 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:13 About being a family man 00:07:15 Getting expectations right 00:09:55 Of absent fathers & negligence 00:14:23 Human limitations & extremes 00:19:09 What parent do you want to be? 00:22:58 Nobody said it was easy, but it has immense rewards 00:26:29 The best of you are the best to your families 00:31:40 Parenting between great reward and severe punishment 00:33:53 Anas bin Malik firsthand experience as a child with Prophet Muhammad 00:35:45 Abu Salamah's impact on his wife 00:37:57 Stories about the 11 wives commenting on each of their husbands 00:43:37 A man's true happiness is in his household 00:47:40 Syaikh Ibn Baz advise on working from home 00:50:10 Quantify your quality time at home 00:54:00 Don’t be a thermometer rather than be a thermostat 00:57:35 Reality check: Children are detached from reality 00:59:00 Mistakes when giving advice 01:04:56 Who tries to be patient, Allah will help you to be patience 01:05:00 Teamwork: Help each other to attain Taqwa 01:11:46 Time block to spend time with your family 01:15:00 It’s a sin to trick your child 01:19:30 The best time to educate our child is during commute time 01:23:00 How do you make time for your spouse when you have kids? 01:27:50 Communicate your expectation clearly 01:31:31 Give your spouse their “me time” 01:35:20 Know your spouse and don’t compare them with others 01:39:40 Its a lifelong learning process 01:44:08 Reality check: How are we to our family? 01:48:08 What would they say about you when you die? 01:52:46 Have mercy to others, especially to your family members 01:58:10 Conclusion

In this episode, we try to jog our memory, recollecting our fresh graduate experience: How did we get our jobs? How was your first day? Was it rosy since day one? Did we get what we signed up for? This episode offers a glimpse of what to expect in the real world, from our perspectives. We hope our collective experience can give some valuable insights to you. So be sure to stick with us until the end to know what advice we wish we got back when we were still a bunch of greenhorns in the industry. NOTE / DISCLAIMER: In order to prevent legal ramifications and potential misunderstanding, all company names have been censored away from this podcast episode. 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:30 Amir: In the desert 00:08:41 Aziz: The best boss 00:14:00 Syahmi: Culture shock 00:27:30 Reza: Things goes out of plan 00:29:16 Good coffee everyday 00:29:50 The Plan 00:36:00 Reza's Office experience 00:37:53 Lesson learned 00:39:54 Faisal's fresh grad experience 00:41:49 An unexpected journey begins 00:44:47 Humble bosses 00:45:48 What shall I do with a chemical engineer? 00:47:08 Traumatizing incident 00:50:10 Company culture of “Every man is an island” and “bully culture” 00:56:12 Significant experience of our first boss. Leaders cultivate healthy work environment 01:00:00 What goes around comes around. 01:03:06 The art of learning. Never too proud to learn new things. 01:06:27 The 3 elements of a happy life 01:11:16 Have high aspiration. Don’t settle for lower goals. 01:14:25 Don’t be a ‘yes man.’ 01:19:40 Having a good mentor is a short cut to set yourself for success 01:23:30 White belt mentality and avoid the ‘entitlement mindset’ 01:27:00 Share your knowledge to strengthen your knowledge 01:29:52 Seize the moment, DON’T shy away in beneficial matters 01:34:00 Develop your EQ 01:36:24 Outro

"Who am I? I'm just a small fly". "Just another cog in the wheel". These are common phrases we hear about in today's society, that always seems to place an over-emphasis on those on the headlines. Because of these mindsets, many of us tend to feel disadvantaged or demoralized when we lack the capability to be on the “front lines”: whether it is in being “the boss”, the main presenter, the main goal-scorer in sports, or the one on the streets giving face-to-face da’wah. A community or an organization is only as good as the contribution of its functioning members. In addition to that, Islam teaches us something amazing. In a hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah will admit three people to Paradise by virtue of one arrow: The one who makes it, seeking reward by making it well; the one who shoots it; and the one who hands it to him.” - [Sunan Ibn Majah] SubhanAllah! The favour of Allah is unmatched! Each contributing member of the society reaps similar reward regardless if he is works in the front line, or behind the scenes. Allah acknowledges that every single person in an organization has an important role to play - completely debunking the condescending notion that you are only a cog in the wheel. In this episode, the Barakah Effect dive deep into this subject to for us to renew our intentions and high aspiration to realize the value and significance to society at large! 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:47 I’m just a cog in the wheel 00:06:45 Volunteering in an Islamic conference 00:08:52 The lady who cleaned the Mosque 00:09:33 Qadhi Abu Syuja’s retirement plan 00:10:50 My hard work doesn’t pay off! 00:11:28 Appreciation of people around us 00:13:00 Hadith: the role of the parents 00:16:54 Every small part of a long chain is beneficial 00:17:23 Hadith: The virtue of one arrow 00:18:00 Three people will enter Paradise because of one arrow. 00:23:10 The birth of Sahih Bukhari. 00:26:50 Small deeds with a big reward. 00:29:40 Behind every great man there is a great woman. 00:35:56 The companions contributed their unique skills and talents 00:37:48 Best of Women: What Made them Great? 00:39:59 Best of People for mankind: What makes THEM great? 00:42:57 Focus on YOURSELF first! 00:46:18 The Hedgehog Concept #GoodToGreat 00:52:50 Feeling burnout from the job? Have no "meaning" 00:54:00 Find meaning in your work 00:57:45 What do we tie our intentions to? 00:59:31 The big picture: impact thinking 01:05:35 Don't think too much about rights, think of responsibilities 01:07:00 A word of encouragement can trigger a huge change 01:10:54 Da'wah: Do I have a role to play? 01:12:55 Self reflect to discover our strength 01:15:41 Amir’s conclusion: Humble yourself, mankind is interdependent. Daily KPI by Ibn Rajab 01:17:38 Aziz’s conclusion: Each one of us is important. What legacy we want to leave 01:19:35 Reza’s conclusion: Find your WHY and develop them. Strive for what is good 01:21:05 Shahmi’s conclusion: How do we draw inspiration? 01:24:20 Faisal’s conclusion: Focus on your most critical role first. Be grateful to others even to your enemies. Be mindful of your speech 01:29:20 At times you won’t live to see the fruits of your efforts. Indeed, the reward is with Allah.

Conflict of interest. It's a hot topic that frequently appears in professional discussions of ethics and Human Resource guidelines about codes of conduct, especially in these times, with so many cases of corruption and misconduct in the corporate world, and among government officials today in the 21st century. But did you know, Islam has addressed the issue of Conflict of Interest, outlining clear-cut guidelines from the Qur'an and Sunnah over 1400 years ago? In this session, we discuss what is Conflict of interest? How conflict of interest can take place - sometimes in the most unexpected or unseen of ways, and how are some objective guidelines we can best handle them, from the perspective of Islam. 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:03 What is Conflict of Interest? 00:06:30 Perceived interest vs actual interest 00:13:02 Company policies: blocking the means 00:16:21 Are there measures in the Shariah to prevent Conflict of Interest? 00:18:46 Rules regarding hospitality 00:21:30 If you stay at home, will anyone send you a gift? 00:27:00 Hire you our family member 00:32:00 Know your rights by having knowledge 00:33:00 Can we have a genuinely good relationship between clients and contractors 00:34:37 Can you give or receive gifts to & from contractors? 00:37:08 Prophetic guidelines about "grey areas": Practicing Self-Awareness & Self-Integrity 00:40:21 Being Hired as an Auditor: Being paid to "expose" client? 00:42:52 Why scholars of the past refuse to be government scholars 00:45:46 Refusing to transfer or promote high performing staff 00:48:45 Biases with out-of-office activity partners and relationships 00:52:22 Using Relationsihp leverage as Favors? 00:54:06 Can't marry someone in the same company? 00:55:12 No one is free from biases. Not even Rasulullah! 00:56:12 Favoring a child over the other 00:58:38 Ta'arudh bainal mafsadah wal maslahah (preventing evil or attaining benefit - which one takes precedence?) 01:03:24 A career as a preacher 01:06:05 The difficulty of taming your intention 01:08:11 COI was addressed in the Syariah even before it became fashionable 01:10:18 Personal Integrity when nobody is looking 01:12:00 Uthman cried fearing the punishment of the grave 01:14:30 Aziz personal experience with COI – Standing his ground when receiving gifts 01:17:47 Firdaus personal experience with COI – Tempering with claims 01:21:30 Allah will replace what you leave for the sake of Allah with something better 01:22:35 Closing remarks