The Productive Muslim Quotes

“Ibn al-Qayyim has a profound statement in his book Al-Fawaid. Referring to the effect of negative and sinful thoughts, he said: “You should repulse a thought. If you do not do so, it will develop into a desire. You should therefore wage war against it. If you do not do so, it will become a resolution and firm intention. If you do not repulse this, it will develop into a deed. If you do not make up for it by doing the opposite [the opposite of that evil deed], it will become a habit. It will then be very difficult for you to give it up”. Another similar quote: “You should know the initial stage of every knowledge that is within your choice is your thoughts and notions. These thoughts and notions lead you into fantasies. These fantasies lead towards the will and desire to carry out [those fantasies]. These wills and desires demand the act should be committed. Repeatedly committing these acts causes them to become a habit. So the goodness of these stages lies in the goodness of thoughts and notions, and the wickedness of these thoughts lies in the wickedness of thoughts and notions”. May Allah be pleased with him! He offers a deep insight into something so subtle. We should all memorise these words and use it whenever we feel unable to control the tsunami of negative thoughts that overtake our minds.”
― Mohammed "Abu Productive" Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity

“Prophet Muhammad (s) says: “Whenever you go to bed, perform ablution like that for the prayer, lie or your right side and say: ‘O Allah! I surrender to You and entrust all my affairs to You and depend upon You for Your Blessings both with hope and fear of You. There is no fleeing from You, and there is no place of protection and safety except with You O Allah! I believe in Your Book which You have revealed and in Your Prophet whom You have sent.’ Then if you die on that very night, you will die with faith (i.e. the religion of Islam). Let the aforesaid words be your last utterance [before sleep]”. [Bukhari]”
― Mohammed "Abu Productive" Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity

“According to Imam al-Ghazali, there are four worldly and four spiritual tips to help a person perform tahajjud. The worldly tips are: •Avoid overeating, and over-drinking, which would lead to heavy sleep. •Avoid tiring the body during the day in what is not beneficial. •Take to the afternoon nap, which helps you pray at night. •Never commit sins during the day, which may prevent you from praying tahajjud. The spiritual tips are: •To purify your heart of any resentment against another Muslim. •To constantly have fear in your heart of your Lord and realise that your life is short. •To understand the benefit of tahajjud. •To love Allah, and have strong faith when you stand in prayer in the night, calling upon Allah.”
― Mohammed "Abu Productive" Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity

“I am as my servant thinks of me’ is a statement of God which is profoundly instructive. It teaches us that our destiny actually lies with us in how we think and behave. Meaningful existence is a life of hope, contribution and productivity.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity

“There's a story that says that one day Prophet Moses (as) asked God if He ever sleeps. God asked Moses (as) to carry two buckets of water using a rod and to carry that rod on his shoulder and simply stand. After a while, Moses felt sleepy, and as soon as he snoozed, the buckets fell to the ground and the water spilt all over the place. God told Moses, 'O Moses, if I slept, that's what will happen to the universe.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity

“It's finding time to be alone in a quiet place and simply focusing inwards on yourself, your dreams, your hopes, your prayers, and your aspirations. Finding solitude is the practice of the prophets of God. It's where they found solace with their Creator and received their great revelations.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity

“Time is Life. Imam Hasan al-Banna said, 'Whoever knows the real value of time knows life itself, for time is life.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity

“Life is a journey, an opportunity and a trust.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where faith meets productivity

“Prophet Muhammad (s) said: “Whoever does not argue when he is in the wrong will have a home built for him on the edge of Paradise. Whoever avoids it when he is in the right will have a home built for him in the middle of Paradise. And whoever improves his own character, a home will be built for him in the highest part of Paradise”. [Tirmidhi]”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where faith meets productivity

“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 it. And the greatest fruits of barakah in all things are to use that barakah in the obedience of Allah”.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where faith meets productivity

“saying by Ali (r) said: “Live for your life as if you’ll live forever and live for the Hereafter as if you’ll die tomorrow”. Also narrated Mujahid: Abdullah bin ‘Umar said, “Allah’s Messenger took hold of my shoulder and said, ‘Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller”. The sub-narrator added: Ibn ‘Umar used to say, “If you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening, and take from your health for your sickness, and (take) from your life for your death”. [Bukhari]”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where faith meets productivity

“The time you’re given in this world is all you have to sow the seeds of good deeds in the hope that you’ll harvest the rewards in the Hereafter.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where faith meets productivity

“the beauty of making wudhu before any task ensures that your intention for this task is pure and clean.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where faith meets productivity

“Our Lord, give us good in this world and in the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.’” [2:201]”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where faith meets productivity

“Imam al-Ghazali says, “Your time should not be without structure, such that you occupy yourself arbitrarily with whatever comes along. Rather, you must take account of yourself and order your worship during the day and the night, assigning to each period of time an activity that must not be neglected nor replaced by another activity. By the ordering of this time, the blessing will show in itself”.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where faith meets productivity

“If all we are going to do is go through the motions of life: eat, sleep, get married, have children, work, retire and then die...then it's true, life doesn't mean anything. But if we strive to make our life full of meaning and fulfil our purpose, then it all makes sense.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity

“Not long ago, local farms and markets were the only source of food in one's life. We understood where our food came from, the ground in which it grew, and its link to our Creator. Today, however, with the globalisation of the food industry and the ever-increasing urbanisation of humanity, we've lost this link to the earth and forgotten our dependence on the Creator to provide food for us.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity

“...disconnection is the ability to unplug your mind from the constant bombardment of all the distractions that come your way in order to connect to your inner mind and inner focus. It is the ability to find solitude in yourself. The more we can develop our ability to focus, the more we will be in control of how we respond to (or ignore) the distractions that come our way.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity

“This story illustrates that even a beloved prophet of God gets tested. The message to the world is that everyone will be tested; it's how we react to that trial that makes the difference.”
― Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity