Three of my closest friends all became dads in the space of less than a week and overnight the GC has gone from posting memes to exchanging nappy-changing tips
Top tip: to achieve habit of tahajjud, start by setting 3am alarm but only to open eyes & say astaghfirullah 3x, then go back to sleep. 0 effort but still dua in final 3rd of night + getting used to waking up. Increase slowly (eg dua, sujud) till you reach wudu + actually praying
Some of my teachers in Cairo suffer the most unimaginable hardships, yet they always remain optimistic. When I ask how, one of them always quotes the following verse: "You never know; soon Allah may well bring about something new..." (Qur'an 65:1)
A small tip that’s helped me recently: put your phone away before you pray. That way, when you’re done, you don’t have it on you to pull out straight away as per usual habit. Instead, you’ll find yourself with a few seconds to do some dhikr. It might just become your new habit.
Me: How old are you now, Samu?
Cousin: Three
Me: Mashallah! Do you know what you want to be when you're older?
Cousin: Yeah
Me: And what's that?
Cousin: Four
Me:
Cousin:
Big intentions for small deeds. This is how we small-timers win. Smile at mum, £2 in charity, "alhamdulillah" for no reason. But intend big: to see Allah's face, be with the prophets, for Jannat al-Firdaws. Then believe, with confidence, that Allah will give it all, and He will.
Hardship builds character. Many prophets' lives were filled with grief and sorrow. It's a key tool Allah uses to train his most beloved slaves. If anything, strong faith IS to experience severe sadness, but whilst maintaining belief and channelling it as dua + trust in Allah.
The father of Yusuf (a.s), Yaqub (a.s) had more certainty and trust in Allah than anyone of us has. Still, he wept until his eyes went sore.
On the other hand some Muslims blame others for being emotive and blackmail them under the pretense of needing to have "stronger faith".
That sweetness and enjoyment we crave in our worship is not a given, it’s a privilege that’s earned. But it’s also the point of worship: you do it because *He* deserves it, not because *you* feel good. But this is comforting, actually, not demoralising, because it means that-
Sh Ahmad Amer (r), however, the legendary Qari who would bless ELM with his beautiful recitation every Ramadan, was a lot simpler: "Be dutiful to your parents," he said, "and Allah will not let you down."
And often it's your parents' du'as, and in particular your mother's. Pleasing your parents is a sure way to the jannah in this life and the next. Few things are as powerful a du'a as your mother's smile when she's pleased with you.
I always get mixed reactions when I say this, and I know it's a sensitive one, but I think we need to talk more about letting Ls be Ls. Sure, finding the silver lining and reframing with optimism has its value and place, but *sometimes* I think it's important to just recognise—
Top tip for the married folk: when telling the Zoom call you're popping out to pray salah, double check for dangerous typos that can get you in trouble
I remember some Ramadans ago sitting with the imams who led tarawih at ELM. We asked each for advice on memorising the Qur'an. The younger imams talked passionately about their bulletproof routines + did the usual motivational maths (1 page a day = hafidh in less than 2 years!)—
This breaks my heart. Imagine knowing the next few moments could be the last time you're ever conscious; once intubated, you may never come back, never see family again. May Allah protect all our loved ones and not test us with trials we can't bear.
Patient was so nervous to be intubated so I put on ar rahman by omar hisham beforehand. My heart broke, I couldn't watch. This pandemic is going to give me PTSD.
Me: How old are you now, Ayan?
Ayan: Errrmmmm, six?
Me: You're not sure? 😂 When's your birthday?
Ayan: In the summer
Me: Mmhm but what date? Like I was born 1st of June
Ayan:
Me:
Ayan: March of April?
Your difficulties are just the steps to your success. Had Yusuf (AS) not been betrayed by his own brothers, kidnapped by strangers, sold cheaply as a slave, imprisoned unjustly for years — he would not have become one of the most powerful men in Egypt. As they say, the smooth-
"What causes a person to bear weak character? When we turn our backs on amanah (trusts). First and foremost when we fail to keep promises to our own selves. If you make a promise to your self, e.g. you will recite Qur'an in the morning, or wake early for prayer, but fail to-
One of the use cases of AI I'm most excited about is language learning. I asked ChatGPT to have a French conversation with me whilst correcting mistakes and proposing alternatives. Not perfect, but I can imagine something like it being very powerful in the not-so-distant future.
Feel like I’m missing out on life not being a tea/coffee drinker. The pure joy on your faces when you lot get a tea break. I need some of that happiness. Instead I’m just sitting here pretending to enjoy the plain biscuits. Someone teach me how to like coffee please.
Using actual paper instead of an iPad today for the first time in weeks & I keep finding myself dragging my finger across the paper to scroll & pinching to zoom. Takes a split sec to register why it's not working. I thought I had this tech addiction thing under control. Send help
it’s normal to often feel empty whilst trying to worship Allah, to find it difficult, to not enjoy it. And perhaps this kind of worship can even be the best kind, the most beloved to Allah, the most rewarding — because it’s out of pure, selfless duty.-
The Quranic paradigm is clear. Allah gives and takes life. Life does not mark victory, and death does not mark defeat. The best strategy is not *necessarily* the one that preserves life; it is the one that pleases Allah most, even if, and perhaps especially if, it leads to death.
So the next time you’re praying, fasting, reading Quran, trying to make meaningful dua, but you just feel unmotivated, empty, and disconnected — just smile and keep going; you might be a lot closer to Allah in that moment than you think.
Excited to share I've joined the founding team at
@CoHelmAI
led by the fantastic
@abdelmMD
and
@zaarheed
, and that we've come out stealth today announcing our $3.2m seed led by
@sequoia
. Watch this space, and if you want to be a part of it, we're hiring:
Excited to share Co:Helm is out of stealth and announcing a $3.2M seed round led by
@sequoia
& angels inc.
@mustafasuleyman
,
@adrianaoun
and amongst others (more below)
1/n
Allah loves consistency in small deeds because it nurtures sincerity. It trains your actions to transcend all purposes besides Allah. If you sustain small habits through thick & thin, no matter who's around you, no matter where you are, no matter how you feel, only Allah remains.
“The believer's heart is like a reservoir of calmness that generates waves of activity. The deeper the reservoir, the calmer the waters, the more powerful the waves of goodness that it unleashes into the world.-
when something is an L, learn the bitter lessons from it, and then leave it alone as a failure without trying to turn it into anything else. I don't think this is contrary to optimism; I think it's an important part of building a healthy relationship with failure.
Someone in his 30s once told me how he regrets not sticking to memorising just a verse or two of Quran a day in his 20s because "it would take too long". Instead he tried completing it in 2/3 years alongside life. "But if I'd just stuck to it 10 yrs ago, I'd be a hafidh by now."
Whenever I think "it's too late for me now" in regards to starting something new, I remember the old man I met at a masjid who told me how, at 55, he considered studying Islam formally, but figured it was too late. "I’m 75 now", he said. "I'd have a PhD today if I started at 55."
RE LAE Islamophobia content I'm sharing - it's important to me because I've been close to the difficult experiences of these students since 2014 when the complaints were 1st brought to us at
@myn_uk
&
@fosischannel
. Atmosphere in the school & among some teachers was so toxic &..
side of the mountain is the hardest to climb; it has nothing for you to hold on to — it’s the rough side that gets you to the top. Embrace hardship as a gift, a school that only the best graduate from, and ask yourself: what is Allah teaching me here? What is He preparing me for?
Feel like I’m missing out on life not being a tea/coffee drinker. The pure joy on your faces when you lot get a tea break. I need some of that happiness. Instead I’m just sitting here pretending to enjoy the plain biscuits. Someone teach me how to like coffee please.
"The legacy of our father Ibrahim (AS) is extremely empowering in today's world. His pure submission to Allah, his unyielding principled stances, his confidence in the face of trouble and tyrants, his intelligence, his steadfastness, his vast vision for thousands of—
Ok hear me out. Those who work through to 3am in the morning are more morning people than the "morning people" who wake up at 6am. I mean 3am in the morning is clearly more morning than 6am. We're the real morning people. You 6am people sleep through the good half of the morning.
Every single tv ad this evening is black. Morrison's, Hive, Sainsbury, and all the rest. I'm going to take a stand & not buy from these companies until they *see me*. I'm white & I live in a majority white country. I exist. It's going to be difficult but that's my mission.
Do not think of those killed in Allah's way as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, well provided for. They are happy with what Allah has given them of His favour, delighted for those who they have left behind and who have yet to join them, that there will be no fear—
We've got a new look! 🔥
Re-introducing
@DeenDevelopers
: a tech-for-good community of founders, techies, and creatives who ship products that solve real-world problems 🌍
Check out our new landing page and what we've been up to: 💻
And watch the below
stay true to the promise, your character will weaken. One failure will lead to another, until this becomes a downward spiral of self failures. This sets a precedence in your character and such a person will struggle to keep promises to others. He will constantly let others-
Random story w/ a lesson. In Dec youngest bro wanted to spend some time in Cairo for studies but considered delaying. "I can just go in the summer?" In the end he went in Jan alhamdulillah. I think the lesson is "don't delay opportunities cos you never know" or sth like that 👍
What a beautiful welcome
يا أيتها النفس المطمئنة؛ ارجعي إلى ربك راضية مرضية؛ فادخلي في عبادي؛ وادخلي جنتي
O assured soul, content & at peace; return now to your Lord pleased, & He is pleased with you; enter among My righteous worshippers; enter into My Garden
Qur'an 89:27-30
What a blessing Islam is. At times I find myself overwhelmed by a difficult situation or a tough decision. Then I remember I have Allah; all I must do is recommit to my relationship with Him & make some dua. Then the stress just vanishes. Of course I'll be fine. How can I not be?
I realise I may have come across a bit dismissive of "bulletproof routines" and "motivational maths". That wasn't my intention at all, of course. Good routine and discipline is paramount, as is setting and tracking memorisation/revision targets.
Thread: The Balance of Marriage
1. Seek plenty of advice
2. Don't seek too much advice
3. Ask married people much older than you
4. Don't ask married people much older than you
5. Take the advice seriously
6. Don't take the advice too seriously
So make a deep connection into your own soul and heart and find your internal voice by speaking to Allah a lot. Once you build a direct & regular contact with Him in the stillness of the night and the mornings, you will-
Heartbreaking. But there's assurance in knowing Allah never allows works of good people to be in vain. His divine promise: all is not lost
واصبر فإن الله لا يضيع أجر المحسنين
Be patient; indeed Allah does not allow to be lost the rewards of those who excel in good
Quran 11:115
I was held at gunpoint today right outside the gate of where I live. I had had a long day working on flood hazard and poverty analysis. I came back home with my company's laptop, my small bag and a mobile phone that my husband gifted me for our wedding. All my work was on that
find more and He will teach you more and show you more of your weaknesses and faults. That is a prerequisite to any change that you seek to bring into this world.”
— Muhammad Rabbani
More recently...
5yo cousin: Tahseen bayya, what's faster than light?
Me: *confidently putting on Physics hat*: Nothing is faster than light, Samu. Light is the fastest thing in the universe.
Cousin: 🤔
Me: 😌
Cousin: What about Allah's command?
Me:
Me: How old are you now, Samu?
Cousin: Three
Me: Mashallah! Do you know what you want to be when you're older?
Cousin: Yeah
Me: And what's that?
Cousin: Four
Me:
Cousin:
"We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand."
— The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
Strongly recommend this — hackathons are a great way to learn incredibly quickly, build out your portfolio, and meet lifelong friends and mentors. Deadline tomorrow 📝
Thrilled to announce the opening of applications for the
@OxGenAI
Hackathon!
All are welcome to sign up, whether you're from a technical or non-technical background.
The deadline for applications is 22 September, so register quickly!
Sign up here:
We're going ahead with the Arabic reading programme for beginners/intermediates inshallah. Register on . Happy to answer Qs. Do share with anyone you think might be interested.
Of all the ideas we've had in the pipeline, this I've been most gassed for since discussing with
@ibnKhalid_
over tea + hot wings in an Afghan caf�� (don't ask). Looking forward to learning from this & improving it exponentially w/ each cohort. If you have an idea/MVP, apply!
Our Accelerator Programme for early stage & under-represented founders is here 🥳
💰 Equity-free funding
🚀 Successful founders as mentors
⚒️ Tailored workshops
💸 Access to investors
Apply now at
"Say: Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us; He is our Protector. And in Allah alone let the believers put their trust." [Qur'an 9:51]
"The [hypocrites] wait to see what happens to you and, if God brings you success, they say, "Were we not on your side?" but if the disbelievers have some success, they say to them, "Did we not have the upper hand over you, and [yet] protect you from the believers?"–
@Jason
Thanks,
@Jason
,
@DavidSacks
,
@chamath
(and
@friedberg
who was sorely missed). Given you’re not experts as admitted, would you consider inviting experts onto the pod for long-form discussion? Ideally people who can speak to different sides of the issue e.g.,
@hzomlot
,
Here's a preview into a trend likely to shape the future. Click/tap the two photos. Some argue computers/software can't discriminate, but algorithms designed by humans also embed the biases/prejudices of humans. This has far-reaching implications.
@AldashM_
Lol apparently yes since day 1; I found this the other day whilst looking through old files 😅 Always nice to capture memories that would otherwise be completely lost
The sincere lover of Allah considers it betrayal of his beloved to do anything for any purpose besides pleasing Him, such that if he does even a permissible act (e.g. sleeping) but out of his own need/desire instead of purely for Allah, he repents as though he has sinned.
فالمحب الصادق يرى خيانة منه لمحبوبه أن يتحرك بحركة اختيارية في غير مرضاته وإذا فعل فعلا مما أبيح له بموجب طبيعته وشهوته تاب منه كما يتوب من الذنب
— ابن القيم الجوزية في مفتاح دار السعادة