Came across these awesome set of TV commercials asking the exact same question asked in yesterday's post: “Is your income halal?!”

The TV commercials, recently debuted in major Middle-eastern channels, depict different scenarios which make your income non-halaal, and then cleverly interprets the Prophetic saying "hellfire is more deserving of every flesh which has been nourished through that which is unlawful” by showing fire burning on the faces of those you feed non-halal income. Scary but sooo visual and makes one think!

Although the commercials are in Arabic, yet they are mostly self explanatory. I’ve added some titles/sub-headings to help you understand the gist of what's going on. The last part of each video asks "Is your income halal?"

TV Commercial 1 - Accepting Bribery at work

TV Commercial 2 - A Doctor at his private clinic who over-prescribes tests/x-rays/medicines for his patients so he earns more money

TV Commercial 3 - A teacher who simply sits in front of her class and does not teach them anything, but sits and waits for the bell to ring so she can sign off and go home.

TV Commercial 4 - Arriving  late at work but having your friend sign you in early!

TV Commercial 5 - Waking up late and making up lies as excuses for not coming in!

TV Commercial 6 - A man having trouble with rent/bills/expenses calls his employer who hasn't paid him for 2 months, the employer gives him the excuse that he has no money even though he's having a lavish dinner with his family!

yup, i know..something to think about..."Is your income halal?" (lol sorry if this questions starts haunting you! But we need to think about this stuff!).

More posts coming up..(yup, we're not done yet..lol)

I was sitting at work idle one day and thought to myself: "Is my income halal today? I haven't done much the whole day and can't find more work to do". The question bothered me and prompted me to write these series.

The question may puzzle some of you, but read on, perhaps you'll understand where I'm coming from in the following lines.

When something bothers me and I find myself in a “moral/religious dilemma” I go ask my good old shiekh. I said “Sheikh, what do you do if you’re sitting idle at work and have nothing to do, is your salary halal then?” The shiekh always with his amazing simple replies said “As long as you’re fulfilling the contract, your income is "technically" halal.”

I can sense there was more the shiekh wanted to say but kept quiet as not to burden me, I felt there was a deeper understanding of halal which will be too much for "employees" in general to bear than the technical answer given.

I had to step back and look into this whole halal income business..

When you sit in an office, working or idle, contributing or not, pushing paper or thinking strategically, you earn a standard set salary (sometimes bonuses are included but in most cases, it’s a standard set amount)... somehow I'm not convinced that this salary structure is 100% halal (at least on a personal level. Please note, I’m not speaking here on an institutional or religious level, I’m not giving fatwas, I’m just trying to find what will truly please my Lord).

My argument is that if you don’t “earn” your salary or work hard for it and constantly contribute, you shouldn’t get paid in full! How can you earn by just sitting down idle!? Doesn’t sound right! Now, you might say, "give me a break brother, you’re talking on an idealistic level and the concept of 100% halaal may be non-existent! Are you trying to say that the moment someone slacks or doesn't do their job properly, their income is not halal??!"

Ummm...yup!

Again, I’m not giving fatwas here, but as a scholar onces said "There’s “Taqwa” (Piety) and there’s “Fatwa” (Ruling)". The ruling may be clear cut and simple, but out of piety, you may look at things from a different perspective, and this is the other perspective inshaAllah.

So although part of me does not want to overburden the reader with a worrisome thought that if they spend 5 minutes around the water-cooler then their income is not halal, but I would argue that we need to at least keep it in the back of our minds that we need to be consciously aware of our income and it's sources.

Moreover, think of this concept as a way to push you towards being more productive! The moment you slack, ask yourself: “Is my income halal?”

Why is making sure 100% halal is important? The following beautifully summarizes why we need to worry about our income sources, and May Allah bless the writer for bringing it together so nicely.

"Allah Most High says, “O people, eat permissible good things out of what lies in the earth, and do not follow the footsteps of Shaitān (Satan); indeed, he is an open enemy for you.” (2:168)

Elsewhere, Allah Most High says, “O you who believe, eat of the good things We have provided to you and be grateful to Allah, if it is He whom you worship (in real terms).” (2:172)

Abu Huraira (radhiallahu anhu) narrates that Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said, “Verily, Allah is pure and He only accepts that which is pure. He has given the same command to the believers as He has given to the messengers saying, ‘O Messengers! Eat from the good things, and act righteously. Of whatever you do, I am fully aware.’ (23:51) and also, ‘O you who believe, eat of the good things We have provided to you’” (2:172). Then he (i.e. the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam)) mentioned a man on a long journey, with dishevelled hair and covered in dust, stretching his hands towards the heavens saying, ’My Lord, my Lord’ but his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothes are unlawful, and he has been nourished by what is unlawful, so how will his supplication be answered?” (Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih)

Abu Huraira (radhiallahu anhu) narrates that Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said, “A time will come upon people when a man will not bother whether he takes from a lawful or unlawful source.” (Narrated by Bukhari in his Sahih)

Jabir (radhiallahu anhu) narrates that Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said, “That flesh which has been grown from the unlawful will not enter Paradise, and Hellfire is more deserving of every flesh which has been nourished through that which is unlawful.” (Narrated by Ahmad, Darimi, and Baihaqi in Shu’ab al-Iman)

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) was once asked, “What softens the hearts?” He replied, “Consuming halal.”

Abdullah bin Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “To return a dirham from a doubtful source is more beloved to me than spending one hundred thousand dirhams in charity.”

Imam Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) writes in Ihya al-Uloom al-Din that the wives of the pious predecessors used to advise their husbands when they would leave their homes to earn their livelihood, “Fear Allah regarding us and do not feed us with unlawful income, because we can bear patience upon hunger and difficulty but we cannot bear patience upon Hellfire.”

When Muhammad bin Seereen (may Allah have mercy on him) would bid farewell to a person, he would say to him, “Fear Allah and seek your share of lawful income, for if you take it from the unlawful, you will not be taking anymore than what has been destined for you. (Tabaqaat Ibn Sa’d)."

Source: http://halalmatters.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/hello-world/

So, I ask again, is your income halal?

We’ll continue this discussion tomorrow inshaAllah. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on this topic!

A long time ago, I received a powerpoint presentation in Arabic about the secrets of Surat Al-Kahf. I loved the presentation and its breakdown that I saved it with the intention of translating it inshaAllah. Days have passed, and hamdulillah today as I was reading Surat Al-Kahf, I remembered the presentation and decided to translate it.

The majority of the content was from the original Arabic presentation, but of course I had to add a "ProductiveMuslim.com" design & content touch to it ;). Hope you like it!! 

p.s. feel free to pass it on! :D

SubhanaAllah, can you believe it? it's already been one year since beginning of ProductiveMuslim.com! (at least in it's current style... there was an earlier attempt, but let's not talk about that..lol).

Just wanted to share with you some highlights, posts and other good memories from this year inshaAllah:

Highlight ProductiveMuslim event of the Year:

ProductiveMuslim.com FOSIS UK Tour (See Gallery here or the Promo Video here)

Top 10 most read articles:

1. Ask Allah for forgiveness, boost your productivity
2. Interview with a Productive Muslima
3. ProductiveMuslims don't quit!
4. Elements of a Successful ISOC
5. From Kingdom to Kingdom: Reflections from Life in UK
6. Develop a habit of Reading
7. Waking up for Fajr: A boost of Productivity
8. What can I contribute?
9. Your Islamic Heritage, Your identity
10. Tools to capturing Ideas

(Missed a favourite article? Want to explore full range of topics covered? Find it in the Archive here)

Top 5 Discussion Post Submissions

Let's not forget the beautiful contributions from our readers in our discussion posts, the following are the top 5 posts:

1. True Beauty
2. Beneficial Things to Remember
3. Words of Wisdom from the Quran
4. Beautiful Story on Forgiveness
5. When will G.M.T actually equal GMT?

Thank Yous - "Whoever does not thank People, does not thank Allah"

Special Thanks to Indezinez Designs for the unique ProductiveMuslim Logo

Special Thanks to Sister Zohra Sarwari, Living Halal, and Salam BC for their continual support, mentoring and advice.

A HUGE thank you to the ProductiveMuslim fans on Facebook & Twitter who constantly comment, recommend and keep the discussion about Islamic productivity alive!

Finally, a BIG BIG thank you to all my readers! You kept me going! JazakumAllah khair!

What's next?

I guess you're wondering what's next for ProductiveMuslim, or what to expect from the coming year. I gave some hints in an earlier post..and mentioned some ideas in Facebook page, but I'd rather keep the rest as a surprise ;). Make dua though! I'll need it!

ShoutOut of Help!

With all that's going on, and with my recent relocation and starting a full-time job, ProductiveMuslim.com cannot sustain itself without your help. I'm still looking for a strong team that share the ProductiveMuslim vision to help move things further, faster!. Please send me an e-mail through the Contact Me page explaining your interest in joining the ProductiveMuslim team!

Ideas for helping out!

• Research books/articles that are of value for ProductiveMuslims and recommend them on the site!
• Write posts/articles to be included on ProductiveMuslim page
• Anyone with a design/flash/video editing/animation background <-- TALK TO ME!!
• Keep ProductiveMuslim Facebook/Twitter page ALIVE with updates/twitters!
• If you've a background in online startups/databases/ebooks/marketing <--TALK TO ME!!
• Leave a testimonial below for marketing of the website!
• Spread the word around about the website through mailing lists/blogs/facebook and teach people what you've learnt here!

Looking forward for yet another productive year, inshaAllah! :D

ProductiveMuslim.com

8th Rajab 1430H

Here's a productivity tip which will boost your energies:

We all know the famous story of Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), when her husband, Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) asked her to go ask her father for a servant to help them in their house chores. When she went to her father's house, she didn't find him. Later in the evening, Ayesha the wife of Prophet Muhammad, told the Prophet that his daughter was looking for him and what his daughter requested. The Prophet went to Fatima's and Ali's house, sat between them and said:

"Shall I tell you a thing which is better than what you asked me for? When you go to your beds, say: 'Allahu Akbar (i.e. Allah is Greater)' for 34 times, and 'Alhamdu Lillah (i.e. all the praises are for Allah)' for 33 times, and Subhan Allah (i.e. Glorified be Allah) for 33 times. This is better for you than what you have requested."

Here's the amazing bit, anyone who has actually tried this remembrance before going to sleep will actually wake up next morning full of energy! Scholars and pious men/women who've tried this would swear that it works! And I tried it too and it does work! 

So tonight, and for every night, before you sleep, say SubhanAllah 33 times, al-hamdulillah, 33 times and Allahu Akbar 34 times and watch the wonder of remembrance of Allah take place within you inshaAllah!