Interviews with ProductiveMuslims are back! After our initial success with the Interview with sister Zohra Sarwari, we thought we'd revive this feature on this blog and interview more Productive Muslims around the world to inspire us all inshaAllah. Today we interview a young ProductiveMuslim, who is a graduate from University of Waterloo, Canada, and currently on an internship in Pakistan.

RBC IF (Interest-free) Student Loan project

1) Tell us a bit about yourself.

I was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan and attended Karachi Grammar School from age 4-18, after which I joined the University of Waterloo for Undergrad. I completed a Bachelors in English Rhetoric and Professional Writing with a Minor in Economics and Specialization in Digital Arts Communication in 2008 and went on to do a Masters in Business Entrepreneurship and Technology from the same university during 08-09. I am now working on a 4 month contract with Micro Drip, as a Marketing Manager for drip irrigation systems in rural areas of Pakistan.

2) Your story: When did it all start? Your first website - how was it, and how did that grow?

My first entrepreneurial venture was a student discount card called the ACE Card through ACE Waterloo (Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship). Something along the lines of the SPC Card but with a specific focus on adding value to student spending and increasing awareness for local Waterloo businesses. With Allah's mercy I was able to get an Award for Project Management on this project, the John Dobson Award for Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) so it was a huge encouragement for more entrepreneurial ventures.

My first website was Liveoffcamp.us! for connecting students with off campus housing landlords/landladies. We had a lot going, in terms of our UI, features and the usability research we had collected, but there were major development issues and the website never really took off. Both myself and my partner were not developers so we decided to move on and use the entrepreneurial experience for something more worthwhile.

3) Your success story?

Umm... not sure if there is quite on yet. The ultimate success story will come if I get handed my deeds in my right hand after resurrection (May Allah have Mercy). Major worldly accomplishments have been getting the SIFE Award, getting the RIM Scholarship for MBET, being an RBC Innovator Challenge Finalist (interest free student loans project), being selected to present at Education Without Borders in Dubai, and showcasing BINNOVATE at Tech Leadership, Canada 3.0 and Microsoft Ignite IT.

4) How difficult is it to manage? managing a team? manage time? manage finances/resources?

If you enjoy what you do, then nothing is difficult alhamdolillah. Granted that shortages occur, for e.g. time, money, partners etc. but in a world of scarce resources this is inevitable. The difficulty, for most people, comes in finding what you enjoy. I strongly believe those things are out there and if one can follow Nike's slogan and "Just do it" (within the confines of Quran and Sunnah) then we will all find things we enjoy doing and the difficulty is removed insha'Allah. Two things to always remember from Allah (swt)'s eternal words: "Why do you say that which you do not do?" and "Allah does not change a condition of a people until they change it their own selves."

5) Did you ever think any of your websites was a bad idea...ever wanted to quit?

Definitely! As I mentioned before our first website, Liveoffcamp.us! was a great concept, but most web start-ups are founded by developers and we were not developers. We were spending too much time trying to find the right developers who would work with us and it just wasn't feasible. Biggest lesson learned - start a business within an industry you know extremely well! If you haven't spent full-time hours in the field, learning and doing, its better to stay away - that's my opinion.

6) What keeps you focussed/determined?

Life is short. I am not sure if this is a statement of the Rasool or one of the great Imam's but, it went something like:

"If you have made it till the morning, do not expect to be alive by the evening. If you have made it to the evening, do not expect to be alive by the morning."

We might not be in this world tomorrow, and we will be questioned about how we spent out time. The biggest thing about entrepreneurship for me is that is alleviates pains around us. It creates employment, it provides essential goods and services, and it creates a happier, healthier and more financially sound community. What could be better than this if done for the sake of Allah? (May Allah purify our intentions)

7) What do you think are the ingredient s of a Productive Muslim..i.e. how do you stay on top of it all?

- Seek a lot of advice from elders. They say 'Youth is wasted on the young" but I don't think its wasted if the young are constantly borrowing the wisdom and advice of their elders. Derive wisdom from the old and energy from the young.

- Breathe life into ideas. One of my companies, a creative design studio through which we build websites, print media and interactive stuff, has a slogan "Breathing life into your start-up ideas." Once you put pen to paper, or fingertips to keyboard (in the modern world), ideas will start becoming processes, operations and eventually businesses. Over the years there is accumulated resources, knowledge and people - before you know it you're productive!

- Unless you are in the washroom, praying, or in a meeting, act immediately on your thoughts. If you think about emailing someone, go to your computer and email them. If you have an idea about a business, call a friend who is in the industry and start chatting to them. Even if you forget to follow up maybe he or she will get in touch themselves and remind you of your idea. Keep moving while you can - you never know when Allah might paralyze you.

- The word 'Insaan' literally means - the one who forgets. One of the biggest downsides of being human is forgetting things. Use your cell phone to put extensive reminders for everything. Use sticky notes and whiteboards so that priority tasks are always 'in sight, in mind.'

- Be creative and have fun! Don't worry if it hasn't been done before. The most value is created in being a pioneer or something, in taking the road less travelled and being an innovator (but not in terms of religion).

8) What's next for you?

Organic Farming.

9) Last advice/thoughts for ProductiveMuslims?

What the Muslim Ummah needs right now is financial and intellectual independence, an alleviation of pending sufferings, and leaders to inspire and organize our community. The virtue of addressing these issues is exhibited in the ahadith below:   

“An honest and truthful businessman shall be in the shade of the throne of Allah.” [Narrated in Isbihani]

“He who alleviates the suffering of a brother out of the sufferings of this world, Allah would alleviate his suffering from the Day of Resurrection.” [Narrated by Abu Huraira]

“There are seven categories of people whom God will shelter under His shade on the Day when there will be no shade except His. [One is] the just leader.”   [Narrated in Sahih Muslim]

My advice is to bring together the above three ahadith in a practical model called Social Entrepreneurship and to encourage, young Muslims to start socially driven enterprise to gain financial and intellectual independence, alleviate pending sufferings and become inspirational leaders for the rest of the community.