History: a Way to See the Future

Allah in the Quraan orders us several times to consider history, learn it, and learn from it. "Say: walk in the land and find out what was the destiny of those before you ...," "Don't they walk in the land and find out what was the destiny of those before them ...," and "in their stories was a lesson for those who have intellect ..." are examples of these orders.


Things in this universe were not created haphazardly. They were created according to a law, Allah's law. They follow certain patterns and they conform to set laws. No one will dare to try to jump from the 50th floor because he knows for sure that he will end up falling dead on the ground. Gravity is a law. No one can ignore it and no one can avoid it. It applies whether we admit it or not. It applies whether we like it or not. It applies whether we experience it or not. It's a complete stupidity to disregard it.


The big mistake we are making is that we think those laws are only the physical laws. And what a mistake it is. It applies to all aspects of life. Here is a few attributes of Allah's law (a.k.a. Allah's Sunnah, way):

• It applies to all aspects of life. Allah says, "Verily, we have created everything with Qadar"


• It is consistent. Allah says, "... you will never find Allah's sunnah altered ..."


• It is something we can learn. Otherwise, the orders of Allah to walk in the land and learn about the experience of others will be invalid.
• Only the wise can see it. Allah says, "in their stories were a lesson for those who have intellect ..."

Let us learn history. Let us learn from history. Let us discuss it among one another and deduce lessons from it. "... tell stories for them to reflect." Ordered Allah in the Quraan.

The Psychology of Failure

I FAILED A LOT. I have come across so many people who have failed. I also sometimes succeed and witnessed so much success. One thing I learned from that is the mentality of someone who fails. I know how we think when we fail. I know how we feel when we fail. I can't claim to be scientific but I will mention some of the observations that I personally felt and witnessed from others.

• THOUGHT1: The first thought that comes to your mind when you fail is, "It is absolutely not my fault."

• THOUGHT2: Immediately after, you start thinking, "Whom should I blame?"

I liked a lot when Jim Collins said while describing level 5 leaders, leaders of the highest quality who can transform the organization from mediocrity to excellence. He said that when people fail they look out of the window while level 5 leaders look in the mirror. Instead of finding out what shortcomings I had that made me fail as level 5 leaders would do by looking in the mirror, I try to find out someone or something to blame. You will be amazed if I tell you that almost every one does that. Well, except the few level 5 I have seen in my life.
Allah in the Quraan mentioned this fact talking about some group that whenever something good happen to them they say it is from Allah, and whenever something bad happens to them they blame the Prophet (pbuh). Allah made it clear, "... whatever good that happens to you is from Allah and whatever bad is from your own self ..." [Surat al-nesa2]
Also, Allah said in Surat al-shura, "And whatever problems happen to you is because of what you hands possessed and He forgives a lot!" Along the same lines, Ibn Khozaimah, the famous scholar of Hadith said, "some people fear the sins of other while being fearless of their own sins."
So a recipe of failure is to keep thinking that way and you will always find someone to blame. However, you will never succeed. Looking in the mirror and blaming yourself for you own problems is THE RECIPE OF SUCCESS.
A very famous adage in my home country says, "Do not ask the doctor. Ask someone who got sick." Well, although that is completely wrong to find out what the cure is, it is absolutely right to know how it feels when you get sick.
This is an advice from someone who experienced failure and that is how it feels. So, leaaaarn!


to be continues

Did I repent? 2/4

Regret is the 1st condition. But it is not enough. You have to quit the sin. You have to stop the mistake. Tawbah (repentance) is linguistically to come back. We must quit what we are doing and come back to Allah, come back to his guidance, and come back to his straight path.

The Prophet once drew a straight line and drew diagonal lines besides it and he said, "that is the straight path and these are the paths, in the beginning of each is a devil calling people to it." He then recited a verse from Surah al-An3am, "Verily that is my path; it is straight thus follow it and follow not the paths for they take you away from His path ..."

Imagine you are traveling from one place to another and you took the wrong exit. You know that you took the wrong exit and you regret taking it. You know how to come back and you know that you must come back. Nevertheless, you continue deviating from your main path until you lose your destination completely. Let us not just regret, let us come back!