Students in Gaza have missile holes where their blackboards are, STOP COMPLAINING — lets be grateful for our professors, our education, our degree, our marks and our experience. Pro tip: Say “Alḥamdulilāh” whenever youre angry or upset at school related issues. Given how frustrating student life is, making “Alḥamdulilāh” a part of your daily vocabulary means a whole lot of blessings will be coming your way! Intention Since time immemorial weve learned that the purpose of life is to worship: 51_56 And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. (51:56) Surprise of the century: This relates to everything in student life too. Every boring assignment, every 8:30 AM class with a less-than-articulate professor, every sleepless night—theres a reason for the madness. As students, our habits define our experiences. Take a moment to step back and dream big. Why are you here? This is one question that wont be asked in any multiple choice exam, but one that you should ask yourself often. Islam encourages you to dream big. School tells you what the world can give you, Islam asks you what you can give to the world. Dream big and dont let anyone tell you otherwise, as your rewards are based on the audacity, ambition and depth of your dreams. Maybe you want to save the world, end poverty, protect the world from financial crisis—or maybe you just want a halal job, to settle down, raise a family and provide for your parents. Both are respectable and worthwhile intentions to make our student experience worship. Yes, even your Google search becomes worship with the right intention. Islam literally means submission, and part of this submission means to acknowledge that your entire existence is ibādah — worship of Allah. 6_162 Say, “Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah , Lord of the worlds.” (6:162) Pro Tip: Write down one simple goal (get a job, retire parents, raise a pious family), one medium-level goal (start a small business, build a masjid, lead local dawah efforts), and one epic-level goal (start the next global corporation to empower worlds developing nation, build hospitals across war-torn lands, establish the state of Palestine through peaceful diplomacy and partnership, build networks of orphanages, etc.) Seek Knowledge Allah Al-Aleem (All-Knowing) chose an unlettered man who grew up as an orphan, to receive the first revelation: “اقْرَأْ”, “Read!” (96:1). The first command by Allah to the last messenger of God, to the last era of humanity was “Read!” Talk about the start of a knowledge-based era. This theme of “اقْرَأْ” was the foundation to the birth of our civilization, from the ascent of Islam to the rise of innovation in Islamic Andalus (Europe). Our rise and fall as a nation was correlated to our commitment to “اقْرَأْ.” Just as when European aristocrats sent the best of their society to learn from Muslim academics in Andalus at a time when Europe was plunged in dark ages; when Muslim cities were geographies of learning and the pursuit of curiosity; the world sought knowledge through the vessel of Islamic scholarship, now, its our responsibility to continue this tradition of learning and curiosity as a continuation of the theme of “اقْرَأْ.” Prophet Muhammed ṣallallāhu alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was commanded to say, 20_114 My Lord Increase me, and increase me in knowledge. (20:114) Grammarians have noted that the actual dua is a prayer not just for an increase in knowledge, but an increase in general. Suggesting that knowledge makes you a better human, a better father, a better husband, a better mother, a better individual in society. Pro Tip: Paradigm shift—try to squeeze a lesson out of every lemon of a situation. Cant understand your profs accent or teaching style in advanced chemistry? Well, you may not learn chemistry but at least you learned how to give effective presentations! Hard Work, Dedication, and Patience We learn from Muhammad ṣallallāhu alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) what it means to struggle and persevere for a mission. When youre on a mission you hustle, you exert yourself, you put all that you have into reaching the finish line. One of the earliest revelations: 73_2 Spend the night awake in prayer, except for a little bit of sleep. (73:2) Allah is teaching the Prophet ṣallallāhu alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) that when you have a purpose, you must be dedicated, sleeplessly striving for your vision. When youre driven with intention, Allah tells us we dont have time to sleep. Youre living to make your dreams a reality, while others are sleeping to glimpse at dreams during the night. We also learn dedication from the story of Nuh alayhil-salām (peace be upon him): 71_5 He said, “My Lord, indeed I invited my people [to truth] night and day.” (71:5) When studying is worship, when you have a goal, when you have a mission—Islam teaches us through the stories of the Prophets that we must persevere and sleeplessly struggle for our dreams. Pro Tip: Whatever your level of dedication, hustle to commitment: raise your bar higher. Ask, what can you do (or not do) to make yourself more successful? Maybe taking 45 minute showers isnt that productive? Or maybe you can survive on 5-6 hours of sleep? 1 2 3 collegeexamsfinal examfinalsQuranschoolskillsStudentstudy skillsstudy tipsstudying About The Author Guests Related Posts shutterstock_168576587 Reviving the Role of the Masjid | Part 1 Guests December 20, 2014 7 Comments shutterstock_2173461 Sh. Qasim Hatem’s Road From The Rose Bowl To Religion Amaar Abdul-Nasir December 20, 2014 2 Comments 7 Responses Jamiu December 18, 2014 (Edit) Dear Author, There was a mix up about Quran 6 vs 162 quoted above, by giving the meaning and interpretation of Q. 6 VS 161 in place of Q. 6 VS 162. Please, recheck and correct. Jazak’Allahu khaeran for propagating and enlighten the Ummah through this medium. Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0 Reply Farnaz Mawla December 18, 2014 (Edit) Corrected – Jzk! Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0 Reply Hassan December 18, 2014 (Edit) Masha Allah! What a beautiful and beneficial article, brother! Jazakallhu Khayr! Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0 Reply Tadar Wazir December 18, 2014 (Edit) As-Salaam-u alaikum, May Allah reward you greatly for your efforts in trying to get us to READ in the name of our LORD Who created…; Ar-Rahman – The Merciful Benefactor; allam al-Qur’an – has taught (and is teaching) The Qur’an; khalaqa al-insaan – (by it) He has created humanity; allmahu-l bayaan – (by so doing) He has imparted (and is imparting) unto humanity articulate thought and speech . There is a mix up in your translation of 21:87. In the Arabiya it is spoken in the 2nd person; one person speaking with another. The Prophet Yunus (a.) speaking directly to Allah (h.) Your translation is in the 3rd person; one person speaking about another. In that case the Prophet Yunus (a.) would be telling at least one more person about Allah. Please correct it? And keep on keeping on. As-Salaam-u alaikum. Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0 Reply Umm Hanaa December 19, 2014 (Edit) Masha Allah! May Allah bless you and increase you in ilm for this beneficial article..keep up the good work lil bro. Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0 Reply Hibaysh December 20, 2014 (Edit) Assalamu’alikum brother, Very beneficial Alhamdulillah. JazakAllahu Khair! Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0 Reply M. Mahmud December 21, 2014 (Edit) Wonderful article…..I will probably re-read it. One small thing: (In fact the word Insaan meaning “mankind,” is a hyperbolized form of ‘someone that forgets’ a lot) Does it not mean/translate to the man instead of mankind? Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0 Reply Leave a Reply Logged in as Hena Zuberi. Log out? Comment Dont miss out, join our biweekly newsletter Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Sponsors Click to get started now! Featured Video 20140727-013641-5801664.jpg [VIRAL VIDEO] Moving Account of Children In Gaza by Jon Snow (With Transcript) Dr. Mehzabeen b. 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Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 17:22:09 +0000