Sunday, May 28, 2017

How To Make The Best Out Of Ramadan (Ramadan Series-1)



O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.
Baqarah - 183
The month of Ramadan is that in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion
Baqarah – 185

Assalamu alaikum!
 Ramadan Mubarak to every one of you.
Ramadan is a blessed month awaited every year by Muslims all over the World.
This is the month when the Quran was revealed.
So, let’s all use this month to strive to get good deeds, build a relationship with Allah and Quran and get closer to Him.
Today I want to share a few tips with you all to stay productive in Ramadan. This month is too short so let’s all make an effort to utilise every single moment.

1.       Quran: As we all know, Ramadan is the month of Quran, the month when this Holy Book was revealed. So, let’s use this month to form a strong bond with the word of Allah SWT. Read Quran every day. Remember that it’s not important how many times you finish the Quran in this month but rather how much you understood.
A practical advice I would like to give you all is to not jump in right away and start reading two-three pages every day. Because let’s face it, it’s impossible to cover even one page if you haven’t been reading it at all earlier.
So rather focus on reading at least an Ayah every day, understanding it, pondering over it and connecting it to your life. Listen to Tafseer or lectures regarding the surah and understand what they are saying.
Make a QURAN PLAN for Ramadan, where you write down what surah you covered and what you learned from them – pillars of Iman, Allah’s Names and Attributes, Commands and Prohibitions etc.
Remember it’ not the quantity that matters, it’s the quality.

2.       Dhikr – Constantly keep the remembrance of Allah on your tongue. Yes, the Shayateen and Jinnat are chained but your biggest challenge is you yourself- your desires. So keep remembering Allah and doing Dhikr. LA ilaha illa Allah, Subhanallahi WA bi hamdihi, Subhanallah IL azeem and many others are words that are light on the tongue but heavy on the scales.

3.       Faraid (obligations) – yes Ramadan is a month for gaining good deeds. For doing Qiyam, for giving charity. But what’s the point in doing all this when you’re missing out on your Faraid (obligations)?
You sleep and miss your Fajr Prayer but go out for Taraweeh?
Focus on your Obligations first. If throughout the year, you haven’t been able to pray all five prayers, make an effort to change that in Ramadan. Struggle to complete your obligations and then think about the Voluntary actions. The voluntary actions won’t make any difference if your obligations aren’t complete. Think of your obligations as the pillars of a building (Iman) and voluntary acts as the decoration inside. If the pillars are wobbly, will the decorations stay?

4.       Continue your efforts after Ramadan : A good way to know if your fasts will be accepted is by looking at yourself on the Eid day. How are you behaving? Are you going back to how you were before Ramadan? Back to Music, back to Missing prayers and back to swearing?
If this is the case, then it might be a warning sign. A sign of the acceptance of your fasts is that your efforts and deeds continue even after Ramadan.

5.       Taqwa – Increase your Taqwa in this month. Be extra aware of what you’re doing, what you’re saying, what you’re eating! Hold yourself accountable before you’re held accountable. Rectify your deeds and ask for forgiveness

6.       Dua – Make loads and loads of Dua in this month. In one of the Hadith of the Prophet SAW he mentions that Allah SWT accepts the dua of a slave every day. Make a List of things you want to ask Allah SWT and sit at the time of Iftar and ask Allah SWT – everything. Nothing is too small or too big for Him. Ask for Jannat ul Firdaus, ask for HIS forgiveness, ask for that new shirt you want to buy for Eid- anything, Just ASK!

7.       Goals- Make a list of goals you want to achieve in this Ramadan. Break down these goals into small actionable steps and work on them every day. Make an everyday checklist with items from this list and work on them. This will prompt you to be more productive and accountable. At the end of the month, you can even reward yourself when you achieve these goals. Some examples could be –

·         Hifz Amma Para
·         Help mum with chores
·         Read two ayahs every day and ponder over them
·         Do a good deed that nobody knows for Allah’s sake

8.       Charity- every small deed in this month counts. Start by giving a small amount every day. It doesn’t have to be money. Even a smile is Charity in Islam! You could give even a 100 fils every day and it would count for a lot depending on your intention.

9.       Intention: the most important part. No matter what you do, make an intention to do it solely for Allah’s sake. Seek only His pleasure, only His closeness.

10.   Relationships – take this month to improve relationships with your friends and family. Visit them. Go to Iftar parties. Invite them. And talk about Allah SWT. Share knowledge that each of you has. Use each other to get closer to Allah SWT. Talk about the prophets, about the Sahabahs, and share your pondering over the Quran with them.

I hope these few tips will help you to make the best out of this blessed month.
With loads of Love,
Halima.

Check out the Next Post in the Ramadan Series - How to Prepare for Ramadan

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Wednesday, May 10, 2017

My Favorite College Apps


Ahoy mates,  
How are you all feeling today? 
In today's busy, busy world, the only thing we actually have time for is our phone. 
And with the advancement technology has made, every single thing is easily available on the small box that we have stuck to our hands. 
Since it makes our life so easy why not also make our college life easy? 
Trust me when I say that there are loads of apps that could help you in finishing your homework, getting organized, productive and help you survive. 
It's basically just a free virtual assistant. 
So here are some of my favorite, free apps that'll help you get your life together. 

  1. Alarmy - Sleep if you can!-  With a tagline like that, it's easy to understand why Alarmy won the award for being the 'world's most annoying alarm'. 
It has got many different ways of waking you up- and making sure you stay up- such as solving a math question, taking a picture similar to the one you took earlier, shaking the phone a number of times and the default feature where you just swipe to dismiss the alarm. 
I've been using this app for a long time and trust me it's perfect for when you have early morning classes that you don't want to get up for but have to. 



  1. Sworkit! - So, how many years have passed with us making new resolutions to stay fit and exercise every day? But in the end, after a day or two, we switch back to our very yummy burgers and lounging lazily on the couch. If you are one to avoid  the gym (simply because you are lazy to go), this app is perfect for you. It has many equipment-less exercises and timed circuits that you can do right in your dorm room – on the couch – no gym required! So, sorry mate, now you've got no excuse to NOT exercise. 
BONUS: it also syncs to your Google Fit account to keep track of your progress! 


  1. OneNote - If you are crazy about organizing and having everything sorted into its own category, this app is for you. It allows you to make notebooks, have sections in those notebooks and also insert pages into those sections. Isn't that amazing?! Perfect for taking notes, making lists, planning projects; basically everything. You can color-code your notes, pages and sections; highlight important stuff; share notes and collaborate on group projects; and also access it anywhere- phone, computer, iPad, tab wherever!. 
It also allows you to search your notes, convert text from images into text, and save documents inside your notes. 


  1. Talabat – This app is for those times when your stomach starts growling in the middle of the class or you have a sudden craving to eat a specific food. Order from thousands of restaurants easily with just a few clicks. It will also suggest restaurants close to your area and based on your previous orders. Easy, simple and effective. 

  1. Duolingo -  Want to learn a new language? This is the app for you if you're taking a foreign language class or want to learn a new language just because you can . Its easy to use and very interactive. With its preset classes and tests, its very fun and addictive. 



  1. Google Fit - Reach your fitness goals. Set goals based on steps, time, distance, calories burned. Receive personalized recommendations and coaching for activity goals. If you're like me, a person who love to keep track of every activity then this app is perfect for you. It also syncs with Sworkit to record your progress and calories. Effortlessly track any activity. As you walk, run, or cycle throughout the day, your phone or Android Wear watch automatically logs them with Google Fit. 

Image result for google fit apple store

  1. Almaany – This is the best app if you are living in an Arab country or are learning Arabic. We all know the disastrous translations of Google translate. Almaany gives many meanings for the same word, and many forms of the same word. It is basically like an online dictionary, just compact and better. 

  1. Google Drive : One of the best collaboration tools, which is often used in working for group projects and assignments or to facilitate communication in study groups. But it can also be used for organizing your study. Store your folders and important documents online to access it anytime and anywhere. Easy access and easy editing. 

Image result for google drive

  1. Flat Tomato : This is my favorite app to use for the Pomodoro method. Pomodoro method is a productivity trick to help you stay organized and productive where you work for 25 mins and then take a break of 5 minutes and then after every 4 Pomodoro sessions you take a long break. It is easy to use, and is perfectly-aligned with Pomodoro, including timing the intervals, the breaks, and remembering that you've done 4 cycles so you need a longer break. It also tracks user-defined categories so you can review how you've spent your time (in an attractive, graphical chart). It also shows the status of the current interval on the lock screen. 



10. Google Keep : Google Keep is a syncing notepad that connects to Google Drive. It also supports photo notes, voice notes, and checklists. it lets you quickly take and save those notes, photos, voice memos, and checklists to Google Drive, and then access them again on any other web-connected device you use. It's ideal for quick note-taking on the go, anyone who appreciates simple, fast note-taking tools or to-do apps, or for saving notes on the desktop that you know you'll need on your Android phone, like shopping lists, addresses, phone numbers, checklists and to-do lists, or conference call codes. Perfect for college students as we have loads of things going on at once and its hard to remember them all. 

Image result for google keep

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I hope these apps are as useful to you as they were to me! 
Do you have any favorite apps that make your life a bit more easier? 
Have you used any of these apps? What do you think? 
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