The Barakah Blueprint

Shahrez Hayder was partying with crypto billionaires in Hong Kong. A day later he was on his way to Makkah, and he spent that Ramadan in Makkah and Madinah sleeping on the streets.

In this episode we sit down around his story: the voice that told him to go to Makkah instead, the night he was homeless in Toronto at 20 and gave his charity away to the next person on the street, the dua he made on the 27th night, and what he now calls barakah points.

We also push on the hard parts. When does spending become israf? Is "trusting Allah for the life you want" just manifestation with a new name? What does the Quran say about loss, and why does a verse about losing everything end with glad tidings?

Follow Shahrez: https://www.instagram.com/shahrez.muslim

Chapters
0:00 Trailer
1:31 From Hong Kong to Makkah
14:16 The question from the last guest
18:29 When does it become israf?
26:17 Isn't this just manifestation?
30:14 Muraqabah, taqwa and tawakkul
34:27 An equal playing field?
46:16 Homeless in Toronto
57:52 The only relationship that matters
1:17:52 One daily action
1:24:20 Your barakah blueprint

Follow the podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barakahblueprintpodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1DFd93gF88

My teacher and mentor took me through a very interesting concept: ubudiyah, from abd, a servant, and yabud, to worship. It sits in Surah Al-Fatiha, the first chapter of the Quran:
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
It is You we worship and You we ask for help (Quran 1:5). You're either obedient to your Lord or obedient to your ego, and in this episode I explain why obedience to God is empowering, not restricting.

Then the analogy my sheikh gave. You want to drive from city A to city B, for me Gothenburg to Stockholm. The vehicle is your irada, your will and your capacity to do the thing. The GPS is the Quran and Sunnah. The sharia is the turn by turn directions. You still need the effort, like the Bosnian man who walked all the way to Mecca for Hajj. But effort without direction is pointless, and that's why we need to schedule our time around salah.

Chapters
0:00 Cold open
0:22 The Barakah Blueprint intro
1:23 Who I am and why this podcast
2:26 What ubudiyah means
5:26 Obedient to your Lord or your ego
7:17 The GPS and the vehicle
8:47 Effort: the Bosnian who walked to Hajj
9:54 Start with a phone
11:10 The Quran and Sunnah as your GPS
13:12 Schedule your time around salah

Mentioned in this episode
Quran 1:5: https://quran.com/1/5
Quran 12:53: https://quran.com/12/53
Senad Hadžić's walk from Bosnia to Mecca: https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/pilgrim-walks-from-bosnia-to-haj-1.1092752

Follow the podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barakahblueprintpodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix8CHOK_fxM

I always get the question: how do you balance your time? I work full time as a project manager here in Dubai, I run Itqan Studio, I make content as Shareefico and host this podcast, I'm building my own products, and I have my Skool community. Spoiler alert: it's exhausting. And this is not a scheduling video.

What decides whether my day works is how good I've been with the Quran that day and that week. We're all products at the end of the day, and the manufacturer knows best how to use the product. The manual is the Quran. Allah says:
إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ
Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing (Quran 29:45). I also talk about why I keep going when there aren't many numbers to show for it, the 950 years Nuh (alayhi salam) spent calling his people, what his son and the mountain in Surah Hud teach us about pivoting, and the three things I'd tell anyone in the same trenches.

Chapters
0:00 Cold open
0:18 The Barakah Blueprint intro
1:18 Who I am and why this podcast
2:57 How I balance everything
6:04 The manufacturer's manual
7:15 Prayer prevents (Quran 29:45)
10:06 Why I keep going with few results
11:30 Building takes time: lessons from the prophets
13:32 Nuh and his son in Surah Hud
16:19 My only advice: three things

Mentioned in this episode
EP46, lessons from rejection: https://open.spotify.com/show/6xe7clV2qEgB8XgGH2743N
Quran 29:45: https://quran.com/29/45
Quran 17:9: https://quran.com/17/9
Quran 11:43: https://quran.com/11/43
Quran 29:14: https://quran.com/29/14

Follow the podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barakahblueprintpodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSgP1ztJK0E

A prospect I was chasing chose a cheaper alternative. We were close to the next step, and it came at a time when I really needed a paying client.

This one is just me. I'm building a new client pipeline for Itqan Studio, which means lead identification, reaching out to people by hand and commenting on their content. This episode is what that rejection taught me: why I don't send AI-generated outreach, what the boring work actually is, what one prospect taught me about why people archive messages that sell to them straight away, and why building rapport comes before any pitch. LinkedIn is a networking platform, and a lot of people on it aren't networking. They're pitch slapping, as Jasmin Alić calls it.

Then I bring it back to the Quranic compass I build my content on. The Prophet ﷺ said:
إن الله كتب الإحسان على كل شيء
Allah has prescribed excellence in everything (Sahih Muslim 1955). I talk about what that means for the way we do outreach.

Chapters
0:00 Cold open
0:21 The Barakah Blueprint intro
1:21 Who I am and why this podcast
3:13 Lessons from rejection
4:14 The boring work
5:33 Rapport over pitch slapping
8:07 The Quranic compass: excellence
9:53 Closing and Barakah Builders

Mentioned in this episode
EP 41 with Jasmin Alić: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLuNtosf8sI
Sahih Muslim 1955: https://sunnah.com/muslim:1955a

Follow the podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barakahblueprintpodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T-s-W-ldpc

Canyon Mimbs was the very first guest of Barakah Blueprint. Two seasons later he came back to Dubai, and his entire definition of success has changed.We go deep on why all success stems from living as close to the Sunnah as you possibly can, why the self-help industry quietly pushes you to take your own self as a god, what the only real non-negotiable in any routine is, and why your rizq being written never meant you stop moving. Canyon also opens up about building the channel that became a home for converts, giving dawah with wisdom and adab, and the question that should keep every one of us honest: if the Sahaba sat with us today, would they recognize us as one of them?CHAPTERS0:00 Anything after Bismillah, the first guest returns8:02 All success stems from living close to the Sunnah12:02 The Prophet ﷺ lived structure, not chaos16:02 The only non-negotiable in any routine24:03 Canyon's new definition of success28:04 The verse that exposes the self-help industry32:04 Rizq is written, motion is still required40:04 A home for converts44:05 Dawah needs knowledge, wisdom and adab60:07 Knowledge without character drives people away68:07 A billion dollars, or God speaking to you?76:07 The yearly performance review80:07 Would the Sahaba recognize us?88:08 The advice that ends it: pure intention, guaranteed provision

Murrad is back.

The DevOps mentor whose story started with someone listening to this podcast on a jog. We cover the grifter vs builder question, the interview where the panel had no questions left, why he would skip the typical coding path in the AI era, pricing your work without losing your sincerity, and the skill stack that actually gives a business a chance. Recorded in one honest sitting, disruptions included.

We're doing this live.

Chapters:

0:00 Trailer

1:34 The performative self vs the honest self

11:58 A live announcement, and what the last episode set in motion

19:16 The interview where the panel had no questions left

21:52 Grifters vs builders: how to tell the difference

31:39 The cost of doing fulfilment properly

38:02 What a corporate job actually teaches you

45:38 The skill stack, and the feedback people don't want to hear

53:11 The boss's office, and the illusion of risk

1:04:53 Running the program: KPIs, community, pricing

1:19:14 Refunds, chargebacks, and staying sincere

1:23:32 Criticism, shortcuts, and comparing inputs not outputs

1:37:43 AI, and why he wouldn't learn to code today

1:48:01 Two questions: intentions, and what to build in people

A year ago today I hit record for the first time. Last week I sat in

the front row at the One Billion Followers Summit in Dubai. This is

year one, summarized.

In this episode:

— The Quranic Blueprint that keeps me grounded

— The trap of comparing yourself instead of sticking to your mission

— Why material success without alignment is hollow

— Knowledge, ignorance, and accepting the long road

— Five takeaways for year two

The Quranic Blueprint isn't the product. It's the operating system.

Follow @shareefico on all platforms.

Most people think communication is about what you say and how you say it.Shako built an entire coaching company to prove otherwise.In this episode, Shako — founder of Minds Eye Status and communication & executive presence coach — dismantles the myth that charisma is a performance skill. The real work, he argues, is inner. Presence before posture. Character before clarity. And in the Islamic tradition, there's a word for the exact thing that steals your presence from you: ghaflah — absent-mindedness, the slow drift away from God-consciousness that shows up as reactivity, poor listening, and a weak frame.This episode is not a communication masterclass. It's a character blueprint.What you'll walk away with:→ The one concept Shako says underlies all character development (and why it's not discipline)→ The Melbourne lockdown story: how sitting with fear instead of escaping it rewired everything→ "You can't have authority if you don't believe in an authority" — the line that stopped the conversation→ Shako's 5 Pillars of Communication — and why Pillar 1 has nothing to do with speaking→ Ghaflah, God-consciousness, and why the Qur'an mapped presence before psychology did→ The Communication Clarity Audit: daily, weekly, monthly, and the hard rule that filters your lifeFollow Shakos socials and check him out!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shakotlokman?igsh=Ym45bThkOXV6ZmN4YouTube: https://youtube.com/@shakolokman?si=20cJSNISFRQ0XEj7TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shakotlokman?_r=1&_t=ZN-96Lms6We9QcBook a call with Shako: https://mindseyestatus.com/book-a-call?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRleARycgVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAadJ9n-GHTKfI-ZNXv1zdwALUYSoLHk0INsgxeeyju1iJd6eTwfwoldA__T4xQ_aem_ZtBHhfIx3VujRiirhGZ2BA📺 Timeline00:00:00 - Trailer00:01:01 - Intro00:14:51 - On Authority00:28:43 - The Barakah Layer00:42:32 - On Dunya00:56:28 - On Ihsaan (Excellence)01:10:13 - On Legacy01:23:57 - Closing Reflection📥 SUBSCRIBE!!📺 SUBSCRIBE for more Barakah-driven conversations👍🏼 LIKE THE VIDEO 🔔 Turn on the NOTIFICATIONS to stay up to date

THE WAIT IS OVER🌐 Try Project You — My AI-powered Life OS App:→ projectyou.app (currently invite-only — join the waitlist)He turned down €20,000/month because it wasn't halal.48 hours later, Allah opened a better door.That's the kind of man Jasmin Alić is — and that's exactly why this conversation had to happen on the Barakah Blueprint.Jasmin is the #1 LinkedIn growth expert and #1 copywriter on the planet (Favikon rankings, ~1 billion users). He grew from 0 followers to 300,000+ in two years — from Bosnia, after a divorce, with one skill: writing. He's worked with Fortune 500 companies, built a global coaching community across 64 countries, and has been on international media. But more than any of that — he's one of the most grounded, authentic, and faith-aligned builders I've ever met.This isn't a LinkedIn tips episode.This is a masterclass on designing your life around what actually matters — and letting Allah handle the rest.We covered:→ How Jasmin learned English by stealing his brother's notebooks in kindergarten→ The €20,000/month offer he said no to — and what happened 48 hours later→ Why "life-work balance" (not work-life) is the only way to build sustainably→ His 1-hour LinkedIn engagement rule and why automation is a betrayal of trust→ The two questions every Muslim must answer — and why they can't be different→ What Jasmin's actual weekly schedule looks like (hint: 3-day weekends, 4 hard days)→ The "line" he drew at enough — and why he stopped chasing more→ His recovery system when everything breaks: pray first, write second→ The Minimum Effective LinkedIn System — 4 frameworks you can use today⚡ THE BARAKAH BLUEPRINT RAPID FIRE — Jasmin's Life OS:- Daily action: Engage with new people every day- Weekly action: Publish one genuinely useful piece of content- Monthly review: Profile views — and how relevant they are- Hard rule: Never post and ghost🌐 Try Project You — My AI-powered Life OS App:→ projectyou.app (currently invite-only — join the waitlist)📲 Follow Jasmin Alić:→ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alicjasmin→ Instagram: @thejasminalic→ Community (Link Up): linkupbyjasmin.com📲 Follow Ibrahim / The Barakah Blueprint:→ Instagram & TikTok: @shareefico→ YouTube: @shareefico→ Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6xe7clV2qEgB8XgGH2743N→ Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-barakah-blueprint/id1789764233🕌 Join the Community:→ projectyou.app——The Barakah Blueprint is a faith-driven podcast for high-agency Muslims who want to perform with excellence — in their career, their character, and their life. Every episode is raw, real, and rooted in the Qur'an.No fluff. Just truth, transformation, and Barakah.#BarakahBlueprint #JasminAlic #LinkedIn #PersonalBrand #MuslimPodcast #IslamicProductivity #Faith #Success #Halal #LinkedInGrowth #PersonalDevelopment #MuslimCreator

This is the Season 2 finale of the Barakah Blueprint.

I’m recording and releasing this episode on the same day — January 2nd, 2026.

2025 was a year of growth, opportunity, and unexpected difficulty. A year where the podcast grew beyond what I imagined, where I launched Itqan, and where I had conversations with people I once only watched from afar.

But it was also a year that taught me something essential:

When intention drifts, clarity quietly follows.

In this episode, I reflect on the lessons of the past year and why the most important discovery I made was the need to return — back to the Qur’an, back to intention, and back to alignment.

This episode isn’t about endings.

It’s about returning.

Timeline:

0:00 Introduction

1:57 Why a Seasonal Break?

4:28 Progress and Lessons Learned so far

7:50 New Company Launch!

11:21 Main Challenge of the year

19:05 What to Expect in 2026

28:37 Goal for 2026 & Closing Remarks