Surah Al-Asr is the third shortest surah in the Quran, containing only 3 verses and therefore making it a favourite for worshippers often times to recite it in their prayer when they are short for time. While it uses simple and direct words, it also has deep and comprehensive meanings, containing sharp and direct reminders for all mankind to adopt in avoiding the true catastrophic failure. In other words, Surah Al-Asr defines the criteria to earn minimum success.So much so, that our great Imam Shafi'ee once mentioned that if Allah had only revealed this Surah, it would be sufficient mankind! The short powerful nature of this surah made it a regular practice for the sahabah (companions of Rasulullah ﷺ) to recite it whenever they depart from a gathering. Ibn Qayyim even includes all the criterias in this surah as the basis of our personal jihad (struggle) against our whims and desires.So, what are the minimum success criteria? How can we put them into practice and plant it as our life slogan? What was the wisdom that was so profound about these ayat that the sahabah would recite it so regularly? Join us for this conversation on another episode from Treasures from Quran, as we share some reminders from this powerful Surah. See you there, in sha Allah! Barakallahu fikum

Rasulullah ﷺ once asked the great companion Ubayy ibn Kaab رضي الله عنه : what is the greatest verse in the Qur'an? Ubayy immediately recited ayatul Kursi: " اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ" Out of over 6,000 verses in the Quran, Ubayy chose this ayah, verse number 255 from Surah Al Baqarah. Acknowledging his response, Rasulullah ﷺ replied, “by Allah, you are indeed favoured with knowledge ya Aba Mundhir!” (Muslim)It is no coincidence that we find this verse mentioned in countless statements of our Prophet ﷺ such that it becomes entrenched and often recited as part of our daily practice as Muslims striving to follow in the footsteps of Rasulullah ﷺ.✅ What makes this verse so profound such that Rasulullah ﷺ acknowledged it as the greatest verse of the Quran?✅ What key reflections, lessons and gems can we derive from this single verse that may enrich our understanding behind our daily practice of this verse?✅ Practical lessons: What are some daily activities which we are encouraged to recite this verse? Join us on Facebook / YouTube live on The Barakah Effect page on Sunday, 16th March 2025 as brother Reeza takes us on an inspirational journey to uncover these gems and together, we let's unearth these treasures from Quran!

Does a struggle-free life exist? Is true happiness to achieve a life that is free from stress or trials? Life is not always easy—stress, anxiety, and challenges are part of the journey. Yet, these struggles can become opportunities to strengthen your faith and character.Join us this coming Sunday at 11:00 am (GMT +8), in our second live session for our series of "Treasures from Qur'an" for Ramadan this year, where brother Aziz helps us explore these profound questions and uncover the wisdoms of Surah Al-Balad from the Quran: Of how they provide a roadmap for navigating life’s challenges with faith, compassion, and purpose - ultimately, reminding us that struggles are not only inevitable but also transformative when approached with the right mindset and actions. See you there! BarakAllahu fikum

Ahlan ya Ramadan! This year, 2025 / 1446AH, The Barakah Effect team's Ramadan Tadabbur series, Treasures from Qur'an, returns with our sessions on reflections, uncovering and sharing some key inspirations, practical applications as we discover of some of our favorite surah from the Book of Allah.The Prophet ﷺ said,مَنْ حَفِظَ عَشْرَ آيَاتٍ مِنْ أَوَّلِ سُورَةِ الْكَهْفِ عُصِمَ مِنَ الدَّجَّالِ "Whoever memorizes the first ten verses of the Surah al-Kahf, he will be protected from the Dajjal." (Muslim)Kicking off our series this year by Brother Faisal on the 1st Day of Ramadan, is about a special surah which Muslims are encouraged to recite every Friday, one which serves as an important protection against the worst calamity in the history of mankind: Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal. What is the significance of this surah - especially in the opening 10 verses - relating to protection against Dajjal? What are the key, important lessons and wisdoms that every Muslim needs to extract from these words of Allah that can protect us against the worst trial happening towards the End of Time which was warned by every single Prophet sent by Allah?Tune in and join us on Sunday, 2nd March 2025 @ 1st Ramadan 1446AH as we uncover these treasures together!

For our first ever live event, brother Reeza, Amir and Faisal have a conversation live with the team and audience from IamTheBeliever at Subang Jaya, Malaysia, discussing about how to Excel in Ramadan: especially when we are juggling multiple responsibilities, in our jobs, families and chores. How can we be productive with so many responsibilities bogging us down? Throughout the conversation, we discuss: ✅ Keep your eyes on the grand prize: The effort you make in Ramadan isn't "sacrifice" - it's your investment, with a guaranteed return!✅ Purify and expand your intentions: Transform all your responsibilities into ibadah that complements each other✅ the Ihsan principle: focus on QUALITY of your deeds✅ Building a relationship with the Qur'an✅ Working to your strengths and circumstances✅ Avoiding burnout: staying consistent throughout, not just a flash of the pan in the first few days✅ "Taqwa" thriving for sustainable change: Beyond Ramadan!Many thanks and jazakumUllah khayran to the team at IamTheBeliever - brother Ashraff and sister Ash - for inviting us over and opening up this opportunity to meet up with you and have a conversation about this amazing subject. Follow IamTheBeliever at instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamthebelieverMay Allah grant us the best Ramadan of our lives!P/s Apologies about the video quality - will improve in the future insha Allah! Time stamps 0:00:00 Introductions: Who we are 0:13:33 What is Ramadan About?0:39:10 Productivity Strategies0:52:30 Prioritize the Wajib First!1:08:44 Beware of Burnout!

Ever considered coaching for your personal growth?

In recent years, coaching has become an increasingly popular approach being used by individuals, corporations, and executive leaders for purposes of self-development, personal improvement and habit-shaping goals.

But what exactly is coaching all about?

In this episode, we have a conversation with CEO Coach, Hasannuddin Saidin, founder of Rubah Associates, to unpack the gain some insight into the world of coaching, and ultimately help shed light for you to choose coaching as a tool towards self-improvement.

We discuss:

✅ Difference between coaching, mentoring and teaching, and how this "coaching" differs from what we normally understand as coaching in context of sports

✅ Essential character traits of a coach

✅ Coaches have feelings too! How we Managing emotions, avoiding judgment, and practicing restraint

✅ How to coach people with a victim mindset and always blames others

✅ Principle of HOPE: and why that's necessary to be effective coach

✅ Circumstances and situations When coaching may not be optimal

.. And more!

Are Muslims losing? When - and how - is victory going to come for our ummah? 

The situation appears bleak across the Muslim world today. Conflicts, suffering, oppression, and isIam0ph0bia are all so rampant that muslims feel there is little hope, and as a result some have lose confidence in their Muslim identity, and even begin to have doubts in their faith

From the angle of politics, economy, military, media - it appears that Muslims are losing. 

.. Or are we?

Perhaps it is a matter of perspectives; is there something more than meets the eye? 

In this episode, we have a conversation with Dr. Hassan Akbar from Brooklyn, NYC to discuss these issues, and how can we gain a better understanding on:

✅ What is success? How can we achieve victory as an ummah? Defining what "success" truly means, as a Muslim. 

✅ Many Muslims feel like they are losing hope in Allah. How should we address them? 

✅ How we can be more mature at accepting an apparent defeat, towards a greater long term goal

✅ What part are YOU playing in restoring the glory of the ummah? 

✅ Correcting wrong perspective of "success" 

✅ Should we tie our faith to an outcome or the result? 

BIOGRAPHY: Hassan Akbar 

Dr. Hassan Akbar, born and raised in New York City, is a distinguished Islamic scholar and youth mentor. he earned his Bachelor's in Telecommunication Engineering from New York City College of Technology, before pursuing Islamic studies at Arees University in Malaysia, where he completed his Masters and received certification in Islamic Inheritance. He earned a PhD in Islamic Studies with a focus on Aqidah at the American University for Islamic Sciences. 

In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Akbar is the author of five books, including the notable "A call for Unity: Guidance of the Prophet Muhammad" and his most recent publication, "Guided By Stars: The benefits of Honoring Parents". Dr. Akbar is also a full-time Khateeb an international islamic lecturer, making significant contributions to Islamic education and community outreach.

For this episode, we have a conversation with one of our favourite teachers, Sheikh Dr. Sajid Umar, on what it takes to Raise Visionary Leaders. We discuss: 

✅ COVID - making the best out of our circumstances to be proactive

✅ What does it mean like to have a vision? What does being a "visionary" look like, from an Islamic perspective? 

✅ How can parents raise visionary future leaders, when they are struggling with handling the day to day challenges of parenting their children?

✅ The difference between contemporary self-help concepts of "visionary" versus the Islamic perspective of high aspirations

✅ Basis of decision making: the difference between "good" and "right"

✅ The critical role of tawhid and how it plays a central role of every aspect of our development: Intellectual, emotional and spiritual intelligence. 

We initially titled this as "Raising Visionary Youth", but seeing how Dr. Sajid addresses this topic on a deeper, broader, level that impacts the concept of vision and high aspirations on a more personal, and simultaneously larger perspective. Being a Visionary begins with OURSELVES first - and ultimately, it's not about youth, but about leaders: the change that the umah needs!

TIME STAMPS

0:00:00 START

0:05:55 COVID hindsight: Being proactive to Thrive in challenging circumstances

0:11:57 Focus: Create systems of thinking & people capital

0:19:19 What is "Visionary": an Islamic perspective

0:31:20 Don't be short-sighted! Look beyond profits and views

0:35:10 Parenting advice: How can we raise Visionary Youth?

0:44:00 Make the "Right" choices, not just "Good" ones

0:46:59 Don't raise children. Raise Leaders

For this episode, we bring in our guest, Ustadz Suffian Samsuddin, founder and lead teacher of Jayyid Qur'an Academy, to share his unique approach to teaching the Qur'an to make it a fun and engaging experience, helping many children be proficient and Qur'an, but not only that: How he tailors his classes so that when the students leave, they feel joyful, inspired and excited for more, and how we, as parents and adults, can learn from these principles to make the Qur'an education a more enjoyable experience for ourselves and those around us.

In this episode, we discuss:

✅ From a graduate of International Business, to nurturing Qur'an in children: Ustadz Suffian's personal journey towards being an educator and what's inspired him to take this path

✅ What is our role as educators (murabbi) - and what is the long-term achievement of how we view our role?

✅ How do we balance between Quranic education and contemporary (i.e. secular?) education?

✅ ⁠ ⁠What does it mean to be touched by the Quran (being the best in class)

✅ ⁠ ⁠How to make learning Quran interesting for children

✅ ⁠ ⁠What parents should be doing to make their children absorb Quran lessons easily

✅ ⁠Do we even need to have this "soft" approach? After all, the "tough" approach gets results, right?!

✅ Gamification: Some ideas of how we can integrating game concepts to keep up continuous engagement and thrill for Qur’an students

CONTACT SUFFIAN & JAYYID ACADEMY:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayyidquranacademy

📲 Mobile & WhatsApp: +6017 274 7090 (Ustadz Suffian)

🌏 Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/qxNemj3D9SZ5aZwe6 - Oasis Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya

Overwhelmed by the noise around you?

In today's fast-paced, distraction-filled world, maintaining focus on what truly matters can feel like an overwhelming challenge, so much so that our productivity and responsibilities in nurturing our families, excelling at work, and being productive suffers.

How can we overcome this dillemma?

Join us in this episode as we explore actionable insights on how to navigate distractions, nurture productivity, and align our actions with purpose, to achieve success in this world and the Hereafter.