The Deenspiration Podcast

It’s something we’re all guilty of. Perhaps some of us put of doing the things we need to do because we’re simply just too lazy to do them, whilst other times there are much deeper reasons as to why we hold ourselves back.

What if the real reason we procrastinated was because of FEAR; because instead of simply being lazy, we’re genuinely scared of a particular outcome?

In this episode, we’re joined by Sahar Nawaz Shaikh who dives deep into this notion and shares some tips on how to battle the inner fears that hold us back from truly excelling in life.

Every time you put your head in sujood, a million doors open. Then it’s your choice to walk through them or just stay there.

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In this episode, we cover:

Today’s Ayah from the Qur’an was Surah Ali-Imran (chapter 3), verse 160.

Click here to view the Ayah

What did you think about this episode? Scroll down and leave your comments and thoughts about what we spoke about during the episode. Let’s get the discussion started!

Are you on Twitter? Click on the quotes from the episode below to share with your followers.

“Fear is not a wall, it’s actually a doorway.”

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“Abundance will only be unlocked with struggle. There is no easy way out. Nobody ever got it.”

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Emotional Mastery Coach

She recently launched a successful campaign during which, in just three weeks, she helped 100 women kick-start their journey of healing for free.

For more info about sister Sahar or to contact her, visit her Facebook profile below:

https://www.facebook.com/sahar.n.sheikh

Also be sure to click here to ‘like’ her Facebook page.

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The post EP 14: Procrastination, Fear, and Their Effects on Our Worship (feat. Sahar Shaikh) appeared first on Deenspiration.

The fact of the matter is, unless we put pen on paper (or fingers on keyboard) and make a solid Ramadan plan, we’re most likely going to go off the tracks and fail to meet our goals this year… AGAIN… and then feel upset and regretful… AGAIN.

We need a plan, a strategy, a solid framework, as well as some motivation to prepare us. And this is exactly what Shaykh Suleiman has prepared in collaboration with Ramadan Legacy.

If the following sounds just like you, then you should definitely check out the Meaningful Ramadan.

– you know you have to prepare for Ramadan but you’re feeling overwhelmed

– you’re unable to set tangible goals for Ramadan

– you lack of confidence when entering Ramadan each year

– you’re unfulfilled during and after Ramadan

– and you’re regretful for not making the most of Ramadan

Sound familiar?

If you’re ready to make a solid change this year & work towards experiencing your best Ramadan yet, kick-start your journey by clicking the button below.

Join others around the world who receive our latest updates, high-quality content, free resources and much more via our exclusive newsletter.

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The post Ep 13: Meaningful Ramadan – Preparing for the Blessed Month (feat. Shaykh Suleiman Hani) appeared first on Deenspiration.

In this episode, which is Part 2 of the ‘Porn Addiction’ series, Usman is joined by Bara from ‘Purify Your Gaze’ who provides some highly insightful and practical solutions for escaping from the shackles of porn addiction and unwanted sexual behaviour.

Did you listen to Part 1 featuring Alyas Karmani? Click here to learn about the extreme dangers of pornography.

This will probably be one of the most powerful and insightful conversations you have heard on the subject of quitting porn, and is a MUST LISTEN for anybody hoping to successfully quit their Haram sexual habits.

If you’re suffering from porn addiction, you may not have even contemplated some of the advice and techniques described in this episode. So do make sure that you listen carefully.

The points that were discussed in this episode include:

In this episode, Bara talks about just how awesome the Purify Your Gaze community is, and how much it has helped its members on their journey to quitting unwanted sexual behaviours.

Click here to check out Purify Your Gaze and their training videos.

What did you think of the episode?

If you found the show beneficial or simply want to add your own advice and / or opinions, scroll down to the bottom of this page and leave a comment.

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The post EP 12: Porn Addiction (Part 2) – Practical Tips on How To Quit (feat. Bara Aldasouqi – Purify Your Gaze) appeared first on Deenspiration.

In this episode (which is Part 1 of 2 on Porn Addiction) of the Deenspiration podcast show, Usman is joined by Alyas Karmani – a sex educator from England who has years of experience in providing counselling and therapy to those who find themselves involved with addictive sexual behaviour.

This episode goes in HARD and features a number of, what some might find, very shocking facts about porn addiction within the Muslim community and the harms that is causes to ourselves and society at large.

During the show, Ustadh Alyas covers a number of issues pertaining to porn addiction including the following:

This episode is only Part 1 in the ‘Porn Addiction’ series. In Part 2, Usman is joined by Bara Aldasouqi from ‘Purify Your Gaze’ who provides some really great, practical strategies for leaving pornography and beginning your journey of healing.

To make sure you catch the episode, subscribe to the podcast for free on your smartphone on either iTunes, Soundcloud or Stitcher.

Was this episode helpful? How do you feel about what you heard? Got anything to add?

Scroll down to the bottom of this page to leave a comment. Let’s get the conversation started – Bismillah!

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The post EP 11: Porn Addiction (Part 1) – The Extreme Dangers & How To Avoid Them (feat. Alyas Karmani) appeared first on Deenspiration.

What’s more frustrating is when we’re stuck in a constant sin cycle. Here’s what it looks like:

How do we free ourselves from this vicious cycle, break our bad habits and turn back to Allah (swt). That’s exactly what you’ll find out in this episode with Shaykh Abdul Hameed.

Questions from listeners were also submitted and answered on the show.

In summary, this was a pretty epic and beneficial episode!

Be sure to share with friends & family.

If you have a question for Shaykh or want to share your story / tip on how to break a habit of sinning, use the comment section below to kick-start the discussion!

Got more questions? Find Shaykh Abdul Hameed on Facebook by clicking here.

The Shaykh also completed his BA honors in social work/psychology. He currently is perusing his Masters in education/ psychology.  He has a passion to work with young people and is part of many organisations to help serve the needs of the youth.

He currently works as a secondary school teacher in a Leicester state school, and also lectures all over the UK and has been invited by many organisations to deliver lectures in different parts of America.

Some of his hobbies include having a huge passion for Martial arts from a young age, and has competed at a high level. He currently still competes in mixed martial arts (MMA) tournaments across the UK. He also has a passion for riding super-sports motorbikes. His young age, unique hobbies, well grounded Islamic knowledge and passion to “reconnect people to the Quran”, allows him to engage with the youth, in order for them to access and practice Islam in a relevant yet simple manner.

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The post EP 10: The Sin Cycle – How To Stop Sinning & Return To Allah (feat. Shaykh Abdul Hameed) appeared first on Deenspiration.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

In this episode of the Deenspiration podcast show, Shaykh Muiz shares some practical tips for falling deeply in love with the Beloved Messenger (pbuh), his life and his teachings.

Have you ever felt that your Iman was low, and that your love for the Prophet (pbuh) wasn’t as strong? Or maybe your love for him isn’t as strong because you don’t know the steps to take towards learning about him and his life (pbuh).

In this video, Shaykh Muiz will teach you why it’s so important to love the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), how to study his life, a powerful story of Umar Ibn Al Khattab (RA), as well as his top most recommended Seerah / biography book for English speakers.

RESOURCES

UK buyers – Click here

US buyers – Click here

Prefer listening or watching videos to learn about the Seerah of the Prophet (pbuh)? Check these out:

Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by Shaykh Yasir Qadhi – 104 videos

Life of Muhammad (pbuh) by Mufti Ismail Menk

LIKE THIS EPISODE? TWEET ABOUT IT!

Simply click on any quote below to automatically generate a tweet to share this video with friends & family. It’s pretty cool, try it :)

Check out this amazing video about loving the Prophet (pbuh) feat. Shaykh @Muiz_Bukhary

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One of the best ways to fall in love with the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is to READ about his life

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He was (pbuh) amazing in every single aspect of his life. The best teacher, leader, father, husband etc.

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LEAVE A COMMENT:

What do you love most about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)? And what is your favourite way to learn about him? Let us know in the comment section below.

International speaker, teacher, Imam, Khateeb, Director

He memorised the Noble Qur’an at the age of 14, and then spent 10 years specialising in fields of classical Arabic, Islamic jurisprudence, & hadeeth (traditions of the Prophet).

He is the CEO of ‘Sakeenah Institute’, a first of it’s kind in Colombo, which focuses on disseminating knowledge to students, offering schedules of classes feasible for people with different full-time commitments.

Last but not least he also serves as the Imaam of one of the largest masaajid in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

For speaking requests, contact: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sheikhmuizbukhary/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/muiz_bukhary 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muizbukhary/

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The post EP 9: How To Fall in Love With The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – feat. Shaykh Muiz Bukhary appeared first on Deenspiration.

It’s not every day that you get someone to beatbox your intro theme song on a podcast show, but hey, that’s only one of the reasons why you should listen to today’s episode!

In Episode 8  of the Deenspiration podcast show, Usman is joined by the wonderful Hamza Fletcher who shares somes highlights from his popular ‘7 Habits of the Highly Effective Muslim’ workshop which he has delivered across the UK.

This episode is full of take-home gems and practical tips for kick-starting our own journey of self development, both spiritually and materialistically. Some of the gems from the show have been highlighted below as ‘tweetables’ – simply click to tweet them on your page. Go on, try it on this one below:

Below are some (edited) notes from Hamza – those he uses during his presentations. You’ll find some gems in here that may not have been highlighted in the episode. However, be sure to listen to the full show  for a much more in depth explanation as there will also be points mentioned in there that haven’t been noted in these show notes. (Oh, and you’ll get to hear Hamza beatboxing!).

HEADS UP! You can find more of Hamza’s content that dives deeper into the 7 habits by clicking here)

What are your dreams? Do you have goals?

Almost all of our thinking is controlled by the questions we ask ourselves.

We start by asking ourselves: ‘Where do I want to be in 5 years time? Or even 1 year?’

Some people don’t like this question and respond with:

“Don’t ask me! I’m spontaneous, I don’t like schedules or rigid plans..”

Practical step 1:

People are often so worried about not knowing exactly what to do, and this can prevent them from getting started. Or often times they want to do it perfectly, that they never actually get on with it. Remember – Experience is your best teacher!
Get stuck in, take massive action, make mistakes and Learn, Learn, Grow!!

Bad example of Goal:

“I want to make money”

Good example of goal

“I intend to make £1000 in exactly 1 months time”

Practical step 2 – ‘Chunking’

Take a huge task and break it down. This turns into small daily victories, which then creates strong momentum.

IF that doesn’t work , break it down even more.

A beautiful piece of Advice given to me by Ustadh Adam Kelwick, Liverpool.

“If you wish to gain a particular quality in life, then find someone who has that quality and spend time with them”

Find people who are driven and It’ll rub off on you. “Who you spend time with, is who you become”

Another Question to ask yourself:

Why do you want that goal?

When you ask that question and dig deep, you get interesting answers..
To be liked? To be happy? To feel good? You’ll find a lot boils down to achieving a certian Emotion.

Example: The Wifi at home has broken. You could fix it yourself, but you cannot be bothered. However, because of the greater wellbeing of the family, for their satisfaction and happiness, you fixed the Wifi. You had a greater WHY, and your emotional connection to your family’s happiness pushed you to achieve that goal.

Find a reason that’s GREATER than yourself. You’ll move mountains, metaphorically. Make this reason fun, exciting, creative! Something that’ll drive you and motivate you to the core.

When you do it for others, you can save lives, raise money, educate, and many others great things.

Most important, attach this goal to ultimately pleasing Allah.  (this also makes sure the goal is halal!)

Tip: Be around people who have the same types of intentions. This will empower you further.

Intentions

When you intentions are pure, our efforts will be filled with Barakah. With barakah, we get MORE done and achieve amazing things.

Example: Eating

We can eat to simply enjoy the taste. And this is permissible. Or we can eat with the intention of nourishing ourself so that we can work more and earn a halal living, repair our bodies, worship better and longer, etc. This intention has already quadroopled!

Practical tip 3 – constantly FEED your mind

Listen to podcasts, read books, watch educational/instructional videos. Always be learning.

A strong psychology will pull you through when the mechanics/logistics are frustrating or boring.

You might ask:

‘But Why? I like chilling all day, watching TV, playing games, going out with friends and eating good food!’

By pushing the boundaries, we reach heightened experiences and find more opportunities. We can GIVE more in life, and BE more in life when we push ourselves.

Note: chilling and enjoying ourselves is fine, but it’s about the balance. When we have our priorities sorted, and are working hard, then chilling has its purpose! Leisure time is also enjoyed a lot more when it’s followed by a marathon of working REALLY hard!

Progress equals happiness.

Once you start tasting the fruits of your efforts, and cross that border of what you thought you couldn’t achieve, your brain says “YEAH! … Now what else can I do?” #SnowballEffect

Even if the effort may seem small, just do it! Small progress is still progress.

When you’ve got some clarity, have set the deadlines, have learned the process of chunking big tasks into smaller ones, get around good company, and have built compelling reasons for your goals, then:

It’s not our conditions that shape our destiny, but our decisions.

Final notes & Summary from Hamza

I’d like to make one thing clear.
The quality of your life is the quality of where you live emotionally

We all have a home.

Angry people find a way to be angry, even when life has nothing to be angry about. They always find it.

Sad people find a way to be sad.

Caring people find a way to care for other people.

So one thing you’ve got to identify is: where are you living? What’s your home? What’s your habit?

How to change that?

Step 1 is  to feed your mind. We all know the phrase “You are what you eat” Well, it’s the same for the mind.

One of my teachers taught me: “every day stand guard of the door of your mind and feed it something good”

Feed your mind every day for 30 minutes, hearing / reading something. Something strong and nutritious for your mind.

Step 2 – You’ve got to strengthen that body of yours!

Fear is physical, and so is stagnation, numbness, sadness and rage. When you go out and change your body by intense workout, a run, or even an intense walk, and the blood is flowing through you, science has shown that this instantly changes your biochemistry. Now your mind and body are working together.

Step 3 – Look at so many of the most influential people: they found a mission that is greater than themselves. Something  they wanted to aspire to, that matters more than their own pain.

Step 4 –  You’ve got to find a role model. Almost everybody finds a role model that makes things real for them.
For example: there is a lady called Sara Blakely – the youngest billionaire. When women meet her, they don’t just love her billionaire product. They love this woman because she is a role model and show’s what’s possible.

If you get a role model, it becomes real to you. If you make a goal, get a plan, then take massive action.

Step 5 – Understand that there’s always someone worse off than you are – I don’t care what you’ve done.
If you can go help somebody worse off, it puts your life in perspective and also remind you that life’s not about ‘me’, it’s about ‘we’.

I always tell people that the secret to a great life, the secret to living is GIVING!

Even if you’ve lost your legs, even if you’ve been through a horrific financial situation, your life can improve, and more importantly, you have a more meaningful life because your life will contribute to the well-being of other people.

Red Oak Media

I want to help the Muslims in every way I can, InshaAllah!

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The post EP 8: 7 Habits of the Highly Effective Muslim (feat. Hamza Fletcher) appeared first on Deenspiration.

Does Rizq only make us think of money, or does it mean so much more? In this episode, Shaykh Ismail Kamdar goes deeper into the meaning of Rizq, and provides us with practical tips on how we can increase our own Rizq through our spirituality and worship of Allah SWT.

A powerful and insightful episode this week!

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The post EP 7: 6 Spiritual Causes for Increased Rizq (feat. Shaykh Ismail Kamdar) appeared first on Deenspiration.

Yup! If you do any form of walking during the day (which pretty much all of us do!) then you can most definitely implement this technique.

How it works

Walking Dhikr involves taking your favourite phrase of Dhikr, breaking it down into smaller chunks / syllables, and assigning each chunk to a step.

Wait, what?!

It sounds weird, but really, it’s easy!

When we walk, it creates a little rhythm – a beat. What we’re essentially doing with this technique is following the beat, while reciting the phrase at the same time. When done correctly, both the rhythm of our footsteps and the phrase of Dhikr create a nice flow. It makes taking those steps and walking even more fun and rewarding.

Still confused? Listen to the episode above for a full explanation. You’ll be joining in within no time InshaAllah!

Did you enjoy the show? Easily share it with your followers on Twitter (and gain a share of the reward for all those who learn and implement the tip!) by clicking on the Tweetable quote below. It’s super simple; just click it, and it’ll open up a brand new tweet for you.

Go ahead, try it!

Check out this cool Dhikr technique I just learned on the #Deenspiration podcast show

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www.launchgood.com

Whether it’s a tech project, a book launch, clothing line, humanitarian cause or any other idea you need to raise money for, Launch Good can help you to achieve your goals.

Already have an idea but not sure if’s crowdfundable? Shoot their team a message at [email protected] and they can work with you to guide you on its feasiblity and share some examples of past projects.

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The post EP 6: Walking Dhikr – Turn Every Step Into Worship (Amazing Technique!) appeared first on Deenspiration.

The Blessed month of Ramadan is most likely your favourite month of the year, and so it should be! It’s the month of the Qur’an, a month full of immense rewards and blessings, a month of forgiveness, a month of community and love, and deep spiritual development. Just amazing!

Now, although many of us look forward to using Ramadan to become the best version of ourselves in terms of our Iman, we tend to forget about, or totally neglect the idea of also becoming the best version of ourselves in terms of our health.

Believe it or not, many of us get FAT during Ramadan. It’s weird, right? A lot of us are fasting around three quarters of the day, yet at the end of the month when we step on the scale, we notice that we’ve added a few pounds. How is that even possible?!

Think about it, what’s the one thing most of us make the mistake of doing in Ramadan? I’ll give you a clue: it happens after Maghrib, usually makes our eyes pop and our mouths water, and usually results in regret a couple of hours later.

That’s right, OVER EATING! We usually eat like crazy once Iftar kicks in and ignore the idea of keeping our diets clean and healthy. So much so that it pretty much defeats the purpose of our fast; we’re supposed to be training ourselves to stop being excessive and to let go of our desires, not quadruple how much we indulge in them!

There is nothing wrong with enjoying a lovely Iftar with the family of course, or perhaps throwing the odd Iftar party with the homeboys and homegirls, but this is where we should learn to be extra careful. The last thing we want is for our Ramadan experience to be ruined and for our abilities to worship to be weakened because we feel sluggish, tired and unfit to perform our ‘Ibaadah.

So… how do you go about learning the do’s and don’ts of nutrition and lifestyle during Ramadan?

In this episode of the Deenspiration podcast, Usman is joined by Amina Khan, founder of the epic health and fitness brand Amanah Fitness. Amina covers a whole lot of practical tips and tricks for how to stay in tip-top shape during Ramadan, ensuring that your body feels nice and energetic throughout the long Taraweeh prayer at night, as well as during the long working day.

Founder - www.AmanahFitness.com

Amina is the creator of the 7-Day Amanah Jumpstart program and the Ramadan Reset, which have helped others lose weight, and get back on track with their healthy lifestyles.

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The post EP 5: Health & Nutrition In Ramadan (feat. Amina Khan) – Diet, Lifestyle & Spirituality. appeared first on Deenspiration.