Business

20
Sep
2022
10 Quotes on Wealth and Contentment

10 Quotes on Wealth and Contentment

These quotes are extracted from my book Earning Barakah which is on sale here.

1. Every time you spend time and resources in the path of Allah, you free your heart a bit more from this world and grow closer to your Creator. (p. 56)

2. When the believer begins work, his/her heart is full of peace and security, knowing that Allah has already written their sustenance and they are simply working to earn it in a blessed manner. (p. 58)

3. A society that is obsessed with wealth and constantly anxious about poverty is unstable. Anarchy is around the corner and it takes one bad day to bring out the worst in people. (p. 59)

4. The promise of Allah is simple and clear: be grateful, you will receive more bounties. Be ungrateful, and your sources of misery will increase. (p. 70)

5. A gratitude mindset leads to a life of contentment and happiness. The believer always finds something to be grateful for even in the most difficult of situations. This keeps his heart optimistic, full of gratitude, and content. (p. 72)

6. The combined effects of trusting God, accepting one’s destiny, and practicing gratitude create a life of optimism and contentment. (p. 72)

7. A Muslim is not selfish and self-centered. He does not hoard his wealth out of fear of poverty. A Muslim cares about all of Allah’s Creation and this is reflected in how he spends his wealth. (p. 101)

8. The trader knows that Allah knows what is best for each of us and he is satisfied with the will of Allah. So, he trades without jealousy of other traders. (p. 104)

9. Islam is a religion that demands the highest level of character from us, especially in business. There is no room in Islam for shady business deals, cheating customers, or hiding defects. (p. 130)

10. Allah is al-Ghani (Most Independent), and people can only gain independence from each other through His Will and Blessings. Therefore, if we want independence, we must ask Allah for it, seek it through Ḥalāl means, and aspire to utilize such gifts in ways that are pleasing to Allah. (p. 36)

Access the full ebook on sale here: https://islamicselfhelp.gumroad.com/l/earnbarakah/earlybird

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Books, Business
03
Nov
2020
Important changes at Islamic Self Help

Important changes at Islamic Self Help

Alhamdulillah, I recently started a new job. This will affect the amount of time that I will be able to dedicate to Islamic Self Help. Despite my busy new schedule, Islamic Self Help will remain an important resource through which I will share my personal opinions, articles, books, and courses. The website will continue to grow but I will spend less time per week on it than I previously used to.

Leaving IOU

Alhamdulillah, I began studying at IOU in 2007, started volunteer work at IOU in 2008, and became a full-time employee of IOU in 2010. I even completed my BAIS at IOU in 2014. Over the past 13 years, IOU has played a central role in shaping my young adult life. But all good things come to an end, and I have reached a point in my life in which I wish to move on and pursue a different career path.

Over the past five years, my goals have pushed me more towards writing and research on contemporary issues. Alhamdulillah, an opportunity has presented itself for me to do this full-time and I cannot let this opportunity go. For this reason, I decided to leave IOU so that I can focus on my career in research and writing. I wanted to make this public so that people know that the reason I am leaving IOU is nothing negative. So please do not read anything into my leaving the organization.

Alhamdulillah, I have been treated exceptionally well at IOU over the past decade and it was not easy to make the decision to leave. I will continue to support IOU’s great work, and represent them as a graduate of their BAIS program. I also still encourage people to sign up for their courses if you are looking for a good online campus for Islamic Studies. I really want to spend the next decade (and probably the rest of my life) writing, and that will be my primary focus moving forward.

Joining Yaqeen Institute

Alhamdulillah, in November 2020 I started my new job as a research manager at Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. This new role will facilitate my goal of spending my life writing and researching contemporary Islamic topics. I am really excited to start this new job and to contribute to this amazing website. I ask Allah to put barakah in this new role and make it a means of benefit for the entire ummah, and a source of continuous reward for all those involved.

As I get accustomed to my new job, I will not blog as much as I used to for the first few weeks. Once I get accustomed to my new work schedule, I will continue to make time daily to contribute to Islamic Self Help via videos, articles, books and courses. In the meanwhile, the Aqeedah al-Tahawiyah course will continue as usual with four more videos releasing over the next four weeks.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Business
09
Jul
2019
How to deal with losing a source of income

How to deal with losing a source of income

It can happen to anybody. One day you are earning well, the next day you are deep in debt and out of a job. Life is a test, and we all go through different stages in the tests of life. One test that almost everybody faces at some point in their life (or multiple) is losing a major source of income. Whether it is a job, a business or an investment, losing a large source of your monthly revenue can be a depressing and stressful event. In such cases, do the following:

1. Trust Your Creator

In Islam, we have a concept called Tawakul (trusting God) which simply means that we believe Allah’s plan is best for us and we live our lives with full trust in that plan. This means when things don’t go our way it is usually for the best and there is some benefit in that for us, even if we can’t understand it immediately. This belief helps a Muslim get through any difficulty with optimism and hope.

I have experienced this at multiple points in my life. In 2008, I lost my job as a school teacher. As a result of that, I got a much better job at the Islamic Online University which I still work today. In 2014, I got conned by a scammy book dealer, as a result, I learned to self-publish my books and am earning a decent profit from ongoing book sales. And then this year, in 2019 I lost a major contract that was making up 50% of my income. As a result, I had to dig deeper and invent a new source of income for myself. So I became a freelance writer and was able to make up that income through freelance projects. In fact, I am enjoying those freelance projects a lot more than the job I lost.

The point is that Allah’s plan is best. If I hadn’t lost in the above three cases, I wouldn’t have gained much better sources of income in return. The losses were necessary to push me in the right direction. The same applies to you. So trust Allah’s plan, He knows best.

2. Never put your eggs in one basket

One of the reasons I was able to overcome major financial hurdles in my life is because I don’t keep my eggs in one basket. This means I don’t restrict myself to one source of income. If you have only one source of income and it goes downhill or gets taken away, you are left in a very difficult situation. This is what happened to me in 2008 and since I have been very careful to ensure I always have multiple streams of income. You should too.

If you are working a job, set up side streams of income like online businesses, a second after-hours jobs, investment accounts or freelance work in the evenings. Do whatever is necessary to protect yourself and your family from financial loss. Yes, it isn’t possible to never experience financial problems if that is what Allah has destined for you, but having side streams of income helps to cushion the fall. So prepare for the difficulties by working on as many side streams of income as possible.

3. Dig deeper and find something better

The majority of people I meet are grateful for the hardships they faced in life. This is because these hardships shaped their personalities and pushed them in the direction that led to their eventual success. A difficult situation is simply an opportunity to dig deeper and find something better for yourself. It is a chance to reinvent yourself, find your true calling and emerge a better person. Take every obstacle as a challenge to do better and to be better. Do this and you will always find yourself rising after every challenge.

One of the things I love to teach people is how to build their confidence to overcome challenges and achieve their dreams. This is why I have put together a revolutionary course on building your self-confidence the Islamic way. You can access the course today at a 50% discount by using this link. Grab it today and you will also receive FREE access to my course on public speaking. Sign up here if you are ready to start building the confidence to achieve your dreams.

Conclusion

Every single one of us will face difficulties at different points in our life. Allah had promised to test us with restricting our finances, so when we should be spiritually, financially and mentally prepared to handle such tests. By having firm Tawakul in Allah, building multiple streams of income and using every difficulty as an opportunity to be better, we can come out of every financial difficulty on a higher level.

If you benefited from this article, join our self-confidence course to learn over two dozen more ways to improve the confidence. Sign up today and you will get a 50% discount + Free Access to my public speaking course.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Business
20
Oct
2018

How To Set Up An Online Business On The Side

Online BusinessHow To Set Up An Online Business On The Side

We may be living in the best time ever to start a small side business with very little capital. The inventions of the internet, social media, and online marketplaces have made the start-up costs and running costs of many businesses very low. This creates a unique opportunity for anybody interested in starting an online business on the side.

I started my first online business in 2015, which is this very website Islamic Self Help. Currently, I work two online jobs while running two online businesses. Both of which are very successful. Over the past few years, I have discovered many ways to build an online business which requires very little capital but produces a steady flow of profit.

In this article, I will share with you a few tips on getting started with your first online business.

1. Look at businesses with low costs

This includes businesses that offer digital products (like my eBook and online course business), or which provide services (like my freelance writing business). If you can find something you like which has low costs, you can set it up quickly, and start producing a profit even faster. Look into fields with low overhead, and high profit margins. These are the best fields to start your first online business in.

2. Get a website

For most online businesses, a website is necessary. A website gives you a base of operations. It allows you a place to list your products, interact with customers and be discovered by new customers. Decide on a name, buy the domain, and start setting up your website. This is were you will list your products or services, and operate from.

3. Gain a social media presence

Your social media presence is how people get to know you and your business. It is true that some people may discover you with a Google Search. And others may learn of you through word of mouth.

But in the modern era, social media is the fastest way to grow and gain new customers. Set up your social media pages, link them to your website and start growing your pages through beneficial content.

Quick tip: Focus on organic growth, and avoid buying social media followers.

4. Set business goals and work towards them

It isn’t enough to set up your website and social media page, and hope people will come. You need to work constantly at growing your business. Begin each month by setting your goals for the month, then dedicate an hour or two a day to work towards these goals.

The goals could be launching a new product, gaining a certain number of leads, hitting a sales quota or putting out beneficial content. Set your goals and work towards them. For most online businesses, you just need an hour a day to make it work.

5. Invest in your own mind

Since 2013, I have invested thousands of dollars into studying entrepreneurship, online business, marketing, sales, and many other skills that were necessary to grow my business. If you want to succeed in the online marketplace, then you need to start with investing in yourself. In our online course department, we offer a variety of online courses that can assist you in gaining the necessary skills to succeed online.

6. Don’t give up

Online businesses may be cheap to set up and get rolling. But they take time and effort to grow into something truly great. Do not give up. You will have good months and bad months. Focus on learning, experimenting, growing, and gradual progress. After a few years, you will find yourself enjoying a much higher quality of life thanks to your online business.

Summary of Tips:

  1. Choose a business with low overhead
  2. Set up your website
  3. Grow your social media presence
  4. Work towards monthly business goals
  5. Invest in your own education
  6. Never give up

If you want to learn more about setting up an online business,
Join our online course on self-publishing. 
The course is available at a ridiculously steep discount if you use this link.
You see there!

Online Business Course

 

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Business