Ismail Kamdar

Ismail Kamdar is the Founder of Islamic Self Help and Izzah Academy, author of over a dozen books, and the operations manager of Yaqeen Institute.
Ismail Kamdar is the Founder of Islamic Self Help and Izzah Academy, author of over a dozen books, and the operations manager of Yaqeen Institute.
15
Feb
2019

5 Ways Education was better in the Muslim Golden Age

5 Ways Education was better in the Muslim Golden Age

It is no secret that I am a critic of the modern school system. An experiment that started just over one hundred years ago, the current system is already outdated and failing millions of children. However, education wasn’t always like this. During the Muslim Golden Age, education thrived through a system of Madrassas, universities and private tutorship that produced some of the greatest minds of that era.

NOTE: Madrassa (in this article) is used to refer to the ancient schooling system that covered all subjects ranging from Math to science to religious studies. It does NOT refer to the modern secularized version that separates and focuses only on religious studies.

Muslim Golden Age Madrassa

As we move forward and try to fix our current system, we can look back and draw important lessons from systems that worked in the past. Here are five lessons we can take from this ancient education system and apply to our times.

1. It focused on individual strengths

The Madrassa system of the Muslim Golden Age did not have a one-size-fits-all approach to education. As young as seven years old, a student would be categorized according to his strengths and assigned studies accordingly. As a result, time wasn’t wasted teaching students things they were not going to use in life.

Think about it? Why would a language expert need to study High School Math? Or a Math whiz need to study grammar in depth? Why should a history buff need to memorize science facts to pass a test? Or a budding scientist need to memorized the dates and names of various wars?

When a student recognizes his/her area of expertise early, they can choose their subjects accordingly. This led to the second benefit of this ancient system.

2. Students would graduate earlier.

By starting early, time wasn’t wasted with a 13 year common education program, before deciding what to specialize in. As a result, in the Muslim Golden Age many great scientists and doctors graduated and started practicing at incredibly young ages.

Ibn Batutta graduated as a judge (Qadhi) at the young age of 21. And Ibn Sina was already treating patients when he was 18 years old. In fact, Ibn Khaldun was already a graduate in Islamic Studies by the age of 17!

This shows the benefit of a system that focuses on strengths. Each of these individuals went on to become legends in their fields dedicating their lives to mastering and developing their areas of expertise.

Imagine today if we can have people discover their strengths at a younger age, graduate younger, and start working on their legacy at a younger age. A large part of people’s lives that is usually wasted\ could become the most productive time of their life with such a system.

3. There were many education systems

A single system of education does not benefit everybody. People learn in different ways, and so there should be various systems on offer. So each student can choose to study in a way that suits their study style best.

We see this in the earlier periods of the Muslim Golden Age. Some great scientists went through the madrassa system, while others studied books at home. Some experimented in their labs, while others sat at the feet of mentors and learned from them. And some even combined all of these at different stages of their lives.

So education to be relevant again. We need to stop thinking that one system suits all. We need more variety. If someone is a voracious reader, then let them stay home and consume as many books as possible. If someone learns better through experiments, take them out of school and give them a lab to experiment in. (Which is what Einstein’s parents did)

The world needs a more flexible system of education. So that readers are not stuck attending lectures, and physical learners are not stuck sitting quietly in class. We need to find ways to make this happen in the modern world, and the internet makes it more possible than ever before.

4. They did not separate subjects into Islamic and Secular

The separation of school and Madrassa in the modern world is a result of colonialism, and has had a terrible effect on the minds of Muslims. Entire generations of Muslims were raised thinking that math, science and language have nothing to do with Islam. And that Islam is just something you study in the afternoon, but the ‘secular subjects’ are your priority.

The reality is that Islam teaches us to actively pursue all beneficial knowledge. This includes knowledge of beliefs, Islamic law, history, math, science, business, personal development and everything else that benefits us.

During the Muslim Golden Age, this was the norm. Al-Khawaarizmi invented Algebra to solve complex Islamic inheritance law issues. Ibn Sina pursued medicine because the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us that every illness has a cure. Ibn Khaldun analysed history because the Quran teaches us to take lessons from history. It was all intertwined. we need to return to this system of education that does not separate between subjects into religious and secular. All that matters is beneficial knowledge.

5. It served a higher purpose

In the Muslim Golden Age, education was not primarily about the pursuit of wealth, fame and status. (Although such individuals did exist) The primary purpose of the Madrassa system was to raise citizens who would serve God and take care of God’s Creation.

Education was for the sake of community, not self. It was for God, not desire. And it was for making the world a better place, not just lining one’s pockets. This is why during the Muslim Golden Age, we find the existence of free healthcare (even for animals), free education, entire systems dedicated to charity work, and overall increase in happiness for the average person.

An education system that focuses on selfish materialistic success is doomed to fail. Such a system produces narcissists and selfish individuals. It makes us lose focus on what is most important: pleasing the Creator through caring for His creation.

To learn more about the Muslim Golden Age, join our online course by clicking here.

Sign up here:
https://courses.islamicselfhelp.com/p/muslim-golden-ages
Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Homeschooling
09
Feb
2019

5 ways to experience daily peace

Inner Peace

5 ways to experience daily peace

Inner peace – its almost a cliche how much people want this and talk about this. Yet we often avoid doing the simple things that can help us achieve it. Inner peace isn’t some strange fantasy that only the pious experience. Sure, they experience much more often and deeper than we do. But there are many tiny things we can do daily to experience inner peace on a daily basis.

However, before we discuss these, I need to clarify something. Experiencing inner peace doesn’t mean you never feel sad or pain again. No! Rather, inner peace is like every other feeling something that comes and goes in waves. These tips will just help you increase how often you experience it on a daily basis.

1. Wake Up Early

The first step is to start your day early. This may seem very obvious. Two of the main Islamic sources of inner peace are early in the morning (Tahajjud and Fajr), so obviously the early morning is linked to inner peace.

But it is not only the prayer that brings peace. It is the quiet, the light humming of the morning birds, the beauty of the sunrise. It is also the feeling that you can wake up, relax and then start work without rushing or stressing out. All of this leads to a beautiful glorious blast of inner peace before your day even begins.

2. Make time for productive alone time

Even if it is just for an hour or thirty minutes. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea, or hot chocolate), take a break from the busy stressful world, and do something meaningful to you. For it, it means making time daily to write. I find it relaxing, motivating and fulfilling all at the same time. You need to find something that brings the same feelings to you, and make time daily for it.

It could be anything from extra acts of worship to reading a book, to drawing some art. Find what you enjoy doing alone and make time for it daily. That time spent doing what you love may be the most peaceful you will feel all day.

3. Talk a walk in nature

I am lucky that my home is surrounded by a forest, and I live two blocks away from a beautiful park. So I always have nature to look at when I want to feel at peace. If you haven’t made time for nature in a while, you may be surprised at how much peace it fills you with.

No matter how busy your day is, pull away during your lunch break, after work or early in the morning and just talk a slow, relaxing walk in nature. Breathe the fresh air, feel the wind, hear the birds and experience the inner peace that comes with all of that. You will need it to tackle the rest of your day.

4. Establish the prayers

Our inner peace is fundamentally linked to one thing: our relationship with our Creator. The stronger this relationship, the more often we experience inner peace. The very foundation of this relationship is to pray five times a day. Make it a habit and stick with it for life.

In the beginning it will be hard. But over time, you will learn to appreciate it, seek sanctuary in it, treasure it and enjoy it. The Islamic method of prayer (Salah) is one of the most powerful ways to experience inner peace, if done properly and with sincere intentions. Get it right and it becomes your daily treasure.

5. Make a list of things you are grateful for

Finally, make sure you begin each day from a place of gratitude. I have a daily habit of starting each day by writing down three things I am grateful for, and thanking God for each of these things. It doesn’t matter how bad a day I had, I still make sure I begin the next day by finding three things to be grateful for. This way each day begins in a state of peace and gratitude that supercharges the rest of the day.

Make it a habit to find things to be grateful for daily. It can be big stuff like your life, family and job or little things like a beautiful tree near your home or a nice gift your friend sent you. The point is that most of us always can find something to be grateful for. And that should be our focus, not the things we want to complain about. There will always be good and bad in our lives, but if we stay grateful for the good, we will have more energy for overcoming the bad.

Want to learn more about gratitude? Read our list of 25 ways to show gratitude or our detailed explanation of the art of gratitude.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Inner Peace
08
Feb
2019

4 Quotes to motivate you today

4 Quotes to motivate you today

Keeping things light and motivational today, here are 4 quotes to reflect on. If you are feeling lazy to work towards your goals, or feeling down because of failure, here is a quick pick-me-up for you.

“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” – Henry Ford

Everybody fails on the path towards their goals. It isn’t a big deal. In fact, it is very important. Because failure is the best teacher. It teaches us what doesn’t work. Through failure, we learn to think deeper, become more intelligent about the matter and try new ways. This is why I don’t call them failures, I call them learning experiences.

“The real opportunity for success lies within the person and not the job.” – Zig Ziglar

Just yesterday I dealt with a case that reminded me of this quote. A brother who always complains about his job, low salary and lack of opportunity was offered a better job, better salary and bigger opportunity. Guess what happened? He got fired within one week for not doing the job properly.

It doesn’t really matter what opportunity you start with. Everybody starts somewhere. What matters is what you do with it. Work hard, be your best and give your best. Someway, somehow, it will pay off. So go out today and simply be the best version of you that you can be.

“Every day you spend drifting away from your goals is a waste not only of that day but also of the additional day it takes to regain lost ground.” – Ralph Marston

I have this quote highlighted in my diary for a very simple reason: every day that I feel too lazy to write is a waste of two days. The day I did not write and the day I spent catching up. This helps me overcome my laziness and push forward. If something is important to you, make time for it. Each day that you don’t is two days wasted.

“Some (people) live for a short time and accomplish great things, because they value that time.” – Getting The Barakah

One thing that always fascinates me in history are great people who lived short lives. Whether it is a scholar like Imam An-Nawawi (RA) or an activist like Malcolm X. It is truly fascinating how much a person can accomplish in a short time if they have clear goals and manage their time well. None of us know how much time we have on earth. So let us spend every day working to accomplish as much as possible.

That last quote is from my book ‘Getting The Barakah‘ which you can purchase here. It is also available in Kindle and Paperback format under a new name ‘Time Management and Barakah in Islam‘.

Quotes about Barakah
Click the picture to purchase the eBook.
Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Positive Thinking, Productivity
01
Feb
2019

Introvert is not a bad word

This is an introduction to a book I am currently writing about introverts and hope to publish later this year. I will shape the book according to the reactions to this article, so please feel free to comment.

A confusing childhood

“You don’t want to be an introvert when you grow up,” my teacher told me, while driving me home from classes. He was lecturing me on the fact that I was too quiet and did not talk much. It was the first time I heard the word ‘introvert’ and based on the context, it sounded like something really bad.

Growing up as an introvert in a culture that values extroversion was not easy. On one hand, teachers would praise me for paying attention, working hard and having really creative ideas. On the other hand, people assumed I was immature because I didn’t talk much, and would consistently lecture me on being more social.

I grew up very confused and hating the fact that I was naturally a quite thinker who enjoyed alone time. I thought I was strange and abnormal, and wished I could be more like everybody else. This really dampened my self-confidence and forced me to behave in unnatural ways in order to fit in.

But ‘introvert’ is not a bad word

It would only be in my late twenties that I would discover that ‘introvert’ was not a bad word at all. I began to study psychology and learned that one-third of humanity is introverted, including many successful people throughout history. (Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Nelson Mandela, Ghandi to name a few.)

This completely changed my perspective. I discovered that the word ‘introvert’ didn’t refer to anything bad. It simply defined one thing: how do you recharge and energize yourself.

You see, people are of three types. One third of people are extroverts i.e. they gain energy from being around people, and get drained when they are alone. One third of people are introverts i.e. they gain energy from alone time and get drained in social settings. And in between are the ambiverts, who thrive in both settings.

That’s all it is. A word that defines what energizes you. So why does society treat introversion as a bad thing? It simply a matter of people not understanding that humans have different natures, and that they can’t force everybody to be the same.

Embracing one’s introversion

Once I discovered that being an introvert is not a bad thing, my confidence grew. I understood myself better, and I began to live a happier life.

One book that really made a difference in helping me understand this topic is ‘Quiet: The Power Of Introverts in a world that can’t stop talking‘ by Susan Cain. If you are struggling in understanding this topic, I highly recommend buying and reading this amazing book.

Over the next few years, I learned that the reason I often feel so drained is because I need alone time to recharge, and that I thrive best in situations that involve few people or being alone. I learned to embrace this and shape my careers accordingly.

This has led to me excelling as an author (which requires me being alone for many hours) and finding balance in my social life (by taking some alone time whenever I feel drained). Which led to me living a happier healthier life.

These days I enjoy my mornings alone with a cup of coffee typing away on my PC. I excel at various jobs and businesses that allow me to work from home on my own.

While at the same time, I meet up with a friend or two for coffee once a week to enjoy some quality conversation. (Hint: Introverts don’t hate socializing, they prefer smaller crowds and deeper conversations.)

All in all, studying this aspect of psychology has helped me tremendously, but also led to some regrets.

What I Regret

I often look back and wish I had learned all this earlier. I wish when I was a child someone had told me there is nothing wrong with being a quiet person. I wish people showed me how introverts like Ghandi, Mandela, and many others excelled in life because they were introverts.

This is why I decided I need to help younger people have a better experience than me. If I knew all of these things when I was younger, I would been happier, found my calling earlier, and would have been able to excel at a younger age.

For this reason, I want to make this the topic of my next book. I want to help a younger generation of Muslim introverts find balance in their lives. To help them deal with the unique challenges that introverted Muslims face, and to help them embrace the unique advantages that Muslim introverts have.

Challenges of being a Muslim introvert

I’ll summarize this in list form for now, and explain it in more details in the book in shaa Allah, as well as suggest ways to overcome these obstacles:

  1. Social anxiety getting in the way of Dawah
  2. Difficulty enjoying congregational activities
  3. Cultural expectations from elders that make one feel bad about oneself
  4. Being overly sensitive to what others say about us

Unique advantages of being a Muslim introvert

Same as above, I’ll summarize this in list form for now, and explain it in more details in the book in shaa Allah:

  1. Acts of worship done alone are easier to concentrate on (like Zikr, Qiyam Al-Layl, and reciting Quran)
  2. Tend to excel at writing and creativity
  3. Tend to read more, so usually consume more books
  4. Very easy to avoid social sins because we hate parties and clubs by nature
  5. Easier to avoid gossip, backbiting, etc. because we talk less

Your turn to talk

This short article was just an introduction so that I can get my idea out there and observe the feedback. Based on that feedback, I will shape the content of my upcoming book.

So please let me know your thoughts on this topic. Is it one worth pursuing in details? Do you think I am focusing on something not important at all? Would you read a book on this topic and find it beneficial? Let me know in the comments below.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Inner Peace
21
Jan
2019

Disconnect: How to be happier

Disconnect

We need to disconnect

He sits all day on social media, agitated, aggravated, depressed. He needs to disconnect.

She scrolls through Facebook for hours, and begins to feel jealousy and malcontent deep inside. She needs to disconnect.

The family gathers around the table for a meal. Each with their head buried in their phones. Eating in silence, unaware of each other’s existence. They need to disconnect.

Society has a problem

We consume too much information. We share too much information. And we entertain our brains to death. Society has a problem of too much, and so we need to disconnect.

I do not mean to throw away your phone, or deactivated your Facebook account. I do not mean to give up the internet and live in a cave in the mountains. All that I simply mean we need time every day to disconnect.

Your brain, heart and soul need some space

Your brain is overcrowded from reading information all day across various social media platforms. It needs time to digest, analyze and process what it has read. It needs time to disconnect.

Your heart is overflowing with emotions from all the distressing and enraging news you read all day long. It needs time to process, heal and settle. It needs time to disconnect.

Your soul is agitated by the lack of remembrance of God, the lack of reflection on your deeds, and the overconsumption of entertainment. It needs time to disconnect.

Make the time

Take time every day for thinking and reflection. Disconnect your phone, your social media and your email. Be alone with your thoughts and learn to face them.

Yes, some of those thoughts may scare you. Some of those thoughts may make you worry about yourself. But you need to disconnect, be alone, face them and work through them. Your soul needs this, so make it a priority.

All about balance

Social media has its place in our lives. We can use it to stay in touch with family across the globe, reconnect with old friends, and spread great ideas.

But as with anything else, we need balance. We need time with those physically around us, time alone with our thoughts, and we need time to remember God.

Sometimes we need to disconnect from social media in order to connect with those around us. So take the time to disconnect.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Inner Peace