How to manage your time as a Muslim and balance your Deen and Dunya.

I’m so excited for you because TODAY is a beautiful day to start building a balanced, successful life as a Muslim.

A life that gives you permission to spend time on yourself and your career- because now you are consistently making time for your Deen.

Where you begin your day energetic and focused and end it deeply satisfied with yourself because you were able to achieve in a SINGLE DAY that which you haven’t been able to achieve in WEEKS.
Because THAT kind of barakah has entered your day.

Where you are in control of the way you spend your time. Not your wandering mind. Not Shaytan pulling the strings of your Nafs. But YOU.

Because now you’re actually finishing everything that you need to do in a day, even when you don’t want to do it. Because THAT kind of discipline has now entered your day.

And motivation? Oh, you are brimming with energy. You wake up excited for a new day and set a greater challenge for yourself than yesterday. Why? Because you know you can do it.

I know. It all sounds too good to be true.

But I’m here. And I’m telling you this: it’s absolutely possible.

That’s because if I can do it, you can too.

So what did I do that helped me find the time to:

1. Grow closer to Allah S.W.T by dedicating time consistently to my Deen- Islam 

2. Continue pursuing Medicine (my career of choice); take multiple post-grad exams and work as a Doctor while growing MYP to thousands of monthly readers

3. Have deep conversations and lots of fun with my family every day while doing all of that (because family is everything)

4. Work on my SELF- develop better eating habits, exercise regularly, read my favorite books, and above all- do nothing but RELAX for a few hours everyday

5. Make a bigger impact by helping Muslims from all around the globe with my online platform, aka… Muslim Youth Programme

This is what Allah S.W.T has blessed me with: A chance to help other Muslims like me take action on their goals and grow closer to their purpose of life.

But I wasn’t always like this. 7 years ago when I was drowning under the study of Medicine, I would sleep every day with an overbearing sense of guilt.

I’d think that I was a horrible Muslim who was spending so much time running after her goals in this Dunya (in my case- ‘career’).

I wasn’t able to pray all 5 prayers on time or read Quran consistently and felt quite estranged from Islam.

Now, I’ve found the time to stay spiritual, work as a Doctor, and even build a platform that helps thousands of Muslims better themselves. Alhamdulillah.

And it wasn’t ‘doing everything’… It wasn’t just ‘working harder’ that got me here. I experimented with all kinds of time-saving techniques and began assembling parts of a system.

And using that system, with the help of Allah S.W.T, I (finally) got rid of the habits that were destroying my productivity- procrastination, daydreaming, and laziness- once and for all.
Today I get more things done in a day than I previously could in a week. And over time, I even started to save hours from a day to have “ME-time”.

That’s when I started getting asked this question a lot “How do you manage to do all these things in a day?” It made me realize that I was managing my time better than most Muslims who weren’t even working.

And to double-check whether I had just gotten ‘lucky’, I tested a small part of the system on all kinds of Muslims… people of different ages, countries, careers, and intellects!

This is what happened when my students applied only one tiny part of the system that I’m going to teach you:

My biggest take away is to have action on goals and not goal achieving mind. And I love how you laid every step I really needed… simple and effective steps to take control of myself and my life, with Allah’s permission. I have been feeling lost and unfulfilled for the last year and so. My quest to [search] for a simple and effective plan led me to your videos– DAH

Assalam aleakum, your goal setting formula has really change a lot in my life since I started following it. May Allah reward you in this word and the hereafter– FATAI

There’s BayyinahTV, Qalam Institute, UnderstandQuran, IOU and so many other great Islamic platforms teaching us Quran. 

Then why don’t you have a great connection with the Quran? Why don’t you have a great connection with Allah S.W.T? 

I’ve observed that we don’t need more informational sources of Quranic Tafseer to grow closer to our Deen and Allah S.W.T.  

Because no matter how many sources exist- if you don’t make time for them, they won’t benefit you.  

And for most of us- making time for our goals is the most difficult thing to do. 

Take another example– Prophet S.A.W had a deep meaningful relationship with his family. 

If there are so many authentic sources of Sunnah and Hadith on relationships and family, why don’t you have an open communication with your family? 

We all agree that every relationship takes work. Whether it’s with Allah S.W.T, your mom, your spouse or your friend.  

But what we forget is that- to give these relationships the best chance to work, you need to invest TIME.  

Do you have a friend to whom you say Salaam every now and then but don’t really stay in touch with? That’s fine. Because you don’t care much about developing a deep meaningful relationship with that person.  

But you care about your connection with Allah S.W.T. That’s why you’re here.

Then how can we expect to have a really close relationship with The Almighty Allah if you don’t make time for Allah S.W.T? 

Look at this ayah: 

Even the purification of soul requires >> Time. Doesn’t happen overnight.

Notice that in Surah Asr, Allah swears by time. And when Allah swears by something in the Quran, it means it’s SERIOUSLY important.  

But let’s dig a little deeper- Why does Allah S.W.T swear by time? And that too, right before He tells us about the 4 criteria of entering in Jannah and being successful?  

Obviously, Allah S.W.T is telling us that to have the slightest chance of following these criteria and making your way to Jannah, you need to make the best possible use of the biggest asset you’re given: TIME.  

And the much emphasis is because that asset is running out. Al-Asr: it literally means “Time that is running out” or “The last part of time”. (Notice how Salat-al-Asr is during the last part of the day.)    

Truth is- it’s the only matter in this world that once gone, never comes back and that nobody can control or manage in the literal sense.

Notice that He (S.W.T) is again associating “time” with “success”. He’s telling us that if we want to be successful Muslims, we better stay away from all things that waste our time- Lughw.  

And although it has always seemed harder for millennial Muslims to even dream of living a balanced life like the Prophet S.A.W and his companions, counter-intuitively, it’s never been easier for 21st century Muslims than it is today.

Yes, you read that right.

I remember I was ready to throw away even the thought of making time for my Deen at one point. I was so deeply frustrated with my relentless efforts to do everything I wanted to do in life as a Muslim, but getting nothing done.

So I’d finally settle on “there’s something wrong with me”.   

But when I looked around, I saw pains similar to my own. And for one brief moment, I would feel a sense of relief wash over me- I was not alone. 

Motivated again, I would go back to watching some more inspirational videos, downloading time-management apps and following the “Perfect routine” I had picked off the internet. And for a few days- life would be seemingly perfect.

I was organized, working out, learning about Islam regularly, praying on time and giving a solid 2 hours to Quran everyday. I was managing my time the best I could. I would be proud.  

Then inevitably this would happen>> A small bump- an unconventional interruption, a sudden change of environment or an exam- and all my artisanally designed “PLAN” would fall apart. Like a wave of tsunami, a feeling of helplessness and INTENSE frustration would sweep away my “PERFECT DAY” and I would succumb back to binging shows.

This was my “Perfect Plan” from 6 years ago. (This page is taken from one of my old diaries)

We would read up topics like: Time Management Tips. Work/ life Balance. Deen and Dunya. Productivity Hacks.

The problem was this: 

The secular productivity gurus would tell you all about apps, hacks, secret time-management methods & tactics. 

Then why did I feel like there was more to the story?

What about Nafs? And Shaytan?

I remember watching a Ted Talk about procrastination in which the guy said: “There’s an instant gratification monkey in your head that makes you procrastinate”. I laughed out loud at that. 😀

Really? A MONKEY? That’s the best they could do?

The “more scientific” secular productivity gurus had a really predictable approach. They would spend decades just trying to find the cause of all these internal human struggles and finally settle on THE BRAIN. 

Anything that’s difficult to figure about the human psyche- make it about the brain. *scoff*

But Muslims had bigger fish to fry. We already KNEW the cause. It was Shaytan and our Nafs. Our belief system made that easy for us.  

So I knew only relying on these modern productivity techniques was not going to be enough. I’d go back to deep-diving into the ocean of knowledge. I would spend hours looking up “Islamic duas for productivity”. Or “Time management in Islam”.  

I’d find material on “the importance of time in the Quran”. 

Thing is– I wasn’t looking for material on the importance of time! I ALREADY KNEW the importance- that’s why I was looking to manage my time better in the first place! *F-R-U-S-T-R-A-T-I-O-N*

I’d find motivational quotes from Ibn- Qayyim, Ayahs and ahadith, and they would get me all motivated. But it wouldn’t be long before I’d swing back to my old ways. 

All this time, I was learning.

I LEARNED THREE THINGS:  

# 1 I realized that information alone COULD never be enough to make the best use of my time.

If it was, why were we still stuck? We can get all the information we need today in a blink.

Because like the psychologist BJ FOGG says, if information alone was enough, all of us should be able to change our behavior easily.

Nobody wants to procrastinate. 

Nobody wants to be lazy and unmotivated. 

Above all, nobody really wants to waste time.

We just don’t know how to change our behavior.  

# 2 Despite the fact that the internet was OVERLOADED with information, it was also missing a key ingredient: how?

How could I apply all of that information to my personal life?? What worked for someone else might not work for me.

# 3 I decided that there had to be a way that combined the modern productivity techniques with the belief system of a Muslim.

A system that “weaved” the psychology of Nafs into the scientific time-management info.  

And that’s exactly what I did.

I spent hundreds of hours just studying the invisible psychological barriers- the limiting beliefs that were shaping our actions (or the lack thereof). But more on that later. 

I dug deeper into the WHY of all our problems. I took the Doctor’s approach of “DIAGNOSING” the underlying cause of our shackles.   

Did I figure out “a magic formula” or made a “groundbreaking discovery”? Of course not. But I did learn what I needed to know about the missing ingredient: how.  

I started testing a portion of that information by creating practical tools that would help my readers in everyday life.

I couldn’t believe it. I started receiving emails like “I feel like you’re reading my mind”  

There was no greater feeling than knowing that my material was changing the lives of other Muslims.

And now I want to share all that I’ve learned- with you.

I’ll be downright honest with you about what we have to offer:

It all comes down to three things:

#1: Time-tested Material:

I spend months sweating over my material before it reaches you. That’s why you see only one piece of content every now and then.

That’s why you don’t see me spending hours on every social media platform out there ranting “WORK HARDER” or “STOP BEING LAZY”.

Instead, I work hard to craft REAL solutions to your problems- problems that may seem “regular” to the common eye, but are making you miserable (for example; being a perfectionist is a casual term we like to throw around, but it adds stress on you to the point of overwhelm. How do you fix it?) 

# 2: Real results from Real Muslims

I believe that without results, it’s very hard to get self-motivation consistently. So I’m literally OBSESSED with results. Results you see in your personal life give me the biggest motivation to work harder. 

Here’s what my some of my students have to say:

And here’s what some of my best students from my productivity Bootcamp have to say:

# 3: Honest support

How many programs out there serve you with information packages and then— they disappear on you?

Countless.

I know that working on yourself can get downright hard at times. But it makes a whole lot of difference to get some emotional support from someone who’s been there. I wish I was given the support I needed a few years back. That’s why I make it my priority to reply to my readers and help them out when they get stuck.

Sometimes a helping hand is all we need…

Ultimately, what truly sets us apart is the results from our students.

You are here at Muslim Youth Programme. It is the ONE place for you if you want to bring Islam into your life and LOVE the process of doing so.

It’s not a scholarly Islamopedia of knowledge-based learning.

Instead- it’s your TEST LAB- where you run experiments… to discover your true potential… to grow closer to Islam by using our tools and tactics practiced by thousands of other Muslims… and to become the 21st Century role models for the Muslims around you by first and foremost- empowering your SELF.

Welcome to Muslim Youth Programme.

I sincerely appreciate you.