18th Sha'ban 1447H |
On Monday, I shared what shataat (scattered focus) is and why it's not just a personal problem but an Ummah crisis. |
Today, let's talk about the cure. |
There's a hadith of the Prophet ï·º that gives us both the root cause and solution for shataat: |
"Whoever makes this world their primary concern, Allah will scatter their affairs, place poverty before their eyes, and they will receive nothing of this world except what was already written for them. But whoever makes the Hereafter their intention, Allah will gather their affairs, place richness in their heart, and the world will come to them willingly." (Sunan Ibn Majah) |
The root cause of shataat? Making this world our primary concern and the Hereafter a secondary or tertiary concern. |
The root solution? The inverse, making the Hereafter our main concern. |
Most of us struggling with shataat have lost our central spiritual gravity. Without the anchor of worshipping Allah and preparing for the Hereafter, we're floating in this dunya, scattered in a purposeless zero-gravity, bouncing in a hundred different directions without solid footing. |
If we want to address the root cause of shataat, we need to gather all our energy and time, and laser-focus them around one question: |
How can I please Allah and make it to Jannah? |
When that question becomes your organizing principle from the moment you wake up until you sleep, your heart will find its spiritual center, and Allah will gather your matters for you. |
Gathering the Three Levels |
In my previous email, I mentioned that we have shataat across three levels: our spiritual hearts (shataat al-qalb), our minds (shataat al-'aql), and our nafs (shataat al-nafs). Here's how to gather each one, keeping the above central question in mind: |
To gather your heart: Focus on Allah. Be in a state of dhikr. Make your salah the anchor of your day. When you consciously gather your heart towards worshipping Allah, everything else begins to align. To gather your nafs: Stop letting it chase every desire. Say 'no' to your nafs every now and then, even for permissible things. Practice fasting often (not just in Ramadan), eat less, talk less, and yes delete apps that your nafs wants to scroll through endlessly. The nafs, when left unchecked, will scatter you in a thousand directions. To gather your mind: Build systems so your brain isn't burdened with storing information. Use calendars for appointments, task managers for your to-dos, notes for your ideas and thoughts. Let tools carry the weight of remembering so your mind is free to think deeply, create meaningful work, and solve personal and community problems. And guard it from that which doesn't concern you.
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How You Start Your Day Determines Your Shataat Level |
Yesterday, I made the fatal mistake of checking my phone just before Fajr prayer. What started as "let me check WhatsApp to make sure I didn't miss anything important" led me down a rabbit hole of reacting and responding to messages, notifications, and losing my 'Fajr calm' before even reaching the masjid. |
This morning, I was more intentional. I 'bricked' my phone the night before and made sure I wouldn't check it until after I completed my writing session in the morning. |
What a difference. I was more calm, focused, spiritually grounded and had one of the best writing sessions in a long time. |
"But what if I had a bad start to the day? Is my day over?" |
Not quite. Yesterday, after my disastrous morning start, I made an intention to 'reset' myself and not let the hijacking of my brain continue post-Fajr. I calmly recited the morning athkar and did lots of dhikr, asking Allah to gather my shataat, and eventually I was back on track, alhamdulillah. |
This is HAARD! |
I'm sharing the above story to let you know that even someone like me, who spent years teaching and practicing productivity, struggles with the onslaught of distractions. |
In fact, most people know what they should do to tackle shataat, but don't do it. |
We know we should put our phone away. We know we should be more intentional on how we spend our time. We know we should block time for deep focused work. |
But when you're alone, fighting your nafs, surrounded by notifications and temptations... it's hard. Really hard. |
But we weren't designed to struggle alone. There's a reason our deen emphasizes jama'ah. There's a reason the Prophet ï·º said the wolf eats the lone sheep. |
This is why we started building something to help Muslim professionals fight shataat together. And I'm excited to finally share it with you. |
Introducing BarakahFlow™️: Virtual Coworking for Muslim Professionals |
 | BarakahFlow: Virtual Coworking for Muslim Professionals Worldwide |
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BarakahFlow™️ is a virtual coworking space where Muslim professionals from around the world gather daily to focus on their most important work. |
Every session follows a simple but powerful structure: |
We begin with a conscious bismillah. A trained BarakahFlow™️ facilitator leads the group, grounding everyone spiritually with a conscious bismillah. We set sincere intentions. Each person briefly shares what they're working on and why. This transforms even mundane tasks into potential worship. We enter deep focus. We work through two 45-minute blocks of distraction-free work. Cameras on. Mics off. Phones away. There's something powerful about knowing other Muslims are focusing alongside you. We reflect and celebrate Barakah. At the end, we share what we accomplished, support each other, and close with Shukr. Members often share "Barakah moments", those unexpected breakthroughs, that clarity that came from nowhere, the task that took half the time it usually does.
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When and Where? |
We run sessions Monday through Friday, three times daily across different times: |
You join whichever session fits your schedule. Some members attend daily. Others join 2-3 times a week. The key is consistency. |
What Can You Work On? |
Anything meaningful. Our members use BarakahFlow™️for: |
Quran memorization and recitation Professional projects and deadlines Creative work (writing, design, content) Islamic studies and learning House chores that keep getting postponed Business building and side projects
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The task doesn't matter as much as the intention behind it. |
Here's what some of our members have shared: | "I was in a constant battle with time. But now. just by showing up with presence and intention, time takes care of itself." — Moriam Uddin, BarakahFlow Member | "I always used to rush to my tasks, and these sessions helped me stay grounded and pushed me to focus on intentions, having the gardener mindset, and attracting Barakah by making dua." — Aiman Hafeez, Community Builder | "I know that every morning, inshaAllah, I have a place to go where I can focus on my work." — Khadija Athman, HR Consultant |
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What's Included? |
When you join BarakahFlow™️, you get: |
Three daily focus sessions (Monday-Friday) across time zones Two 45-minute blocks per session with trained BarakahFlow™️facilitators Saturday weekly review and intentions session to plan your upcoming week Monthly review sessions to stay aligned with your bigger intentions Full community access to connect with like-hearted Muslim professionals
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—> Try BarakahFlow™️ Free for One Month |
I believe in this enough that I want you to experience it before you commit to it. Your first month is completely free. Just join, show up to the sessions, and see how it feels to focus with Barakah. |
But whether you join BarakahFlow™️ or not, please take shataat seriously. |
This is a spiritual disease that's scattering us - as individuals and as an Ummah - at a time when we desperately need to be gathered. |
The Prophet ï·º gave us the cure: make the Hereafter your primary concern, and Allah will gather your affairs for you. |
Start there. Everything else follows insha'Allah. |
Sincerely, |
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