Awakening to Dumb-bells

Awakening to Dumb-bells

Date: 6th July 2010
This was a remarkable day in many ways, having not had much sleep, missing Fajr at the due time once again; I got up feeling very tired. May Allah forgive me for this and May He increase my Iman and provide me with much Hidayyah to get up for Fajr, Ameen.

It was 09.30 and I had a 10.00 Personal Fitness session at the gym which I only joined for 4 weeks in the lead up to my wedding. This was one of the 1/3 free personal fitness sessions as part of the package. For breakfast, I had bran flakes with strawberry cereal and tea and lead my 5 minute stroll to the gym. Having done that I met Andrew my personal fitness trainer in the gym which after the initial consultation which he took reading of my body measurements and weight, which read as:
Height: 169cm; Weight: 73kg; Body Fat %: 22%; Waist: 92cm; Hip: 98 cm

The stats were not as bad as I had envisaged, though I felt I can work on these numbers in preparation for my big day, my wedding day on 25th July 2010. I was given a run through of 4 main workouts for me to cover. Having done the Bench-press with dumbbells, followed by the squats and dead lift. Having done this in quick concession, we now moved on to the lat pull down, and by this time I was feeling very faint, if anything felt like throwing up big time.

This was so unusual for me, and did not know what to do, so I asked Andrew if I can sit down. Within a space of 2 minutes, my vision became severely impaired, felt like my legs had been swept, and was really feeling like my head had been hit hard. I was almost going into unconsciousness mode drifting back in as soon as someone asked me a question.

Within a short space of time, I had four or five people gathered round me asking me all types of questions (I was later told so could not recall now), ensuring I was not closing my eyes for my own safety. I did not know at a point where I was, what time it was or if it was all a bad dream. My mind was on what will happen to me, and is this my time now up in the dunya, so close to finally going the extra mile to complete my deen, with a special abd Allah has blessed me with, I was feeling like I lost out big time.

I was then “chair lifted” to the consultation room where paramedics came after 15 minutes or so, where they took my blood pressure which was a low 101/61. I was escorted to the ambulance parked on the high street, 15-20 minutes of checkups and was given the all clear by the parameds’. I was given the option of going to hospital for blood tests which I did not take up. I intended to go to see my Doctor to tell them of this episode in the gym.

I went back into the gym to collect my bag, showered went to the steam room for 7 minutes and was on the way home. It was 12.40 by the time I got home. I was shattered; my head was feeling like it had been hit by a hammer, this was the case throughout the whole day. Had some sleep at around 5pm but it did very little good.

I received a text from my better half to be, and the text was number 63 and 64 as part of the 99 Names of Allah Project countdown to the wedding. And Allahu Alum, the Names today were, Al Hayy (the everlasting) and Al Qayyum (the sustainer of life), SubhanaAllah the beauty and irony if one may want to call it that after what happened today.

I came across this quote, on one of my daily reminder mails today:
Ma’n ibn ‘Awn once said

‘How often has a person faced a new day but yet failed to complete it, and how often has a person waited for tomorrow but yet failed to reach it? Were you to look carefully at the matter of death and its paths, you would have come to hate having hopes and its delusions.’

Abu Hatim said

‘The one reason which leads the smart one to place this world in its proper place, abandon relying upon it and seeking that which has been decreed for him of eternal life and everlasting blessing, is abandoning long hopes and remembering that death is something which can come at any given moment. This is because long hopes have forever severed the necks of men just like the mirage… it disappoints whoever places his hope in it, and it deceives whoever sees it

May I take a lesson not to waist idle time, use it wisely, use it to benefit myself and others and always have in my mind, what deeds have I to account for when my time is up. Death may arrive at any moment, so I should not be disillusioned by my environment and my surroundings (and no matter how many kgs I can begin to bench-press!).
For those reading this, InshaAllah may it serve as a reminder to begin right now to start using our time effectively in preparation for the aakirah.
By Abdul Muhid Ali

Productivity around the PC

Hafidha Iffath Hassan (Part 1) »
Guest Post: Productivity around the PC; Sunday, March 7, 2010

This post was kindly prepared and submitted by Sr. Fathima Nafla. Jazakillah Khair! See link: http://www.productivemuslim.com/productivemuslimah/2010/3/7/guest-post-productivity-around-the-pc.html#comments

These are some very small tips dedicated to those of us who spend long hours with computers as a part of our daily work. The intention is to incorporate amal while working with a PC.

■Begin with Bismillah – Say Bismillah before you press the power button on your machine. Insha Allah your work will turn out well.


■Capitalise on the start-up time – A very common procedure is to head into office, switch on the computer and then go to the coffee machine while the computer readies itself for you. Instead of heading for the coffee, why not flip through a booklet on Islam which you keep on your desk? I happen to have a booklet containing one hundred hadith on my desk. So sometimes while my computer starts up and loads the basic programs (about five minutes) I am able to learn one hadith by heart. It’s not possible everyday because there may be colleagues who drop by to say ‘Good morning’ and see how you’re doing, but when it is possible it certainly is worth trying. Do the same while closing for the day or revise what you learned in the morning.
Added bonus: keeping Islamic material on your desk is a subtle way of performing da’wah, as you never know who might be interested in reading what you’ve got!

■Use the desktop wallpaper or sticky note software to learn things by heart – Repetition is the key to remembering. So for instance, if there’s a dua that you want to memorize, use any of those free post-it software applications to help you. Simply copy and paste the dua into a post-it and let it float on your desktop. Every time you minimize your windows to see the desktop, you will see the post-it and read what’s written on it. So Insha Allah you will learn it quickly. You can do this with hadith, dua, or even ayahs of the Quran.
If you enjoy creating your own desktop wallpaper you could do the same thing there. That way you don’t need special post-it note software.

Why don’t I recommend using the tangible kind of post-its? Those will accumulate and you or whoever cleans your office might end up throwing them in the bin. This isn’t the best way to dispose of papers containing the words of Allah.

■Zikr during waiting time – Got thirty seconds to wait while a web page loads, some files copy to your hard drive, or while a system responds? Instead of twiddling your thumbs you could close your eyes and do some quick zikr or recite some salawath. That way you earn reward and at the same time give your eyes a short break. We’ve all read about giving our eyes frequent breaks while using a computer, right? It doesn’t have to be loud recitation – do it in your heart.
So Insha Allah the next time you’re waiting for something to happen on your computer, sit back, shut your eyes and whisper ‘Subhanallah!’. Call it a spiritually uplifting break.

Insha'Allah do try these and let us know how they work for you. What other tips do you have to share regarding this topic?