Muslim Life Hackers

Omar Usman: Navigating the Corporate World with an Akhirah Mindset

• Mifrah M • Episode 5

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In this episode, Omar Usman discusses the importance of having an Akhirah mindset in personal and professional development. He explores the impact of intention, purpose, and passion in goal-setting and achievement, emphasizing the significance of accountability and the Akhirah perspective in daily actions.

Timestamps: 
01:27 The Intersection of Personal Development, Leadership, and Islamic Mindset
03:40 The Dunya and Akhirah Paradigm
09:44 Prophetic Leadership vs. Mainstream Leadership
17:06 Passion vs. Purpose: A New Perspective
21:00 The Problem with Grandiosity
31:53 Life Hacks and Book Recommendations

About Omar Usman:
Omar Usman is a corporate professional, certified project manager, and leadership trainer. He is a founding member of Qalam Institute and has served in different leadership capacities with numerous local and national Islamic organizations. He is a khateeb in his local community and teaches regularly around the country on the topics of leadership, social media, and conducts public speaking training. He is also the author of the book Fiqh of Social Media.


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Omar Usman:

If you're oriented around a more Akhirah mindset, then you hold yourself to a different standard and you have a different sense of accountability. So when I'm faced with that decision, should I say this thing about that person or do that? It might help me get ahead, but if I'm thinking, this is gonna hurt me in the Akhirah, I'm not going to do that. it changes the way that I behave and think about things like dramatically.

Mifrah Mahroof:

As-salamu alaykum and welcome to the Muslim Life Hackers podcast. I'm your host Mifrah Mahroof and this is the podcast where we get better every day. Through conversations with experts, leaders, and inspiring individuals. We're going to give you actionable insights to help you win in this life and the next. So if you're ready to level up in every area of your life and you committed to living with excellence for the sake of your Lord. You're in the right place. Get ready for insights, inspiration, and a whole lot of life hacks. This is a Muslim Life Hackers podcast. Let's dive in. As-salamu alaykum Omar, welcome to the show.

Omar Usman:

Wa ʿalaykumu s-salām. Thank you for having me on.

Mifrah Mahroof:

first of all, before we start I'd love to get a quick introduction and just a overview of who you are and what you do for our listeners.

Omar Usman:

Yeah. So professionally, I work in the corporate environment, for most of my life. And then I work, helped start a couple of organizations, Qalam Institute, Muslim Matters, and then recently authored the book Fiqh of Social Media and maintain an online, blog still old school blog, but still, trying to write essentially.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Oh, blogs are very powerful. So, I know one of, the things that I've been following you on for quite a long time is that you've been in the whole space of personal development, leadership, and the Islamic mindset as well altogether. Also now since you mentioned it, you have a background in corporate as well, so it's like how, over the years as you've merged all these things together, what's been the biggest thing that stood out for you and the biggest insight when you actually think about that?

Omar Usman:

I think the biggest takeaway is probably a simple cliche one, but the most success actually comes from putting your Islam first in terms of driving everything from how you act at work, to how you treat other people, how you treat your work itself, all of those things. I think, it's sort of a broad subject that can go in a lot of different ways, but when you look at personal development in general. I think there's a number of ways to break it out, right? Like there's character. So a lot of leadership stuff might be in terms of how you treat other people or how you're kind, how you're empathetic. Emotional intelligence. There's an element of personal development that is, tangibly skill-based, right? Like, how do you actually manage your time? How do you set strategy? How do you execute against your work? what are your goals? What does success look like? How do you overcome barriers? How do you get yourself to do things you don't want to do. How do you deal with being uncomfortable? How do you ask? Like there's lots of skills, soft skills, hard skills, and all of these things. I think getting to like a large takeaway would be everyone has something to offer, but for you to be able to filter out what works and what's a meaningful use of your time and your focus and your energy is how does Islam guide me in that sense? How does Islam define my success? how am I keeping myself accountable for that? Obviously larger picture Akhirah type of thing, versus defining sort of illusory goals that might be oriented only for this world. I just threw like a lot of concepts out there. I know that was general, but that's larger takeaway, and there's probably a lot of detail to

Mifrah Mahroof:

Yeah. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. It sounds like that's the starting point, having Islam as the first point and actually using that to guide our decisions. Which reminds me of a area that you speak about, which is the Dunya and Akhirah kind of paradigm. What do you actually mean by that?

Omar Usman:

So I think again, as simple as it is, Are the things that you're doing focused on the hereafter or are they focused on this life? And that will determine a number of things, right? So for example, if I've set a goal to achieve a particular thing in a worldly sense, like maybe it's my business needs to hit a certain income, I need to attain a certain position, something of that sort. Your goal will drive your actions. And so if my goal is entirely worldly, then there may be compromises that I'm willing to wake to make an attainment of that goal. So if I have an example, let's say to be, the world's foremost, whatever, let's say a physician or something like that, well, there may be sacrifices in terms of my family life, my family relationships, my friendships, social things. There may be financials, like there's a lot of sacrifices I'm going to make in terms of attaining that goal. Some of those, there may be, and again, and it depends what someone's trying to do, but let's say if you look in a corporate environment, someone that's trying to move up, there's ethical ways of moving up and there's unethical ways of moving up, right? Someone can sort of, there's good networking, but then there's also people who stab others in the back and kind of step on them to get ahead. And so if you're goal-driven in the worldly sense, some of those compromises become easier to make. Whereas if you're oriented around, a more Akhirah mindset, then you hold yourself to a different standard and you have a different sense of accountability. And so when I'm faced with that decision, like, should I say this thing about that person or do that? It might help me get ahead, but if I'm thinking, well, this is gonna hurt me in the Akhirah, I'm not going to do that. It changes the way that I behave and think about things like dramatically.

Mifrah Mahroof:

So what's an example of that? So you are in the corporate setting, you want to get ahead?

Omar Usman:

So I think, how you talk and treat other people, right? There are probably examples, I think a lot of people have encountered this, where let's say you come up with something, you pitch something to your manage a great idea, they steal it and take credit for it, right? and so they take it and make themselves look good. You don't get any credit, you don't get any reward. Whereas let's say someone that's a little bit more Akhirah focused There's some, scarcity, abundance, those kind of things as well. But there's also the element of, I know that I'm not going to lose anything by giving someone else credit because ultimately Allah's providing for me, and so I'm not going to make any compromises in how I treat someone else and so on and so forth. There may be things in terms of the standard that I hold myself to, right? for example, if I'm thinking what Islam teaches me that I need to have Ihsan or excellence in everything that I do. In some workplaces, let's say the environment or culture may be bad, it might be easier to give in and say like, you know what? Everyone else is mailing it in. I'm also gonna mail it in and take it easy. But if I'm really working and saying, how is Allah going to hold me to account for the Amanah that I have, or whether I'm putting forth the right effort, even if the environment might be bad. I may still actually find a way to use that to give myself a sense of resilience and still produce good work.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Yeah. I see. So I guess it's like when we actually think about. The Akhirah on the worldly perspective, say we're thinking about our intentions and what is it that we're trying to achieve with our work? It's easier to have a why if you are in one of those fields, like a doctor or those fields where you are in the field of helping people. But when you get into the corporate space. Then those intentions feels like it's just worldly and it's very hard to connect it with the hereafter. what's the way to actually make that connection so that we can be able to practice having Akhirah paradigm in the way we see things.

Omar Usman:

I think it just depends on the situation you're at, right? Like, not everyone is going to be working in a field that is directly impacting someone I'm not, actively curing cancer or like taking care of a patient. And so I see tangibly with my eyes. This is how I've actually helped someone, and you see that impact. In a corporate environment, it can be a little bit tricky, Like, yes, every corporation is gonna try to tie their work, to some kind of end customer value or things like that, and that's certainly one place that you can look to sort of drive that value. But I think the other thing too is, one place where like your Islam helps you in that sense is that on a day-to-day basis, there are so many things that happen at work that can tie back to your faith So it might be a coworker needs help and I'm just gonna say, you know what? This is an opportunity for me to help someone that needs something. And it might be small, it might be trivial, it might be major, but I just see that, like I know that there's such a heavy emphasis in Islam You should always be finding ways to help someone in need. Okay. maybe it's trivial. Maybe someone needs help with a pivot table in Excel and I go and help them. But I'm doing it with that mindset and intention of, okay, someone needs help. I'm going to go and do that, because that's what Islamic character teaches me. That's a very basic example. Like some people say, well, yeah, if you're generally helpful, you might do those things, et cetera. But I think there's also an element then that comes in of why am I working? It's to earn a halal living is to provide for my family, there's sort of those big picture intentions that also can help someone. So someone might be stuck in a job that they hate, they hate their manager, they hate their coworkers, right? It might be like a miserable situation and that can bring someone down significantly. But there's also that element of reminding yourself that like, okay, you know what? Times are tough right now. I know that with hardship comes ease, like that's one thing, but also if there are big picture intentions of like, I need this job to provide, I'm gonna seek something else, Allah will provide, like, it can help you get through some of those difficult situations as well.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Yeah, I see. That makes a lot of sense. so really using that, being more intentionally in our actions, that's what it sounds like, how it would look like to incorporate. that Akhirah mindset into our day-to-day lives, especially at work.

Omar Usman:

Yeah. And again, intention is that word that gets thrown out a lot. But it's, take the things that you might normally have been doing daily anyway and make that intent, I'm doing this for the sake of Allah I'm trying to exhibit the right character, et cetera.

Mifrah Mahroof:

So one of the things you actually speak about is the leadership of the prophets SAW, and how that looks like in our life. Like when you actually look at what the mainstream teaches us about leadership and what we learned from the prophetic leadership, Did you see anything that's the same or different? what are your thoughts

Omar Usman:

on that? So on leadership specifically, There's a lot of overlap, right? Because I think ultimately we operate from a premise that the prophet SAW was sent to perfect good conduct and good character. So we know that the perfection of how someone should treat people, how someone should be a husband or a father, or a community leader or a friend, all of these roles that someone may have in their life, as Muslims, we believe that the perfection of conduct of those roles is encapsulated in the example of the prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa sallam, And so ultimately we drive forward from that foundation that this is how things are to be done. This is the conduct that we aspire to. if we look at leadership from a secular perspective, I think what ends up happening is they're trying to derive based on the examples that they have. So they're looking at people who are good leaders based on those metrics. So someone that maybe was the head of state and their country was successful, whether economically, whether through military conquest, whatever. But they're looking at people who succeeded. From a particular frame of reference, it might be success in Silicon Valley like this person is awesome and deserves to be emulated because they launched, these 10 different products that we still use. This person is successful because has raised more than X billion dollars in venture capital funding. And then the look and see okay, what did this person do? That we should be copying. And so you see, even let's say in the US you say, well, Ben Franklin was this renowned inventor. He is a founding father. Let's look at what his morning routine was, what are the nuggets of wisdom that he had that we can emulate? And so they'll derive out what are all the different ways.

Mifrah Mahroof:

So those are the examples that you actually see when you look at leadership in the secular sense.

Omar Usman:

Yeah. they're gonna derive from those examples different things. And it's gonna be like, so and so has this, or this is their way of looking at the world, or this is the question that they're always asking, or this is how, this executive of this company tells its people to write memos and launch product. And so this is their management style. This is the way that they managed employee performance, all these things. And I think eventually what you're gonna find is that there's gonna be overlap of those best practices sometimes, and maybe what we find in the Sirahs, sometimes there's not. if you look at what's out there in terms of leadership material today, I would say there's almost like two categories. There's one category which is character development. So it's like emotional intelligence, how to communicate well, how to treat people, how to respect your employees, and, treat people with kindness and how to have gratitude. So there's a heavy emphasis on the character side of it, which again, is good and it's important. And then there's another component, which is the skill side of it. Well, you might be the most kind and empathetic and articulate person in the world, but can you actually set and execute against the strategy. Can you actually, negotiate and get stakeholders who may be in conflict over priority and get them aligned on the same page? Do you have a plan for attracting and developing and retaining good talent? can you actually show skills proficiency at all of these things? And so, you'll find a mix of people who tell you how to do those skills. You find the people who tell you how to be good at character. I think the thing that's interesting to me is we find all of that in the Sirah of the prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa sallam, and so I think there's a lot of overlap in what you find, but I think the fundamental difference probably is in how you're defining the success of leadership. And so if success means that, someone attained a certain level of business success, like product sold or revenue generated. Okay, that may be valid as a definition for someone, but that's also going to shape the things that you're looking at in copying. And I think the most probably cliche slash extreme example is someone says, Steve Jobs was a great leader and he launched all these awesome products, but then also he was a jerk to his employees sometimes. Well, if that's what it takes, that's what I'm gonna do.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Yeah, that's true. So you don't think about the how to

Omar Usman:

get there. Right.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Yeah, that makes sense. So it just sounds like the leadership that we're taught in the secular sense is really about, okay, the results of this and can you achieve it? And it's not about the journey to get there It's like you can be a bad boss or you can be nasty to your employees, but as so long as you can get that revenue hit that revenue goal, and that's it, that's success. And I guess that's what is a fundamental difference, that it's the why behind it. Really.

Omar Usman:

It's the why. and I'll also say, the intention is a huge differentiator, right? Because I would say if you look in the secular world.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Hmm.

Omar Usman:

Leadership is often a reward, or we expect leadership as a reward. So if I do well in my team and hit my metrics, I should get promoted to the next level of leadership. If I deliver on X, Y, Z thing, the reward for my delivering on that should be to get promoted to the next level up. And so we seek the attainment of leadership as validation like, Hey. I put in all this work I did really good. The validation and reward for that should be that my leadership increases, whereas Islamically we're taught almost to have somewhat, I wouldn't say we're taught to have an aversion, but there is a very strong warning in the sense of don't seek out leadership unnecessarily. And also to be aware of people who are seeking leadership out all the time. That should be a red flag for you to assess. But Islamically, we see leadership more as an Amanah, as a trust, as a responsibility, as opposed to a reward.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Hmm. Yeah. So at what point should you be seeking leadership, so that actually brings up the question, if you were trying to live by the prophetic way.

Omar Usman:

It is not an easy question to answer, very heavily. It depends, but I would say like there needs to be a process of, you've put in for whatever, arena it is, so to speak, right? one you've done the work to master that thing at a more basic level, and you've demonstrated mastery of whatever that area is, and also that you have validation from your peers and the people above you. So let's say in a corporate world, there should be some validation from your management or your peers that like, yes, you are excelling or performing, in this thing that we're doing. That gives you the validation of like, okay, it makes sense that if I move up. Here's the thing that I have to offer, or here's the place where I could add value and make an impact in that thing. And that's where you start looking at it like, okay, I feel like I have something to add here versus, I think the way a lot of people think, like I've been at this thing for like 10 years. I deserve to have moved up by now.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Hmm. Yeah. that makes sense. Okay. So I wanted to also move on to the area of passion versus purpose. I guess there's a lot of things that's spoken out there about, follow your passion. You won't work a day in your life, but you suggest to not follow your passion and to follow your purpose. What does that

Omar Usman:

actually mean? So I think passion gets thrown around a lot as if like, there's this magical thing that like I'm very passionate about. I should do it. Yeah. and I think it sets people up, to be let down in a big sense, right? Like, I'm very passionate about basketball now, does that mean that yeah

Mifrah Mahroof:

Yeah

Omar Usman:

I should have a job writing about basketball? And podcasting about basketball or playing basketball or running a team. I don't know, like am I actually good at the things like breaking down game film or scouting players or roster construction? am I actually good at those things? I don't know. Maybe I don't have those skills, but if I'm really passionate about it. I feel like I should be able to do that, and I just think there's a bit of a reality check of like, that's just not how things work. But I think rather what happens is look for ways to solve problems. Look for problems that are interesting to you, work on different things and try different things and, as long as your work is guided by some purpose of this is tangibly helping someone, this is tangibly making someone's life better. And, to your earlier point, you know it's not gonna be sometimes as clean cut as patient care. It might be that I'm over here with my Excel spreadsheet and my job in my cubicle and maybe my pivot table is making life easier for an accounting department. And that's my purpose, that I've got this team of five accountants that I'm serving and helping. And so I make their job easier. And so there's some purpose associated with that work. And I think the more that you try different things, work on different types of projects, you'll start to stumble into things where you find that there is an overlap of the type of work that you want to do and the impact that it makes. And I would say it's very often not something that you'll be able to forecast or imagine ahead of time. So I think it's more important to be aligned with types of work that are interesting to you and that maybe you have some aptitude for and then experimenting and trying different things until you find something that like, wow, I'm either really good at this or I'm really enjoying it. But it's easier to experiment and try things and figure out what you're good at. Than it is to be like, I am passionate about this one thing and unless I do that one thing, I don't want to do it.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Yeah, it's very stressful to figure that out. What are you passionate about? I know I've experienced that.

Omar Usman:

Yeah

Mifrah Mahroof:

So that makes a lot of sense. And in fact, it makes it much more easier to approach when you think about purpose. what am I trying to get out of this? Or who can I serve? And then from there you can start thinking about, okay, if I'm serving this person or like serving these type of people and this is how I want to do it, then you can start learning the skills to help you with that and as a result, you also build up in different skills as well.

Omar Usman:

Yeah, and I'll say, and another way of looking at it too is that if you're purpose driven, it's more of a discovery mindset. You're opening yourself up to more opportunities and experiences and seeing what's out there, but if you start from the premise of passion, you're probably closing a lot of doors that may otherwise have been open to you.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, especially when we're younger and we don't have many skills or many experiences in life, it's really hard to answer that question on what you are passionate about. But you could answer that question about, Hey, where do I wanna make a difference right now, and who do I want

Omar Usman:

serve? Yeah, absolutely. And

Mifrah Mahroof:

kind of going from there. One thing that I also want to hear more about is this whole concept you touched on about grandiosity and how that seeped into the way that we approach, the way we contribute. what does that actually mean? And can you elaborate more on that?

Omar Usman:

I think there's a lot that comes out of, let's say like, when people write about business or they write about personal development, they're trying to connect everything to something big, right Your why has to be something big and powerful, and that gets you moving. And so then it becomes this thing of, how can you change the world? How can you put a dent in the universe? How can you achieve, these great things and these big dreams and all of that? I think it's a very challenging line to cross, which is there's not an issue with dreaming big and wanting to do big things. I think the challenge is when someone feels that whatever the thing that they're dreaming of is what they deserve or that they're owed somehow. Like, just because I feel like I want to accomplish X, Y, Z means that it's supposed to happen, or even means that it can happen, right? and that's not always the case. And I think that it also, it can set a false expectation such that if I don't reach the thing that I think I'm supposed to reach or that I deserve, then I'm going this feel an immense amount of failure. And I think that sort of becomes problematic of this idea of that somehow I'm owed something by someone that I'm supposed to achieve this thing. And I would say, rather than go deep on the bad way that looks, I'd rather share what is a more positive way to reframe that, and I think a more positive way of reframing that, and this goes back to The Akhirah mindset that you asked about earlier. But I think if someone does have, let's say, large dreams and aspirations, that's not a bad thing. I think that's definitely a good thing, is how are you executing on that thing? And I would say like a healthier way of it would be, let's say, one that you're making Dua for that thing. So I have lofty aspiration to do X, Y, Z, so I'm making dua every day that, oh Allah, allow this thing to happen, and it's not a small Dua is never a small action, right? But as small as that effort may seem to me, because there's not a lot of effort necessarily to make Dua, it gives me a reframing that, one, this thing is only going to happen if Allah decrease for it to happen, I'm not in control of the outcome. Two, I can continue to put work toward that outcome in a productive way, knowing that. The results really, if Allah makes it happen, he makes it happen. If not, he doesn't. But that contentment allows me to keep working without feeling as if that effort is being wasted. Whereas on the flip side, if I feel I truly deserve this thing or I'm destined to do this thing, the more that I work and the more that it doesn't happen, the more it feels like my effort is being wasted and it can put a person into a very negative cycle and sense of failure about that thing.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Yeah, that's true. It just takes off that pressure when you feel like, okay, I have a big dream. But whether that dream comes or not, it doesn't matter because it's in Allah's hands. And I just have to put in the effort every day.

Omar Usman:

Yeah.

Mifrah Mahroof:

there's actually two ways we can go about with this. one of the, thing like you mentioned earlier was like there is a lot of, things spoken out there. these days. when you go on social media, Instagram and you see these posters like, oh, you deserve success, or you destined for greatness and all of these messages. And you're one of the first people that I saw write about how problematic this is and like how this actually sets you up for failure. Because at this point you're just believing in yourself and think that's something that has to be done. so you go further on to mention that this is actually a self-limiting belief. which I thought was quite interesting the way you framed that.

Omar Usman:

So one of the things is right, like when we say, you deserve greatness, or something like that, or that you should be great, or whatever, how are we defining that, right? Like, I think that's the most important question is, how are you defining what that greatness actually looks like? And I think. The trap is that for most people, it's a very sort of capitalist economic description that greatness has to translate into, some type of business success. Whereas Islamically, it's almost like drastically different, where the definition of being great is having the most Taqwa, It's a completely different framing of the word itself. there's a limitation when you look at greatness, only from that, right? does that mean that someone who has no social media following, is just working their regular nine to five is not at any kind of leadership level in their company, but they're a great husband and father, whatever. Are we gonna say that's not greatness, right? it's very hard to come back and say like, this is what we mean. Right. the other part of it though is if you feel that you're destined to do something, you might actually not put the work in that's needed to do it because you're just assuming well, it's gonna come, it's gonna come. I can take shortcuts. I don't need to learn this. I don't need to do that. And you can actually disengage and it actually hurts you. Whereas someone who doesn't feel that anything is promised to them, they're actually going to end up working harder and being more diligent.

Mifrah Mahroof:

So they're ready to humble themselves to that menial work. that's what it sounds like. So your feeling like, okay, I'm not destined for great. I don't deserve anything, so I'm just gonna put in the work and just humble myself to the process. When the earlier you mentioned how like the whole definition of success is a very capitalist success. And I think that's something that has really affected a lot of us who's been in the personal development space that we see that only this type of success is success. You know, you have a successful business, you have a successful, career or whatever, and then when you don't have that. Like say you're a full-time mother and you're looking after children and like you mentioned, the father who's just in a nine, to five job and he's a good family member or someone who's looking after their elderly parents for those people or when you're in that situation, it's hard for you to feel like, Hey, I'm actually doing something that's, worthwhile in my life because the whole paradigm, That we see in the secular sense has made us to believe that this work is below us, which is very problematic from a akhirah perspective. what I'm trying to come at this point is How does if you're in a situation like that, how do we be able to reframe our intentions in a way that we're actually, happy and content and feel like we're working towards the hereafter all, like make the work that we're doing feel like it counts.

Omar Usman:

yes. I think the mistake that a lot of people make is when someone says that you should prioritize your Akhirah over this world. and there's Ayah of the Quran that say that, like the people who are misguided or the people who prefer the life of this world over the life of the next and so on, right? So we understand that, but I think the assumption that a number of people make is that prioritizing the Akhirah means that you have to give up the dunya or give up your aspirations or ambitions or your work, your career or your goals, and that you should only, basically be sitting in the Masjid do the reading Quran all day or something like that and not have a business, or only make, whatever, right? Like people make these extreme, assumptions and leaps and logic. when we talk about intention. I think almost any Islamic scholar that's ever commented on intention says that it's the most difficult thing, to control intention is something that has to be checked before any activity, during an activity, and after you're done with doing any activity, right? Whether it's your Salah, whether you're donating, whether it's some, whatever it is, it doesn't matter what it is, but you're constantly checking and rechecking your intention. And I think when we say reshifting to an Akhirah mindset or an Akhirah intention. I think at the core, it's changing the accountability and expectations of my actions. just because let's say I'm working from home and I can get away with flying under the radar or doing a minimum amount of work and turning it into my boss, doesn't mean that I should. Because if I'm oriented on the Akhirah, I'm not going to tolerate a low standard of work or effort from myself, that's one component, another component of an Akhirah intention to say, well, okay, I've got this goal and maybe it is truly a worldly business goal that I want to establish the largest company in the world for X widget. Okay? Like, I wanna sell the most number of this widget in the entire world and be a multi-billion dollar multinational corporation. Okay? cool, that's entirely a worldly goal. But there can be Akhirah elements associated with it of, what do I want this business to enable and empower in my life? Are those things aligned with the Akhirah, the business practices that I'm using in terms of how I treat my customers, how I do my pricing, how I check quality check my products. Yes, there's going to be federal regulations and there's always going to be laws and things that you have to follow, but everyone knows there's a gap between what is the letter of the law in terms of meeting regulation versus. What is truly Taqwa or God consciousness in my execution of that thing. And so there's that element. There's an element of how am I treating the employees of my company? there's so many facets that go into it, and then there's also the success measure of, Hey, I'm going to work to establish this business and I'm praying to Allah to make it successful. But if it's not, it doesn't, make me crash all the way down because then I just know, okay, it wasn't meant to be, I'm gonna try something else. it gives you a moderation of perspective, I think as well. The more that someone is focused in on the Akhirah aspect of it and I think there's also an element of like, is this thing that I'm doing actually helpful and valuable to someone? Is it improving someone's life, even if it's in a small way. If I'm thinking Islamically, like I teach someone how to read Quran, that's a very obvious, type of Akhirah benefit, or I treat someone when they're sick. That's a very obvious, Akhirah benefit. But that doesn't mean that like a technology tool that makes someone's life easier is meaningless. Maybe that is something that helps someone. I can, at least at some level, be like, I'm doing this to improve the world around me. To the extent that actually happens, I don't know, but my intent is that it helps and improves. That's a

Mifrah Mahroof:

good way to put it. it sounds like there are three ways. If you were having a big goal that you want to execute, you can have the Akhirah mindset in the execution of it. You can also have the Akhirah mindset in the intention on how you want to make it meaningful. And also have Akhirah perspective on it from the third one. So helping people. that makes a lot of sense, it's like, how does that goal in and of itself, actually helped me. Where else you can actually look at it from different perspectives as well, like the how of the execution and other aspects as well, which makes a lot of sense. And ultimately you have that contentment because you don't have that pressure on yourself because you do what you can and just leave it to Allah SWT

Omar Usman:

Exactly.

Mifrah Mahroof:

makes life better. So, all right. we're actually, nearing the end of our interview and I wanted to ask you some questions that I ask all our guests. So the first thing is, what's one life hack that's improve

Omar Usman:

your life? I'll give you a super tangible one and it's an app. So I'll give you an app recommendation, which is the app called streaks. S-T-R-E-A-K-S. But basically it's if you want to do something every day. And I love the Atomic Habits approach, but it's just the tracker. And I will tell you just the thing of seeing that I've done something 186 days in a row, and today I'm feeling lazy, like, oh, I don't feel like doing it. I'll look at them and be like, I can't break the streak, and then I'll force myself to do it. Break the streak. So, so what's something that you've done? read one page of a book is on the streak, so it forces me

Mifrah Mahroof:

nice. that means you've read a lot. That sounds like something I need to have my life'cause I feel like I'm having way too much social media time at the moment. All right, and the other thing is what's, one book that's helped you level up in your life? Doesn't have to be the best one, but a book that actually comes to mind for you.

Omar Usman:

So along the theme of what we've been talking about, one that I really liked and I'll say impacted my thinking quite a bit, was called, 4,000 Weeks by Oliver Berkman. As someone that a very long time ago read a bunch of time management books hated them and weren't useful for me. This is the time management book it's a big picture perspective, which is important for just reframing your entire approach to time and what you wanna accomplish and what you can actually do. It's a really good read that gets you out of the most time management is in the weeds of like, how to get through your day to day or how to zero out your inbox and that kind of stuff. This is actually like a big picture approach to it, that really challenges your perspectives and framings on things.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Yeah, it makes you look at the bigger picture. That sounds very refreshing actually, cause the day-to-day doesn't always go as the way we like it to. Okay. Awesome. Well, how can audience actually connect with you and the work that you're doing? Best way would be just sign up for the substack, so Ibn Abee Omar, I-B-N-A-B-E-E-O-M-A-R.substack.com. you'll get everything from there. You also have a podcast too, right? I do. It's not super active, but it'll be under Ibn Abee Omar as well. Awesome. Well look, Omar, thank you so much for

Omar Usman:

joining us on the show. Jazāk Allāhu for having me on.

Mifrah Mahroof:

Hey everyone, that wraps up another episode of the Muslim Life Hackers podcast. I really hope you enjoyed our chat today and got some great takeaways from it. If you like what you heard and don't want to miss out on our next conversations, hit that subscribe button. It really means a lot to us and helps us grow the show. And you know what? If you're feeling extra generous today, drop us a review or a rating. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thank you again for tuning in until next time, keep striving and getting better every day.

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Mifrah Mahroof

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