Monday 3 November 2008

15, 15 Ways To Increase Your Earnings


Title: 15 Ways to Increase Your Earnings from the Quran and Sunnah
Author: Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Al-Hidaayah Publishing & Distribution (Aug 2002)
Language: English

I like a book that is simple to read, easy to understand and which leaves me with much to do (an action plan). This is such a book. Highly recommended for all those who can do with a bit more Barakah.

Btw, I read this book to get some ideas for a video script I am working on. Not because I am in any kind of financial difficulty, and all praise is due Allah, the Most Glorified and Exalted, Who provides without limit.

7 comments:

adil said...

The video script mentioned above is basically an internal conflict going on in the mind of a Young Man (YM) as to whether he should make a charitable donation or not, personified by means of two comic-like characters; Captain Eeman (CE) and Sinister Nafs (SN).

A lot of the details are yet to be finalised. The gist of it is that SN is trying to convince YM not to donate whereas CE is trying to convince YM to the contrary. Something like this:

SN: Young Man. What are you doing? You gave money yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. Are you crazy?! You won’t have anything left for yourself. Use that money. Put it away. Invest it. When you are richer, THEN you will be able to give more. Come on now. Don’t be foolish. Put your money back in your pocket.

CE: Young Man. Don’t delay. Nothing is as certain as today, NOW. You have no guarantee you will be here tomorrow. Don’t withhold. If you have money to give, give, today, now. Seize the opportunity!

SN: Young Man. Really. Come on now. You gave already. Give some more and you won’t have anything left for yourself. Be wise. Save it. It is good to have extra money safely tucked away for a rainy day.

CE: Young Man. Allah has promised. Allah provides without limit to whom He wills. Don’t you want to be one of Allah’s beloved? This is Allah’s promise and Allah’s promise is true. No person was ever wronged by Allah. Give and Allah will protect you. Give and Allah will provide for you without limit. Show that you believe in Allah’s promise by putting your money where your mouth is.

SN: Young Man. Come on now. YOU worked hard for your money. You deserve to spend a bit on yourself, to treat yourself a little. Give, here, now and you won’t have anything left for yourself.

CE: Young Man. Do not be deceived. Wealth is from Allah. Your money does not decrease by giving charity. Give, here, now and Allah will replace what you give. Give, here, now and Allah will add to your money.

SN: Young Man. Don’t be extremist. No one else is giving like you. If you keep giving like this, you will become sad and miserable. Look how happy everyone else is. You are allowed to enjoy the Blessings Allah has given you. Ok, give a bit but leave a bit for yourself. Don’t be extremist.

CE: Young Man. Your wealth is a Fitnah for you, a trial, a temptation. With Allah is the Great Reward. With Allah is happiness. Eternal happiness. Let go of your wealth. Let go of this world. Allah will fill your heart with contentment. Allah will fill your life with ease. Ease you and all these people cannot imagine. Believe in the Promise of Allah with firm belief. The pleasures of this world are temporary. Take your hand out of your pocket and let go.

SN: Young Man. Contentment and all that stuff is good, but if you have no money by your name, if you are not rich, nobody will respect you. Keep giving like this and you will lose the respect of men. You will slip in the sight of all your friends and family.

CE: Young Man, Young Man, Young Man. Richness is not in money. Your money will leave you. You will eat it. You will waste it. You will wear it out. Nothing remains except deeds. Your righteous deeds bring you honour. Give and you earn the Pleasure of Allah. Give and you earn Allah’s forgiveness. Give and Allah will love you. And if Allah loves you, then the angels love you and love will be established for you on this earth.

SN: Young Man. I am not sure about that. Allah gave this money to you as a gift. Are you going to give His gift back to Him?

CE: Young Man. It is as Allah has said, “Spend, I will spend on you.” Young Man. Spend and the angels pray, “O Allah, give more to the one who spends.” Young Man. Don’t spend and the angels pray, “O Allah, destroy the one who withholds.”

SN: Young Man. Come on. Think about it. Isn’t Allah the Lord of the Worlds? Doesn’t the world and everything in it belong to Allah? Allah doesn’t need your money. If Allah wills for this Masjid to be built, it will be built, no problem. Come on now. Put your money back in your pocket.

CE: Young Man. Yes. To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Yes. Allah does not benefit in any way from your charity. But, young man, understand! No one benefits more from your giving than you. You believe in the Day of Judgement don’t you? Well, on that Day, the rich will be the lowest, EXCEPT those who distributed their money left and right. Come on now. Get that money out and let go.

SN: The Day of Judgement! The Hereafter! That’s a long way off. Young Man. You're making a mistake. Don’t put yourself in trouble like this.

CE: Young Man, Young Man, Young Man. Make your Hereafter your goal. If you make your Hereafter your goal, Allah will gather your affairs and you will achieve comfort in this world. If you make the Hereafter your goal, Allah will place richness in your heart. Make the Hereafter your goal and the world will come to you conquered, submissive and humiliated. Young Man. Conquer this world. Give what you set out to give and do not waver.

Suggestions most welcome. We still have a few weeks before we shoot.

Anonymous said...

Sounds good, SN just doesn't like to give up does he? SN may be smarter than that... possibly makes CE think about how much should be given and whether by giving CE would become a mubazir..? or perhaps if givingwould harm the recipient more than not.

adil said...

Thanks for the suggestions. I am meeting the team today for a brainstorming session. I'll throw your ideas into the mix.

Yes, SN is persistent but as long as we have Eeman, all is good, insha-Allah.

Check out episode one:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pq40A8D-0D4
We learnt a lot of lessons in making the first one. Notably, the need to work in a larger time-frame and to lose the dark, eery feel.

Wayfarer said...

Hmm, Not been able to solve your riddle - why would someone feel the need to clarify their financial situation ?

Well, Sherlock?!

adil said...

It is meant to be an internal conflict ("to give or not to give?") going on in the mind of YM brought to life for the sake of demonstration by means of two opposing characters (CE and SN). I hope that makes more sense.

adil said...

Done alhamdulillah. Video uploaded on YouTube:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HH-YFbbNeWY

adil said...

For some reason, it only works on high quality mode on my computer?