The Barakah Effect

Habits - It is at the very fabric of what makes us human, and it is one of the amazing traits that Allah has blessed us with. From the good and the bad, once habits become intertwined with our daily or subconscious actions, it can really have a real influence on who we are today and even on the trajectory of our lives. Question is, have we ever taken stock to recognise our bad habits and its impac...

Family - can't live without them. .. And sometimes, kind of difficult to live with them, too! All of us have faced challenges in dealing with difficult and perhaps even toxic people among our family. From narcissists, criticizers energy drainers, manipulators and victims - people like these exist in society. And some of them just so happen to be in our family! In this episode of The Barakah Effect...

In this episode on the theme of caring for our mental health, we approach it from the perspective of prevention: How can we equip ourselves better to care for ourselves and the people around us, towards having the right mindset and building resilience in our mental health? Join us as we explore practical tips and strategies that the common person can incorporate in their everyday lives to insha Al...

Are you struggling with your career progression or struggling to chart your career path? Developing a career takes time and attention. It’s a journey. In this episode, we are going to share how to chart your career path based on our experiences. The things we wish we knew before we start our career years ago. Such as; 1. What to consider when choosing a career path? 2. What should be our main driv...

Mental health is THE issue that plagues our society in this day and age, and for a long time, there is such a big stigma in our society surrounding mental health that people who do suffer from it, unfortunately often suffer in silence.  One question we’d like to invite all of us to reflect on is: How much do we really know about mental health? In this episode on the theme “caring for our ment...

It is difficult to imagine that so many people have to bring their work home - before covid-19. The idea of working/studying from home is a notion not many companies and organizations entertain and give consideration to.  However given the fact that covid-19 is nowhere to stay, working and studying from home have become the new norm for people all around the world.  And of course, for a...

As the cases of mental illnesses, depression and suicide keep growing worldwide amidst this COVID-19 pandemic, even in our country in Malaysia, it became increasingly clear that we need to speak about the subject of Mental Health here at the Barakah Effect podcast. We need to know what WE can do: Not as experts, but as regular people who will be confronting with day to day challenges and exposed t...

"Kerja itu Ibadah" - Satu ungkapan yang biasa kita dengari. Namun, apa yang dimaksudkan dengan ungkapan tersebut? Pada satu sudut, mungkin ada yang tertanya-tanya: Bagaimanakah pekerjaan dan perniagaan kita - usaha mencari duit dan "meng-kayakan" diri - dikaitkan dengan ibadah kita yang lain seperti solat, umrah dan membaca Al-Qur'an? Ini seolah-olah dua dunia yang berbeza! Pada satu sudut yang la...

Ibn Al Qayyim said: “Whomsoever seeks knowledge to revive Islam, then they are from amongst the truthful ones and their ranking (in the Afterlife) will be after the rank of Prophethood” (miftah das as saadah) What a high-status Allah has prepared for the sincere seekers of knowledge, and it is no wonder that we find in many authentic ahadeeth evidence to support this fact! Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned “...

The pursuit of Islamic knowledge is one of the greatest acts of worship that a Muslim can undertake. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever traverses a path in search of knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him" (Muslim) The pursuit of knowledge is such a virtuous act, that many scholars among our righteous predecessors, used to consider that seeking knowledge is the BEST act of worship afte...

In Part 2 of our discussion, we discuss further HOW we can Nurture a Growth Mindset in all aspects of our lives. 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:00 Monitoring Fixed Mindset Triggers 00:06:32 Self-Awareness: By Knowing Allah, you Know yourself 00:09:00 Admitting our Faults; thinking of feedback as a GIFT! 00:11:20 Having a Growth mindset will trigger and inspire others around you too! 00:13:44 Set High Benchm...

THIS is what The Barakah Effect podcast is all about: Nurturing a Growth Mindset. The constant discovery of how we can take small steps to continuously improve our lives in every way possible, to achieve success in dunia and akhirah. The “Growth Mindset” is to essentially have that fundamental belief and attitude that skills and capabilities CAN be developed through efforts, strategies, and by lea...

In these trying times, jobs are relative uncertainties. How many people have lost their "secure jobs" as an effect of the covid-19 pandemic? Virtually every other day, a pilot opens up a burger stall, or an engineer turns into a full-time food delivery guy. On the other hand, those who get to keep their jobs face new challenges. Working from home and overwhelming workloads - that might be because...

Hajj: The Journey of a Lifetime. Oh, how do we yearn for an opportunity to see the Ka'bah in person, to circumambulate around it, to drink fresh Zamzam water and to personally witness the largest gathering of men ever recorded in the history of humanity! In this Hajj Special episode, we dive into the hajj experiences of brother Faisal and brother Syahmi, who were both blessed by Allah to perform t...

قَالَ سُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ أَكْثَرِ مَا يُدْخِلُ النَّاسَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَالَ ‏"‏تَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَحُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ"‏‏.‏ وَسُئِلَ عَنْ أَكْثَرِ مَا يُدْخِلُ النَّاسَ النَّارَ فَقَالَ ‏"‏الْفَمُ وَالْفَرْجُ"‏ The Prophet ﷺ was asked about that for which people are admitted into Paradise the most, and he ﷺ said, "Taqwa of Allah, and good character”. And he was asked about th...

Have you ever felt a sense of dread whenever you come across a particular person? This feeling might be a red flag that you are in a toxic relationship with that person. It can be a boss, a friend, a family member or even an organization. Before the advent of social media, toxic relationships might have been significantly small in number. However, these days toxic influences exist in various forms...

"Remember who you are" Umar ibn Al-Khattab said, ‎نحن قوم أعزَّنا الله بالإسلام فمهما ابتغينا العزَّة في غيره أذلَّنا الله "We are a people whom Allah HONORED us through Islam, and when we sought honor from other than Islam, Allah humiliates us" Umar reminds us that this blessing of Islam is a huge honor - a great blessing from Allah. But it's NOT an entitlement, it's a responsibility. It's only w...

In this episode, The Barakah Effect team has a look at the typical day in the life of the contemporary family man, the challenges that we face, examples from the deen in fulfilling this role, and we explore strategies on how to be better in our roles as family men, especially as husbands, fathers, and children to our parents! So what does it mean to be a family man in light of our deen? The family...

In this episode, we try to jog our memory, recollecting our fresh graduate experience: How did we get our jobs? How was your first day? Was it rosy since day one? Did we get what we signed up for? This episode offers a glimpse of what to expect in the real world, from our perspectives. We hope our collective experience can give some valuable insights to you. So be sure to stick with us until the e...

"Who am I? I'm just a small fly". "Just another cog in the wheel". These are common phrases we hear about in today's society, that always seems to place an over-emphasis on those on the headlines. Because of these mindsets, many of us tend to feel disadvantaged or demoralized when we lack the capability to be on the “front lines”: whether it is in being “the boss”, the main presenter, the main goa...

Conflict of interest. It's a hot topic that frequently appears in professional discussions of ethics and Human Resource guidelines about codes of conduct, especially in these times, with so many cases of corruption and misconduct in the corporate world, and among government officials today in the 21st century. But did you know, Islam has addressed the issue of Conflict of Interest, outlining clear...

Building My Relationship with the Qur'an, Part 2: Tactics & Strategies In an authentic hadith, Rasulullah ﷺ narrated to his companions: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ‏"‏ إِنَّ لِلَّهِ أَهْلِينَ مِنَ النَّاسِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَنْ هُمْ قَالَ ‏"‏ هُمْ أَهْلُ الْقُرْآنِ أَهْلُ اللَّهِ وَخَاصَّتُهُ ‏"‏ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Allah has His own people among...

For many cultures, Eid is that special time of the year getting together with our families and spending quality time. Therefore, for this week's episode, The Barakah Effect team would want to spotlight the most important special family members in our lives: Our Parents.  Our parents are the people who play the most important role in every one of our lives - indeed it is through them, that we...

The End is inevitable; the question is, HOW do we want our ending to be? In this LIVE session with the Barakah Effect podcast team towards the Ending of Ramadhan in (1442H / 2021), the team discuss this important, existential question that every human being should be asking themselves:  How we can live our lives intentionally in such a way that we end on a high: husnul khatimah, a good ending...

The Prophet ﷺ said, "Allah has His own special people among mankind." He was asked, "O Messenger of Allah, who are they?" He said: "The people of the Qur'an, the people of Allah and those who are closest to Him." (Ibnu Majah) How can we - in the context of today's world in the 21st century - play our part to obtain this honorable status of being Allah's special people on Earth? Is it even possible...