We’ve all heard about barakah at some point of time in our lives.

However, people often

associate the term barakah with wealth. Rather, barakah is all inclusive and covers
several aspects of your life apart from wealth. For instance, Allah can place barakah in
your time, health, talent and even your sleep!

Have you often wondered how some people are able to accomplish so many goals in 24
hours while you sit and wonder how the day went?  They have barakah in time.

Have you seen how person A, who earns the same amount as person B, is able to give
so much in charity and have a huge savings, while person B struggles to make ends
meet? Allah has placed barakah in person A’s money.

You see how person A is able to wake up for tahajjud every single day and feel super
refreshed and energetic while person B struggles to open his eyes before 7.00 AM, is
always feeling drowsy, moody and lethargic? Well, person A had barakah in his sleep!

So what is barakah?
Barakah means an “increase” and “growth”- and also, happiness.  It is the
establishment of divine goodness in something; from where it exudes cannot be sensed
by people, nor can it be outwardly quantified, nor is it limited by anything, but rather,
something with barakah in it is called mubarak, and has an unexplainable increase and
benefit in it from Allah. [al-Isfahani, Mufradaat al-Quran]

In other words, the word barakah covers the following concepts:

         A thing that has barakah will grow and increase

         It will continue to grow and increase above and beyond expectations
         And these two qualities will not go away.

Amazing isn’t it. So how can we attain barakah? Read on.

1. Dua
As clichéd as it sounds, dua can do what you can’t. We often associate dua with our
immediate “needs and wants.” We ask Allah for a new job, a nice house, to help find our
dream spouse, etc; but dua is not just limited to that. Dua is your ultimate conversation
with Allah, where you can talk about anything at any given point of time. You require no
prior appointments or special settings for making dua so use this beautiful weapon for
every single thing you ever need in dunya and akhirah!
Nothing is more powerful than dua, so ask Allah to put barakah in your time so you
can accomplish more in terms of deen and dunya goals.

Ask Allah to put barakah in your wealth so you can lead a lifestyle you wish to
(without being extravagant) and help others in charity.

Ask Allah to pour his barakah in your health so you can help others around and not
depend upon anyone for your physical needs until your last breath.

We often make dua in a robotic voice, repeating the same set of pleas in every prayer.
Starting today, transform your dua-making ritual. Beseech Allah in a manner you’ve
never done before. Make your duas come to life!

2. Intentions
What are your intentions? You want barakah in your life to please Allah or to please the
creation? Goodness begets goodness, so a pure, sincere and noble intention seeking
Allah’s blessings and mercy will help you gain tremendous amount of barakah and
blessings in your life. You will find Allah opening doorways of prosperity from
places you never imagined! So, purify your intentions to lead a life that pleases Allah
alone and you will automatically find your life be filled with barakah.

3. Quran
There is something about reciting the Quran and reflecting upon the words of Allah
SWT! When you open the Quran to understand what Allah has to say, you will
automatically find your heart yearning to follow His commandments.

Suddenly, staying away from haraam seems easier, you yearn to stick to the halal path
no matter how difficult the path seems, your heart will push you to pray on time and do
deeds which Allah SWT loves.

You will find your day-to-day dealings be blessed in an inexplicable manner.  You will
find your productivity levels peak, making you utilize your time, talent and health to the
fullest without getting burnt out. Try it out today and see the changes for yourself.

Allah says,

“[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they
might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.”
[Quran, 38: 29]
 4. Halal income
Having your income pour in from halal sources is fundamental to achieve barakah. If
you are going to earn through means that displease Allah, He will not pour His barakah
and blessings upon your wealth, so even if a person is a multi billionaire but is earning
through haraam means, he will never feel satisfied or content with the wealth he has.  

5. Gratitude to Allah
The more grateful you are to Allah, the more He will give you. So the next time you feel
sad about not getting something you wanted badly, refocus your mind and condition it
into thinking about all the other things that are present in your life at this point of time.
Say a heartfelt Alhamdulillah and recognize the thousand different ways in which you
have been blessed – your family, loving parents, spouse, beautiful healthy children, the
hot food on your plate, a roof over your head, your closet full of clothes, your ability to
see, hear, breath…when you sit down to analyze how blessed you are, you will be
amazed at the amount of things you take for granted. And what’s more, the more you
thank Allah for what you have, the more He has promised to increase for you!

“And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase
you [in favor]…” [Quran, 14: 7]

6. Use the morning hours

The time after Fajr is blessed with barakah.

The Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, “Oh Allah, give barakah
to my Ummah in their early-morning work.” [Ibn Majah, Sunan]

For some of us, it’s become a habit to sleep after fajr. The bed looks super cozy and
alluring, so you think of a quick nap after fajr before starting your day… but instead of
falling asleep, seize those moments. You can do more in one hour after fajr than you
would do during the whole day! Try it out and you will see the difference yourself.