Lets do the

Right Thing!

Personal and Spiritual Development Workbook By

Zakia Usmani

Sponsored by

First Edition, Shaban 1432 A.H./2011 CE Copyright 2011 by Zakia Usmani Published on-line for free distribution. This document is an on-line book publication of Believers Path Institute http://www.facebook.com/believerspathinstitute This book was compiled, written, designed and formatted to be placed free on the Internet. Believers Path Institute allows for this document, in its present form and with no alterations, to be distributed, printed, photocopied, reproduced and/or disbursed by electronic means for the purpose of spreading its content and not for the purpose of gaining a profit. Anyone wishing to quote from this document must give credit to the publisher.

Contents
Soul Search Process ........................................... 3 Personal Assessment .......................................... 4 Observations Instructions ................................... 7 Spiritual Development Plan............................... 9 Personal Development Plan............................... 11 Personal Evaluation Progress ............................ 13 Goal Setting .....................................................15 Goal Setting Chart........................................... 16 Guidelines for Better Living ............................. 17 A thought ..................................................... 20 About the Author ............................................ 21

Lets do the right thing!

Soul Search Process
Repentance
Sins between you and others
(Backbiting, lies, slander, speaking to people in an insulting way, making fun)

Goal Setting
(Get a box and every time you catch yourself committing a bad habit put some money in for charity)

Increase in Worship
Increase in Nawafil Prayers

Getting rid of bad habits

(Pray sunnah, tahajjud and Duha prayers)

Sins of the heart

(Show-off, self-admiration, arrogance, envy, hatred)

(Start a new good habit, be very specific & make it very regular)

Developing good habits

Fasting
(Fast Mondays and Thursdays)

(in dressing, mannerism, way of speaking with the Non-Mahrams)

Lack of modesty

(Plan and prepare to reward yourself if you achieve your goal)

Reward Yourself

(Recite Quran every day, increase in dhikr and astaghfar, morning evening adhkar)

Dhikr & Quran

Sins between you and Allah

Pleasing others while its displeasing to Allah

Challenge and Penalize

(Donate to charity if you fail to achieve your goal)

Make Use of Your Time

(Chose the adhkar/actions
which can be done while walking, driving, cooking, waiting etc.)

The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihe wassalm said: Knowledge is only attained by striving to learn and patience is only attained by striving to be patient, and the one who seeks good will be given it and the one who seeks to avoid evil will b e protected from it. ( a l - T a b a r a a n i 2 6 6 3 ) 3

Lets do the right thing!

Personal Assessment
As you complete the assessment, avoid rushing. Listen to the voice inside you to encourage you and challenge you. Use the scale below to respond to each statement truthfully.

SINCERE REPENTANCE FROM SINS

Never 1 Occasionally 2 Frequently 3 Always - 4

The human being is imperfect and prone to committing mistakes and sins; this is a built-in weakness in nature. We should take stock of our sins and our following of whims and desires. We should stop ourselves from persisting in that, whether the sin is great or small. A sin is any mischievous or evil thought that is acted upon: 1-deliberately, 2-defying the Laws/Commandments of Allah, the Exalted, 3-Violating the rights of Allah or the rights of human beings, 4-Any deed harmful to the soul or body, 5-Any evil or normally avoidable deed committed repeatedly.

Sins of tongue - between you and others

1. Backbiting 2. Lying/giving wrong statements 3. Slandering and false accusation 4. Speaking to people in an insulting way 5. Making fun of others 6. Tale carrying/ gossip 7. Disobedience to parents 8. Breaking ties with relatives 9. False swearing 10. Disloyalty and treachery 11. Bullying people for any reason 4

Response

12. Testifying falsely 13. Deceiving and swindling 14. Deliberately passing wrong judgment. 15. Finding fault in some ones family, caste and race. 16. Disobedience to husband

Sins of heart
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Showing off Self-admiration Arrogance Envy Hatred Pride Dishonesty

Sins of body
1. Not wearing hijab 2. Dressing immodestly 3. Lacking in mannerism 4. Speaking with Non-Mahrams in non-Islamic way 5. Wasting time in shopping, phone, internet 6. Shamelessness or tolerating shameless acts 7. Indulging in useless discussions/arguments 8. Using pots/plates made of gold or silver for eating or drinking 9. Men using silk or gold for apparels. 10. Resorting to Halal through the forbidden way 11. Taking bribe 12. Not purifying properly after urination 13. Mourning/wailing over the dead 14. Witch craft/ magic 15. Earning Interest

Sins between you and Allah

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 5 Pleasing others while displeasing Allah Innovation Missing salat deliberately Not paying zakat regularly Missing fast of Ramadan without reason Not performing hajj despite having means/capability and ability Believing in fortune tellers

8. Giving up hopes for the Mercy and Bounties of Allah 9. Associating partners with Allah Subhanahu Taala 10. Showing off in good deeds and worship 11. Wrongly quoting Allah or Mohammad (SAW) 12. Denying the fate/destiny 13. Defaming the Companions of Prophet SAW Sincere Repentance from sins total We should make self-assessment before the assessment is done by Allah Subhanahu Taala on the Day of Judgment. Human beings do commit sins/mistakes but those are better who realize there mistakes/faults/sins and make Tauba (repentance) as said by our prophet (pub). (Imam Ahmad and Timid) When you find yourself slipping and doing sins and committing evil acts, remember Allah and the Last Day. If you died this very moment, is this a state you would want to die in? Let us pray to Allah subhanahu Taala to protect us from all the sins which are known or unknown to us and give us taufeeq to stay away from all those things disliked by Him and to forgive us for the sins and short comings. Also pray that we do not become like those who have been described by our prophet as Muflis means person having lost everything/ bankrupt. The prophet (pbuh) said: Do you know who is muflis? In my ummat the muflis is the person who will be present on the day of judgment with salat, fastings and zakat etc. but at the same he would have had committed many sins relating to Huquq ul Ibad i.e rights of human beings. There will be many complainants who will come with their reports of different kinds, so they will be given the good deeds of this person as compensation but before complaints are finished his good deeds will be finished and ultimately all the bad deeds of the remaining complainants will be transferred to his account and thus he will be sent to hell. (Imam Ahmad and Timidhi, Sahiul Jamay 87)

Lets do the right thing!

Observations Instructions
As Muslim we must realize that all of us are going to be accountable for our deeds on the Day of Judgment. It is, thus, wise that we continuously assess ourselves in this world and make amends before that final judgment by Allah when we will not be given another opportunity to make up for our misdeeds. The Prophet sallallahu alaihe wassallam said, Everyone starts his day and is a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or bringing about its ruin (Muslim). Umar ibn al-Khattab radi allahu anhu, in one of his famous sayings said, Judge yourselves before you are judged, evaluate yourselves before you are evaluated and be ready for the greatest investigation [the Day of Judgment]. How can you effectively make yourself aware of your shortcoming? By telling others to spot it, by monitoring yourself as closely as possible and by jotting down every time that you remember that you did it. If we know what our shortcomings are then we can do something to remedy them but many people are unaware of their faults and shortcomings. If we want to know what our own faults are we may do four things:

Heres what you have to do! Step 1:

Seek Allahs forgiveness for the commandments of Allaah that you have failed to obey, for Allaah has made the gate of repentance open to every sinner. Muslim narrated in alSaheeh that the Prophet sallallahu alaihe wassallam said: Allaah spreads out His hand at night to accept the repentance of those who have sinned during the day, and He spreads out His hand during the day to accept the repentance of those who sinned at night, (and this will continue) until the sun rises from the west. (Saheeh Muslim, 4954)

Step 2:
Enlist 3 people to complete a Lets do the right thing Assessment on you. These should be practicing Muslims. If married, your spouse would be an excellent choice to give you feedback. Older children in your family might also be considered. Explain to those you 7

enlist that you need their help to accurately assess you. Point out that you want to discover areas where improvement is needed.

Step 3:
After receiving the completed observation, follow these steps: a) Sit before a Shaykh or a righteous person who has insight into peoples faults and knowledge of some problems and learns from him knowledge, good attitudes and manners. b) Increase in your Eman by doing righteous deed. Strength of faith prevents one from indulging in sin. Faith increases with the righteous deeds and decrease with the sins.

c) Ask a sincere friend who has insight and is religiously committed to keep watch over you and take note of our actions, so that he/she can draw attention to whatever she dislikes of your attitude, actions, and inward and outward faults. Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) used to say: May Allaah have mercy on a man who shows me my shortcomings. d) Acquire good characteristics and get rid of sins through effort and training. If Ibn Umar radiallahu Anhu missed a prayer in congregation, he would spend that night in prayer. Ibn Abi Rabeeah missed the two-rakah Sunnah prayer of Fajr, and he freed a slave. Harmalah said: I heard Abd-Allaah ibn Wahb say: I vowed that every time I backbit about a person, I would fast for a day. That made me feel tired, for I used to backbite and fast, and then I decided that every time I backbit about a person I would give a dirham in charity, and for love of money I stopped backbiting. Try this: get a box and every time you catch yourself committing sin or backbiting etc put some money in it. At the end of the month send the money to a charity or buy a gift for the person whom youve backbitten the most against.

Step 4:
Enlist an accountability partner who will agree to do the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Meet with me initially to overview my assessment and pray with me about this plan. Meet with me at least once each month to discuss my progress on this plan. Affirm my successes and challenge me to stay focused on achieving the plan. Pray regularly for me. My accountability partner will be -------------------------------------------------------------

Lets do the right thing!

Spiritual Development Plan
My Personal Focus is:
Relationship with Allah Subhanahu wa tala and getting rid of the Sins.

Narrated An-Nawwas ibn Saman Al-Ansari radhiyAllaahu 'anh who said: I asked the Messenger of Allah SalAllaahu 'alayhi wasallam about righteousness and sin, so he said, Righteousness is good character, and sin is that which wavers in your heart and you hate for people to find out about it. [Sahih Muslim, Book 32, Number 6195]

Evaluation: Before working this plan, how would you describe your current status?

My lets do the right thing Plan is to:

Worship Allaah, keeping in contact with Him and submitting to Him. I will pay attention to doing obligatory acts of worship well, and cleanse my heart of any attachment to anything other than Allaah. Read Quraan a great deal, pondering its meanings and seeking to understand it and try to memorize its verses. Read useful religious books that describe the ways of treating and cleansing the heart.

Attend educational programs such as classes and lectures. Make good use of my time and use it to do things that will be of benefit in both

worldly and spiritual terms.

Keep company with righteous people and looking for righteous companions, who can help you to do good.

Try to act on what I learn and put it into practice.

Check closely on myself.

Despise myself for not doing enough for the sake of Allaah. Man has to strive hard whilst still thinking that his efforts are not enough.

I will share this growth focus and plan with my spouse and small group - asking them for prayer and accountability.

Evaluation/Reward:
This is an on-going Do the right thing! plan, and I will evaluate my progress every 3 months.

10

Lets do the right thing!

Personal Development Plan
My Personal Development Focus is:
To Improve my relationship with people around me.

Evaluation: Before working this plan, how would you describe your current status?

My lets do the right thing Plan is to:

11

Ask family members to identify ways to improve my relationships with each one.

Ask friends to identify ways to improve my relationships with each one.

Make a list of people who have hurt you and ask Allah for help to forgive them.

Make a list of people who you have hurt and ask for their forgiveness.

Participate in halaqas to build relationships with other Muslims.

Invite a non-practicing Muslim to a masjid or to an Islamic workshop and seminars.

Join non-profit organization or help out in a local mosque.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Evaluation/Reward:
This is an on-going Lets do the right thing plan, and I will evaluate my progress every 3 months.

Review Your Roles in Life

All of us have been given multiple roles in life by Allah Subhanahu wa taala. The following four steps will help you review, prioritize and plan growth in your life roles. 1. List your roles in life (i.e. servant of Allah, husband/wife, parent, son/daughter, friend, volunteer, employee, employer, etc.). 2. Then, prioritize your life roles as well as outline your desire for each of those areas.

3. Now, go back and evaluate your current standing in each role. Develop your focus from the roles with highest priority and greatest deficit. 4. Set goals for each life role.

12

Lets do the right thing!

Personal Evaluation Progress by Riza Mohammed
Following is a questionnaire to prompt some guidance on how best to utilize these daily periods of reflection. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. Did I offer my five daily salah on time? How many of my salah did I offer in congregation? Am I satisfied with the quality of my salah? How much of the Quran did I read with understanding? How many verses of the Quran did I read with understanding? How many verses of the Quran did I memorize? What steps did I take to help my family learn about Islam? What did I do to fulfill my duties as daee? Have I treated my parents with love and respect and have I given due consideration to all their needs? Did I safeguard my tongue from useless speech? Did I backbite or slander anyone? Did I commend others for the good things they may have done? Did I fulfill my promises? Have I been just in all my dealings? What acts of sadaqah did I perform? Did I take an interest in my health (for example diet and exercise)? Did I safeguard my eyes from the influences of Shaytan? What and how much have I read to improve my understanding of Islam? Did I practice what I read and said? Did I save a portion of my wealth? Did I perform my work with proficiency? Did I make tawbah (seek Allahs forgiveness)? Did I reflect on my accountability to Allah on the Day of Judgement? Am I satisfied with the way I spent the Day?

Reflection:
On answering each question, make a note of the following: 13

What are my weaknesses and what steps am I going to take to remove them? What are my strong points and what steps am I going to take to improve them?

The best time to go through this questionnaire is at the end of each day. Do so on your own or with someone you trust fully. Answer each question as honestly and truthfully as you can. When you assess yourself, remember that Allah is your witness and that you are assessing yourself and your actions by His decree. Remember that a good judge is one who is neither unduly harsh nor unjustifiably lenient but truly and fully balance.

14

Lets do the right thing!

Goal Setting
With your focus clear, it is now time to set goals to assist your personal and spiritual development. Your goals should meet the following criteria:

Specific

You need a clear, compelling and specific target. If you desire to develop good relationship with Allah subhanhu wa taala, your goal should be more like, "I want to come closer to Allah Subhanahu wa ta ala by increasing volunteer prayer, fasting and seeking knowledge and by practicing good akhlaq" than the more vague, "I want to come closer to Allah."

Measurable You need to be able to measure or evaluate progress toward your goal. For
instance, the goal, "I want to seek knowledge and practice upon it by taking lectures/classes each week/month this year".

Achievable Your goals need to be challenging but achievable. Too many people set
unachievable goals or set too many goals and grow in frustration rather than progress. Take an inventory of your priorities, the time you have available to commit to this development process and start with fewer goals and smaller goals. This will help add motivation and momentum over the long-term. For instance, if you desire to memorize one Juz each month, that should be an achievement that brings motivation and momentum not frustration and despair. Remember that sustainability requires incremental small steps over time for example, memorizing one page per day leads to memorize one Juz in one month.

Special Note:
It's often best to plan that achieving your growth goals will take you twice as long as you first imagine. So, plan to achieve half as much in your estimated time or set aside twice as much time. This approach will help you see achievements rather than be discouraged.

15

Lets do the right thing!

Goal Setting Chart
Focus Area
Wearing Hijab Memorize 1 Juz

Where now
Nervous Memorized 14 Surahs

Activity
Wearing it only in the Masjid Memorizing half page everyday

Resources
Friends support Internet / CD/ Madrasa

Timings
Wear full hijab insha Allah by October Will complete the memorization by 15 Sep 2011

Reward
Ladies party Cell phone

Evaluate and Modify

As specified in your plan, take the time to evaluate your progress at regular intervals. Modify your plan as needed and set another evaluation date. Celebrate your progress! 16

Lets do the right thing!

Guidelines for Better Living By Hasan al-Bannna
1. Devote a daily period for the recitation of the Quran. Aim to complete the whole of it within a month. 2. Carefully recite the Quran, listen to it and ponder over its meaning.

3. Study the sirah or life history of the Prophet sallallahu alaihe wassallam and the history of early Muslims. Read the book of ahadith and try to memorize it. 4. Have a through medical check-up regularly, and get treated for any ailments diagnosed. 5. Avoid excessive use of coffee, tea and other stimulating drinks and strive to abstain completely from smoking. 6. Show interest in the cleanliness and tidiness of your home and place of work. Be concerned with personal hygiene, for Islam was founded on cleanliness. 7. Always be truthful and never tell a lie. 8. Fulfill your promises and agreements. Do not resort to making lame excuses. 9. Be courageous and enduring. The highest degrees of courage are telling the truth in your own disfavor, keeping secrets, admitting mistakes and maintain self-control when angry. 10. Be serious and dignified. However, this should not stop you from enjoying jokes and laughing. 11. Be modest, careful, and sensitive to both good and bad things by expressing your happiness when experiencing good and gratitude when encountering bad. If you demand less than what you deserve, you will receive what you deserve. 12. Be fair in judging according to sound evidence. Your anger should not make you ignore the good in others and your blessings should not make you forget the bad in others. 17

13. Always speak the truth, no matter how painful it is, even if it is against yourself and against the people dearest to you. 14. Be active, energetic and skilled in community services. You should feel happy when you offer a service to another person. You should feel compelled to visit the sick, assist the needy, support the weak, and give relief to the ill-fated, even if it is only a kind word of sympathy. Always rush to do good deeds. 15. Be compassionate, graciously excusing and forgiving towards others. You should be kind to all human beings and animals and have good relations with everyone. 16. Be merciful to the young and respectful to the old. Make room for others in meetings and gatherings. Do no spy and backbite. Do not be noisy. Respect others privacy, and neither condemn nor insult them. 17. Improve your reading and writing skills; increase your knowledge of the Islamic movement by reading about it. Acquaint yourself with the general Islamic subjects to the degree which makes you capable of forming general judgments concerning day to day problems. 18. Undertake some economic enterprise, even if you are wealthy. Try to establish a private business, regardless of how small it may be or how busy or academically oriented you are. 19. Perform your job in the best manner you can, and stand aloof from dishonesty and cheating. Observe your appointments and never be late for work. 20. Be amicable in claiming your due, and hasten to give others their due in full, without procrastination. 21. Avoid unlawful means of livelihood, regardless of what quick profit lies therein. 22. Support dawah work by contributing some of your wealth to the Islamic movement. 23. Set aside a portion of your income to defray unforeseen expenses, no matter how small your income is, and never indulge in extravagance. 24. Always be conscious of Allah; seek His pleasure with determination and resoluteness. Bring yourself closer to Allah through the performance of extra night prayer (tahajjud) fasting atleast three days every month, contemplating on Allah and His Divine attributes and reciting the respected supplications of the Prophet sallallahu alaihe wassallam. 25. Perfect your personal purity and cleanliness, and try to keep in a state of ablution (wudu) as often as possible. 18

26. When you perform the daily prayers, do so on time, and always fulfill the rules. Try to pray in congregation and at the masajid as frequently as possible. 27. Observe the fast of Ramadan and go on the Hajj as soon as you have the means. If you cannot afford to make hajj, make it one of the goals of your life and strive hard to undertake it. 28. Regularly renew your repentance, seeking Allahs forgiveness. Try to avoid pardonable offence as well as major sins. 29. Devote a period of time every night before going to bed for self-criticism, reflection upon the good or bad things you may have done throughout the day. 30. Avoid lustful thoughts, emotions, and occasions of sin, for example, by restraining your gaze from haram things, urging your emotions to focus on good deeds, and keeping your heart and desires away from all that is forbidden. 31. Do not take immoral people as friends. Keep away from places of immorality and sin. 32. Avoid all evil forms and places of entertainment, and in general, avoid the environment or arrogant and extravagant luxury. 33. Share the message of Islam everywhere you go.

19

A thought
When you climb a mountain, look to the top and not to the rocks that surround you. Make sure of where you step as you climb, and do not leap in case you lose your footing.

FREE ebook
Download FREE e-book The Path to Successful Relationships and discover the ways of winning the love of Allah and the hearts of your loved ones. http://www.believerspath.com/institute/ebook

20

About the Author

Zakia Usmani was born in Pakistan but grew up in United Arab Emirates where she started her career in the airline industry. She migrated to Canada in 2000 and worked as a graphic designer for an adult learning center. She has attended business leadership course Niche Hero taught by Sheikh Muhammad Alshareef founder of AlMaghrib Institute and DiscoverU Life and personal development course Ultimate Vision taught by and Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury director of Mercy Mission and AlKauthar Institute. She has also completed Tuhfatul Atfal and Jazariyyah studying directly under Qari Sheikh Uthman Khan the Dean and Director of the Shatibiyyah Institute in Toronto, Canada and is working on obtaining her Ijaazah in Hafs 'an Asim. Zakia is a member of the Student Guild of AlKauthar Institute and is undertaking an intensive 5-year comprehensive program in Islamic Studies directly from Sheikh Bilal Ismail and Sheikh Tariq Appleby. She has authored an e-book, "The Path to Successful Relationships", and is currently working on another e-book, "Change Starts Within ... " which will be available later this year. Zakia lives in Toronto, ON with her husband and four children.

21