Self Development: How to help ME!

Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself (i.e. obeys and performs all that Allah ordered, by following the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds).

And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself (i.e. disobeys what Allah has ordered by rejecting the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism or by following polytheism, etc. or by doing every kind of evil wicked deeds).

A Muslim understands that happiness and success in this life and the next is dependent on the extent that he disciplines, trains, purifies, and improves himself. The following assignment, part of our Usool ud-Deen class, is based on the above ayaat from Surat-ush-Shams.

How to Help ME!

Come up with a plan to refine, purify, and cleanse your soul. It must include strategies for:

- Repentance, which means to stop all sins and acts of disobedience, with sorrow and regret for them and a resolution never to return to them.

- Watchfulness, where you make yourself aware that you are being watched by Allah and develop your awareness in your actions and thoughts.

- Taking Account, where you think about yourself and your actions, monitor your deeds, find ways to increase awareness of where your deeds will be recorded, and ways to improve your account bi idhn Illah ta'ala.

- Struggling and striving against yourself, realizing that by finding strategies to troubleshoot your weaknesses, course correct your bad habits, and fight your harmful desires.

Self Development: MyTrue Intentions

Following a lesson on the hadith, "Actions are by intentions," the blog post Be Real with Yourself was read and an essay was assigned as follows:

My True Intentions

Introduction: Give the proof you know about actions being rewarded as per the intention and any relevant explanation.

Paragraphs 1-3: Give three examples of incidents when your actions weren't in accordance with your intention; be honest.

Conclusion: What have you learned and what strategies might you use to align your actions with good intentions in the future?