Beliefs are what change our behaviour and therefore the outcomes we get. I think from that we see noticeable improvement. I think it really is a subtle process you can only really hear in the silence, in the quiet, like a meditation. Salah is really what can do this for us, and all the prescribed actions told to us by Allah SWT. In my life i was struggling with a particular issue, it was to do with gaining beneficial knowledge and training my hands to be strong and precise in the career i was in. I thought to my self “How come this is so hard” and that converted into “I will always suffer” and so and so forth and it was so depressing to see no matter what i tried things were only worse. Until I realised I was so fixated on this issue that I made it so big in my mind. The moment I realised how insignificant this situation is compared with the might of Allah SWT is when things rearranged. Now what I do is I focus on waking up daily on remembering Allah SWT only. And realising everything else through that. What my real purpose is. And before I start any practice I first touch the Quran. Then I really relax myself and quiet down my mind and the way I am able to achieve my goals is like I could have never imagined. So peaceful, like everything flows to me now because I am learning to build my trust in Allah SWT. I went from failing and the sadness i was in to now laughing at my situation back then because it’s now such a small thing to me. Not worried about a career or anything. Now focusing remembering Allah SWT

7:96 “And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning.” I hope to increase my awareness of the fact that everything here in this lower world is to prepare me for my return to Allah SWT, and that is a heavy thing, but something that frees me. Heart would be attached to the hereafter and not the lower world we are in. I would aim to make my actions directed towards achieving the best possible outcome for the afterlife, and that’s why it wouldn’t be so hard anymore the more i do it. For example being consistent in reading the Quran and praying, visualise it like stacking up a beautiful treasure you just have not seen yet! And there are immediate rewards like the peace you get that can never come from anywhere else. Knowing that what you earn part of that the needy have a right over. The same goes for knowledge skills etc. And find a way to humble myself everyday. And don’t forget to enjoy this life, enjoy the nature, travel, buy yourself nice things and spend time taking care of yourself. When you fill your cup and are in the right energy then you touch others with it, everyone benefits. Share share share! Aim high, and know everything I get is another test from Allah SWT to see how I will act with it.

the transition to the current state of mind to new state of mind one thing that stood out to me in the Quran is the verse from surah Furqan, where Allah SWT says “Say, O Prophet, “You all would not even matter to my Lord were it not for your faith in him. But now you disbelievers have denied the truth, so the torment is bound to come.” Allah SWT also says “I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me.” from Surah al Maidah only value comes from Allah SWT, and so my current state of mind is incompatible with the purpose Allah SWT has created us all for, which is to worship Allah alone. The new state of mind is simply to align with our purpose which is to worship Allah SWT, and ultimately as we fulfill our purpose as taught by Allah SWT through his words and the messengers, we prepare for the meeting with Allah SWT. Think about the exam or the sports match or person you suffer so much for to make our performance as perfect as possible, why don’t we instead shift our effort to the only thing that matters, at that is the meeting with Allah SWT, it is our life’s purpose and test. Nothing will promise you anything in life except Allah SWT. Allah SWT only wants the best for us. And repeat this to yourself through the constant rememberance of Allah SWT. And remember that prophet Muhammad SAW said “Whoever is concerned about the Hereafter, Allah will place richness in his heart, bring his affairs together, and the world will inevitably come to him. Whoever is concerned about the world, Allah will place poverty between his eyes, disorder his affairs, and he will get nothing of the world but what is decreed for him.” So success is guaranteed by Allah SWT only. Finally, that we must accept and embrace tests, they are inevitable for the kind of place we should all aim for, Jannah, a place of perfection, under Allahs care, where we will be forever there is no fear of being taken out. From Surah Maidah, Allah SWT says “Do people think once they say, “We believe,” that they will be left without being put to the test?”. The sooner you accept tests the better; be happy about the tests and embrace them. Think about a long journey you made and you prepared yourself for it and the tiredness. Aim for the highest station and be happy everyday for the sake of Allah SWT. Accept that life inevitably has been designed to be a test and then you won’t be left disappointed. You will find happiness in every moment then in my opinion. I hope that we can all build the discipline and consistency and constant rememberance of Allah SWT that will help us to all achieve our goals.