Allah ﷻ says: وَٱلْفَجْرِ ۝ وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ “By the dawn, and by the ten nights.”— Surah Al-Fajr (89:1-2) Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه and many of the scholars from the Salaf said these are the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah. The Salaf didn’t enter these days casually. It was narrated about Saʿīd ibn Jubayr رحمه الله — one of the great scholars from the Salaf — that when the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah began, he would strive so hard in worship that he would almost exhaust himself. Not because worship was “easy.” But because they understood the value of moments that Allah loves. They knew: These are not ordinary days. These are days where sins can be forgiven, hearts can change, and a person can become closer to Allah than they have been all year. The scary thing is that many people will witness these days physically… but never truly enter them spiritually. Still distracted. Still delaying tawbah. Still wasting hours. Still saying “later.” The Salaf feared missing these days more than we fear missing opportunities in dunya. Because they understood: A person’s real success is not in what they gain from the world — but in what they gain with Allah before they return to Him. So don’t enter these 10 days casually. Maybe these are the days your relationship with Allah changes forever. Action Steps for the 10 Days - Set non-negotiables for all 10 days - Protect your 5 daily salah at their times - Increase Qur’an recitation + revision daily - Make constant dhikr - Fast as many days as possible, especially Day of Arafah - Remove distractions before the 10 days begin - Give charity daily, even if small - Make sincere tawbah for the sins you keep returning to - Journal and reflect every night: What brought me closer to Allah today? What distanced me from Him? - Enter these days with urgency, not comfort The Salaf treated these days like an opportunity that may never return again.

In the recent call, Mohammed spoke about the importance of having a POS,to live with intention and purpose. When you don’t have that clear purpose or meaning in what you’re doing: Your attention starts to drift and pulled in different directions by doubts, distractions, and uncertainty. It becomes easier to lose focus, to keep switching tasks, causing your mind to be scattered all over the place and to slowly lose sight of what actually matters to you. This is known as psychic entropy, having a system without an objective. A POS can prevent this. Enabling intentional action, to stop relying on your mood and distractions, while also keeping yourself aligned with your true goals and values.

Today’s call on the Personal Operating System (POS) made me reflect deeply. Just like Apple runs on iOS and Android runs on APK, we all operate on a system—but most of us haven’t intentionally designed ours. One key takeaway: you cannot build a system without an objective. Without direction, you end up moving without purpose. Core values also stood out to me—they define what you say no to. Because if you say yes to everything, you say yes to nothing. The most powerful part was the Mirror Test: - The world sees me as… - What I truly am… - Who I am becoming… It exposes the gap between perception and reality. You might be working hard externally, but internally there can still be misalignment. That’s why upgrading your self-concept is just as important as taking action. At the end of the day, this isn’t about showing others anything—it’s about understanding how you operate. Living with intention Living by design, not default. Now it’s time to actually sit down and define my POS properly إن شاء الله.

For the next week : -i am going to force a fixed wake-up time no matter how I feel. Get sunlight immediately after waking. Move my body early , even if it’s light, to increase blood flow, wake up my brain, and become fully alert. -to also spend the last hour before sleeping correctly to set the quality of my sleep. Context: The body is naturally designed to function at its best in the morning. But that only happens if the night is handled properly. What I do before sleep matters. The last hour before sleep sets the quality of my sleep, which sets the quality of my morning, which sets the quality of my entire day. If I want consistent early starts, I cannot rely on motivation. I need to reset my system. This is how the circadian rhythm is trained. Not by talk, but by consistency.

A big lesson I took today was understanding the difference between a system needing refinement and a standard needing to be raised. The answer is in input, output, and feedback. One thing that stood out to me is that feedback should be immediate. Once I finish a task, I should reflect straight away in my DMA journal instead of waiting until the end of the day. Ask: What went well? What went wrong? What needs to change? Did I actually execute properly? Feedback is what helps refine the system. You iterate, improve, and make adjustments based on what the task reveals. But another powerful point from the call was this: if things are not going well in work, business, or life, do not only look at systems and productivity. Check your ibadah first. How is your salah? How is your Qur’an? How is your relationship with Allah? Because sometimes the real issue is not poor planning. Sometimes the deeper issue is weakness in our connection with Allah. Allah SWT says: وَمَن يَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ مَخْرَجًا ۝ وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ “And whoever fears Allah – He will make for him a way out. And He will provide for him from where he does not expect.” (Surah At-Talaq 65:2–3) And He also says: وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ “Seek help through patience and prayer.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:45) So sometimes the answer is not just to refine the system. Sometimes it is to raise the standard. And sometimes before all of that, it is to fix what is between you and Allah.