Quotes

As I grow, I learn and as I learn, I grow
...Towards Becoming a Beautiful Soul

Search This Blog

Tuesday 22 December 2020

THE 5AM CLUB: Wallow in Bliss and See Humanity Glow

Bismil Laahir Rahmaanir Raheem


Assalaamu alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barkaatuhu my dear brothers and sisters. Alhamdulillaah for the countless blessings Allah azza wa jal has endowed us with. We are fully grateful. We pray that He, subhaanahu wa ta'aalaa, continue to ease our affairs and accept our minute efforts to please Him. Aameen Yaa Allah.

Today, I am going to give you a review of a book I read recently - The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma. It is a wonderful book by many standards.

During the reign of Omar ibn Al-Khattab radiyallaahu anhu as Khalifa (leader) of the Muslims, he exhibited beautiful leadership traits that I believe everyone should learn about. He had learnt these traits from the best of humankind - Prophet Muhammad suallallaahu alayhi wa sallam.

I could talk about Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq radiyallaahu anhu as well but Umar's reign was much longer.

There were times when visitors could not make out the Ameer (Umar) from his subordinates as he sat with them because there was nothing that differentiated him from the others physically. This, he had learnt from his boss.

Umar's popular night vigils have so much sauce in them for great leadership. His acute sense of responsibility was so much so that he mostly cried when he thought he had been negligent about some responsibility.

He was a product of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad suallallaahu alayhi wa sallam.

Among the key lessons the Prophet had taught his companions was RISING EARLY IN THE MORNING. Yes! For special benefits, the earlier before Fajr, the better. And approximately, Fajr is at 5am though it differs slightly for countries due to the different time zones. 

If you won't wake up for Tahajjud, which is before Fajr, it is obligatory that you wake up to pray Fajr at the stipulated time. It is also not recommended that you sleep after Fajr. The best is to recite Al-Qur'an, do azkaar or something worthwhile.

Performing nawaafil and then Fajr is some form of exercise as it requires the movement of your body.

Rasuulullaah also taught us that humility was key for us and being a leader does not exempt you from being humble. He taught servant leadership. He taught leading with high level of emotional intelligence which makes you respectful to even the janitor and more concerned about people's emotional, spiritual, financial and physical welfare.

During Umar's night vigils, he mostly went undercover to serve the 'detailed' needs of the people he was privileged to be exposed to. He cooked and cleaned even for the poorest people because he wanted to exhaust his responsibility.

Now, let's come to Robin Sharma's 5AM Club. Smiles!



Before anything else, I will recommend that you read the book. You will learn from every sentence. Trust me! So, I am not going to give you details.

Robin Sharma, in the book, is promoting a culture of early rising and the uncountable benefits that it gives the human being especially the one who wants to be great. The one who wants to work on the well-being of his or her mind, heart, health and soul.

He however makes it clear that it is not just rising early, 5AM, that does the magic but what you do when you rise early. I won't tell you what he says should be done because that is one  of the interesting things about the book and I want you to read it. Smiles.

In his book, he features a  billionaire whom you will definitely fall in love with due to his beautiful personality and leadership characteristics. This billionaire has too many interesting ways of leading his life and his businesses that are mind blowing. 

Sometimes, he dresses like a pauper and moves around just to imbibe humility. There was a time Umar nearly whipped some of his Prime Ministers (smiles) just because they became engulfed with the culture of lavish dressing and eating.


To engrain humility in his heart. He fasted two days a week.  This helped him a great deal. Remember that Rasuulullaah recommends fasting on Mondays and Thursdays? Smiles. 

This billionaire had a mentor who taught him all these beautiful ways of living and he loved him badly. The beautiful thing however was that just as he was taught these great lessons of life that had helped him, he fished out people whom he believed could pass on the tradition and trained them too with his resources. How he did this made him even more loveable.

The billionaire's high level of emotional intelligence was displayed clearly in his many interactions with his students who fell head over heels in love with him. You would've too. I did! Smiles! He was not only generous, he was sensitive to their every need. He brought himself down to their level and but for the wonders of his wealth that they saw and his depth of knowledge and expertise, they could have mistaken him for one of them.

Robin Sharma gave many models of good living in this book that you should read about. He did not exclude prayer and the importance of solitude. 

Rasuulullaah suallallaahu alayhi wa sallam was a man who cherished solitude even before he became a Prophet. It was in solitude that Angel Jibril alayhis salaam had come to him. Tahajjud was a time of prayer and solitude. He appreciated and promoted a time for deep thinking, self-admonishment, reflection, self-introspection and gaining some calm and serenity.

There is a whole chapter on the strives and gains of Nelson Mandela and you will love how he extracts the beauty in that struggle.

Robin Sharma quoted a number of Muslim leaders who were, Rumi, Khalil Gibrain and  Muhammad Ali. I was however disappointed that he did not mention the contribution of Rasuulullaah suallallaahu alayhi wa sallam and at least one of his successors in this tradition of routine early rising coupled with beautiful leadership traits.

Now, if you have read this book before, share your thoughts with us in the comments section. If you haven't, please do but then share your thoughts on this article with us. Smiles! May Allah azza wa jal love you intensely. Aameen Yaa Waduud Yaa Allah!

*******************************************

Rubaba Mmahajia Rahma Sabtiu-Morla

+233555392722

www.mmahajia.blogspot.com

www.rubabawords.blogspot.com

www.strivingbeautifulsoul.blogspot.com

www.letterstomydotas.blogspot.com

www.beforehermarriage.blogspot.com