Hadith Gateway
Doing things Skilfully
Mawlana Muhammad Nasir Jamal Attari Madani
The beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said:
اِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ اِذَا عَمِلَ اَحَدُكُمْ عَمَلاً اَن يُّتْقِنَهٗ
“Indeed, Allah loves that you skilfully carry out out whatever you are doing.”[1]
Allah’s support accompanies the person in accordance with his action. The reward of an action is doubled for the one who completes it with skill and elegance. When a person improves in this regard, he becomes beloved to Allah.[2] Whoever Allah has blessed with skill and talent should not aim to use it for monetary gain. Rather, they should use their skills to benefit the creation of Allah, which is a form of expressing thanks to Allah for His blessings.[3]
Our faith encourages us to be responsible members of society who do their part without reluctance. It urges us to perfect our dealings, actions, and religious and civic duties. This sense of responsibility is one reason that Islamic history is looked at in a positive light.
A sense of responsibility requires that work is completed on time to the best of one’s ability and skill. If this is not the case, the results will be inadequate. Teachers, for example, who lack the competence and skill to teach effectively risk ruining the future of their students. Incompetent health workers can cause fatal consequences for the patients. And most concerning of all, an inept and unskilled contributor to Islamic projects can drive people away from Islam and endanger their faith. The importance of applying your skills in life and preventing negative outcomes was made clear by the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم . The one who applied these skills was declared to be loved by Allah.
To perform actions skilfully, it is necessary to keep a few things in mind.
1. Continuous professional development (CPD)
In today’s world, the requirements of every field are constantly changing, and every sector is having to adapt to meet new challenges. Without continuously upskilling yourself, you will fall behind and become unemployable. Therefore, undertake regular professional development if you want to be successful.
2. Self-evaluate
A person painstakingly created a picture of grapes. The image looked so realistic that birds thought they were real and tried to eat them. Due to this, the picture became the centre of attention for the people. The people were praising the artist, but he did not look satisfied. Someone asked the artist why and he replied: The image of the grapes looks real and that is why the birds are going towards it. But the image of the scarecrow near the grapes does not look real. If it did, the birds would fly away out of fear. I admit this is a flaw, and I will work harder on this picture. The artist made up for this deficiency and fulfilled his goal the next day.
Delusion and vanity are major barriers on the road to proficiency, for they blind us to our faults and shortcomings. We prove to be great with words but fail when it is the time for action. It is necessary to evaluate your achievements critically and find ways of making further improvements. These possibilities will be helpful in your journey of attaining expertise in your field.
3. Design a Daily Planner
Planning is the key to achieving your goals. With a daily planner, you can effectively organise your targets and intentions. Due to the blessings of a good intention, your goals become clear, and the mercy of Allah ensures that your work is completed correctly. The daily planner will be easy to use if it is simple and connects all your work together. It also helps in maintaining focus that is required for particular work.
4. Reduce Screen Time
Electronic devices are a major reason for unproductivity, inefficiency, and carelessness. Habitually checking posts, statuses, tweets, and messages in WhatsApp groups is toxic to your work. People have even been known to check their phones in the operation theatre, whilst driving, whilst working in the kitchen, and during office meetings. This can lead to the loss of life or livelihood. Spending too much time on your phone significantly prevents you from making the most of your skills. Reduce screen time if you want to complete your work efficiently. If you overcome this obstacle, your dreams will become a reality, and you will continue to attain success.
5. Be Judicious in Allocating Time
By means of the daily planner, we decide what work to do, and via a timetable we decide when to do it and how much time we should allocate to it. Hence, we must be honest and accurate. A suitable amount of time must be allocated to each activity. This will allow us to express our skills and continue to achieve success.
May Allah grant us the blessings of expertise and proficiency and grant us the ability to use them in the correct manner.
اٰمِیْن بِجَاہِ النَّبِیِّ الْاَمِیْن صَلَّی اللہ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلہٖ وَسَلَّم
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