What is Barakah?

Was there a time in your life when you experienced difficult days and had to put others' needs before your own? The burden of responsibilities was so overwhelming that there was hardly any time for yourself.

You then decided that it's okay, I'll carry out my responsibilities first and sacrifice my own needs? You struggled so hard to serve those who needed you and in the remaining, limited time that you had, you calmly worked efficiently and became extraordinarily productive. Hey, you even surprised yourself.

As a result, you got a strike of 'luck' and everything fell into place. The limited resource (time) that you had was used for the benefit of self and others and blessings after blessings kept coming in continuously beyond your expectations. This is referred to as BARAKAH.

A Well-known scholar of Islam explains BARAKAH as follows:
والبركة: هي ثبوت الخير الإلهي في الشيء؛ فإنها إذا حلت في قليل كثرته، وإذا حلت في كثير نفع، ومن أعظم ثمار البركة في الأمور كلها إستعمالها في طاعة الله عز وجل.
“Barakah is the attachment of Divine goodness to a thing, so if it occurs in something little, it increases it. And if it occurs in something much it benefits. And the greatest fruits of Barakah in all things is to use that barakah in the obedience of Allah (Subahanahu Wa Ta’ala)”

As a Muslim, I believe that when we make time for Allah, Allah will set our affairs straight, our limited time productive, our finances sufficient, our bodies healthy and fit, and our lives full of barakah.InshaAlllah.

In other words, minimal resources with maximum results.

How did you attain barakah in your business, marriage, career, family, time, money, or resources?



photo credit: islamicquotes.com

Singapore with kids: 4 days 3 nights itinerary

I'm sharing our itinerary in Singapore in case you're thinking of planning a trip with baby & young kids

Day 1 :
Morning
🌸Artscience Museum (Future World is super fun for young kids & old kids) 
🌸Marina Bay Sands (next to Artscience museum)

Evening
🌸Haji Lane (hipster Muslim cafes suitable for evening walk)
🌸Arab Street
🌸Sultan Mosque (biggest mosque in Singapore)
🌸Bugis Street (suvenir shopping)

Day 2:
🌸Universal Studios Singapore
🌸Must see shows for preschoolers:
- Dance of the magic Beans
- Donkey Live
- Shrek 4D

🌸Must ride for preschoolers (above 92cm):
- A Crate Adventure (Madagascar zone)
- Enchanted Airways (Far Far Away zone)
- Sesame Street Spaghetti Chase (Hollywood zone)

Day 3:
Morning
🌸Bencoolen Mosque
🌸Visited PakTeh Singapore at Clementee near National University of Singapore
🌸Merlion Park
🌸River Cruise (not worth the money, dull ride, jetty at Merlion Park)

Evening
🌸Supertree Groves Garden Rhapsody at Marina Gardens by the Bay

Day 4
Morning
🌸National Museum (next to Fort Canning)
🌸Fort Canning (lovely park, nice for a morning stroll)
🌸⚡️Malay Heritage Centre (next to Masjid Sultan, closes at 6pm)

Hotel: Bencoolen Hotel
Walking distance to halal eateries
🌸Pu3 Restaurant (Indonesian cuisine)
🌸Al-Jilani Restaurant (mamak / best Briyani we've ever tasted)
🌸Parklane has halal McDonalds, KFC & Kebab

Walking distance to Bugis Junction (shopping mall)

Walking distance to Bras Basah MRT
& Bugis MRT

Taxi stand & bus stand right in front of hotel

To airport
Cheap bus to airport (no 46) only SGD5 per person one way, kids free. Taxi to airport around SGD17-20 depending on the type of taxi you board.

With kids, we chose taxi as our mode of transport. Covered more places this way. We did try MRT just for the sake of trying 😁😄It was crowded.