Revive Your Heart: Putting Life in Perspective

Part III

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Our Financial Dealings
6. How We Earn
7. Money Matters
Part IV
Some Contemporary Issues
8. It’s a Girl!
9. Thoughts on Paris
10. 
Naṣīḥah
 in Brief: The Dangers of Listening to
Music
Part V
Focusing on the 
Ākhirah
11. Putting Life in Perspective
12. Small Beginnings
13. 
Naṣīḥah
 in Brief: The Afterlife
Glossary

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Transliteration Table
Arabic Consonants
Initial, unexpressed medial and final: 
Vowels, diphthongs, etc.

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Preface
T
he world today is abuzz with unrelenting activity. The developments in the
worlds of politics, economics, social media, entertainment, technology and
beyond, are all constantly vying for our attention. But more importantly, they are
vying to distract our hearts. In line with the ideology of unfettered free markets,
we are constantly being ‘exhorted’ to consume. There has, perhaps, never been a
time when Allah’s words, 
alhākum al-takāthur
(
al-Takāthur
102: 1), were more
applicable. We have arrived at a time when being distracted from our duties to
Allah has been institutionalized: the entertainment industry is undoubtedly one
of the most imposing industries of modernity.
Of course, it does not stop there. In modern society, individuals can be
reduced to little more than atomized consumers. Our 
dīn
also can become
commodified into a form of entertainment in this environment. Our scholars can
become celebrities, who we watch for a ‘spiritual high’ before returning to our
routinized consumer existence. The Muslim ummah is experiencing crises of
religious identity, with its global image being hijacked by violent groups. These
groups attract young Muslims, ignorant of their 
dīn
, into their ranks through their
domination of the headlines with shocking acts of violence.
With such levels of distraction and crisis, it is difficult to stay spiritually
centred. Our communities and mosques are not always the centres of spiritual
guidance and counsel we need them to be. The Prophet taught us: 
al-dīn al-
naṣīḥah
—“The 
dīn
is about giving sincere counsel.” And in an age of distraction
and pervasive negativity, positive and constructive reminders are essential to our
spiritual well-being.
This collection of reminders from 
Ustādh
Nouman Ali Khan is an important
contribution in our age of distraction. 
Ustādh
Nouman’s reminders speak
directly to the heart, encouraging us to be mindful of our duties to Allah,
exhorting us to put life in perspective. Contemporary culture asks us to think of

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death as the ultimate conclusion to what should be a hedonistic existence, while
our 
dīn
teaches us that death is only the beginning of our true lives.
The subtitle of this work, 
Putting Life in Perspective
, is about reminding
ourselves not to forget the true nature of reality. Our lives here are temporary.
They are the small window of opportunity to do some good in the world for
which Allah will judge whether we are deserving of 
jannah
. The author deals
with issues from the highly personal to the global. The work is divided into five