9 Steps To Achieve Your Destiny
Do your best and let the Creator take care of the rest!
By
Zohra Sarwari
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2010 by Zohra Sarwari
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Published by
Zohra Sarwari at Smashwords
This book is available in print at www.zohrasarwari.com
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Dedication
'(Our Lord! Accept this from us; You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing).'
(The Qur’aan: Chapter 2, Verse 127)
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Terminology
1. “ALLAAH” is the Arabic name for THE ONE SUPREME UNIVERSAL GOD.
2. “SWT” is an abbreviation of the Arabic words “Subhaanahu wa Ta’ala” which means “Glory Be To Him”.
3. Al-Qur’aan: The Book of Allaah; divine guidance for mankind; the FINAL TESTAMENT.
4. Muslim is one who has submitted to the Will of ALLAAH.
5. Allaahu-Akbar means ALLAAH is the Greatest.
6. Assalaamu-alaykum means ‘Peace be upon you.’ It is a greeting among the Muslims. The response to this greeting is ‘Wa ‘alaykum assalaam,’ which means ‘And Peace be upon you’.
7. Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, a duty one must perform during one’s life-time if one has the financial resources for it. It must be performed during certain specified dates of Dhul-Hijjah.
8. PBUH means Peace Be Upon Him.
9. PBUT means Peace Be Upon Them.
10. Alhamdulillaah means Praise be to God!
11. Jazaak Allaahu khayran means ‘May Allaah reward you with good’.
12. 5 Daily Prayers:
1. Fajr (pre-dawn): This prayer starts off the day with the remembrance of Allaah (SWT); it is performed before sunrise.
2. Dhuhr (noon): After the day’s work has begun, one breaks shortly after noon to again remember Allaah (SWT) and seek His guidance.
3. ‘Asr (afternoon): In the late afternoon, people are usually busy wrapping up the day’s work, getting kids home from school, etc. It is an important time to take a few minutes to remember Allaah (SWT) and the greater meaning of our lives.
4. Maghrib (sunset): Just after the sun goes down, Muslims remember Allaah (SWT) again as the day comes to a close.
5. ‘Isha (evening): Before retiring for the night, Muslims again take time to remember Allaah (SWT)’s presence, guidance, mercy, and forgiveness.
13. Adhaan is the call to Prayer.
14. Du’aa is supplication in Islam.
15. Insha’Allaah means ‘If Allaah wills’.
16. Hadith means the actions and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), reported by his companions, and collected by scholars who came after them, in books.
17. Tahajjud is a voluntary prayer read in the last part of the night. It is also known as ‘qiyaam’.
18. Subhaan’Allaah means "Glory to Allaah".
19. Takbeer is the saying of ‘Allaahu Akbar.’
20. Sunnah means the deeds, sayings and approvals of Muhammad (PBUH).
21. Sahaabah means Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
22. Deen means Religion.
23. Dunya means the world.
24. Surah refers to a chapter in Qur’aan.
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Table of Contents
Step 1:
The Power of Reading
Step 2:
Building Your Character
Step 3:
Working for Profits and Not Wages
Step 4:
Failing Your Way to Success
Step 5:
Envision Your Dreams
Step 6:
Business Plans
Step 7:
Finding Funding
Step 8:
Synergy
Step 9:
Balancing Your Life
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Step 1: The Power of Reading
“Wali, aren’t you done with the book yet?”
“Not yet,” Wali answered his sister.
“Hurry up, can’t you?” Zeba said. “I want to read it too.”“Just a little longer, I promise.” Wali sighed. He and his sister were the first in their family to learn to read English. Nancy, their next-door neighbor, was a retired English teacher. Though the family could only afford to pay her for lessons once a week, Nancy actually came twice each week, delighted with the eagerness of the brother and sister to learn, and with how quickly they mastered the lessons. No one had to remind them to study or do homework — it was something both had taken to with genuine enthusiasm.
Whenever the family was able to get hold of a book, Wali grabbed it to read first. He had a dream that so far he had shared with no one; that one day he would have a large library of books, all kinds of books; and, he would be reading them, his children would know so much more in turn than he did.
In Afghanistan, before they had come to America as refugees, his family had been well-to-do. They had lived in comfort, with servants to care for their needs. It broke Wali’s heart to see how hard both his parents had to work just to support themselves and their two children, and their grandparents.
The more he had thought about it, the more certain he became that the poverty in which they lived now was a result of the poverty of their education — neither his parents nor his grandparents had any real education. Wali had vowed, though, that he would not perpetuate that poverty. He thanked Allaah (SWT), God the Greatest, for all that he had, but he fervently wanted to do more with his life than his parents and grandparents had done with theirs.
He was convinced that the secret to doing so was to break the cycle of illiteracy that had shackled his family for generations. That was his greatest dream, but how he was to accomplish that, he had no idea. In his heart, he was sure there was a way, and he believed that this conviction, too, was a gift from Allaah (SWT), but he had no idea where the path to his goals lay. How was he to find it?
Money wasn’t everything, he knew that, but without it, he and Zeba would not be able to go to college. Their father was no longer a young man. The time would come when he would be unable to support the family. Someone else would have to care for them and pay the bills. Without proper education, how were he and Zeba to look after their parents and grandparents when that time came, let alone raise their own children.
Zeba, waiting with barely restrained impatience in the chair across the table from him, took a deep breath. “Is the book interesting?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“What have you learned?”
“Many things,” he said, barely taking his eyes from the printed page.
“I’m learning how I can go to the proper schools and make money, so that I will be able to take care of all of us in time.”
As he said this, Wali’s expression was one of grim determination — but there was something else in it as well; his eyes glowed with determination and hope.