There are certain questions we ask ourselves all the time.
Like: What needs to get done today?
Or even: How can I get through everything on my to-do list today?
And then there are the questions we don’t ask nearly enough.
Am I actually becoming the person I want to be?
Is my productiveness leading me somewhere?
And the question that I have not been able to stop thinking about: What am I becoming?
This question stayed with me after attending a recent self-discovery workshop with Shaykh Ali Hammuda as part of the South
Africa tour brought to our shores by White Flame Africa.
It wasn’t simply another talk about setting goals, being productive, or trying to become the best version of ourselves. This workshop
was structured to make you use the tools to do something completely different.
What made this session so powerful was that it asked us to step away from all of that for a while. To stop. To think. And perhaps most importantly, to look at ourselves a little more honestly.
One of the things I kept coming back to during the workshop was just how little time we give ourselves to actually reflect.
We are constantly processing information. We are responding to messages, attending meetings, managing families, working, studying, serving our communities, and trying to keep up with everything happening around us.
There is always something else to do. Somewhere in between all of that doing, we can lose the opportunity to simply ask, “How am I doing?” Not how much have I achieved? Not how productive have I been?
But what is happening inside me? What are my priorities becoming? What am I giving my time to? What am I becoming through the choices I make every single day?
During the workshop, Shaykh Ali reflected on Stephen Covey’s idea that personal growth has evolved beyond merely managing tasks and
schedules. At its deepest level, the question is no longer, “How do I organise my day?” but rather:
“Who am I becoming?”
It is a deceptively simple question, yet one that has the power to change the way we look at our lives entirely.
As Muslims, reflection is certainly not a foreign concept.
The Qur’an repeatedly calls us to ponder, to think, to observe the signs of Allah and to take lessons.
Yet it is often the very thing that gets pushed aside when life becomes busy. We tell ourselves we’ll think about it when things settle
down. But when does life actually settle down?
Perhaps we shouldn’t be waiting for that moment. Perhaps we need to create the moments.
Shaykh Ali reminded us that Allah has placed within every human being an innate desire to live for something greater than themselves. We
are not designed merely to consume, achieve, and move on. We want our lives to matter.
In one of the most memorable lines of the evening, he described human beings as:
“Creatures of matter that yearn to matter.”
Perhaps that is why a life filled with activity but devoid of purpose can feel so exhausting, while a life of service often feels deeply
fulfilling.
Another aspect of the workshop that stood out was the idea that perhaps we spend too much time trying to become someone else and not
enough time to discover who Allah has already made us to be.
We all have different strengths, personalities, and experiences, as well as different things that stir something inside us. Even different
problems that we notice and care about.
And perhaps these aren’t random. Perhaps some of these things are clues.
The workshop challenged participants to explore questions like:
- What am I actually good at?
- Who do I admire, and why?
- What problems in the world disturb me enough that I want to do something about them?
These aren’t necessarily questions with neat answers. And maybe they’re not supposed to be.
They are questions that require us to sit with ourselves for a while.
Referring to the many pathways through which a believer can draw closer to Allah, Shaykh Ali encouraged attendees to ask:
“Which path is Allah opening for you? Through what lane are you meant to run towards Jannah?”
It was a powerful reminder that success is not found in copying someone else’s journey but in recognizing and embracing the
opportunities Allah has uniquely placed before us.
The question is, which door has Allah opened for me?
And perhaps even more importantly: Have I taken the time to find it?
One of the practical exercises encouraged participants to look beyond the labels we give ourselves.
It is easy to say, “I’m disciplined. Or I’m a people person. Or I’m a leader.“
But what does that actually look like?
Maybe being disciplined means that I keep going even when the excitement has worn off.
Maybe being good with people means that I can make someone feel comfortable when they are struggling.
Maybe leadership means that people naturally look to me when something needs to be done.
That shift is important.
Because when we understand our strengths in practical terms, we can start asking a much bigger question:
How can I use this? How can I use what Allah has given me in a way that benefits others?
Then came the question of legacy.
It is a question I think many of us avoid because it forces us to think beyond the immediate.
If I were to look back at my life one day, what would I want it to have meant?
Who would I have helped? What would I have contributed? What would continue after me?
Islam already gives us a beautiful framework for thinking about this.
The Prophet ﷺ taught us that when a person dies, their deeds come to an end except for three:
ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge, and a righteous child who makes du’a for them.
There is something incredibly powerful about that.
It reminds us that our lives can have an impact that extends beyond our own lifetime.
Earlier in the workshop, Shaykh Ali spoke about humanity’s longing for permanence, explaining that there is something within us that is
naturally drawn towards what lasts. Perhaps that is why questions of legacy resonate so deeply. We all want to know that our presence in this world counted for something beyond ourselves.
And legacy doesn’t have to mean something grand or publicly recognized.
It could even be a kindness that changed the trajectory of someone’s day or perhaps their life.
Sometimes we will never even know the full extent of the good Allah allowed us to be part of.
The Workshop Ends. The Reflection Doesn’t.
This reminder is what made this experience meaningful.
The real value of a workshop like this isn’t necessarily what we hear while sitting in the room.
It’s what we do with it when we leave.
Do we go home and continue as we were? Or do we start noticing ourselves differently?
Because the truth is, we are becoming something whether we are intentional about it or not.
Every day is shaping us. The question is whether we are paying attention.
A reminder I took away from Shaykh Ali Hammuda’s workshop:
Don’t become so busy building a life that you forget to ask what that life is building you into.
So perhaps tonight, or sometime this week, find a quiet moment.
Put the phone down. Step away from the noise.
And ask yourself not what you want to achieve, but: What am I becoming?
And then perhaps the even more important question:
Who is Allah calling me to become?
Cii Radio would like to extend a heartfelt Jazakum Allahu Khayran to White Flame Africa for bringing Shaykh Ali Hammuda to South Africa and to Shaykh Ali for creating a space that encouraged us not simply to listen, but to look within.
Because sometimes the reminder we need isn’t another answer.
It’s the courage to ask ourselves a better question.
