Bismillah, in the words of Br. Mohammad Ali, as follows:
Asalam o alaykum wr wb
A good brother asked me a question related to career counselling. Its a very good question and there is a good message for everyone in this question, therefore im pasting it here, and also im replying this question here as i believe most people going through this age have such questions.
Question:
As salam o alaikum Brother Ali
My name as you know already is …… and i am 18 years, I am currently preparing for 2nd years board exams (Federal board ) and having aspirations to join either NUST,PIEAS or UET for Mechanical engineering.
As you yourself have done ME through GIKI and gone through the phase i am going through so i ask you to advise me over some issues i am encountering as you yourself might have tackled them out.
1.Time management and getting an absolute concentration when studying
( I can hardly sit for 2 hrs consecutively )
2.How to prepare for University admission tests . Will you recommend academy for it ? How you did that for yourself ?
Alhamdulillah i have scored 934 marks in Metric and 424 in F.S.c (Part 1) Physics and Maths are my Favorite subjects and Chemistry is hmmm …ahh Not likely my good hold .
I also want to tell you that my plans for opting higher studies is not only for getting a good job but also to be an example among the people that ISLAM is compatible with every aspect of life and modernization ; its not a barrier on the way to advancement . I also pray that May ALLAH give me taufeeq to shorten the barrier between the upcoming modern youth (Holding Secularistic and athiestic views etc) and the young scholars and daaee’s of today !
I would also make mention of that you are one of the person (though we dont know each other properly) whose advice i can not reject and whose words and moral teachings i always try to follow . May ALLAH increase you in khair and give you more taufeeq ! Jazakumullahu khairan !
Answer:
1- First of all, my advice to all such youngsters going through this age is to make their intention like yours. i-e to serve Islam through whatever beneficial knowledge you get. For ive witnessed that if the intention is to do it for Islam and the focus is Allah’s raza in the Hereafter, then all affairs become easy and whatever u do constitutes barakah. As Prophet (pbuh) said:
“Verily, whoever takes the Hereafter as is his concern, Allah makes his richness in his heart and makes his affairs easy and this worldly life will come to him forced. And whoever has this worldly life as his concern, Allah makes his poverty between his eyes and makes his affair difficult and he will not gain from this worldly life but only what is destined for him.” (Ibn Majah. Declared as Sahih by Al Albani)
2- Secondly, avoid blind following of friends and peers. Do not go where ur friends going, nor do what they doing. First see through which field you can benefit Islam the most. Then just do an assessment of yourself and see your interests. Then discuss with experienced and mature people (friends and peers do not come in experienced and mature people).
3- If you ask me, i do not advise to do engineering. Because engineers, though enjoy a good social status in our society and people say wow an engineer, but in reality engineer is a white collar slave. The job nature of an engineer is too demanding and literally sucks the life blood outta you. I would advise any young brother to be a doctor, or go to teaching side, or social sciences (all leadership positions are held by social scientists), or administrative positions in public sector by doing css, pms etc.
4- Okay if you wanna do engineering, then atleast do masters in it and then go to teaching side.
5- Time management and concentration:
Its a great sign that ur thinking abt it at such a time and taking it seriously. Well brother, all my life ive been a very non serious student. But then i learned my lessons. Css taught me lots of things. I was a guy who used to run from books. Anyways, alhamdulilah, during preparation of css, i would sit for 5 hours continuously (and sometimes more than that) and read a book with full concentration. Thats how it all changed by Allah’s grace. How to do it?
(i) Try to be away from virtual world esp fb as much as u can. Only use when very necessary. Relax urself with nature and exercise (exercise helps a lot. Check this out:http://jworldtimes.com/Article/122010_Benefits_Of_Exercise). When you cut down ur interaction with virtual world, you’ll be amazed to see how much time u get.
(ii) When you study, kill all distractions. The best place to study is masjid. Trust me. Try it. Then library. Then a quiet room where no internet, pc etc. Switch off cell phone as well.
(iii) Its very important that what u read, u build interest in it. So read it with the intention that all good knowledge is from Allah Almighty and u must learn this knowledge and use it for good.
(iv) Make a time table. And try to follow it as much as u can. Organize urself. Keep your room clean and ur cupboard organized.
(v) Give challenges to yourself. Example : Today i will finish 100 pages of this book on every condition! Automatically u will see that u gain concentration cz of this challenge.
(vi) I do not advise continuous reading. 2 hr max is good, then take a break of 15-30 min. Do something refreshing. Then again 2 hrs. And go on as much as u can.
6 – How to prepare entry tests.
(i) Yes academy is fine because by going to academy u come to realise the competition when u see other students and this motivates u. Also academies keep taking mock tests (practice tests) so one becomes confident.
(ii) But i do not suggest academy for too long. Just learn the basics from academy and tats enough. Need not spend too much time in academies.
7- Some useful links:
http://jworldtimes.com/Article/82009_8_Ways_to_Keep_Your_Mind_Sharp
http://jworldtimes.com/Article/112010_Motivate_Yourself_5_Tips_to_Help_You
Z.Imtiaz 