Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.” [Qur’an: Chapter 6, Verse 162]

 I have always longed for a companion who will not only remind me this purpose of our life, but also help me act upon it – showing me a way to implement this verse and most importantly, to uphold consistency in doing so. This is what I can promise you, in sha Allah, when you buy the Muslima Planner 2017 by Kecilmamil – it will help you organize and maintain consistency in your spiritual, professional and personal spheres of life. Every time I flip through its pages, I am mesmerized by the intellect and creativity behind this planner, masha Allah! It is the experience, effort and interest of a striving Muslimah, Mia Widiasari, which made this an all-inclusive, efficacious productivity tool. Read on to find out my thoughts on this fantastic Productivity Tool.

Receiving the package

My diary arrived in beautiful floral wrapping paper, and was packaged very securely. I received the diary in the zesty yellow colour; my initial thoughts were that the diary is very sturdy, with an eye-catching design. The spiral binder makes it strong and ensures that pages won’t fall out easily as I intend to use it for the rest of the year in sha Allah. Although the planner is targeted at Muslim women, I do believe that the content of the planner makes it suitable for male users too. The planner would make a great gift for your wife, mother, sister or daughter in sha Allah.

What hinders us from being consistent and productive?

To truly appreciate how this planner could help me, I had to consider what causes us to stop being productive. There are many things which hinder consistent productivity. Some of these are:

1. Forgetting tasks that need to be completed
2. Improper order of tasks which results in wasting time
3. Not knowing what to do during free time
4. Not tracking the time spent on doing something
5. Not tracking the progress made
6. Not knowing how much time is left for finishing something
7. A vague/long to-do list, etc.

Unfortunately, these are a few things which ease the work of Shaytan, the enemy of the mankind and aids him in making us sick spiritually and physically.

How can the Muslima Planner help us become a Productive Muslim?

There are a few great ways that the Muslima Planner 2017 can you help you become the best version of yourself this year:

1. Get your plan set every month, for the rest of the year

   The diary has an effective yearly plan

   

   The layout makes the diary extremely functional. The space given for each week is enough for noting down the important tasks, with no space for a long list. This is one of the best qualities of this planner as it forces us to prioritize things.

   Tip: Enter your new year’s resolution, like joining a cause or learning something new, as a task for this month. This will help you organize yourself better to achieve it, rather than just having a vague idea which never progresses.

   The diary has a comprehensive monthly planner

   

   With four pages dedicated to each month, the planner provides trackers for habit and exercise. With the help of this planner, we can develop 24 productive habits in a year!

   There is also room for goal box, to-do list, notes, etc in this monthly planner. But, what I loved the most in this monthly planner is that the 13th, 14th, and 15th of each Hijri month is highlighted along with other important Islamic days. This not only helps remember to fast according to the sunnah but also helps identify the corresponding Hijri date of each day.

   Tip: Use it as a tracker for you and your spouse! Shade the half of the circles with one colour for you and the other half with another colour for your spouse. Developing habits or doing exercises together will strengthen your relationship as well as keep up your spirit.

2. Focus on the important and achieve more with weekly organizers

   

   The most important feature of this weekly planner is that it forces us to prioritize our tasks for the day. There is a section to note down the ‘top three’ tasks of the day in addition to separate sections for morning, afternoon and evening.

   A great feature of the Muslima Planner is the tracker for water intake and sleep. We can draw graphs for our weekly water intake and sleeping hours in these trackers. The trackers are not limited to sleeping or water, and two more trackers are included for planning our days around ibadah. These trackers include sunnah salah, morning and evening dhikr, miswak etc. I would say however, it may have been more effective if English equivalents were given in the ibadah tracker for those who do not know Arabic words.

   Tip: Draw graphs for weekly water intake and sleeping hours in corresponding trackers rather than using checks.

More tools for your Productivity

1. Qur’an memorization tracker 

   

   Memorizing a verse a day will take us 17 years, 7 months and 9 days! And, memorizing a page a day will take 1 year, 8 months and 12 days. We can find out the time required to memorize the whole Qur’an from the Planner and can plan our learning accordingly using the Qur’an Memorization Table.

   Masha Allah, I really appreciate the wisdom shown by the designer in including an intention box. For doing anything, we have to purify our intentions continuously to save ourselves from riyaa’ (show off). Writing down our sincere intention and re-reading it can help us rid ourselves of riyaa’.

   Tip: Shade the circle half to indicate that you have memorized the verse(s) and shade the other half when you comprehend the meaning of the verse(s).

2. An all-inclusive Ramadan planner

   

   The Ramadan planner includes a Ramadan goals planner, to-do lists, Qur’an reading tracker, Ramadan Summary and Eid planner. What is truly admirable is that in the Ramadan Summary, there is a section for noting down the progress made in memorizing the Qur’an during Ramadan. While we focus on reciting Qur’an completely, we may delay our memorizing process. While using this section, we can reflect on our effort and adapt a pattern solely for Ramadan to memorize the Qur’an along with reading it.

   Tip: In one of the boxes given in the Ramadan Summary, put down your productive Ramadan lessons/reflections to act upon them later.

3. Learn about the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad

   The planner has dedicated a portion for learning about the sunnah. It details the daily actions of the Prophet and shows a healthy lifestyle based on the sunnah.

   The planner also presents 9 deeds to boost our productivity which can serve as a motivation for accomplishing tasks given in the ibadah tracker. For instance, it explains the benefits of reading Qur’an every day: ten hasanah (rewards) for each letter, cleansing our heart and best medicine to cure all diseases. Likewise, other deeds are precisely explained though do not stick to a single style. It would have been more productive if a pattern has been followed in the explanations. But, still, it is beneficial and I love it.

   

   Tip: Choose a sunnah for a month and track it using one of the two habit trackers given in the monthly planner.

4.  Du’a 101: Emergency rescue for every Muslim

   

   What better inclusion than this: Life in dunya, life in akhirah, family and the ummah? The du’a list is designed to include our beloved ones and the entire ummah in our du’as. Want to pray for parents? Note down it in the family section. Forget to pray for Syria and Palestine? This du’a list reminds us to pray for our brothers and sisters in deen.

   Tip: Paste a sticker on the du’a section whenever you’re able to finish the du’a list during the best times for du’a to be accepted.

And much more…

From monthly cycle log to billing tracker, a self-assessment section to beautiful dividers with Qur’an verses printed on them, the planner surely helps us become productive Muslimahs, aiding us make ourselves better, to make our relations stronger and assist our brains to remember more, in sha Allah…!!!

Visit Kecilmamil Facebook page or their Etsy shop to place an order for your Muslima Planner 2017 today! Price: USD 24.

For further inquiry, visit Kecilmamil.com.

Remember to make du’a so that Allah will bless us to make the out of it.

Do you use diaries and planners? Did you use the Muslima Planner last year? How useful did you find it? Share it with us in the comments. Also, please let us know if this review was helpful.

The post ​[Productivity Tool Review] A Tool to Maintain Consistency – The Muslima Planner 2017 appeared first on ProductiveMuslim.com.

When I started to write this review, my focus was on sharing happy news about the world’s first fully featured app for Ramadan: Ramadan Legacy. But, now, I must tell you about my new righteous companion, who reminds me of my Islamic obligations, shares good content and much more. I must also tell you about the Islamic social networking platform where users can express themselves in a halal manner, maintaining modesty: the brand new Ramadan Legacy App 2016!

The Ramadan Legacy app primarily provides a 30-day action plan for Muslims across the globe, which helps you focus on important Islamic obligations and actions, and aids in preventing idle pursuits during Ramadan. Before explaining the features of the new app, it is a pleasure to inform you that the 2015 Ramadan Legacy app facilitated more than 340,000 memorizations of duas and hadiths, and 125,000 memorizations of ayahs of the Qur’an!

What are the features of this year’s Ramadan Legacy app?

1. Interactive Planner – reminds you of your obligations

Firstly, the app is very pleasing to look at. The cool blues and purples are attractive and the basic obligations of a fasting person are visible as soon as you open the app. The design is user-friendly, modern and clean. I suggest browsing the app and opening different tabs to get a hang of all the features.

As the user signs into Ramadan Legacy, s/he is taken to the Planner with a well-organized to-do list; this action plan is a fine blend of spiritual productivity and social productivity. The list begins with the essence of Ramadan: fasting and taraweeh. Then it moves to the section of compulsory prayers, each prayer indicated with a small illustration of its timing along with the name. The user can either check one prayer at a time or check ‘All’ to mark all completed. I wish there were also a personalized option for sunnah prayers like tahajjud (before suhoor), two raka’h before fajr and duha prayer.

To mark the progress of Qur’an recitation, you are given three options: 1 (referring to one juz of the Qur’an), ½ (referring to half a juz) and ¼ (referring to quarter of a juz). If the user has finished reading one and a half juz on the first day, s/he can tap 1 and then ½. They are not specific to one juz or one surah – you can use the 1, ½ and ¼ markings for whichever way you are reading Qur’an, whether it is five pages after each salah, one juz a day or one hour a day – you can personalise it to whatever is comfortable for you. There is also an option to reset the counter to zero.

The Knowledge Card shows duas made by prophets as well as various words of dhikr and their importance. Though I miss ‘an ayah a day’ feature, I appreciate that there is no overload of information which aids in preserving consistency.

The next section is called Daily Deeds – here comes social productivity to the scene! The deeds are oriented towards interacting with and helping society, and are enough helpful to avoid laziness and inactivity during Ramadan, a month to help the needy and to work for your community.

In the message icon, users can find tips, important announcements and promotional messages from the Ramadan Legacy team.

2. The Content Stream – get connected to relevant information easily

A content stream of inspiring Ramadan blogs and videos from various prominent and reliable Islamic institutions is incorporated into the app, replacing last year’s knowledge library. You can browse through all the useful information, refreshed on a daily basis, with blogs featured by clickable links and videos hosted by YouTube.

It facilitates users to read quality and enhancing material, preventing you from browsing the internet mindlessly and giving into it, wasting precious time during Ramadan. I really appreciate the ease of use of this content feed.

3. Reflections – share and read personal Ramadan stories

Social media is often blamed for carving narcissists out of people. On the other hand, psychologists regard self-focus and reflections vital to self-regulation and personal development. ‘Reflections’ provides a suitable platform for the users to focus on the self in relation to the Ummah without falling into narcissism or letting the social media control them. You can share your Ramadan stories and pictures, and react to posts through likes. The exclusion of comments and the inability to look at other profiles, makes it productive as it prevents idle talk and arguments. May Allah bless us to learn from the reflections of Muslims around the globe and increase internal motivation to do better for the sake of Allah. Ameen!

4. My Legacy – providing productive feedback

Ramadan Legacy developers are aware of how keeping track of one’s performance can help keep up the momentum and motivate us to do better by stepping out of our comfort zone. My Legacy’s progress-checkers mirror our effort, patience and perseverance in completing the actions specified in the planner. If you are suffering from the ‘mid-Ramadan slump‘, or your iman is getting low after Ramadan, have a look at your Legacy, the work you achieved, and reassure yourself that you can bring yourself back up and continue to be a productive Muslim.

My Legacy retains the journal section to record and relive our experiences. It also provides a link to the 2015 planner data if you used it, which will be available soon. I would like to see a space for Ramadan goals, as last year’s app had. Another improvement could be a facility which helps note down the missed fasts and reminds the user to make up them after Ramadan or before the next Ramadan.

Overall, this app is easy to use, beneficial and aesthetically pleasing. Users can find it to be an asset to enhance their Ramadan experience! It is a perfect blend of spirituality and productivity, apt for a productive Muslim. This app would also be ideal for children looking forward to their first fasting Ramadan.

Ramadan Legacy 2016 functions on both Android (4.1 and up) and iOS (8 and up, compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch). I am ready with my companion, the Ramadan Legacy app to reach the highest levels of productivity this Ramadan. Have you downloaded Ramadan Legacy yet? Share your experience with us in the comments section below!

The post Technology Meets Iman: The New Ramadan Legacy App 2016 appeared first on ProductiveMuslim.com.

“As-salatu khairon min al-nawm” (Prayer is better than sleep). My father used to wake me up saying this. He wouldn’t stop until I wake up. It always never took me more than 30 seconds to wake up and say “Alhamdulillah!”

It was interesting for me to observe how the new and free app, FajrUp, seemed to create a similar experience for the users. We snooze or dismiss alarms we set to wake up for fajr, but what’s interesting about this app is that you’re not relying on an alarm; you will actually be receiving a phone call from someone to wake you up!

Imagine getting a phone call from someone saying, “as-salatu khairon min al-nawm“! Seems even more alarming, right?

In FajrUp it will not always be ‘as-salatu khairon min al-nawm‘; it can be an ‘assalamualikum’ followed by an ayah from the Qur’an or a greeting in a language you have never heard before.

In any case, a phone call from an unknown person normally provides enough mental engagement to overcome sleep inertia. More than that, what I like about this app is that it opens an opportunity for me to anonymously help someone fulfill their ibadah and we know that “Allah is helping the servant as long as the servant is helping his brother” [At-Tirmidhi].

When you use FajrUp to wake someone up or request someone to wake you up, you are called a FajrUpie. The total number of FajrUpies available to be woken up is shown above the fajr-up options and the list puts on view the most immediate available FajrUpies at the top, highlighted in green. On this note, I really liked its user-friendly design!

Is it safe making a call to an unknown person?

FajrUp is gender specific and makes sure that users cannot make a call to or receive a call from a person of the opposite gender. The developer seems heedful of observing modesty, privacy and respect  for all FajrUpies. Also, the call lasts only for 15 seconds, just enough to relieve you from the inertia of sleep.

FajrUp does not disclose the phone number of its FajrUpie, only the name  users have submitted will be displayed to the person you are calling and shown as available two hours before respective fajr time. A call can be made to the available FajrUpies only two minutes before their fajr time (there is a great chance that you will be waking someone up for fajr when it’s not fajr time for you!)

These calls are made via VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), an IP-enabled service which allows you to make voice calls using a broadband internet connection. So the user’s phone must be connected to an active network so as to access ‘Reminder’ and receive or make a call. If the user misses the call from a FajrUpie, a  missed call notification will be displayed.

What if you do not want to receive a call or your phone is not connected to a network?

If the user does not want to receive a call, an alarm can be added for fajr and the user will be woken up by adhan. The user will also be woken up by adhan if no one is available to wake him/her up.

Alarm for other salahs also can be added to remind oneself to perform salah on time. FajrUp features the prayer times according to locations via GPS and all what the user needs to do is select ‘Prayers’ and then select the desired salah to set an alarm. So, simple and short to use during a hectic schedule, also far better when compared to some built-in alarm clocks where we need to touch repeatedly to select time. A notification will be displayed for a missed alarm too.

Auxiliaries that you will love to use

FajrUp, in its decent and calming white and green design, features a calendar highlighting Islamic holidays and other notable days. Some other apps also provide that, but FajrUp makes it easy for the user to navigate through the calendar. You can, for instance, leap to 20 years ahead in less than 3 seconds. How cool is that!

Overall, pleased with this app experience! May Allah reward its team for  enabling the ummah to enjoin goodness by waking someone up to perform the precious fajr salah.

Download for Android

Have you tried this app yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

The post [App Review] A New Way to Wake up for Fajr with ‘FajrUp’ appeared first on ProductiveMuslim.com.