Time flies.
Today is already the last few days we Muslims celebrate Hari Raya Puasa. 🙂
Every Hari Raya Puasa is special to me.
Nevertheless, this year Hari Raya Puasa is EXTRAspecial to me.
This is because Alhamdulillah….
It is the first Hari Raya my wife and I celebrate with our 3 months old baby, Yaslyn Inara. 🙂
(Myself, my wife and my baby)
Her laughter. Her cries. Her comel (super cute) cutie pie face melts my heart.
And it is such a joy looking at her cheeky and innocent smile (especially when she feels good after we clean and change her diapers).
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Hari Raya Puasa brings a lot of memories to me.
And below are 3 things I like about Hari Raya Puasa most and how it relates to Islamic Financial Planning in Singapore. 🙂
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1) Takbir Raya
I always look forward to the melodic tune of takbir raya, as I am deeply moved by the meaning of it. Takbir raya never fails to touch my heart.
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Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Allah is great. Allah is great. Allah is great.
La ilaha illallah Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar walilahi ilhamd
There is no God, but Allah Allah is Great, Allah is Great; to Him belongs all Praise
It reminds me that no matter how great or how grand we plan our finances or our business,
Allah S.W.T. is the master, the best of all planners.
Allah S.W.T. is the greatest.
We can put in 99% of our effort to plan and work wholeheartedly to achieve our goals.
But if Allah S.W.T does not grant us that 1%, we will never achieve the goals that we plan and work for.
We can work 13-14 hours a day to achieve our financial/business goals.
But without Allah’s blessing, our financial/business goals will remain a distant dream.
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So remember, in everything we plan for.
Be it our financial goals.
Our business goals.
Our relationship goals.
Make doa to Allah S.W.T. that Allah S.W.T. helps us to achieve them.
After that, put in MASSIVE effort and tawakkal.
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2) Hari Raya Visiting
Hari Raya is also that time of the year where you get to visit your family members.
Visiting relatives is a great practice to strengthen the ukhwah or bond between families.
After all, families are the founding blocks of any society.
If we’re not peaceful or loving at this level, how do expect the ummah to be peaceful and loving also? 🙂
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It’s also a great time to catch up on everyone’s lives and at the same time, seek forgiveness for any transgressions that had happened over the year.
Sometimes we may think we have no problem with our aunts or cousins etc, but perhaps there may have been a time where your words had unknowingly hurt them.
In the Quran, Allah encourages us to forgive one another if we expect His forgiveness.
So what better way to start than seeking forgiveness from your own family members?
This practice helps gel the relationship between family members.
(My relatives who are amongst the first few visitors to my house)
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In fact, many times during my Islamic Financial Planning, I emphasize the importance of silaturahmi.
Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever is pleased to have his provision expanded and his life span extended, then he should keep good relations with his family.”
Source: Sahih al-Bukhari 1961, Sahih Muslim 2557
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Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said: “No person severs ties of kinship would enter Paradise.”
[Reported by Muslim 2556]
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“Learn enough about your lineage to facilitate keeping your ties of kinship. For indeed keeping the ties of kinship encourages affection among the relatives, increases the wealth, and increases the lifespan.”
(HR Imam Tirmidzi)
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3) The Joy Of Giving Duit Raya
Yes. As a kid, I love to go Hari Raya because I get Duit Raya.
We jokingly refer that as “Duit Raya Collection”. 🙂
(My daughter’s duit raya for this Shawal)
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When we are adults now, we’re no longer collecting but giving.
There’s joy in giving out duit raya.
It’s such a pleasure to see the bright smiles of kids with their laughters. 🙂
But you don’t only give the kids.
If you’re able to afford it, don’t forget to gift your elders with duit raya too.
The appreciative looks of our elders will warm the heart; you’re not only making them happy but you’re also racking up points on your good deeds scale, Insya’Allah.
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In Islamic Financial Planning, I advocate not only paying our obligatory zakat, but also making more donations.
During Ramadan, we’re always making conscious effort to donate, because we know the blessed month carries hefty rewards.
During Hari Raya, the practice of duit raya is also a form of donation.
But outside these months, at times, some of us tend to lax a bit on donations.
So a good practice in Islamic Financial Planning is to make conscious donations.
Perhaps you may want to consider setting up auto GIRO deduction for one or a few charitable organizations. This will be part of your monthly budget, which your financial planner can help draw up.
For all my clients, you know that you have an option to donate a specific percentage of your monthly premium contribution to charity.
(My clients have an option to donate part of their monthly premiums to charity)
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In my Islamic Financial Planning, I share the importance and benefits of donating your money.
Abdullah ibn Umar reported: Prophet Muhammad (Peace And Blessings Be Upon Him) was upon the pulpit mentioning charity and abstaining from begging and he said, “The upper hand is better than the lower hand, the upper hand being the one that gives and the lower hand being the one that receives.”
Source: Sahih Muslim 1033
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Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) said: “Allah loves the God-fearing rich man [who gives much in charity but still] remains obscure and uncelebrated.” (Muslim)
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At the end of the day, we not only want to accumulate our wealth. We seek baraqah in it.
We pray that we get blessings from Allah S.W.T. in whatever we do,
especially when its comes to work for our rezeki on this earth.
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That sums up the 3 things I like about Hari Raya Puasa and how it relates to Islamic Financial Planning in Singapore.
If you are looking on the practical aspects on how you can save, accumulate and grow your money the shariah compliant way in Singapore,
you can always whatsapp/sms me at 96520134 to schedule a FREE consultation.
Or perhaps click here to schedule an appointment.
You will want to schedule it asap because I can only accomodate 5 slots per week.
And next week, I will be heading for my long holiday to Oman and Dubai. Insya’Allah.
Ramadan is here again. We, Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan.
Fasting in the month of Ramadan is the 4th pillar of Islam.
The 5 Pillars of Islam are: 1) Shahadah, declaration of faith and trust that professes that there is only one God (Allah) and that Prophet Muhammad is God’s messenger.
2)Salat which is the Islamic prayer.
Salat consists of five daily prayers; the names are according to the prayer times: Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (noon), Asar (afternoon), Maghrib (evening), and Isha’ (night).
3) Paying Zakat, purifying your wealth and soul by giving a portion of your wealth to those in need.
4) Fasting in the month of Ramadhan
5) Hajj, which is pilmigrage to Mecca. It occurs during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah.
Every able-bodied Muslim is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life.
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Today, I am going to share with you on the 4th pillar of Islam, which is fasting in the month of Ramadan.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H).
We believe Quran is God’s words, and Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is the last messenger of God.
During the blessed month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the world abstain from all food, drink, and other physical needs during the daylight hours (such as smoking or sex).
Daily fasts begin at dawn and end with sunset.
Ramadan is much more than just not eating and drinking; it is a time to purify our soul, refocus our attention on Allah S.W.T., and practice self-discipline and sacrifice.
At night, we, Muslims will go to the mosque to perform our special prayers known as Taraweeh.
This is a month when a Muslim should try to AVOID practices like:
smoking,
swearing,
treating people with disrespect
being mean
harming or hurting living things
being cruel
un-courteous and selfish.
Fasting has also many special benefits.
Among these, the most important is that it is a means of learning self-control.
Ramadan is also a time of intensive worship, reading of the Quran, giving charity, purifying one’s behavior, and doing good deeds.
For Muslims, Ramadan is an opportunity to gain by giving up, to prosper by going without and to grow stronger by enduring weakness.
As a secondary goal, fasting is a way of experiencing hunger and developing sympathy for the less fortunate, and learning to thankfulness and appreciation for all of God’s bounties.
Fasting is also beneficial to health and provides a break in the cycle of rigid habits or overindulgence.
So…To All Muslims Brothers and Sisters.
Happy Fasting! 🙂
p.s. By the way, if you wish to discover a simple & halal way to create a positive monthly cashflow and calculate your net worth for FREE, then pleaseclick here…
At times, when I discuss wealth management strategies with my friends, they say it’s difficult to make money the shariah compliant way in Singapore.
It’s easier in Malaysia.
In Indonesia. In Bangladesh. Or in Saudi Arabia.
But not in Singapore.
As a Muslim financial consultant who specialises in helping Muslim families plan their finances the shariah compliant way in Singapore, I am here to debunk such limiting beliefs.
I sum in up with my secret ABCDEFGH formula… I learnt it from my friends, fellow financial practitioners, and then innovate it further to ensure that it is customised and suitable for Muslims in Singapore.
With only the price of a plate of nasi lemak with crispy chicken wing ($5/day),
or $150/mth, you can kickstart your investment plan.
You can start planning your finance the shariah compliant way in Singapore.
Yes… With that $150/mth you can have access to shariah compliant stocks in our shariah compliant fund.
Shariah compliant stocks like….
Apple Inc
Microsoft Corp
Intel Corp
Google
Adobe
Harvey Norman
You DON’T have to fork out hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy shares.
Yes! At a price of a plate of nasi lemak with crispy chicken wings ($5/day)
OR only $150/mth,
you can begin to invest in shariah compliant fund that consists of these shariah compliant stocks. Super affordable right? 🙂
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Better Returns
You and I know that there is this thing called inflation.
It means that the value of your money erodes. Your purchasing power reduces.
Simply to say, your plate of nasi lemak with crispy chicken wings that costs you $5 today, will DOUBLE in price 10 years down the road.
The only logical choice that you have is to invest.
Make your money work harder.
Invest and grow your money to hedge and beat inflation.
And while you are at it, why don’t you do it the shariah compliant way?
Arrange “Your Financial M.A.P.” session at Takaful.sg for FREE.
And I will share with you more of my simple, easy to follow and proven financial strategies, that can help you get an effective PROFIT rate of between 3-5%/annum for an investment time horizon of 20 years.
That is better than leaving your money under your pillow or perhaps for some of you, in
your Khong Guan biscuit tin.
Do it with me.
And do it the shariah compliant way at Takaful.sg
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Coverage
Gone are the days, where when we mentioned coverage, we have to do it the conventional way.
Today you can have Death, Total & Permanent Disability AND Critical Illness coverage, the shariah compliant way.
You can adjust the coverage, that you want.
And the plan comes with a shariah compliant underlying fund.
In addition to that, an aqad contract can be done to remedy Maysir (Speculation) and Gharar (Uncertainty).
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Diversification
With a limited amount of money, you can diversify your funds.
Yes… With that $150/mth you can have access to shariah compliant stocks in our shariah compliant fund.
Shariah compliant stocks like….
Apple Inc
Microsoft Corp
Intel Corp
Google
Adobe
Harvey Norman
You know the old saying, “don’t put your eggs in one basket”.
Again. Arrange “Your Financial M.A.P.” session at Takaful.sg for FREE.
And I will share with you my simple yet effective shariah compliant diversification formulae.
In addition, to the diversification strategies, I shared above.
It is customised specifically for Muslims who live in Singapore.
Schedule a session now! 🙂
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Easy Investment
A lot of my clients invest in stocks.
When I mention invest in stocks, I really mean it.
They do their homework.
They download the companies annual report.
And read the director’s statement.
To understand the companies direction better, they do a SWOT analysis on the companies.
Fundamental Analysis. Calculate the profitability, liquidity and investment ratios….
Vertical, horizontal analysis on the financial statements.
Calculate the intrinsic value of the particular stocks. Immerse themselves with further technical analysis.
100 days moving average, 150 days moving average. Many, many more time consuming researches…
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In the end, I looked at them sympathetically and asked them… “Tired or not???”
Most replied with a look of despair on their face, “Of course tired lah!!”
And I probed them further, “Where do you find time to do all those time consuming research?”
Most replied when they came back home after 10 full hours of office work.
Go back home.
Straight to their computers.
Staring at the screen.
Busy punching numbers into their excel spreadsheets.
Stared hard again at the flickering charts on the screen.
Every. Single. Night. Vicious cycle. And it continues on and on.
I told the, why not choose the easy way?
Dollar Cost Average… Put money monthly every month, and top up when the market price goes down.
Still can make a good, fair share of Halal profits.
And, now imagine.
All the time, you save, from having to spend countless hours of research,
you begin to spend it on your wife and kids,
your love ones.
(Myself with my wife, enjoying ourselves during our honeymoon at Morocco)
That is why I love this formula.
Easy Investment = More Quality Time With Your Love Ones = Happier, Blissful and More Fulfilling Life
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Flexibility
You can choose to take premium holiday.
Meaning today you start with the shariah compliant investment plan.
In the future, if unfortunate circumstances, cause you to be financially tight, you can stop paying the premium for a while.
And resume back when you are financially OKAY.
You can also adjust your premium accordingly.
Now you start your shariah compliant investment plan @ $200/mth.
In the future, when your pay increases, you can always increase to $500/mth or vice versa.
Super flexible right? 🙂
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Great Support System
Let me share with you a little secret.
Almost half of my clients who engaged me for shariah compliant investments have finance training background.
They either have a Diploma or Degree in Accountancy/Finance.
Or professional certifications like ACCA etc2.
The reason why they choose investing with me, is because of Great Support System.
We leverage on the expertise of professional fund managers.
Remember the scenario I shared above.
Today, you screened a stock, and you deemed it shariah compliant.
Another 6 months down the road, the stock may no longer be shariah compliant.
Because shariah compliant is not just “No Pork, No Lard”.
There are certain financial ratios that we have to abide to.
Where can we find TIME to analyse it every single month?
Precisely. Leverage on the expertise of professional fund managers.
There is so much, I have to share on the beautiful part of Great Support System.
But I will not divulge it here in my blog. Because some of them are my trade secrets.
Trade secrets that differentiate me from the rest of the 20,000 financial consultants in Singapore.
Arrange “Your Financial M.A.P.” session at Takaful.sg for FREE.
And I will share with you how you can benefit personally when you engaged me as your financial consultant.
Your partner to help you grow your wealth, the shariah compliant way in Singapore.
Insya’Allah. 🙂
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Halal
There is really a lot of strategies for you to earn your money.
No point make money, when it’s not Halal. Your rezeki is everywhere.
In the subsequent blog post, Insya’Allah, I will share with you in greater detail on shariah screening methodologies that is currently used in the world.
For now, we stick with these simple, yet powerful formula.
So, next time, if anyone tell you that it’s difficult, to plan your finance the shariah compliant way…
Tell them this simple, yet powerful ABCDEFGH secret formula.
See you around soon. Jazakallah Khayran! 🙂
p.s. By the way, if you wish to discover a simple & halal way to create a positive monthly cashflow and calculate your net worth for FREE, then please click here…
It is a personal gift from me, in my capacity as a financial consultant that specialises on Islamic Finance for our Muslim community in Singapore.
In my course of work as a financial consultant, I have met too many Singaporean Muslims who would like to hijrah, from riba intensive ways of financial planning to shariah compliant based of financial planning in Singapore.
But many are clueless. Some are overwhelmed.
Through my humble initiative, Takaful.sg, I hope to reach more lives and share the beautiful message on Islamic Financial Planning to as many people as possible.
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In this blessed new year, let us set new azam/resolutions.
New commitments.
One of my commitments is for me to reach out to more Singaporeans and share with them on how to clear their riba based loans.
AND start planning their finance the shariah compliant way in Singapore.
That is why, on this special day, I create and launch Takaful.sg Share this link, with your family, friends and love ones! 🙂
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In this blessful day, may Allah forgive all our past wrongdoings and accept our repentence. May the year ahead be showered with Blessings, Peace and Wisdom.
May the coming year be more fulfilling spiritually for everyone.
Amin…. Amin…. Insya’Allah.
‘A Blessful & Peaceful Ma’al Hijrah 1438’ to all my brothers and sisters again… 🙂
In a few more days, we Muslims, all over the world will celebrate Hari Raya Haji.
Also known as Hari Raya Adha. Great Day of Sacrifice! 🙂
The festival marks the end of the Haj, which is the Muslim pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
It also commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Abraham (Peace Be Upon Him) to sacrifice his son Ismail in an act of obedience to Allah S.W.T.
Prophet Abraham (Peace Be Upon Him) was commanded to offer his son Ismail up for sacrifice to Allah S.W.T. Though it grieved him greatly, he made ready to perform the task.
However, as he was about to strike his son, God stopped him and revealed that it was a trial of his devotion to the Lord.
Ismail’s life was spared and a ram sacrificed in his place.
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During Hari Raya Haji, we Muslims go to the mosque for our morning prayers.
Then, we went visiting our parents and in laws.
(Myself and my wife in our traditional clothes, visiting our family)
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One of the main rituals of the festival is the korban, which involves the sacrificial slaughtering of livestock such as lambs and goats.
The animals are slain in accordance with the proper religious rites, such that they suffer minimal pain.
An individual or a family will donate the sacrificial animal, and Muslims from a particular community will gather in fairly large numbers to help out in the slaughtering and distribution of the meat.
Recipients include the poor and the destitute and other Muslims.
Today’s post, I will like to focus more on methods of slaughtering according to Islamic guidelines.
When I dine out with my Non Muslim friends, they often asked me, “This restaurant don’t have Halal logo, but they never serve pork. You can join us or not?”
I usually agree to join them, on the note that I will only drink, but will not eat.
Then, they will ask me, “Why never eat? There is no pork? Only chicken, beef, mutton and seafood”
Then, I will start explaining…. This post might be educational for you too. 🙂
There is halal chicken and non halal chicken. There is halal beef and non halal beef. There is halal mutton and non halal mutton.
So, what is the difference that makes the difference?
It all boils down to the method of slaughtering. To attain the Halal logo, there are sets and procedures that we have to abide to.
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Summary of conditions for Halal slaughter
Islamic law requires that animals intended for human consumption be slain in a certain manner.
The conditions for Halal slaughter can be summarized as follows:
1) The animal to be slaughtered must be from the categories that are permitted for Muslims to eat.
2) The animal must be alive at the time of slaughter.
3) No electric shock, bullet or any other means should be used before slaughtering.
Using any such method may lead to the death of the animal before it is cut. Islam prohibits Muslims from eating any meat coming from an animal that is dead before slaughter. Muslims are also advised to avoid eating anything doubtful.
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4) The animal must be slaughtered by the use of a sharp knife. The knife must not kill due to its weight. If it kills due to the impact the meat may not be permissible.
5) The windpipe (throat), food-tract (oesophagus) and the two jugular veins must be cut.
6) The slaughtering must be done in one stroke without lifting the knife. The knife should not be placed and lifted when slaughtering the animal.
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7) Slaughtering must be done by a sane adult Muslim.
The name of Allah must be invoked (mentioned) at the time of slaughtering by saying:
Bismillah Allahu Akbar. (In the Name of Allah; Allah is the Greatest.)
If at the time of slaughtering the name of anyone else other than Allah is invoked (i.e. animal sacrificed for him/her), then the meat becomes Haram “unlawful.”
If a Muslim forgets to invoke the name of Allah at the time of slaughtering, the meat will remain Halal. However, if he intentionally does not invoke the name of Allah, the meat becomes Haram.
The head of the animal must not be cut off during slaughtering but later after the animal is completely dead, even the knife should not go deep into the spinal cord.
Skinning or cutting any part of the animal is not allowed before the animal is completely dead.
Slaughtering must be made in the neck from the front (chest) to the back.
The slaughtering must be done manually not by a machine, as one of the conditions is the intention, which is not found in a machine.
The slaughtering should not be done on a production line where pigs are slaughtered. Any instrument used for slaughtering pigs should not be used in the Halal slaughtering.
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Customary and Desirable Practices When Slaughtering
Water should be offered to the animal before slaughter.
AND it should not be slaughtered when hungry.
The knife should be hidden from the animal, and slaughtering should be done out of sight of other animals waiting to be slaughtered.
Animals should be killed in a comfortable way. Unnecessary suffering to them must be avoided.
The knife should be re-sharpened before slaughter.
Storage, Processing and Transport of Halal Meat
Meat chilled or frozen for export to Muslims should be stored in separate cold stores other than those in which pork or other non-Halal meat is stored.
Meat minced or processed for Muslims should not be minced in the same machines used to mince pork or other non-Halal meat.
(Summarised from halalcertification.ie)
I do hope your learn something from my sharing. 🙂
p.s. By the way, if you wish to discover a simple & halal way to create a positive monthly cashflow and calculate your net worth for FREE, then please click here…
A certified financial consultant, Helmi Hakim has won praise for his patience, perseverance and practicality when solving his clients’ financial concerns. For more information on how you can manage your finances better, contact Helmi Hakim at 96520134.
