...OF THEIR LIVELY HEARTS!

*WORKING…A MUST* *[For those aiming at bettering the lots of humanity…]* Many a time, we find ourselves empty at maintaining moral etiquettes that may help in perfecting our interpersonal and presentational dispositions. The absence of these is not accidental. They are not a-big-bang outcomes! A link to cause and effect relationship should thus be logical in this instance. My dear! Here is an instance of a veritable bonding between bosses and their workers. The bosses are there in their confines. Yes! Far they are, away from their workers that are saddled with myriads of duties. Obligations, assignments, these roles and those deadlines are exclusively the lots of these workers. You would need to see to their workloads. These have, indeed, laden their backs so heavily that they are left with little or no creative breathing space. Making their plights known to the right quarter lags behind. What ill-effects, what challenges, what feedback, what recommendations…garnered from their routine engagements seem redundant. *Who is genuinely ready…to hear them out?* Where is that ‘mood-metre’ that could estimate for us, all that are laying fallow in the nook and crannies of their lively hearts? Yes! Focusing on swiftness as a visionary encourages unevenness but targeting the aptness of every purpose as missionary demands togetherness. Of course, team work is the watchword of every successful entity. Accordingly, he who desires finishing speedily ended up working alone. This is in contrary to the yield of consistent collaboration whose fruitions flourish in numerous grounds. The room to relate, accommodate and ameliorate the feelings of many has been on locks for long. It is being unlocked once in a while when these big bosses deem it fit. They do this, most of the time, to provide a soft-landing for *their current guidelines that are having more holes in them than Swiss cheese*. We preach against slandering; we tongue-lash gossiping; we ill-praise back-biting yet we have refused to give a listening audience to the silent cries of the ever energetic jobbers – the helpless workers! In every humane establishment, a smooth and constant operational rapport is desirable. With it, constructive criticisms flourish; by it, needed corrections materialized and from it, next level is attained just because everyone is rendered every humanly respect he or she deserves. Recent happenings around are not disconnected from the anomalies of the conundrum hinted on in this piece. *Talking alone has never been effective; unless action follows it*. Let’s leave out the messenger here, if it’s peace we so desire. But as for the message, I would say: “working by it should be a must.” AbuHaashim BOLAJI M.A. [21/10/2019]

HEART SOFTENER: THE TRUE-ORATOR!

*Who else could be The Best Speech-Maker...?* Hearing is sharper at night and seeing is most potent during the day, this explains the end of each of the verses below. The day and night via the rotation of the earth around it’s axis and the movement of the sun is one of the signs of Allaah. He didn’t make the earth static nor the sun. Knowing all this, *how would anyone deny Allaah's power and ability?* Q28 71. Say (O Muhammad ): "Tell me! If Allaah made night continuous for you till the Day of Resurrection, who is an ilah (a god) besides Allaah who could bring you light? Will you not then hear?" 72. Say (O Muhammad ): "Tell me! If Allaah made day continuous for you till the Day of Resurrection, who is an ilah (a god) besides Allaah who could bring you night wherein you rest? Will you not then see?" Therefore, anyone seeing himself with the ability to fathom the logic behind these expressions should rejoice...he has been rendered much goodness. *...و ما يعقلها إلا العالمون!* Writer: *AbuZayd Ibraaheem Raji* Editor: *AbuHaashim M. A. Bolaji*

HEART SOFTENER: ACT!

*Walk the Talks!* *And those who struggled in Our path, surely We shall guide them in Our ways. And no doubt, Allaah is with the righteous.* [Al-Ankaboot, 29:69] Making efforts and taking the right step to achieve one’s goal doesn’t contradict putting one’s trust in Allaah. Allaah decreed means, ends and everything in between. Ya’aqub (alayhi salam) was absolutely sure the dream of Yuusuf (alayhi salam) will come to pass but yet he continued to act in line with the appropriate steps to reach the goal. *Ponder over the following:* *1*. When Yuusuf (alayhi salam) told him of his dream, he said Q12:5 He (the father) said: "O my son! Relate not your vision to your brothers, lest they arrange a plot against you. Verily! Shaitan (Satan) is to man an open enemy! He’s taking precaution to avoid the evil consequences of envy. *2*. When his sons were returning to Egypt Q12:67 And he said: "O my sons! Do not enter by one gate, but enter by different gates, and I cannot avail you against Allaah at all. Verily! The decision rests only with Allaah. In him, I put my trust and let all those that trust, put their trust in Him." Here he combined his action while reminding all that Allaah’s will and decree is not preventable. *3*. When he lost his second son and since he was sure the dream of Yuusuf (alayhi salam) must come to pass, he sent out his other sons to go look for the missing one. He didn’t just wait at home for the dream to come to pass. He acted. Q12:87 O my sons! Go you and enquire about Yusuf (Joseph) and his brother, and never give up hope of Allaah's Mercy. Certainly no one despairs of Allaah's Mercy, except the people who disbelieve." Pray, put your trust in Allaah, work hard and then nothing is impossible. Written by: *AbuZayd Ibraaheem Raji* Edited by: *AbuHaashim M. A. Bolaji*

HEART SOFTENER: PENITENCE

*Penitence: a Mark of the True Believers* The believer doesn’t persist in error or look for justifications for it. When Adam (alayhi salam) sinned he repented while Iblis tried to justify his sin by saying “I am better than him”. And perhaps we are ignorant of what constitutes uncouth, insultive and abusive use of words on other Muslims. In the Hadith below, all Aisha (radiya Allaahu anhaa) did was make a gesture. The prophet (salaLlau alayhi wasalam) said that would spoil the ocean. How about when you say another Muslim is stupid? ...sluggish? ...gluttony? ...tribalistic? The Prophet (Salla Allahu 'Alayhee wa Sallam) was looking into marrying Safiyyah (Radya Allaahu 'Anhum). So the Prophet (Salla Allahu 'Alayhee wa Sallam) asked Aisha about her and Aisha said she was nice and everything was good about her, but then Aisha made a gesture with her hand to show that Safiyyah was short. In response to this the Prophet (Salla Allahu 'Alayhee wa Sallam) said just this gesture; if she were to put it into an ocean it would stain the whole ocean. [sahih Sunan Abu Dawud, 41:4857] We ask Allaah for truthfulness in thoughts, in speech, in actions, in inactions and reactions, aamiin. Written by: *AbuZayd Ibraaheem Raji Edited by: *AbuHaashim M.A.Bolaji

My Draft Hypothesis on a High School Educational Topic

NAME Adigson ASSIGNMENT My Draft Hypothesis and Initial Research Questions towards a Research Proposal Subject High School Education Theme Departments/Choices of Career Context Choices of Career among the Youth in Nigeria Topic Parental Influence on Choices of Career among the Senior Students of Deen Foundation Secondary School, Ekpan Research questions • How will learners make choice of career that soothes their inclination and capability? • How best should learners’ choice of career be considered? • Are parental suggestions on their wards choice of career influential? • What should actually be the roles of parents on their wards choice of career? Hypothesis • Do parental suggestions have any influence on learners’ choice of Career or not? With a view to provide feedback to the research questions, I have had to reason along this line. Check this out! How will learners make choice of career that soothes their inclination and capability? To answer this, aptitude test or career test could be administered. Doing that the areas of the wards/learners/students interest could be easily determined. Thought, it may not conscipucuously tally with their capability. This is because many a time we tend to desire what we are not ordinarily cut for. Yet aiming high should never be discouraged. How best should learners’ choice of career be considered? Here, necessary measures to ensure perfection or at least manageability of the choices of career observed to be on the higher level in relations to the learners in question should be given paramount attention. This is because for the learners to have decided a path of learning showing him/her/them how to achieve that might not be hard to be easily followed by them to achieve their targeted path. Are parental suggestions on their wards choice of career influential? Either directly or indirectly, parental suggestions have been influential on their wards’ choices of career. As a direct influence, some of them did converse with their wards in a purposeful manner while others tailor the path of authoritarian to pass across their message to their wards. For example a parent may suggest to her daughter…”while you were small you kept on reminding us that you are going to be a doctor.” Indirectly, a parent doing well in a field would be emulated automatically by his boy. It is very hard to see the children of teachers and farmers choosing professions other than their parents’. What should actually be the roles of parents on their wards choice of career? Parents’ roles in choices of career of their wards cannot be overstepped. This is one of the duties to which they are saddled with. However, calculated precautions are expected to be taken so as not to over play these critical roles. They should sound objective in their approach towards the choices of career of their wards. In other words, they should be guides to what exactly their wards are cut out for while considering the moral stands of such endeavours as well as their achievability. Working research question Do parental suggestions have any influence on learners’ choice of Career or not? Here, I had to narrow down my focus. High school education is actually a broad topic to deal with. For easy management in terms of researching into parental influence on their wards future ambitions, I had to narrow down my focus to be able to figure out this research gap more easily. Though in the Nigerian context, it is further limited to the Senior Students of Deen Foundation Secondary School located in Ekpan, Delta State. *Further Editing...* I should be having some reframing on my research questions and that would actually force me to adjust my methodologies and methods of analysis. All in all, I would be going for multidisciplinary approach at researching 'Parental Guidance and their Wards' Eventual Choices of Career'. I am considering interviews/questionnaires qualitatively on one hand...records of academic performance as determinants on pluses and minuses of Parental Guidance on the other hand. I am opened to correction...Please do not hesitate to offer a helping or even a combative suggestion at any of my vituperations you observe to be unsubstantiated. Thanks.