Why Your Lack of Productivity is Hurting the Ummah
Every Brick Matters in the Wall of the Ummah
We often think of “productivity” as a personal matter — a way to get more done, earn more money, or feel more organized. Many of us were trained to think about this as a blackbox, input-to-output, where the input is time-well-managed, with focus and attention, and the output is more income, better life overall, and increased individual "success".
Clearly, you see where that individualized line of thought is leading us… As a community, as an Ummah!
Abu Musa reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, the believers are like bricks of a building, each part strengthening the other,” and the Prophet clasped his fingers together.
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim
Imam Suleiman Hani gives a solid commentary on this Hadith:
We can't place the responsibility on others and assume things will just get taken care of by someone else somehow. The Prophet ﷺ tells us:
The believers are like one structure, one body! And guess what? YOU are a part of this structure. YOU are a part of this body.
NO! It's not ok to be the missing brick.
NO! It's not ok to be the missing/inactive limb.
NO! It's not ok to be the weakest link.
We need YOU!
YOU Matter!
YOU have a role to play!
If you feel that Imam Suleiman’s words resonate, let’s imagine one of the following scenarios:
When a Weak Brick Endangers the Structure
1. The Professional Coasting in His Career
He clocks in, does the bare minimum, and clocks out. When the team is looking for someone to lead a challenging project, he stays quiet — not because he can’t, but because he doesn’t want to deal with the stress.
He barely signs up for training, only cares about checking the box on the bare minimum; He lost interest in books and articles related to his field. Years pass, and while others move up to positions of influence, he’s exactly where he was.
That’s not just his personal loss. That’s the Ummah losing someone who could have been in rooms where decisions are made. Someone who could have been the voice for Muslims in high-level circles. But because of coasting, the seat is empty — or worse, filled by someone who doesn’t share our values.
2. The Community Member Who Wastes His Weekends
Friday night: gaming till 2 a.m.
Saturday: sleep in, scroll on the phone, maybe go out for coffee.
Sunday: binge a TV series, complain about work tomorrow.
By Sunday night, the weekend is gone.
No volunteering at the masjid.
No reading Qur’an or spiritual development. No skill-building. No interest in knowledge circles and seminars and community events.
Now multiply that by hundreds of people in the same city.
What you get is a community with a lot of talk about “change” but not enough people ready to lead it.
When a crisis comes, we suddenly realize we don’t have enough prepared minds or capable hands. And it’s not because the talent didn’t exist — it’s because it was left untrained, untested, and unused.
3. The Parent Who Doesn’t Work on Self-Growth
They love their children deeply. They work hard to provide food, clothing, and a good education. But they don’t invest in themselves. No reading. No reflecting. No learning how to communicate better, how to manage emotions, or how to model resilience.
So when life throws challenges — arguments at home, questions about faith, pressures from school — they respond with the same patterns they grew up with. And without realizing, they pass those same limitations to their children.
Fast forward 20 years, and the next generation faces the same struggles, with the same lack of tools. The cycle doesn’t break. The Ummah doesn’t advance.
The reality is: every time we coast, delay, or waste time, we shrink the collective capacity of the Ummah.
A Prophetic Duaa Against Weakness
The Prophet ﷺ would regularly make this duaa:
“O Allah, I seek refuge in You from anxiety, sorrow, disability, laziness, cowardice, miserliness, the burdens of debt, and the repression of men.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله explains:
Worry & Sadness are companions — worry over the future, sadness over the past. Both trap the heart.
Inability & Laziness are companions — inability is when you cannot act, laziness is when you will not act.
Cowardice & Stinginess are companions — cowardice with your body, stinginess with your wealth.
Debt & Oppression are companions — debt gives others rightful control over you, oppression is wrongful domination.
Look closely — almost every pair here touches on productivity, initiative, and responsibility.
If a large part of the Ummah is anxious, lazy, financially burdened, or unwilling to act, our collective strength collapses. The community becomes reactive instead of proactive. and the result is what we see today in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Congo, Uyghur community, and the list goes on …
Why You Can’t Afford to Wait
Many people tell themselves, “I’ll focus on my growth in 3–6 months, once life settles down.”
But here’s the blunt truth is: Maybe our Ummah cannot wait all that long! and every delay has a cost.
That’s 3–6 months of opportunities lost.
3–6 months where you could have been building skills, serving others, and earning influence.
3–6 months where the Ummah remains weaker because one of its members — you — hasn’t stepped into their full potential.
When you postpone investing in yourself, you’re not just holding yourself back… you’re withholding what you could have contributed to your family, your community, and the Ummah at large.
The Ummah Needs Your Energy
Please note — the intention here is not to blame ourselves or trap us in that vicious circle of feeling bad and doing nothing. On the contrary, this is a reminder that you matter and that your growth has a ripple effect far beyond yourself.
When you take a step forward, you’re not just improving your own life — you’re giving the Ummah one more strong brick in its wall.
This is why personal productivity matters so much more than “getting things done.” It’s about protecting yourself — and your community — from becoming weak, dependent, and irrelevant. Every skill you sharpen, every debt you pay off, every act of courage you take… strengthens the Ummah’s position in the world.
Let’s Take Action NOW
This week, I’m hosting a free webinar where we’ll explore:
How personal productivity connects directly to the Ummah’s collective power.
How this Prophetic duaa can guide your focus, energy, and priorities.
Practical steps to break free from laziness, debt, and fear.
What I'm sharing isn't another generic productivity workshop. We're exploring your role in something much bigger than yourself.
🗓 Register here to join us — let’s take the first step towards changing our personal challenges and create the momentum that our Umma needs, inshaAllah.
Don't spend another year wondering what could have been or “What would have happened if I took action?”