slip-sliding away…..

We’re more than a third of the way through Ramadaan, which will no doubt prompt many to remark about how time has flown so far. But if you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ll know that time never ‘flies’ for me…it’s usually pretty slow.
Whatever your perspective, I hope this month has been spiritually rejuvenating so far, and that you’re making good use of your time. And for those facing difficulties in their fasting – like those of you in the Northern Hemisphere with insanely long days – may your reward be multiplied for the hardship you’re persevering through.

The blessing of productivity

It’s been a particularly productive month for me so far – which I put down to the barakah of this month, as well as having projects to focus on and then driving myself to get those done.
The biggest of those has been the AccidentalMuslims.com Ramadaan Development Programme – which is a daily set of tasks for those who want to use the momentum of this month to set out long-term improvements. It’s been a far bigger task than I initially thought it would be, but it’s showed me – for the first time in far too long – the kind of work rate I’m capable of when I’m passionate about something and set time-based goals for completion. Of course, the ultimate payoff – I hope – is that people are benefiting from the initiative.
One of my core reasons for doing this kind of work is for my output to benefit others. And through AccidentalMuslims.com – in this particular month – I’m hoping the content, timing, and popularity of the platform have all come together to realise a significant reach and impact for this material.
Along with that, another output has been a series of Ramadaan Tips: very simple advices I’ve gathered over the years, put into graphics which can be shared via social media. Those will insha-Allah go out regularly throughout the rest of the month, but since you guys are loyal readers, you can view them all early here:

Progress

The other major project that’s benefiting from this month’s barakah is my book – which, at this point, has been in progress for three years now. Again, I set myself a Ramadaan deadline: to get a printed sample done by the end of the month. I’ve got an awesome printer ready to do the work, and am now just finalising the document before sending it off.
I’m hoping to be holding a physical copy by the end of the month – or sometime soon after.
For most of the time working on this, I’ve had the idea that this was going to have to be an e-book only – because print costs would be too high given that there’s a lot of colour.
But I always wanted at least one printed copy for myself, so once I get that, it’ll hopefully give me an idea of the publication route. Obviously since this is a self-publishing effort, if I go with print, unit price is going to depend on the number of copies printed…which depends on demand.
I know many people – including myself – prefer paper to e-book. But I’ll have to see how many people would be willing to pay a relatively high price for the print.
The e-book route will always remain open, though.
As part of the marketing, I’ve pondered doing a ‘book trailer’. The image below would probably be part of that:

Picture this

And finally, this year – so far – hasn’t been the best in terms of photography. My former old faithful phone – which included an awesome photo app which often inspired me to capture what I otherwise wouldn’t have – came to the end of its life, and needed replacement.

Unfortunately, my top choice replacement was out of reach, so I settled on something still pretty good – but not as cool on the picture side of things. I’ve found myself taking far fewer pictures, and the special effects are pretty much gone.

I still make do with what I’ve got, and there are workarounds.

Ironically, the phone I wanted (the Pixel 3) is now available in a far lower cost model (Pixel 3a). The timing just didn’t work out for me, because if it was available when I was looking (back in December), I probably would’ve gotten it.

So, that ship has probably sailed…but if anyone out there is feeling generous, you’re most welcome to donate a Pixel 3a (or Pixel 3). Shipping address is available upon request :).

All the best for the rest of this month…
PS: The post title is not an original…it’s taken from Shaykh Hamza Yusuf’s series of reflections this month. You can watch those here.