Ibrahim Khan

By the grace of God, me and Mohsin Patel have signed a 📚 book deal with Wiley - launching next summer 🎉 !

But rather than the usual back-slapping, I want to share the story of one of my biggest failures.

This isn't the first book I've written. It isn't even the second.

I have been a wannabe fiction author for about a decade now and have written 3 novels. Sadly, most of these will likely never get published because they're not good enough. Trust me, I've tried 😕.

💷 On reflection though, that body of half a million words helped me hone my writing muscles, which today pays the bills at IslamicFinanceGuru, and ultimately brought about this deal.

✍ So if you're secretly working on some big, unrealistic, passion project - stick at it. It's worth it for the journey, and, just occasionally, Providence might throw you a lucky break too 😊.

Anyway, here's the book cover! Let us know what you think!

(And if there's an absolutely burning question you have on this topic - let us know below because we're 2 weeks away from submitting the final draft so could sneak it in! We'll give a shout out in the book too 😄 if your question is selected.)

I've prayed in: foyers, forests, deserts, snow, the Louvre, car parks, and chapels. I've prostrated on stairs, in rain, mud, and sleet. And so have millions of other Muslims.

🔷 Prayer is the 2nd pillar of Islam and it is intrinsically linked to Islamic finance and investing. Misunderstand this and you've misunderstood all of Islamic finance.

🔸 Muslims pray 5 times a day and each time we reset on what's important and why we do what we do. We see it as literally conversing with God. Any act of Islamic finance consequently is only a few hours away from our next prayer. That's why getting it right in transactions matters so much.

🔸 Islam loves profit-making and trade. But the only time God forbids trading is during Friday prayers. Every week the community MUST leave off their work and come together to reflect and learn.

🔸 Psychologists say that to clearly articulate your goal and verbally say it makes it much more likely to happen. 5 times a day Muslims get to do this in front of God. There's a career/business boosting tip if ever I saw one.

📿 I would love to hear from you folks where is the craziest place you've ever prayed?

👉🏽 This post is part of my 5 pillars - halal investing series, follow along for more!
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💍 The bride didn't turn up at my brother's wedding - but the real problems started when the waiters cancelled.

😧 The bride was just fashionably late, but the waiters had been offered a better deal so they definitely weren't coming.

🤬 So we now had hundreds of very hungry guests, lots of food - but no bridge between the two.

🥘 So, with a can-do attitude, our entire family (bar the groom) took off our coats and ties and descended into the salan-soaked mosh pit of the industrial kitchen.

Heart surgeons were delivering the biryani, PhDs were getting shouted at for not giving enough naan. A radiologist was the chaiwala. It was the survival of the fittest - a scene straight out of the triassic period - only this time the velociraptors wore an apron.

But as the food started flowing, insulin levels rose, and the bite went out of the situation. Even the chaiwala started enjoying himself.

The bride arrived, Mustafa Khan, ACA got married, and the waiters went into retirement.

Lessons:
🟢 Always do written contracts. Pay more to avoid headache later.
🟢 The show must go on.
🟢 Anyone can do anything (within reason).
🟢 Teamwork, division of labour and good communication win the day.

Any other lessons you spotted? 😀