The first revelation/command/guidance which came to the Prophet of Islamsaw was not prayer, fasting, Hajj or any of the important pillars of our noble regions, but, Iqira (read). This is a point worth noting, going forward. However let us get back to our objective for this writing. My idea is to inspire, rekindle and build the can- do and entrepreneurial spirit in Ahmadi youth through a medium which inculcate the use of "Iqra"(hope it rings a bell).
You are cautioned however that whatever you read from me are purely my "free thought" personal analysis and experiences. The fact is that if you are not courageous enough to say to the world "Here I am" nobody has the time to say there you are". So be Bold!
The second Khalifara (Hazrat Mirza Bashirudeen Mahmud Ahmad) in his poem, "to the Nation's Youth" commanded and challenged Ahmadi youth in the following words "DO NOT BE SEEKERS OF IDLE REST but DO and DARE". This poem, which I have been listening to at least once a day in my car for the last two years has so many of such messages which have the ability to instantly inject the energy to fire-up the youth from within, like a rocket for goal achievement (many of them will be highlighted in my subsequent writings, Insha-Allah).
Let's for the rest of this writing ponder on the command, "Do not be seekers of idle rest but Do & Dare". Permit me to indulge you a bit more by breaking this "divine business message" of the 21st century and beyond into three parts. Please note that, three separate commands are linked by the conjunctions "But" and "And"
I. Do not be seekers of Ideal Rest
II. Do
III. Dare
Let us however attempt to look at the messages / commands separately. As we do so, we will interlink and highlight the relevance of this divine guidance to small business start-ups, entrepreneurship, self employment and self sufficiency through the creation of reliable business machinery to make genuine (Halal) money.
COMMAND No. 1:
Do Not Be Seekers of Idle Rest.
It is instructive to note that the maker of this statement has carefully chosen his words to us to carry the required message in no ambiguous way to its audience. The second Khalifa did/is not asking Ahmadi youth to be workaholics but be people who understand moderation, balance and the mystics of time as "warned" by Surat-ul- Asr ie. Quaran Chapter 103. Time and tide they say waits for no man.
Cautioning us on idle rest quickly brings to fore the need to be proactive, hard working, focused, visionary, time conscious and being well aware of our environmental factors, as a youth in this competitive global village we find ourselves to be successful. Similar thoughts are echoed by Andrews Groove in his 1996 book "Only the Paranoid Survive".
COMMAND No. 2:
DO!
It is often said that the sweetness of the pudding is in the eating. This tells us that the success of anything is in the "doing". The second key word in this divine message is the simple two letter word "DO".
Many will agree with me that, it is the dream of most people to be independent, work for themselves, own a business and perhaps employ others. However, 80% (subjective) of the time this noble dream is not achieved. It should be worth your noting that, these dream(s) is /are not achieved not because the individuals haven't got brilliant ideas or have no start-up capital.
Their noble dreams are not achieved because they simply did or are doing nothing about it. Every great business is/was an idea conceived in an individual's mind. I believe we have heard of the famous KFC fast food and FEDEX, the courier service company. These are both multinationals with shares trading on Walls Street and the New York Stock Exchange.
The former’s proprietor, then a 70 years old man after developing the recipe for Chicken did not have money to commercialese it. He had to knock on 999 doors that turned him down but the 1000th door however opened for the business take off. The later, FedEx is also a Harvard Business School Student’s failed these / research work. He however decided to peruse (DO) the idea after school and the rest is history.
The difference between that individual who transformed his/her idea into a business which does not only employ himself but others and the other individuals with similarly smart idea(s) that never saw/see the light of day is the two letter word "DO".
The Do/Doing attitude are key. Ahmadi youth should note that it is impossible to know what could have happened if you did nothing about something/anything. Note that even failure is an experience.
COMMAND No 3:
DARE!
Probably the single most important reason why Ahmadi youth despite their brilliant ideas never get to start businesses is the fear of failure and the unknown. As Ahmadi youth the second Khalifa, Hazrat Alhaj Bashirudeen Ahmad is encouraging us to be courageous and daring. I Ahmad Adade Boakye say to you, 'stop the excessive risk assessment, the logic and reasoning and just plunge head-on into the "Business Lake" like that is the last thing you've got to do on earth'. I am not naively asking you not to take calculated risk, but note brothers/sisters that, your calculations could be "taken" too many pages.
The other impression I get from the "Dare" command is that the second Khalifa" is well aware of the fears and challenges we may have in both our internal and external environment as Ahmadi youth. Thus he carefully chose the word "Dare".
To dare which is a verb (a Doing word) has many meaning, some of its synonyms are venture, challenge, hazard, presume or defy. But to dare simply means "to have the courage to do something" despite the hazards or challenges there are. This is exactly what the Khalifa is asking us to do and I am encouraging you to channel that effort into entrepreneurship.
It is my hope and belief that your reading of this text tickles your senses to further read the full text of the poem "TO THE NATION'S YOUTH" and ponder on the verses one after the other.
May Allah strengthen and guide us not to be seekers of idle rest but equip us with the ability to dare to put forward our ideas to the benefit of Islam, Ahmadiyya and the world at large.
I wish you peace!