My goals for the year 2024..

It may seem strange to set goals for the year when we’re almost halfway through it, and.. well, okay, it is. In a conversation I had today, I mentioned my interest in pursuing a certain subject out of interest, but said it’d need to be in the distant future since my current goals need my focus. This caused the realization that, actually, I haven’t got those goals very clearly defined. This post will be my attempt at outlining them in detail to avoid confusion.

1. Complete عقيدة

For over a year now, I’ve been very casually ‘studying’ Islam; the quotes hopefully suggesting just how little I’ve actually studied. Despite going through some books and lectures on fundamental subjects, I’ve done a poor job of properly studying the religion, something I had recently decided I wanted to do. I have a rough outline of the books I wish to tackle, beginning with the first and most vital field of knowledge; عقيدة (creed).

This is the make-or-break thing which can grant someone salvation or eternal torment, so clearly it deserves my undivided attention. Despite my deep love for the field of حديث (prophet tradition), it is a better use of my time as a beginner to focus on عقيدة for two primary reasons; the first being already covered, and the second being that my infantile comprehension of the Arabic language would heavily limit the quality of my learning in the field of حديث.

My aim by the end of the year is to hit all the fundamental works of عقيدة with explanations to ensure full understanding (at least the best understanding I can get without being fluent in Arabic; I will need to revisit these works when that time comes).

2. Become competent in Arabic

For the past few months I’ve been studying the Bayna Yadayk series on and off, mainly due to the lack of videos which suit my style. Having hopefully found one which I’ll enjoy (إن شاء الله), I intend to spend at least thirty minutes of my day learning the language. Not all of it will be in lessons. I highly believe that hearing the language a lot in a natural context is a large part of successfully acquiring it. Bayna Yadayk is simply my route to attaining a vocabulary large enough to set out alone in the vast world of علم (Islamic knowledge).

The competency here I define as being able to understand at least 80% of simple conversations, lectures or writings from people of knowledge about the Quran, Sunnah and their contents. My sole goal in learning Arabic is علم, and so my desired outcome is clear-cut. I believe the first half of the Bayna Yadayk course already has a few thousand words of vocab, so I am anticipating that at least low-level works like those of Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen should be quite accessible.

3. Finally completing my weight loss journey

I deeply desire having the ability to focus on building muscle and refining my body through dedicated training as opposed to needing to focus on maximizing my day to fit in as many steps as possible. It’s not like it’s something exceptionally hard, it’s just taking a mental toll by doing the exact same thing endlessly. My goal is to shred the remaining fat I have to be able to devote my fitness hours entirely to a mix of weight training and building endurance.

Having only three goals may appear simple, but each of them will take hours of repeated effort and expending a great deal of mental energy. I ask Allah, The Most High for success in these goals as without Him there is nothing attainable for even the strongest king with the whole world’s vast supply of resources.

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته