OF MILESTONES & DEADLINES

It's kinda a common fact that for one to work efficiently, he requires two things:

• milestones
• deadlines

Milestones are crucial to track one's progress. In corporate world especially, one's performance is measured via milestones, or rather Key Performance Indicator (KPI). Milestones also work to guide people to achieve the goal that has been set up earlier on.

Deadlines, on the other hand, will push us to work more effectively. I bet most people can only work diligently with deadlines. Come on, don't tell me you don't need deadlines to complete your assignments or homeworks? Meh. 

Who needs a credit?

Now, do we have milestones and deadlines in doing our daily tarbiyah and daawa works? Of course we do.

Of course we do.

Our milestones can be as small as memorising certain verses of the Quran or hadiths, or reading a particular book, or leading a number of circles (Read: Halaqah) or even donating money to a certain charity.

But they can also be big things, like establishing the Islamic state, having the shariah law, installing the caliph again or something like starting a Baitul Muslim. Ehem.

Clear throat. 

Whatever it is, we must have milestones in our tarbiyah dan daawa, so that we are properly structured and organised in achieving our goal. I believe most of us are also practising amal jamai'e in our tarbiyah and daawa, that is doing things as a group or organisation. In that case, we must also try our best to align ourselves with the group/organisation's milestones, so that we will achieve a bigger and more meaningful goal togethagheta. Err I mean, together. 

And how about deadline? Do we have one?

Of course, of course.

Similar to works given by our lecturers or assignments tasked by our bosses, tarbiyah and daawa works must also have deadlines. So that we won't be procrastinating. Sweats. Even so, the deadlines must be practical enough, taking into account one's capability and restrictions, if any. This to ensure that the deadlines set are just and fair to the person in-charged. I mean, you can't expect to establish the Ustadziyatul 'Alam by tomorrow mid-afternoon, can you? Like seriously. 

On top of that, all of us have one ultimate deadline; death. Gulp.

The thing about this particular deadline, no one knows when is his turn. No one knows for sure when will the angel of death come to pay a visit. 

Having said that, this deadline needs to be our utmost priority. We need to allocate most of our time, energy and money towards the preparation of death. 

If we can dedicate all of our resources to submit the most important assignment of the year, of which without will fail our semester, then we must be able to dedicate more resources for the most important assignment in our lives; to prepare to die.

Now, what would happen if we combine milestone and deadline together? What will we get?

Al-Mautu fi Sabilillah. To die on His path. 

Or in other words, syahid fi sabilillah. Die as a true martyr. 

That is what we call as awesomeness. The real awesomeness.

Yours truly,

Mister Woodpecker