In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Have you ever wondered why humans tend to always seek the best in everything?
For example, when we search online, we often type queries like "best hotels nearby," "best cars under 10 lakhs," "best phones under 20k," or "best dish at a restaurant."
When buying fruits or vegetables, we might look for the "best banana," "best carrot," "best cucumber," or "best mangoes."
But the question arises: Why always the BEST?
Why can't we settle for something good enough? Is this a natural human tendency that we can't control?
Finding the Best
As a software engineer with over six years of experience, I once worked on a project that required integrating the ChatGPT API. Those familiar with the IT industry and ChatGPT know that sentences are broken down into tokens, and each token counts. After a free tier limit expires, there are costs associated with token usage.
In this scenario, while striving for the "best" response, we realized the importance of crafting the best possible query or scenario to minimize token consumption and save costs.
This experience highlighted our human tendency to seek the "best." But how do we know what's truly best for us?
The answer is simple: The one who creates something knows what's best for it. The one who grows vegetables or fruits knows which ones are best.
Similarly, the One who created humans knows what's best for us.
Guidance from the Quran and Hadith
By studying Islamic beliefs (Aqeedah) and the works of early scholars, we realize that Allah, through His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), has already guided us on what to do and what's best for us.
The Quran and Hadith contain verses and sayings that mention what's best for us. As I strive to find a balance between my software engineering career and Islam, I'll share a few examples:
From the Quran:
"And fasting is better for you, if only you knew." (Quran 2:184)
"And tell My servants to say only the best [words]." (Quran 17:53)
From the Hadith:
"The best rows for men are the first rows, and the worst ones are the last ones..." (Sahih Muslim)
"The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Quran and teach it." (Sahih Al Bukhari)
"The best amongst you are those who have the best manners and character." (Sahih Al Bukhari)
These are just a few examples, as there are many other verses and hadiths that elaborate on what's best for us. Even though my knowledge is limited, I've shared these because they've personally helped me find a more balanced way to integrate my faith into my IT career.
Striving for the Balance
Even in the rapidly evolving IT industry, can't we do a few things to get closer to Allah? Let's reflect and ask ourselves these questions:
We are very health conscious and eat just enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Why can't we also fast on Mondays and Thursdays for Allah?
When we have time, we pray Salah. Why can't we strive to offer Salah in the first row of the masjid?
We can learn or memorize entire networking and programming books. Why can't we also memorize the Quran for Allah?
These actions, as prescribed by our Creator, represent the "best" for us. Why not strive for the best in Islam, as we do in our daily lives?
This blog post is for fellow Muslims in IT, especially those who are already familiar with Aqeedah (Islamic beliefs) and avoid Shirk (polytheism) and Bid'ah (innovation in religion) and are struggling to find the right balance.
Remember the Prophet's (PBUH) words: "The best of people are my generation, then those who come after them, and then those who come after them..." (Sahih Al Bukhari).
These were successful people, blessed by Allah (SWT) in this life and the next. We can follow their example! The key is to keep reminding ourselves that true success comes by following in the footsteps of our righteous predecessors.