Al Salam Alaikum 🌱 

A Bedouin once came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and asked: “When is the Hour?”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) didn’t give him a date. He didn’t discuss the signs.

Instead, he asked a question that should stop every entrepreneur in their tracks:

Not “how much have you earned?”

Not “how big your following?”

Not “what’s your revenue growth rate?”

What have you prepared for it?

Your business dashboard can’t answer that question. And that’s exactly the question.

📊 The Distraction of Dunya Metrics

We’ve built entire businesses around numbers that won’t matter in the grave.

Every day, Muslim entrepreneurs obsessively track:

• Follower counts

• Revenue figures

• Email list size

• Engagement rates

• Website traffic

• Conversion percentages

These aren’t evil. They’re tools. But somehow along the way, the tools become the goal. The metrics became the meaning. The dashboard became the deity.

The Quran warns us directly: “Competition in increase diverts you.” (Surah Al Takathur)

Diverts you from what?

From the salah you rushed to check your notifications.

From the Quran gathering dust while you gather data.

From the family waiting while you optimize funnels.

From the preparation that actually matters.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) redirected that Bedouin’s attention for WHEN the Hour would come to WHAT he was doing about it. 

He shifted the focus from speculation to preparation, from curiosity to accountability.

Your obsession with dunya metrics is the same misplaced focus- fixating on the wrong numbers while ignoring the ones that echo into eternity.

🤍 What Your Dashboard Reveals About Your Heart

Be honest with yourself. Answer these questions:

How many times today did you check your business metrics?

How many times today did you check the state of your heart?

If your phone showed you a “spiritual dashboard” with your prayer quality, Quran engagement, and character development- would you check it as obsessively?

The difference between those two answers reveals everything about where your heart actually is.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

Your heart is being shaped by what you measure. 

If you measure followers, you’ll chase validation. If you measure revenue, you’ll chase wealth. If you measure what matters to Allah (SWT), you’ll chase His pleasure.

📿 The Real Cost of Staying Plugged In

When you’re constantly connected to dunya metrics, you pay prices that don’t show up in your Profit and Loss statements:

You lose presence.

You lose peace.

You lose perspective.

You lose purpose.

You lose preparation.

The Bedouin wanted to know when the Hour was coming.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) essentially told him: that’s the wrong question. The right question is whether you’re ready.

Are you ready…?

🔌 Unplugging: A Practical Framework

Unplugging from dunya doesn’t mean abandoning your business. It means right-sizing it. Putting it in it its proper place. Using metrics without being used by them,

Here’s how:

1. Establish “No Dashboard” Times

   Set specific hours when you do not check any metrics. Start with:

   • First hour after Fajr (this time belongs to Allah and your soul)

   • Last hour before sleep (protect your peace)

   • All of Jummuah (one full day off)

2. Create a Weekly Review, Not Daily Obsession

   Most metrics don’t need daily attention. They need weekly analysis.

   Choose ONE metric per week to review your business numbers. Sunday evening or Monday morning works well. Outside of that window, don’t check. You don’t peek. You trust Allah is sustaining your business whether you’re watching or not. This single change will give you back hours of mental energy and presence.

3. Build an Akhira Dashboard

If you’re going to track numbers, track the ones that answer the Prophet’s question: “What have you prepared for it?”

Create a simple weekly tracker for:

• Prayers prayed on time (out of a minimum of 35 weekly)

• Prayers prayed with khushu (be honest)

• Pages/verses of Quran read

• Acts of charity (money, time, service)

• Quality hours with family (fully present, devices away)

• Character wins (patience shown, anger controlled, honesty maintained)

• Learning undertaken (Islamic knowledge, not just business skills)

4. Practice the “Grave Test”

Before checking your metrics, pause and ask: “Will this number matter when I’m in my grave?”

Your follower count won’t be mentioned by the angels.

Your revenue won’t be weighed on the scales.

Your engagement rate won’t be questioned in the Barzakh.

But your salah will. Your honesty will. Your treatment of others will. Your preparation will.

Use this test to break the compulsive habit of checking. Most of the time, the answer will remind you that you have better things to do.

5. Replace Metrics with Meaning

Every time you feel the urge to check your dashboard, do one of these instead:

• Make dhikr

• Send a genuine message to someone you love

• Read one page of the Quran

• Make dua for your business instead of monitoring it

• Step outside and reflect on Allah’s creation

You’ll be amazed how often the urge to check was just anxiety looking for a pacifier. Give it something better.

💎 The Metrics That Actually Matter

Let me give you a different dashboard. One that inshAllah answers the Prophet’s question.

Notice the difference: Preparation metrics get daily attention. Business metrics get weekly reviews. This is the proper hierarchy.

🔌 Signs You Need to Unplug

How do you know if you’re too plugged in? Here are the warning signs?

• You check metrics first thing in the morning before dhikr or Fajr

• Your mood depends on how the numbers look

• You feel anxious when you can’t check your dashboard

• You know your follower count but not how many prayers you’ve delayed or missed this week

• You think about metrics during salah

• You compare your numbers to competitors regularly

• You feel empty even when metrics are good

• You can’t remember the last time you felt content regardless of business performance

If three or more of these are true- you’re not using metrics- they’re using you.

Remember: The Bedouin walked away with more than he came for. He asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) for information about the future. He received a prophetic reorientation of his entire life.

This question doesn’t care about your follower count.

It doesn’t care about your revenue milestone.

It doesn’t care about your engagement rate.

It cares about your salah. Your character. Your relationships. Your knowledge. Your service. Your heart.

Every moment you spend obsessing about dunya metrics is a moment you could have spent preparing. And unlike your analytics dashboard, the Hour doesn’t send you notifications before it arrives.

It just arrives.

This week, shift from dunya metrics to preparation metrics:

Day 1-2: Document Your Current State

Track every time you check business metrics. Write down the time and what triggered it. Also track: How many prayers were on time? How much Quran? How present were you with family? Get an honest baseline.

Day 3-4: Build Your Akhira Dashboard

Create a simple tracker (paper or digital) for the preparation metrics listed below. Start tracking them with the same discipline you track revenue.

Day 5-6: Implement No-Dashboard Zones

Choose your protected times (post-Fajr, pre-sleep, Jummuah). Use app blockers if needed. When the urge strikes, replace it with dhikr or Quran.

Day 7: Reflect and Commit

Journal on these questions:

• What did I discover about my relationship with metrics?

• How did unplugging affect me peace and presence?

• What will I commit to going forward?

• If the Hour came today, what would my answer be to “What have you prepared?”

💌 I’d Love to Hear From You!

If this reflection sparked something in you, I’d love to hear it. You can reply directly to this email- I read and respond to every message. Share your thoughts or tell me how you plan on unplugging from dunya! 🌱 

🤲 Closing Dua

“O Allah, we ask you for beneficial knowledge, good provision, and accepted deeds.”

Ameen