The importance of PREPARATION in everything - a lesson story

English Esmir Halilović 9:44

priprema i planiranjetawakkul (pouzdanje u Allaha)ibadah i duhovni rastsabr (strpljenje)hikmah (mudrost)

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Language Original Bosnian

In this lecture, the speaker shares a lesson through a story about a competition between a young, strong woodcutter and an experienced champion. Although the young man worked harder and took only one break, the veteran won because he sharpened his axe during his longer breaks. This metaphor illustrates the importance of continuous preparation and maintaining spiritual and practical tools on life's journey. The speaker connects this lesson to the Qur'anic ayahs that command Muslims to prepare with all available strength (Qur'an 8:60), and to the example of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, who carefully prepared before the Battle of Badr by scouting the terrain, consulting with companions, and organizing his soldiers. The key message is that Muslims must develop the habit of thorough preparation in all aspects of life—from studies and exams to work and spiritual development—because preparation is 'more than half of the work.' The speaker notes that spiritual preparation, safeguarding the soul, and constant guidance towards Allah is as important as material preparation.

Key Points

Article available only in Bosnian.

Priča o drvorezu koji je pobijedio jačeg konkurenta zahvaljujući kontinuiranom održavanju svojih alata—naoštrenih sjekira—ilustrira islamsku vrijednost pripreme u svim životnim aspektima. Predavač povezuje ovu lekciju sa Qur'anskim naredbama za pripremu i primjerom Proroka Muhameda, mira i blagoslovi Allahov, koji se temeljito pripremio prije bitke od Badra.

Summary

U ovom predavanju, predavač dijeli pouku kroz priču o natjecanju između mladog, snažnog drvoreza i iskusnog šampiona. Iako je mladi čovjek radio intenzivnije i uzeo samo jednu pauzu, veteran je pobijedio jer je tijekom svoje šire pauzama oštrrio svoju sjekiru. Ova metafora ilustrira važnost kontinuirane pripreme i održavanja духовних i praktičnih alata u životnom putu. Predavač povezuje ovu lekciju sa Qur'anskim ayahima koji naredavaju muslimane da se pripreme sa svom dostupnom snagom (Qur'an 8:60), te sa primjerom Proroka Muhameda, mira i blagoslovi Allahov, koji se pažljivo pripremio prije bitke od Badra kroz izviđanje terena, konsultaciju sa saputnicima i organizaciju svojih vojnika. Ključna poruka je da muslimani moraju razvijati naviku temeljite pripreme u svim aspektima života—od studija i ispita do rada i duhovnog usavršavanja—jer je priprema "više od polovice posla". Predavač napominje da je duhovnа priprema, čuvanje duše i trajno vodljenje prema Allahu jednako važna kao materijalna priprema.

Key takeaways

Kontinuirana priprema i održavanje svojih 'alata'—bilo da su oni fizički, intelektualni ili duhovni—čini razliku između uspjeha i neuspjeha; kao što je veteran drvoreza oštrrio svoju sjekiru tijekom pauzа, moramo redovito ojačavati našu vjeru kroz ibadah i razmišljanje.
Allah Svevišnji naredava muslimane da se pripreme sa svom dostupnom snagom za izazove koji dolaze, naročito u obrambene svrhe, kako bi se samim tim sprečila potreba za sukobom (Qur'an 8:60).
Priprema nije samo za velika i važna događaja poput bitaka, već je neophodna u svim životnim aspektima: студијама, ispitima, radu, kompeticijama i ličnom rastu; bez pripreme, čak i naporni rad postaje neučinkovit.
Primjer Proroka Muhameda, mira i blagoslovi Allahov, prije bitke od Badra pokazuje da čak i vođeni od strane Boga Proroka su se temeljito pripremali kroz izviđanje, stratešku analizu i organizaciju resursa.
Muslimani bi trebali razumijevati vjeru na pristupačan i razumljiv način jer je put prema Ahiretu dugačak; brza i nerazmišljena akcija (kao konj koji je galopirajući bez plana) vodi do gubitka i cilja i sredstava za njegov doseg.
Priprema u duhovnom smislu znači kontinuirano čuvanje duše, redovito obavljanje ibadaha, svjesnost o onome što radimo i maraćenja sobom da li smo духовно spremni za povratak Allahu.
Princip "putovanje od deset tisuća koraka počinje jednim korakom" postaje još moćnije ako je taj prvi korak temeljita priprema, jer će ta priprema činiti više od polovice ukupnog rada.

Full article

Introduction

Dear friends, assalamu alaikum. Today I want to share with you a very interesting story from which we can extract certain lessons and messages for ourselves. We will then connect these lessons to teachings from the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and to the text of the Qur'an. This story takes place in a forest region where many people worked with wood—cutting, processing, and trading timber. The majority of the people there were woodcutters by profession.

The Contest

There was a man who was, in a sense, a champion at felling trees. He was the most skilled, the most expert, the best, the fastest, and the highest quality in his work. He became known throughout the region for this mastery. One day, a young man who believed himself to be stronger, better, smarter, and more skilled than this champion decided to challenge him. He wanted to prove that he was superior in the art of felling, cutting, and processing wood. Of course, the only way to prove this would be through a competition.

So the people of the region divided a section of the forest between the two competitors, positioning them so they could see each other. They gave them a task: to start at the same time, work as much as they wished for the duration of the workday—eight or ten hours—and at the end of the day, whoever had felled and processed the most wood would be declared the winner.

The Young Man's Efforts

The young man threw all his strength into the work. He cut and processed wood continuously with great intensity. Throughout the entire competition, he took only one break for lunch. And he kept watching his opponent, the champion. Every time he looked over, it seemed to him that the champion was either resting or eating. The young man saw that the champion took a large meal, had several snack breaks, sat down multiple times to rest, and seemed to be doing all sorts of things other than working. Naturally, the young man felt confident that victory would be his.

The Unexpected Result

When the workday ended and the competition concluded, the people from the village came to measure, weigh, and calculate the cubic volume of wood each man had felled. To everyone's astonishment—and to the young man's complete disbelief—the champion had cut and processed more wood than the young man. The young man could not believe it. He said to the champion, "This is impossible! Almost every time I looked at you, you were either sitting down or resting, eating or doing something else. I did not see you working, but I could tell you were not working as intensely as I was. How is it possible that you accomplished so much more than me?"

The Champion's Wisdom

Then the champion shared with the young man a life lesson that I want to share with you now, and first and foremost with myself. The champion said: "It is true that you saw me sitting down many times, but you did not notice something crucial: every single time I sat down, I was sharpening my axe. Every time I took a break, I would sharpen my axe again. That was the advantage between you and me. Every time after each rest, I would continue my work with a sharp, well-prepared axe, and that is why I achieved so much more than you. You, on the other hand, came with a sharp axe only once at the beginning. You did not pay attention to that crucial detail, and you spent the entire time cutting with a dull axe."

The Lesson for Our Lives

This very interesting story is advice for both me and you today. The question it raises is this: How much do we prepare ourselves for the challenges in life? Do we know how to sit down and reflect on our situation? Do we know how to pay attention to whether our axe is sharp or dull? Are we truly ready for the challenges that lie ahead of us? Have we done everything necessary to ensure that our work, our activities, our endeavors will be successfully realized? When we examine the Qur'anic text, we see that Allah the Exalted prescribes for Muslims an adequate preparation for every matter of this worldly life.

Qur'anic Guidance on Preparation

The Lord of the Worlds says: وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَمِنْ رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ (wa a'iddū lahum mā istataʿtum min quwwah wa min ribāt al-khayl turhibūn bihi ʿaduww Allāh wa ʿaduwwakum) — "And prepare against them whatever force you are able and steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy." The Lord of the Worlds says: prepare yourselves, prepare against potential enemies, as much as you possibly can, with force, with cavalry and horses, with weapons and tools, so that you may strike fear into the hearts of Allah's enemies and your enemies. The goal is that conflict should never actually occur. Rather, the point is to be so well-prepared in every respect—morally, physically, materially, technically, and in every other way—that the threat itself prevents confrontation. This is what the Qur'an clearly and decisively prescribes to us: we must prepare for all the activities of our lives, for every aspect of our existence. There must be preparation, the acquisition of wisdom and knowledge that we will apply so that we may be as excellent and successful as possible.

The Prophet's Example

When we read the hadith of the Prophet of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, we see that before the Battle of Badr, the Prophet himself went on reconnaissance. He prepared the terrain, looked at what his enemy was like, who he would be facing, where they came from, who they were, how well-armed they were, and so forth. He went out to scout and gather intelligence. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, after consulting with his companions and determining the battlefield with them, carried out these types of preparations. We then see the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, making final preparations before the battle. After that, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, personally arranged and organized his men. He arranged them in rows. Those with long spears, those with swords, those with arrows—he determined each person's position according to their weapon and role. What is all of this? It is a form of preparation for what is to come.

Of course, this principle does not apply only to warfare or large matters or competitions. It is also life advice for us personally—that we prepare ourselves. That we simply do everything that is within our power, and then after that, we entrust the matter to Allah the Exalted, asking the Lord to grant us goodness in whatever we do. I think that this is something we truly lack today. Muslims, unfortunately, do not know how to prepare themselves sufficiently and thoroughly. We do not take adequate care of our souls. We need to take much better care of our souls, in the sense of preparing our souls for our return to Allah the Exalted. In the sense of persisting in our acts of worship. In the sense of being mindful of what we do, what we practice, and so forth.

Patience and Wisdom in Faith

In one hadith, the Prophet of Allah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, says that a person should understand faith in a light and accessible manner, because the path is long. The path to the Hereafter is long, and we will encounter numerous trials along the way. Because of this, we must be mindful, as it is mentioned in that example from the Sunnah: we should not be like the rider who set out on his journey suddenly and hastily, pushing his horse to run at full speed. And then afterward, he neither reached his destination nor did he preserve his horse—he lost both his goal and the means to reach it. Unfortunately, we often encounter people like this. Because of this, the importance of preparation in all segments of life seems to me more important than ever before. Preparation for studies, preparation for exams, preparation for work, preparation for competitions. You cannot imagine any competition without preparation. In order to run five kilometers, you must first train to run three kilometers. In order to run three, you must start with one. Or, as a famous saying from the Far East goes: the journey of ten thousand steps begins with a single step. And because of this, it is best that we make that first step an adequate preparation, because that will be more than half the work.

Closing Prayer

I ask Allah the Exalted to help us in our work and our deeds, to ease everything we do, and to be pleased with us in both this world and the next. May Allah the Most High reward you. Thank you for watching, and we will see you at the next broadcast. Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Qur'anQur'an 8:60

HadithHadith o Proroku Muhamadu koji je razumijevao vjeru na pristupačan način

Topics#priprema i planiranje#tawakkul (pouzdanje u Allaha)#ibadah i duhovni rast#sabr (strpljenje)#hikmah (mudrost)#primjer Proroka#vojna strategija i branjenost

Transcript (English)

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0:00 Dear friends, peace be upon you.

0:03 Today, we will share a very interesting story, from which we can draw lessons and messages for us today, and then connect it to some aspects of the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the Quranic text.

0:21 In one story, it is mentioned that in a forested area, where there was much wood, people were engaged in processing wood, and so on, most of them were lumberjacks.

0:35 There was a man who was, in a way, a champion in cutting down trees.

0:41 He worked the most, the most skillfully, the best, the fastest, and the highest quality.

0:47 And he was known for that.

0:49 A young man, who believed he was stronger, better, smarter, and more skillful than this champion in cutting and processing wood, challenged him to a contest to prove he was stronger and better.

1:08 Of course, the way to prove this was through a competition.

1:14 So, the people divided certain parts of the forest for the two of them, where they could see each other, and gave them the task to start together at the same time, to work as they wished, for as long as they wished, and to see who would cut down more trees and prepare them to certain lengths by the end of the day.

1:38 This young man began to cut down trees with all his strength, sawing and processing, and so on.

1:47 They say that during that period, whether it was 8 or 10 hours,

2:09 he only took one break for lunch, and he kept watching his opponent,

2:17 the champion, and it always seemed to him that he was either resting or eating.

2:20 He saw that the champion had a big lunch, had several snacks,

2:43 and sat down to rest multiple times, and so on.

2:55 He certainly hoped that victory was his.

3:02 When the working hours and the competition ended,

3:06 when the people came to measure and weigh, to see how much wood each had cut,

3:17 they found that the champion, who had been challenged by this young man,

3:30 had actually cut and prepared more wood than this young man.

3:35 So, he says, that was the advantage between me and you.

3:38 I, he says, every time after each break, started with a sharp, well-prepared axe,

3:50 and that is why I achieved so much more than you.

4:01 And you, therefore, only came once with a sharp axe,

4:06 you did not pay attention to that moment and, thus, all the time,

4:11 you were actually chopping with one axe.

4:22 This very interesting event, in fact, today is advice for me and you.

4:24 And that is: how much do we prepare for the challenges in life?

4:34 How well do we know to sit, to consider the situation,

4:39 how much do we pay attention to whether our axe is sharpened or not?

4:44 The Lord of the worlds says: وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَمِنْ رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ.

5:24 The aim is to avoid conflict altogether.

5:28 To simply be present, but ready in every aspect.

5:33 In moral, physical, material, technical, and every other way.

5:40 The Quran clearly prescribes that we must prepare for all aspects of life.

5:49 There should be preparation and the adoption of wisdom for success.

6:00 When we read the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

6:20 we see him scouting before the Battle of Badr, preparing the terrain.

6:22 He observes the enemy, their numbers, and their armament.

6:37 After consulting with the companions, he makes final preparations.

6:42 So, align the people in rows.

6:46 Those with long spears, those with swords, those with arrows.

6:50 So, each one is actually assigned their position.

6:53 What is all this?

6:54 All of this is, in fact, a form of preparation for what follows.

6:58 Of course, this doesn't have to be just within, I don't know, war,

7:05 within some major events, within some competitions.

7:10 It can also be life advice, for us personally, to prepare.

7:20 To simply do everything that is in our power and then leave,

7:20 the matter in the hands of Allah, may He grant us goodness in it.

7:24 So, I think we really lack this today.

7:28 Muslims, unfortunately, do not prepare enough and thoroughly.

7:33 They do not take care of their souls.

7:36 You know, we need to pay more attention to our souls.

7:40 In terms of preparing our souls for the return to Allah, the Exalted.

7:43 s.

7:44 In terms of perseverance in acts of worship.

7:48 In terms of those matters where we really need to be mindful of our actions.

7:54 In one hadith, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

7:57 may peace be upon him.

7:57 It speaks, in fact, that a person needs faith to understand easily,

7:57 because this is a long journey.

7:57 Thus, the journey to the hereafter is long.

8:06 And we will encounter numerous trials.

8:08 And for this reason, we must be cautious, as stated in that example from

8:11 the Sunnah, not to be like the rider who set off suddenly, quickly,

8:24 urging his horse.

8:33 And then after that, he neither reached his destination, and plus,

8:37 he lost his animal, his means of riding.

8:44 Unfortunately, we often have people who are like that.

8:51 So, you cannot imagine any competition without preparation.

8:54 Therefore, to run 5 kilometers, you must run 3 kilometers first.

8:58 To run 3, you must start with one kilometer beforehand.

9:03 Or, as a famous saying from the far east goes, a journey of 10,

9:09 000 steps begins with the first step, with one.

9:14 And because of this, it is best to make that step, in fact, proper preparation,

9:24 because that will be more than half the job.

9:25 I ask Allah, the Exalted,

9:26 to help us in our affairs, our actions, that He, the Lord, makes easy all that we do,

9:36 that He is pleased with us in this world and the Hereafter.

9:39 Until the next broadcast, may peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

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