Our relationship with God and people

ضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الذِّلَّةُ أَيْنَ مَا ثُقِفُوا إِلَّا بِحَبْلٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَحَبْلٍ مِنَ النَّاسِ

They have been put under humiliation [by Allah] wherever they are overtaken, except for a rope [i.e., covenant] from Allah and a rope [i.e., treaty] from the people [i.e., the Muslims]…

Al-Imran: 112

There are two things that can save us ; first our relationship with God and secondly, our relationship with people.

Challenge yourself to speak up, and avoid gossip

Not many people dare to speak up. Is it because of culture, the way of our upbringing? You need four things to avoid watercooler conversations or passive-aggressive texting.

  1. confidence
  2. intent
  3. delivery
  4. strive to seek a solution

The result will be a happier and more productive workplace that values openness and honesty.

Developing critical thinking.

While reading a student’s thesis on developing critical reading using a reader response strategy, I was asking myself what is critical thinking and how can we develop students’ critical thinking? This TedTalk by Erick Wilberding on the Socratic Method is really helpful. It explains how Socrates, who was the philosopher, developed his students’ critical thinking by asking a series of questions and most importantly, every answer leads to further problems. It is intriguing and a must watch video.