Much of my life I’ve spent looking for a mentor, a Leader type figure who could just make my life easier and just show me the best way to do things and help me make the right decisions. Islam provides the Quran and the Sunnah.
So, I thought, how can I find a mentor with Islamic values, Who can teach me how to best live according to the Quran and Sunnah and do well in life? To find a Mentor who has the same values as you, Islamic or not, is not very difficult. However, most good mentors are too busy to give you the time you need. Another thing you’ll discover is that you will not find one single Mentor or Leader who has all the skills, knowledge and experience that you need. If you put all your trust and reliance in one person, you will find that you don’t have all your needs covered. The Quran and Sunnah is the only consistent source of Mentorship or leadership that I have found to be useful for all situations. If you take the guidance of Allah from the Quran, and then the exemplary life of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) through his Sunnah, then you have most of what you need.
However, you still need to find a way to access this knowledge so that it helps you navigate through your life choices, challenges and journey at a practical level. For that you need some form of leadership and mentoring. Most of us look towards our parents to get this guidance and when we don’t find the answers, we look elsewhere.
In this article I will outline some of the ways you can find this leadership and guidance in your life so that you get the best out of your life today and always going forward insha’Allah. The ultimate goal is to have a great life, with the least amount of problems and then earn your place in Paradise, Janat Al- Firdous insha’Allah.
FREE 7 Day Course 21 Ways to Get Close to Allah Become the Best You with this Quranic guide
- Quranic guidance on Optimising Your Life
- Become the Best version of yourself this Month
- Learn how to deal with Problems with Confidence
6 Ways to find the Mentoring and Support you need
Immerse Yourself the Guidance of Allah
There is no place where you will find as many answers as the questions that you have in your mind, except in the Quran. Allah knows every situation that you will face throughout your life, and being the All Knowing, He has catered for those situations with different solutions throughout the Quran.
The first thing that you could do is to read the Quran in English back to front. Just look at the Quran as though it is a step-by-step guide to going from cradle to the grave. It’s like the best A-Z guide to life that you’ll ever find.
But you won’t find all the answers in one go, so it’s something that you have to keep reading and working through your mind. The more you read it in a language that you understand, the more you will begin to see things that you didn’t see before. Every time you read it, you’ll find new nuggets of guidance, help and support. The more you think about these verses, the more you’ll find the answers to most of the challenges in life.
It’s important to internalise the message so that you can actually benefit from it. It’s almost like marinating your mind in divine guidance. There is no other source of mentoring and support that is more comprehensive than the Quran.
Learn about the Life of the Prophet
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was a walking, talking, human example of the best way to live life. Allah said:
“and He does not speak of his own desires, he speaks but revelation.”
Surah An-Najm, 3
In this verse, Allah tells us that he is a part of the revelation. Allah sent His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to teach us and show us how to best live life. So, if you want to know how to take the Quran and what you’re learning from the Quran and apply it to your life, just look at the way the Prophet applied it to his life.
There is no greater example of divine guidance in the life of a human, than the perfect role model of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him).
Learn from the Giants of the Past
Humans have been around forever and so many people have lived through the same challenges and a similar journey to the one that you’re taking in your life right now. You can find great wisdom in understanding how other people lived through the same challenges and what they did to get through them. I have found that one of the greatest mentors for me has been to read about the lives of amazing people who came before me.
Now, there are so many lessons to be learnt in life. But you don’t have to learn them all by going through the challenges and difficulties yourself. Others went through it and we can learn from the mistakes of others and this is one of the reasons seeking knowledge and seeking to understand is such an important thing, because it helps us to avert possible problems and to see them coming.
Study Subjects that specialise in your current Need
At every point in life, we need something different because the challenges that we face are new ones. The quickest way to deal with these challenges is to understand them, and there’s no better way to do that than to study the subject that you are currently being challenged in. For example, when you become a new parent, new challenges will come your way, and you may feel overwhelmed by the number of challenges you have to face.
The best way to deal with this is to study the subject of parenting and to go to those who have overcome the challenges that you are currently facing. That may mean you need some specific mentoring and coaching in the area of parenting, and there are lots of mentors that can help you with that. Or it may mean that you go to the books of specialists or courses that specialise in parenting, ones that have provided support and training in how to overcome these challenges.
Yes, that may mean that you have to pay for mentoring or coaching, but that’s okay because it’s a service that you are acquiring from them. Some people don’t want to pay for that mentoring, but if you want someone else’s precious time then you’re going to have to pay to get it. It’s just how the world works.
If you can’t afford and your current budget doesn’t allow you the resources to pay for that mentoring right now, then the best solution is to turn to the books of the specialist. It’s the cheapest way and the most comprehensive way to find a solution to your current challenge. Of course, there’s a lot of free literature and videos out there that deal with most subjects. But the truth is, if you want to get right to the problem and find a solution, you have to go to one of these 2, either the mentoring or the reading.
Connect to community Groups
There are lots of community groups out there that provide support and advice for people going through different challenges. These community groups were set up to deal with the challenges that are specific to one area of life. For example, people with bad habits will find that there are groups of people who have bad habits that come together in order to support each other and mentor each other in getting through the problem that they’re facing.
An example of this would be alcohol or substance abuse. There are lots of groups that will support you and help you to get through this problem. So, if you have a challenge in any area, then it’s quite possible to find a group within most communities that will help you to find a way out. But nothing happens without effort.
So, if you go to these support sessions or community mentoring groups, where you’re being helped with a problem, then you also need to understand that they’re not going to resolve your problem for you. They will give you the support and the advice that you need, but you’re going to have to take action on these things.
Study Quranic Guidance
This connects back to the first, which is immersing yourself in the guidance of Allah. However, at this point, I want to say that reading the Quran translation is not enough. You have to take a journey in order to understand the Quran, and this is something I’ve done personally for the last 15 years.
That means that I’ve actively gone out of my way to study courses, join institutes and private tutoring, so as to learn how to understand the guidance of Allah.
Studying helps you to see beyond the surface meanings that we see when we read the Quran. And for this, you will have to make a regular schedule and spend some time, even if it’s just a little to help yourself understand the guidance more.
Now why do I finish on this point? because the guidance of the Creator is the ultimate mentor that you and I need. Allah created us and He knows of all of the challenges, the ups and downs that we will face in life, and so He revealed His Quran with all of the solutions that you need. But we can’t always find those solutions when we read the Quran, and that’s because we need a deeper study of it, in order to understand the verses and pull out the solutions that were looking for.
In Conclusion
My advice to you is to get on a program where you can study the Quran and take that journey. Don’t put a limited time on that journey because it is meant to be a guidance for life. The Quran was not meant to be a guidance for the beginning of your life, or the middle of your life. Rather, it’s a guidance for the whole of your life. I say this because when I started out studying the Quran I was in a rush. In fact, I put so much pressure on myself that it became a chore.
Since then I’ve learnt to take it easy ( my wife will disagree) and to study as I live so that I can actually benefit from what I am learning.
I hope this is being useful to you, but I’ll finish on this note, ‘Nothing can be useful until you’ve taken it and applied it in your life’.
You can do this… even if you’ve had difficulties if you ask Allah, and take the steps towards that solution, insha’Allah you’ll become the person that you need to be in order to make this happen. Believe in yourself and just move forward. You can do it ?
FREE 7 Day Course 21 Ways to Get Close to Allah Become the Best You with this Quranic guide
- Quranic guidance on Optimising Your Life
- Become the Best version of yourself this Month
- Learn how to deal with Problems with Confidence
I need a mentor for my sons q? so they too can recite Quran
What an insightful piece of writing.
I am very grateful for your effort and your time.
I’m looking forward in applying these concepts in my own life and strengthen my iman.