Polymathism and Trust in God

10/1/2024

Polymath: (noun) a person of great and varied learning. Once upon a time, I thought I was crazy for wanting to be one. Turns out, it's been a thing for a long time! That's always relieving...right? Well, it's not very easy to become a polymath. Let's talk about it.

Here is a list of things on my "become-a-polymath" to-do list:

  • Islamic Studies and Scholarship

    • Creed

    • Jurisprudence

    • Self-Purification

    • NOTE: These are the umbrella terms, there are many sciences that branch out from under them

  • Niche Literature/Philosophy

    • Dostoevsky

    • Machiavelli

    • Kafka

    • Dumas

    • Camus and more

  • Mainstream Self-Help

    • Productivity

    • Creativity

    • Human Psychology

    • Behavioral Science

    • Nutrition and Health

  • Fiction

    • Harry Potter

    • Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    • NOTE: DON'T JUDGE

  • Business

    • Branding

    • Marketing

    • Sales

    • Copywriting

    • Product Development

    • Strategy

  • Software Engineering (Full Stack)

    • Frontend Programming

    • Backend Programming

    • System Design

    • Innovative Technologies

  • Filmmaking and Content Creation

    • Editing

    • Storytelling

    • Scripting

    • Researching

  • Physical Health

    • Jiu-Jitsu

    • Weightlifting (and its literature)

    • Recovery (and its literature)

    • Nutrition (and its literature)

Everybody has their own list that defines them. I think it's beautiful to be well-rounded and complex like this. Of course, there will always be those things that outshine others. For example, I will never give Jiu-jitsu the time and effort I will give my Islamic Studies and that's more than okay. That's because this list must be ordered. It has to be since that's what'll define your priorities. If you don't do so, you will get lost and probably get nothing done. BJJ is a hobby to me. Islamic Studies isn't. It's natural for Islamic Studies to be given far more time and effort than BJJ.

For some, it may be easy to order to this lost. To others, it may be more difficult coming to terms with what they have to give up. So here's a simple way to choose what to prioritize: Always prioritize that which will more surely guarantee the ultimate goal you have. So if your goal for the next 10 years is to become a successful entrepreneur (say 4 million dollars yearly) and a black belt in BJJ, you should probably be giving those two things more time and effort than you're giving Dostoyevsky. Again, that's okay. You can these secondary things as little or much time as you want. The most important thing is that you're at peace with it.

The last thing I want to mention is trust in God. Trust in God is essential in all things, for nothing so much as proceeds existence except by His permission. I emphasize it here because a lot of the time, you may not be sure how you'll achieve all these things or find time for this stuff. Uncertainty kills. It's one of the sharpest pains the human mind can experience. However, trust in God dulls that pain. If the trust is strong enough, it removes the pain as a whole. So trust in God. Trust that God will make things easy for you, if your intention is pure. Intention is the most important thing. Intend goodness and seek the grace of your Lord, and all will be well by His permission.

Praise be to Allah, Lord of both worlds.