Ashara Mubaraka is the time of zikr of Imam Husain (SA). To achieve maximum benefit and devote maximum effort in the zikr of Imam Husain (SA), al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin (TUS) implores mumineen/mumenaat to pause all their business operations, for all 10 days.
Achieving this on an individual level is easy and quick, but as an employer/business owner, there are certain responsibilities you have to carry out towards your staff, both mumin and non-mumin.
To help you manage this process smoothly, we have put together a few ways in which you can successfully achieve this task.
Non-mumin Staff:
Education: Your staff may come from a culturally diverse background and may have trouble comprehending such a decision. It is very important to educate them about the meaning and importance of Ashara Mubaraka and the respect it demands. An informative yet concise brief about Ashara Mubaraka may not only ease any misconceptions they could have regarding the reason behind the leave but also motivate them to perform better during your absence.
Communication: Your staff needs to know the precise dates on which the business will be shut down and what is expected of them either during or before that time period. Also, they might be unable to register the information during the first conversation, so it is important to keep reminding them during regular intervals in a clear, kind and effective manner. A dialogue can be created between you and the staff, regarding their ideas on how to conduct or prepare the work before or after Ashara Mubarak, and what they could do during Ashara Mubarak.
Training: Your staff needs to know not to communicate with you and their mumin colleagues during Ashara Mubarak and need to be trained accordingly. The message that no emergency is urgent or important enough to call for a disturbance and, indeed, if something is really important they can handle it themselves or handle the situation in such a manner that it can be tackled after Ashara Mubaraka, should be engraved in their minds, and they should receive sufficient training to handle such situations effectively.
Certain courses that you can train your staff through, include:
Product/Service Training
Business Communication
Business Management
Social-media Marketing and
Self-grooming course
These courses are available on trustworthy and reliable websites like:
Udemy (Online Courses – Learn Anything, On Your Schedule | Udemy)
Coursera (Coursera | Degrees, Certificates, & Free Online Courses)
The cost incurred during the training period will only serve as an asset for you in the future.
Mumin Staff:
While you and your mumin staff will be on leave together, it is important to check on them and make sure that they have the correct resources to attend Ashara Mubaraka and that they are following all the edicts of al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin (TUS) effectively. Along with that, any help needed for Libas-ul-Anwar, white Topi, Bazu-band or even Qardan Hasana should be at their disposal. Because remember, Imam Husain (SA) converts 1 to 10 and if you encourage and support a mumin for Zikrul Husain during Ashara Mubaraka, your blessings and barakah will be indeterminable.
So let’s pause our businesses efficiently and immerse ourselves in the zikr of Imam Husain (SA) all while fulfilling our duties towards our employees and staff as well. By doing so not only will be able to go ‘back to business’ with an efficient and upskilled workforce but also have many productive and energised employees with renewed motivation to take their work ahead.
