Increasing Returns to Scale!

Alhamdulillah, all praises be upon Allah, the Most Gracious, The Most Loving, the Most Merciful, the Most Understanding and the Most Just and Fair.


Alhamdulillah, today (Saturday) was one of my most productive days since I don't even remember when. Haha.. Yeah, lately it was quite difficult for me to have a productive time of my own. Largely, the blame is on me. I was very bad at managing my time, albeit knowing the very fact that time is a scarce commodity for everyone, especially for me. And I still am. =S

But hey, it's unfair right to complain and keep complaining "How I wish I could have 8 days in a week," or "Man... 24 hours ain't enough! Eva...!" or perhaps "Kenapala masa cepat sangat berjalan nih...?!"..? Yep, it's totally unfair and selfish because there are a lot of people, and I really mean a lot, out there who know how to optimize their time. Yet, they are given the same exact 24 hours per day and 7 days per week.

Anyhow... Today, like I said earlier, was very productive. Alhamdulillah.. =) We had qiam last night, followed by the so- called 'aktiviti-aktiviti berukhuwwah' such as playing basketball ukhuwwah and eating nasi lemak ukhuwwah. Hihihi.. I also had this special session of jogging ukhuwwah with Q, a friend from Portsmouth who came all over just to join our MABIT program. (And yes, Y, A and Ad as well! ^^) A very special friend indeed.


Afterwards, I went to Perpustakaan Sekolah Ekonomi London to do some works, though my eyes were barely able to open due to extreme exhaustion... Hehehe.. And I made the right decision. Alhamdulillah. Somehow I think I was able to grasp the materials (I did finance today) faster and somewhat more effective. Though after dinner with Mr. K, I had to succumb to my heavy eye-lids. Heh.. Was that a barakah..? If yes, my utmost gratitude and thanks to the Almighty. But if it was a test for me, I ask for his forgiveness. I am a weak and destitute human being after all, in need to be constantly reminded.

One thing for sure, If I were to stay at home, I bet I would be as productive as well, though not in term of doing work. But rather in fully utilising my bed and duvet....... =p


So yeah, alhamdulillah, I am happy today. I feel healthy. I feel the ukhuwwah couldn't have been stronger. I feel I really utilised my time today. And on top of everything, I got to write this post! Hehe.. I am almost satisfied. =)

I hope I can continue this momentum through out the term, until the final examination. Aaarrggghhh...! I hate exams, yet they are unavoidable. And this time, I need to be more serious and focus. It's my final year after all. Sigh... I still have a lot to catch-up, that's why I couldn't afford not to be in focus.

Increasing Returns to Scale?

Hahaha.. Many of you might be wondering now, what the heck is I'm blabbering about, when the title of this post seems so out of topic. Well, actually not really. For those who have learned economics, either extensively or briefly, I'm sure you have come across this term. No..?

Well, roughly and simply put, it means your outputs are more than your inputs. If you dedicate say 1 unit of input and you get 2 units of outputs, it means you are having increasing returns to scale (IRS), as opposed to decreasing returns to scale. And those who have heard of Economies of Scale, yes, this idea applies the very concept of IRS. IRS can be achieved mainly through specialisation, when you divide stages of production process into different departments, so that people can focus on their works. As a result, productivity increases as over time, people are getting used to their tasks and gradually become more and more efficient. This is illustrated by Adam Smith in the production line of pin-making industry. Also by Ford during the production of Model-T in the early 20th century.

Ford Model-T

Obviously, most producers would like to have IRS, because it means they are optimizing their production. They save costs, energy and resources by capturing IRS. So who on earth with the right mind doesn't like this idea right..?

And it can go beyond economic fundamentals. For instance, I can say I was experiencing IRS today, more or less, because I was able to cover a lot of materials in a realtively short of time. I think I have fully utilised my time, energy and opportunity and as a result, I got more than what I have expected. Alhamdulillah. That's IRS. =)

IRS in dakwah

Yes, don't be flabbergasted or anything. You are reading the right thing. Like I said, the notion of IRS can go beyond economics. Even in dakwah.

In doing dakwah works, people tend to lose their focus. Yes, they've got big ambitions and they want to do a lot of stuff. But they forget where they are going. They want to achieve a lot of things, but they don't 'specialise,' they don't focus on works they are supposed to do. In consequence, even though their works and efforts are recognised and acknowledged, the results are not on par with the resources, time and energy they have put forward.


Yes yes yes... Allah does not look upon the results, but rather the efforts you have put in. But as Muslim, we also recognise the fact that we have to strive for the best. Putting it in a different way, results do matter. Besides being a motivation for a daie to work harder, it also works as an indicator whether all the efforts exhausted hitherto were worthwhile or not.

Allah, with His utmost Widsom and Benovelence says in the Quran;

"And say, 'Do [as you will], for Allah will see your deeds, and [so will] His messenger and the believers. And you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, and He will inform you of what you used to do.'"

"Dan katakanlah, 'Bekerjalah kamu, maka Allah akan melihat pekerjaanmu, begitu juga RasulNya dan orang-orang Mukmin, dan kamu akan dikembalikan kepada Allah Yang Mengetahui yang ghaib dan yang nyata, lalu dibertikan-Nya kepada kamu apa yang telah kamu kerjakan.'"

at-Taubah, 9:105

This verse is indeed a very powerful one. It warns us, motivates us and reminds us to be productive in our works. It says, if we are doing the right thing, He will show the results of our tireless efforts to the rest of the Mukminin. Not for the sake of showing-off, but rather as a motivation and guideline for others.

But some people, they easily put aside and kick away this idea. For them, as long as they have done dakwah, that is good enough. Maybe... Maybe not. But remember, in doing our dakwah, we refer to the examples shown by our beloved ar-Rasul SAW, who through out his life as a messenger of Allah, was indeed a very focus and specialist man!

He knows which of his companions should do this and that. He makes du'a for the 2 Umars to join the force of Islam, because he knows best what to expect from these 2 Umars. And we have witnessed, when Umar al-Khattab r.a. embraced Islam, the course of dakwah was never the same again. That is IRS. He sends Mus'ab ibn Umair to Madinah, and he chose him out of many other sahabah, because again, he knows best who is Mus'ab and what are the qualities he possessed. And yes, Madinah was transformed overnight after Mus'ab was sent. That is IRS.

Of course, they are too many examples that I can illustrate, but the pointt that I'm trying to highlight is so straight forward; Rasullullah SAW could have done a lot of things in the early stage of his dakwah - he could have straight away formed a government, he could have sent delegations to Rome and Persia, he could have arranged a coup to topple Abu Sufyan and his friends. But no. He focuses on producing core groups; those who are willing to sell their souls and possessions for the sake of seeking the pleasure of Allah. He specialises in making sure the Musabiqun al-Awwalun are not merely Muslims by their names, but Muslims by their hearts. True Muslims. And when these have been achieved, when Rasulullah SAW are sure he has got strong back-ups in the course of uncertainties, then only he moves to a different stage of dakwah. That's why Islam is so easily spread afterwards; the basics are so strong that subsequent efforts to deliver the message of Allah are relatively easier. Rasulullah SAW has indeed used the right recipe of success.

Unfortunately, we Muslims nowadays are so impatient of achieving intangible results. We forget our main objective as a Khalifah in this world is to free the human being from the worldly-slavery and enslave themselves to the one and only master, Allahu Robbul A'lamin.

The main key is to be focus, and always be on the track. Once in a while, yes, you would be skidded away from the right path. But if you refuse to reposition yourself, at the end you would head for a different direction. And this is dangerous.

Of course, it is Allah who would reward us and I pray to Him that He would reward everyone and anyone who works tirelessly and unconditionally for the sake of Islam. After all, they are doing something, unlike some people who only know how to talk the talk, but not walk the walk.

But, come to the very idea of IRS, why not have productive results when they are achievable..? Why have 1 when you can have 5? Or 7? or even 9..? Start doing productive works and you can easily see the results.

And why do we need to optimise our dakwah works..? Why do the results matter..? Because whether you like it or not. the ummah is at its most vulnerable position at the moment. They are very few people who are committed in doing amar maaruf and nahi mungkar. Those who are doing serious dakwah works are almost non-existense, in the larger scale of course. Hence, that's why we need more people to join us, to be in the team. We need more talents, more contributions and more efforts because we are nothing compared to the armies of taghut. We need to strenghten our movement so that they will always be people to continue our work. We need more core groups who are selfless and ever more willing to sacrifice their bodies and souls for Allah. And we simply couldn't afford to waste any resources as at this point of time, everything counts. That's why, IRS is an interesting point to be considered by all who claim themselves to be a daie.

Ask yourself: Why not...?

Allahu a'lam.

-gabbana-