بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Welcome to the Rubah blog!
I am Hasannudin Saidin or Coach Hasan,
CEO Coach at Rubah Associates.
I coach CEOs & leaders. I cycle to live long 🖖🏻 and I watch Star Trek for its humanity. I’m also a community builder.
May the posts 👇🏻 here be beneficial.
How Muslim leaders can translate mission-oriented frameworks into faith-conscious strategy
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
(pic: MEDIA MULIA)
IN MY previous article, I challenged us to unlearn defaults entrenched by coloniality and to generate autonomous knowledge rooted in Quranic guidance and Prophetic practice.
Today, I pick up that thread through the lens of strategy frameworks which already exist in the secular world and explore how they might be re-interpreted and re-grounded for faith-conscious leaders.
Lately, I’ve been reading the book Venture Meets Mission by Arun Gupta, Gerard George and Thomas Fewer. It argues that capitalism itself is shifting: From pure profit-seeking to purpose-seeking.
Organisations now talk about aligning people, purpose and profit to create societal transformation. That’s appealing to me. For us Muslim professionals, the question becomes: How do we translate that alignment into strategy that honours Allah, serves mankind and ensures sustainable impact? That is when mission truly meets deen.
Read More “Mission-driven strategy: When faith reframes people, purpose and profit – TMR Edition”
Alhamdulillah. I am grateful to share a meaningful milestone in my leadership journey.
Starting this month (November 2025), I am contributing fortnightly to The Malaysian Reserve (TMR), one of Malaysia’s respected business and financial newspapers. My articles appear in the print edition every other Monday, followed by the online version a few days later. (The print edition is weekly.)
This opportunity emerged naturally and unexpectedly, through conversations and sharings over the past months, especially after my bypass surgery earlier this year. That difficult period reshaped how I viewed purpose, resilience and the inner foundations of leadership. It also deepened my intention to write regularly and offer meaningful reflections to leaders navigating today’s complexities.
TMR’s readership consists of business leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, executives and professionals. I hope to bring value to them through practical insights shaped by lived experience, reflection, and the frameworks I have developed over the years.
Read More “A New Chapter: Writing for The Malaysian Reserve”
– How leaders can internalize muhasabah in the workplace with sincerity and clarity
In leadership, strategy and work, we review performance, numbers and outcomes. Yet the most important review often goes untouched: the one inside.
The scholars call self-examination Muhasabah, or Stocktaking.
The book The Wayfarer’s Journey Towards Allah, which is an abridgement of Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah’s Madārij al-Sālikīn, describes Stocktaking as awakening to blessing, responsibility, doubts and duties.
My accountability buddy powerfully summarised three reminders on Stocktaking from the book, as follows:
– How sabr, ikhtiar and tawakkul shape endurance in life and leadership
The IRONMAN Malaysia in Langkawi is one of the world’s toughest endurance events: a 3.8km swim, a 180km bicycle ride and a full 42.2km marathon, all in tropical heat (or rain!) and humidity.
My son-in-law, Rizal Khalid completed not one, but two full IRONMAN races: first in 2022 and again this month in 2025. Both times, his journey became for me a living lesson in faith-conscious resilience.
Enjoy the video of his recent feat:
(If you can’t view the video above, click here.)
Read More “Faith-Conscious Resilience: Lessons from an IRONMAN Journey”
– Continuing reflections on prophetic resilience and modern leadership through hardship
In Part 1 we looked at the first three of the seven lessons extracted from Chapter 12 on adversity from the book Prophet Muhammad ﷺ – The Hallmark of Leadership by Dr. Azman Hussin, Dr. Rozhan Othman and Dr. Tareq Al-Suwaidan.
These were just the seven lessons I saw from the chapter. For more lessons from the rest of the book, I recommend you read the whole book to get an even wider perspective.
For now, we finish with remaining lessons ⓸ to ⓻.
Read More “Leadership in Adversity: Lessons That Endure (Part 2)”
After having recently resuscitated this blog, we are now ready for visitors to subscribe by email to “The Faith-Conscious Leader” newsletter.
For the past 10 weeks, many people have joined me on LinkedIn for the newsletter’s weekly reflections on leading with intention, ihsan (excellence) and purpose.
Now, for readers (including a friend of yours!) who prefer to receive each newsletter article directly by email, you can subscribe right from this blog itself:
In each edition, insha Allah, I continue to explore the inner dimension of leadership: how faith, discipline and meaning shape our choices and impact.
Whether you follow the newsletter on LinkedIn or receive it by email, I keep my intention:
💌 To reconnect faith and leadership, week by week and to learn to lead from inside out, from heart. 💌
Alhamdulillah, “The Faith-Conscious Leader” newsletter continues to grow. Thank you for your reading, encouragement and support along the way.
– How Muslim leaders can translate mission-oriented frameworks into faith-conscious strategy
In my 1st Tuesday previous article, I challenged us to unlearn defaults entrenched by coloniality and to generate autonomous knowledge rooted in Qur’anic guidance and Prophetic practice.
Today I pick up that thread through the lens of strategy frameworks which already exist in the secular world and explore how they might be re-interpreted and re-grounded for faith-conscious leaders.
Read More “Mission-Driven Strategy: When Faith Reframes People, Purpose & Profit”Final sunset on 2nd November 2025 before flying home.
With my jumping, to celebrate son-in-law Rizal Khalid who finished IRONMAN Langkawi for the second time.
He couldn’t escape a bit of drama this round, too, though different from the first IRONMAN in 2022.
How can one not be inspired by the man? Steel and iron, spirit and grit.
For me, the sunset felt beautiful. The jumping felt alive. The celebrating felt joyous… and grateful. Alhamdulillah.
After witnessing resilience, we rise again, in our own way, in our own rhythm.
– How redha, sabr and ikhtiar transform frustration into purposeful initiative
THE “BANE” OF WORK PROCESSES
Almost every professional faces it: the bane of bureaucracy.
Procedures pile up, approvals drag and paperwork feels endless.
In a conversation (8½-minute video below) in 2023, I spoke with Dr. Nadiah Suki, an academic whose work life sometimes revolves around forms, reviews, ISO checklists and audits. Yet, instead of loudly complaining, she has learned to view these frustrations through a faith-conscious lens.
I encourage readers to watch patiently! It’s longer than my usual clips, but worth it. What unfolds is a journey from irritation to insight and finally to initiative.
Read More “Beyond Whining: Faith-Conscious Action in the Face of Bureaucracy”
