Writings by Rabeea Sangani

Punished By Rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, As, Praise, and other bribes. Author: Alfie Kohn, American author and lecturer in the areas of education, parenting, and human behaviour. Publisher: Houghton Muffin No. of chapters: 12  This book initiates with a briefing on the works of B.F Skinner (a prominent behaviourist) and details on the use of rewards- mainly in schools and workplaces- assumed to be an effective way to ensure learning and productivity.  " Skinner theory basically codifies and bestows solemn scientific names on something familiar to all of us, do this and you will get that will lead an organism to do this again” “Punished by rewards” questions this notion. According to a behaviorist, or pop behaviorism as Kohn names it, a person is likely to continue to show a good behavior, each time a goodie is dangled in front of him. Critics of the behaviorist theory, including Kohn, repudiate the ideas propounded by Skinner for various reason....

                                             I have heard a plenty of non-Muslims to be doubtful of Islam because of their knowledge of not being rewarded in the hereafter for their good deeds unless they say the Shahadah. And as any other believer who would have felt challenged and perplexed by this striking concept, I too had a couple of things in my mind to be sorted out. Anyway, I was keen to solve the puzzle. Was the world meant to be spread Peace in? Does goodness bounce back? If yes, both believers and non-believers play their part. Why are, then, rewards only promised to the believers if the task is being fulfilled on both ends? There are even more intriguing questions that continue to grow and directly challenge the idea of equality in Islam. Is the world biased in the favour of Muslims? Does Islam single out Muslims for all the virtues and punish polytheists d...

  For much of my life, I have penned down my perceptions and thoughts, since writing clarifies my vague ideas and brings them to a point where linguistics are arranged in an order that suffices to convey a concept with accurate precision. Contradictorily, unless I put my concepts into words, I feel that I have failed at drawing all concepts to a center, a locus, where they begin to make sense and are convincing enough to be held in the first place. I have been contemplating significantly on a idea for a long time, which has kept me dubious and to a certain extent challenged my pre-held perspectives. The reality of human abilities and its connection with Allah For me, actualization of any ability owned or any act done by an individual apparently is an overt expression of individuality but an implicit portrayal of Allah's (S.W.T) greatness. The concepts of hardwork and inherent qualities of a human being have further obscured my efforts to draw a fine line among the two ends. However...

                                                      I have been stuck in a few problems lately, that persisted back to back in my life until I sat down one day and decided to do something about it. I have always believed that problem-less lives do not exist, however it fascinates me to have known that different approaches can have a noticeable impact on how far does your problem affect you and your routine. I have concluded, the all-rounder approach is- Acceptance. Acceptance, as I call it, is the process of undertaking the responsibility of, and embracing the situation at hand without willing for it to be changed by extrinsic factors.  What ever you receive from the world can not always be in your center of influence, but the way you choose to welcome it, surely is. If, anything that is being negatively affective is greeted with acceptance by an ...