When life throws stones at us...

 

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

This year, 2020 has been a rollercoaster ride. One like no other, so much so that it has become a swear word of some sort. It could go down in history as one of the toughest years we have ever faced. 'Tough' being the understatement of the century. Many of us are struggling with a lack of income. Not to mention, some of us have lost loved ones to the deadly virus- Corona/COVID19.😬

Even though the kill rate is 0.28% CMR to date and significantly lower than the recovery rate, we hear heartbreaking death news so frequently that it's enough to swallow us in sorrow for plenty of coming days.

Many countries of the world had to go through lockdown until the death toll decreased, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka included. One small thing led o another and we as individuals had to stop all that we were doing for a few days in reference to travel whether it was for education, business, or otherwise.

When life throws stones at us, we halt

Realizing our weakness, we felt defeated and discouraged😢We felt unworthy whereas previously we assumed we were the dominant superpowers of the world. Who would've thought that a minute microscopic thing would put things in perspective for us? It showed us how vulnerable we really are under the facade of strength. We questioned ourselves which led us to repurpose our entire life and reschedule our daily routine.

When life throws stones at us, we think and plan

While some quarantined others had to be in the company of their annoying families. True, they are lovely and supportive most times but let's face it they get on our nerves sometimes. Hardships and plenty of time spent in each other's company forced us to unite and eventually, we grew on each other.😅

When life throws stones at us, we come together

Prolonged presence with each other led to unwanted bickerings and squabbles over petty things. To resolve we had to defend ourselves and take sides.😔

When life throws stones at us, we defend

As time passed on and the quarrels got bigger, we had to fight back when we were wrongly accused of crimes we never committed in the courtroom of the home. Something we never imagined would happen thanks to the ability of some to hold grudges - note the sarcasm!😠

When life throws stones at us, we fight back

Bitter arguments, false accusations, and what seems like a year later, truth emerges and we rise up victorious after we are declared innocent. Joy evident on our faces as the layers of falsehood finally gave way to the truth held within.😀

When life throws stones at us, we rise

I'm sure much of you can relate to this, if not fully, at least partially. This is what happens in any given situation of hardship. A trial comes our way, challenges us, pushes us to bring out the best in us and instead of seeing it as an opportunity, we shed tears and worry about it. By this time, we should be accustomed to the method of solving problems. We've been on this planet for billions of years. Yet why is it that we are incapable of finding a way to HALT, THINK, UNITE, DEFEND, FIGHT BACK, and RISE?

Story timeeeeeee ✨✨

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

She cries herself to sleep every night. Drowning in misery, every step she takes in life seems to be leading her to her own downfall. Tonight was different though. She was deep in thought when it suddenly occurred to her.
She had been far away from her Lord for too long. She had been too focused on fixing her Dunya, she overlooked the Akhirah. A sudden fear came over Raha's mind. She bolted upright from her bed and took long strides to the washroom with so much determination. The whispers and doubts kept coming back. She quickly disregarded them. Without giving room for more thoughts she took ablution and put on her praying cloth. As she stood in prayer that night all her worries faded and felt light as the burdens that weighed down her shoulders eased and light entered her heart. 
She fell in sujood and made the most heartfelt du'as. She prayed two rak'ahs in total as Tahajjud, since it was too early to pray Fajr. She went to the Qur'an shelf and picked out her favourite Qur'an realising how much she missed reciting.
She ventured in the darkness of the night into the hall where a lonely light shone. She flicked the pages to her favourite surah. Even though it was a small one it held great incomprehensible meaning. She got to the third ayah and couldn't hold back her tears.

ما ودعك ربك وما قلي
Your Lord has not taken leave of you, [O Muhammad], nor has He detested [you]

Surah Dhuha ayah 3

This time there was a difference in the way she cried. Whereas she usually would cover her mouth and sob uncontrollably, this time she let her tears flow silently. She felt her soul getting the peace it deserves.

She raised her hands up and whispered a beautiful duá. 

ربنا اتنا في الدنيا حسنة وفي الاخرة حسنة

My Lord, grants us the best in this life and the best in the next life

Finishing the Surah she closed the Qurán. She might have memorised a lot from the Qurán but this surah always remained precious to her heart.

She realised that she had never felt peace like the peace she felt today, ever before in her life. She smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time. She felt the راحة , comfort that her name claimed. With serenity descending over her, draping her like a blanket her eyes flickered shut. She was sound asleep in a second on the prayer mat.

As long as she has her Rabb by her side she will be fine. 💖

How many times have we been in Raha's position? Have we ever done what she did? We have grown so much yet we tend to stray from Allah's path. 

May Allah lead us back to Him in beautiful ways no matter how many times we lose our way. 

Aameen

Until next time, peace 💟

Her wish

Swept off her feet with a power so high, enough to set the whole world right.
Carried away with the emotions she feels, so raw and vulnerable.
Fighting to feel the ground again yet failing miserably. Fighting to better herself.
Fighting for steadfastness in her thoughts and actions.
It's impossible she whispered.
Unbeknown to her knowledge the Lord said كن and it was.
He bestowed her with patience, enough to make her fully appreciate her struggles.
Her wish was granted yet she felt enstranged.
This is not what she meant.
This is not what she wanted.
Then she realised, it's not about what she wants, it's about what she needs and the Almighty knows it all.

- Aanisha Imthiyas

Sitting on the prayer mat while the world around her slept 

Alone and unseen, she pleaded and wept 

Will there be any end to this helplessness she felt? 

A heavy weight on her shoulders she bore 

How in the world was she going to deal with things... she just didn't know 

She prayed for it all to come to an end, she begged and cried 

Curling her knees up to her chest as if to ward off her monsters

She was terrified. 

But in midst of the chaos in her mind a single word was uttered from the Heavens above

'Be' was all that was said and it was enough 

As the light of dawn peaked through the gaps in the windows 

Her chest felt light.. how strange, she wondered, that suddenly I feel at ease

Yet just a minute ago I was begging for peace?   

Her eyes once more brimmed with tears 

This time out of gratitude to the One who Hears 

She smiled knowing He was always near. Whenever she needed Him, He was always right here. 

She stood, feeling refreshed and strengthened, all her worries faded away as the skies woke 

She raised her hands and praised her Lord.

- Umairah Imthiyas

Picture credit : Aanisha Imthiyas

Two perspectives, one idea.

Let us know what you think.

Eid Mubaraaaaaak 😆

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Today is Eid Al Fitr, a day when we all would usually wake up early in the morning, wash and change into our newest clothes to go to the mosque for Eid prayers, where we would meet up with our neighbours and friends. Unfortunately this Eid, we are confined to our homes, no Eid prayers, no meeting up with friends and family and no feast with relatives. Eid doesn't look so Eid-y now does it?😅

Seems as if it's going to be a bummer. And it's no doubt, sad and even frustrating that this pandemic is keeping us from celebrating one of the most important festivals.

But Eid is a day to be grateful. It is a day we thank Allah and express our gratitude for all the immense blessings that He bestowed upon us. It is a day we say Alhamdulillah for everything by our tongues and mean it by our hearts. Firstly, we are blessed to be protected from the virus due to the lockdown. Alhamdulillah. We are also blessed that we have the internet keeping us company throughout the quarantine.😄 Alhamdulillah. Think about it, our loved ones who live far away from us are only a call or a text away. Alhamdulillah. Most of us are also blessed with new fancy clothes this Eid. Alhamdulillah. there are million and more things to be grateful for. I could go on and on but I think this gets my point across. 

So this Eid, instead of whining over how unfair life is that we aren't able to spend Eid in our traditional way, let's put our heads down and thank Allah for all His blessings, the ones we know of and the ones we fail to see right now.

تقبل الله منا ومنكم صالح الاعمال

May Allah accept our good deeds from us and you all.

Eid Mubarak!

Stay blessed!

Picture credit: Umairah Imthiyas

Article author: Umairah Imthiyas

What you feed, will grow

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
Let's take a look at an analogy together. If I told you the more a baby is fed, the more it will grow, would you agree?

I don't think anyone in their right minds would object. The same way believe me when I say that the more your emotions are fed the more they will grow.

How can emotions possibly be fed you ask me. I say the feeding of emotions is thinking about it.

Back to the analogy. The more you feed a baby with healthy food the more healthy it's going to be when it grows up.

Same way the more you fill your mind with positive thoughts the more positivity your life is going to possess and the opposite is also true.

What I'm trying to get to is that we all are babies when it comes to our emotions and fears. Sounds funny? 🤭 Yes I know.

The following are some examples of negative thoughts  and how to fight them with positivity.

- You feel you are lonely and nobody loves you? - Just know that Allah sent everyone away so that it's only you and Him. Also He loves you 70 times more than your mother does. 😍

- You feel that you are ugly and everybody else is far better looking than you are? - Allah says
 (لَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ فِیۤ أَحۡسَنِ تَقۡوِیمࣲ)
Verily, We created man in the best stature
[Surat At-Tin 4]

- You fear the future and what it holds? - Think of all the good stuff that has happened so far. Say to yourself that better things are on their way.

- You fear the darkness and all unreal beasts that lurk within? - Be assured that if they are real they wouldn't wait all these years and do nothing but watch you sleep. 😂

- You fear the corona virus and the harm that it brings? - Know that without the permission of Allah nothing can harm you. Definitely not a virus that's not visible to the naked eye. ☺️


Whatever fear or negative thought that you come up with, there's positivity to combat it. Fill your mind with positivity and you will see wonders happen before your eyes with the will of Allah.

So my dears, don't worry about matters that you can't control and think of what you can do to change your way of  thinking so that it develops in the best way possible.

Picture credit: Umairah Imthiyas

Stay safe my lovelies
Peace 😊

We are one

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Take a look around. What do you see? All I see are the negatives. Hatred, discrimination, judgementalism and so on. Not only does it happen within kids in school. Believe me, it happens within adults in places like the parliament too. That is just proof of one thing - no matter how old we grow, humans will remain humans, imperfect.

We need to realise one thing, we cannot get rid of these negatives thoughts and feelings from ourselves because we are all humans and it is a part of who we are.

We are all humans from the same origin, Adam and Eve. We are made of the same material. Blood flows through all of us. We all belong to families whom we love. We all experience emotions be it positive or negative.

Sure we each have our differences but there's so much common ground. There's no point in wishing bad for others because they are different from you.

Think of all the similarities between us. Learn to embrace the differences. Small mistakes will definitely occur because we as humans tend to err. Learn to forgive the small mistakes before they grow into humongous grudges.

So let us gather as one turning a blind eye on our differences and accepting one another for who we are and who we have become. Let's spread love on these lands because my dears we are in dire need of it.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness

Only light can do that 

Hatred cannot drive out hatred

Only love can do that

-Martin Luther King

Together we can achieve wonders. I believe in us.

Peace ☺

Reaping rewards

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
More usual than not, we tend to crave for the best results, with or without putting in the needed effort. This cannot be avoided however, because it is the epitome of human nature.

Why is it that we expect forests to grow today when it was only yesterday that we planted a seed?
We slack when we are required to spend time and strive yet we anticipate the outcome to be handed to us in a golden platter.

A simple example is education. Most of us are lethargic to study yet we await good marks after a test or exam. Often times we procrastinate studying until the last day before the exam.

A lot of us feel very stressed by thinking about putting in effort. This can easily be avoided by having a positive mindset. The more you think that studying is enjoyable, the more it will be so.

 Positivity will give rise to liking and in the long term you would have achieved what you aimed and also you would have saved up on your mental health and physical health.

Positivity though being a major requirement, it isn't the only thing needed in order to achieve a goal. Hardwork and perseverance are required too.

You all may be thinking what does all this have to do with the topic. 😅 Patience my dears, I'm getting there.

Now compare all this with worshipping Allah. Same scenario is repeated. We are lazy to fulfill the acts of worship yet we wait for Allah to shower upon us rewards after rewards. Some of us are so sure that we will make it to paradise. I ask you, who guaranteed you and me paradise? Did Allah say so? Did the Prophet, peace be upon him say so?

Even the ten who were promised paradise would constantly fear that they won't make it there. What makes us so sure? 

I tell you my habibtis the worship that we do is so little compared to the times of the Prophet, peace be upon him and the companions, may Allah be pleased with them.

What we can do is make the little worship that we do great in the sight of Allah by truly enjoying it, loving it and doing it solely for Allah. This way we will not only reap the rewards but we will reap it in multitudes.

Allah says
(إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا یَظۡلِمُ مِثۡقَالَ ذَرَّةࣲۖ وَإِن تَكُ حَسَنَةࣰ یُضَـٰعِفۡهَا وَیُؤۡتِ مِن لَّدُنۡهُ أَجۡرًا عَظِیمࣰا)
Surely! Allah wrongs not even of the weight of an atom (or a small ant), but if there is any good (done), He doubles it, and gives from Him a great reward.
[Surat An-Nisa' 40]

Anas ibn Malik reported: A man said, “O Messenger of Allah, should I tie my camel and trust in Allah, or should I leave her untied and trust in Allah?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Tie her and trust in Allah.”
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2517
Grade: Hasan (fair) according to Al-Albani

This shows us that we should always put in the effort with addition to reliance and expectance of rewards.

May Allah make us all inheritors of His highest paradise, Firdous Al A'la without ever entering the Fire, and make us people who truly worked for the highest paradise to the best of our abilities and make us people who love what we do of worship and other day to day activities.

Peace 😁

Friends forever

 السلام عليكم ورحمة الله و بركاته
Are you all familiar with this phrase "friends forever"?

As a schoolgirl I never placed much hope in these utterences my classmates threw around from time to time. Even if they didn't say the same exact words, they implied it with different words.

As I grew older this phrase turned out to make sense to me. Time has revealed that being friends forever is actually possible for a select few. Allah says in His Book
(ٱلۡأَخِلَّاۤءُ یَوۡمَىِٕذِۭ بَعۡضُهُمۡ لِبَعۡضٍ عَدُوٌّ إِلَّا ٱلۡمُتَّقِینَ)
Friends on that Day will be foes one to another except Al-Muttaqun
[Surat Az-Zukhruf 67]

A rough meaning of the word متقين is those who are God-fearing or those who are mindful of God.

Whereas the ones who transgressed against the boundaries set by Allah will say on that
(وَیَوۡمَ یَعَضُّ ٱلظَّالِمُ عَلَىٰ یَدَیۡهِ یَقُولُ یَـٰلَیۡتَنِی ٱتَّخَذۡتُ مَعَ ٱلرَّسُولِ سَبِیلࣰا ۝  یَـٰوَیۡلَتَىٰ لَیۡتَنِی لَمۡ أَتَّخِذۡ فُلَانًا خَلِیلࣰا ۝  لَّقَدۡ أَضَلَّنِی عَنِ ٱلذِّكۡرِ بَعۡدَ إِذۡ جَاۤءَنِیۗ وَكَانَ ٱلشَّیۡطَـٰنُ لِلۡإِنسَـٰنِ خَذُولࣰا)
And (remember) the Day when the Zalim (wrong-doer, oppressor, polytheist, etc.) will bite at his hands, he will say: "Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger (Muhammad SAW).
"Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so-and-so as a friend!
"He indeed led me astray from the Reminder (this Quran) after it had come to me. And Shaitan (Satan) is ever a deserter to man in the hour of need."
[Surat Al-Furqan 27 - 29]

In the hereafter, the wrongdoers will not find any friends to support them.
(وَمَاۤ أَضَلَّنَاۤ إِلَّا ٱلۡمُجۡرِمُونَ ۝  فَمَا لَنَا مِن شَـٰفِعِینَ ۝  وَلَا صَدِیقٍ حَمِیمࣲ ۝  فَلَوۡ أَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةࣰ فَنَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ ۝  إِنَّ فِی ذَ ٰ⁠لِكَ لَـَٔایَةࣰۖ وَمَا كَانَ أَكۡثَرُهُم مُّؤۡمِنِینَ)
And none has brought us into error except the Mujrimun [Iblis (Satan) and those of human beings who commit crimes, murderers, polytheists, oppressors, etc.].
Now we have no intercessors
Nor a close friend (to help us).
(Alas!) If we only had a chance to return (to the world), we shall truly be among the believers!
Verily! In this is indeed a sign, yet most of them are not believers.
[Surat Ash-Shu'ara 99 - 103]

Therefore, my dear sisters, we should be really careful who we choose as friends in this world because they could either guide us or lead us astray.

I pray that Allah gives us all the companionship of righteous people in this world and raise our status with the most honoured ones in the hereafter.

After all, when the Prophet fell ill in His final illness he used to utter the words "في الرفيق الاعلى " "with the highest companion"

Peace 😄