Intentions

Bism Illah wa assalaamu alaykum.

Ever find yourself held to account by others for the things you didn't do,continue, or complete?  I'm not talking about blameworthy issues where you were lazy or negligent, as those things are from shaytaan. I'm talking about praiseworthy and good things you intended to do, but other events, circumstances,  or constraints (Allah's Qadr) delayed or prevented you. Well, here's my du'a for you.

May Allah reward you for all the good you do and all the good you intend to do, because you plan and Allah Plans, but only Allah's Plan will happen.

Are your reminders benefiting you?

Bism Illah wa assalaamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

What ever happened to the reminder benefiting the believer? Subhaan Allah, when we see another make an error and simply send a hadith or statement of reminder, not even directly addressing their specific issue, we can be accused of attacking them.

Language is so misused. A careful and caring reminder is not an attack. Sincerely addressing an error or fault is done out of love.

When reminded, or even when attacked, I believe the best response is to take it to heart. Immediately make istighfar and look for the error of your ways, or the truth in the statement.  Be guilty until proven innocent in your own court.

Sometimes you will find that you've been misunderstood, misjudged, or been the object of bad suspicions. But even then, you must consider what you did that left the door open to be misconstrued and seek to close that door in the future.

Rather than immediately jumping to your own defense, jump start your own taqwa and seek the lesson or rectification that the reminder is meant for.

Subhaanaka, Allahumma wa bihamdik, laa illaaha illaa Ant, astaghfiruka wa atoobu ilayk.

Letting Go

BismIllah wa assalaamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

For most of my years as a Muslimah, I have asked Allah to use me to benefit others and be a positive influence. That is a big deal to me. However, there have been situations in my life where I have tried to help and failed, Qadru Allahi wa maa shaa faal. What I didn't pay enough attention to was the Qadru Allahi wa maa shaa faal part. I churned my failures over and over in my mind, feeling ill considering what I did wrongly or aspects I missed. I held myself accountable for my inability to solve, resolve, or alleviate others' problems.

Finally, alhamdulillah, I internalized the fact that the only way I have ever helped anyone was by Allah's Will; I understood that it was not in my control. Those situations I could not benefit were never within my ability to benefit. I, nonsensically, held myself accountable for something outside of my ability.

So, this is about letting go. Letting go of guilt and misery about what I cannot control. No more profuse apologies and sleepless nights, but rather, Qadru Allahi wa maa shaa faal. Better to hang on to those feelings of guilt and misery in regard to the things within my ability that I fall short in. Most surely, focusing on those can bring benefit and positivity to myself and those around me.

Subhaanak, Allahummah wa bihamdik, laa ilaaha ilaa ant, astaghfiruka wa atoobu ilayk.

Don't Turn Around

Bismillah wa assalaamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

Something happened in summer 2015 that changed my thinking and behavior, maashaa Allah. We were in England visiting my parents and my husband and I were walking out of a shopping center when we saw a tall man of likely African descent with a long, brightly colored gown and an 18-24" high, furry, black, beehive hat on his head. My first instinct was to turn around and take another look at his outfit. However, the most overwhelming clarity came over me, maashaa Allah, and I kept my eyes focused straight ahead. I realised that it did not concern me; there was no valid reason for me to look at that man again. I told my husband the thought process I'd just been through and felt like I had moved to a new level of understanding of the hadith on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (radhi Allahu anh) who said: The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

"Part of the perfection of one's Islam is his leaving that which does not concern him."[Tirmidhi]

After that incident, not only did I find myself doing split second analyses of situations and stopping myself from many reactions that were not my concern, but I realised something else. If I had turned around, I'd have been no different from those people who turn back and stare at me and my daughters in our hijab and niqaab. So next time you pass someone dressed differently or unusual in some way, live the hadith and don't turn around.

Lessons from a bag of potatoes

Bismillah wa assalaamu alaykum.

The other day I took a bag of potatoes in order to prepare breakfast  and found that there was a bad potato that had made the potatoes near it start going bad. Yet again there was a powerful message from Allah in that bag of potatoes. One bad potato will eventually turn the whole bag bad.

Consider how Allah  tells us to only keep good companions and that we are on the Deen of our companions. He doesn't tell us to have mostly good companions and a few bad are okay. Neither does He say that if there are many good companions then it's okay to have just one bad one amongst them.

Now, obviously, we need to deal with the bad potato. We might cut off the bad part and use the remainder, but, most surely, we separate it from the good potatoes. This is much like life, where we do our best to handle bad people well and bring out the good, but do damage control and keep our distance.

Subhaanak Allahumma wa bihamdik, laa illaaha illaa ant, astaghfiruka wa atoobu ilayk.

Dirty Laundry? Clean Attitude!

BismIllah wa assalaamu alaykum.

Time to do laundry; I left it a couple of days to see if it would gain independence and wash itself. Obviously, due to love for me, it decided to stay inert so I could get the reward. Gotta love that laundry!

Just know...

BismIllah wa assalaamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

I wanted to share this perspective with you. It can bring forth gratitude and calm in the greatest adversity.

Just know, that

every test,
every trial,
every hurt,
every rejection,
every bad name you are called,
every misinterpretation,
every evil assumption,
every disrespect,
every backbite,
every lie told about you,
every cut,
every pain,
every sickness
and every other struggle you face...

you needed it.

When you stand before your Creator and face your account, you will benefit from all those unpleasant things in the dunya (worldly life). They will be the things to help erase your sins, add to your good deeds, tip your scales, or elevate your level in Jennah.

 Now, doesn't that warrant a big "alhamdulillah?"