ON PATIENCE, ACCEPTANCE AND TRUST - LEARNING TO SEE ALLAH'S PLAN

Sometimes, you literally feel as though you've been cut open and exposed, still raw with the trauma you've been through and thinking back on it feels like prodding on an unhealed wound. It hurts to the limit of it being almost unbearable and it's natural to want to cut out on any recollections of that hardship. 

Some people would say that it's a closed chapter and you should never allow yourself to think back on it but personally I feel that you should look back once in a while and allow yourself to explore that wound again just so that you rebuild hope in your heart that if Allah got you through that, then He most certainly can get you through any difficulty you're tackling right now as well.

Yes, you went through some of the hardest times but never forget that there was a reason as to why you had to go through it. There are lessons in that. Because of that difficulty, your life may have taken a new path, or you may have learned to love yourself, or you may have started to rely more on Allah. We never know the reason for it but I want you to remember that no matter how hard your difficulty is, Allah decreed it upon you for a reason. And even if your mind cannot comprehend what that may be, teach yourself to see Allah's plan even in the raw and bleeding flesh of your wounds. It would hurt - no doubt - but if you accept it with patience, Allah will heal that wound and erase it in a way you could never even recognize that it existed. Such is the power of Allah. Trust Him with your whole heart and with your entire being. Trust Him and allow Him to heal those wounds for you.

HOW CAN I NOT TRUST IN YOU, ALLAH?

When I was in the darkness of the womb, You protected and delivered me.

When I was a helpless infant, you helped me grow.
When I found myself entangled in difficulties, You brought me out of it.
When everyone turned away, You listened to me.
When everything failed me, You uplifted me.
When everyone slept by the night, You watched over me.
When I cried, You consoled me.
When I smiled, You gave me more.
When I fell, You lifted me up.
When I was sick and tired, You cured and made me strong
When lost my way, You brought me back.
When I wept by the night, You were right by me.
When I screamed in agony, You mended me.
When my heart was broken, You healed me.
When no one understood me, You understood.
When I was hungry, You fed me.
When I felt hopeless, You gave me hope.
When I felt worthless, You made me feel special.
When I turned way, You still showed mercy on me.

When You gave me this and more, how my Lord, can I ever, ever falter in trusting You? 

"And upon Allah let those who trust place their trust in" 💕

IT IS NOT THE STORM YOU SHOULD FEAR

We get so scared sometimes. Afraid of all that can go wrong. All that can be lost. 

But in our debilitating fear, we lose focus.

We see the sickness, but not the cure. The storm, but not the shelter. Yes, there are armies and Red Seas. Yes, there are flames. But remember, the sickness, the storm, the fire, the armies and the Seas, are all creations in the Hands of the Sovereign.

He saved Ayyub (AS) from the sickness, Nuh (AS) from the storm, Ibrahim (AS) from the flames, and Musa (AS) from the armies and the Sea. It wasn't that they didn't face hardships. They did. They were surrounded by them. But Allah kept them safe, even while in the belly of the calamity.

Our focus is wrong. We fear the storm, because we don't see the Shelter. We fear the Red Sea, because we don't see the One who can split it into two.

It is not the storm we should fear...
but the distance from the shelter 



Note: I didn't write this. I found it online so all credit to the one who wrote it.

STRUGGLING WITH PROBLEMS? LEAVE IT TO ALLAH

Sometimes, nothing in the world seems bigger than our problems and it seems as though it can really never be fixed. Ever thought this way? I'd be lying if I say I didn't. These thoughts however come when we forget that Allah is above all our problems. To Him belongs the east and the west, the heavens and the earth and what's even beyond that. So for Him to bring us out of any problem... it's beyond easy for Him.

Think about it. Look around you. Look at yourself. Look at the person sitting next to you in the bus. Look at your teacher. Look at your Mum. Your sister. Your friend. The trees. The mountains. The bee. The tiny ant. The sand. The ocean. The sky. The leaf that just fell to the ground. Look at the world around you. And open your eyes.

 

Who created the air around you and allowed yourself to take in some 8 liters of air every minute? Who is allowing your heart to pump some 90 mls of blood out of the heart in every single heartbeat? Who is allowing some 200 muscles to function just when walking? Who is giving your brain the ability to interpret every image you see in just 13 miliseconds? Who is behind the 20 million billion bits of information that move around your brain every second? Who created enough DNA in each person that can stretch from the sun to Pluto and back — 17 times? And that's just in our body.

Look beyond that.

Who is allowing the earth to rotate at an unimaginable speed of 460 meters per second? Who brings about the birth of four babies in just one second? Who created 50,000,000,000 galaxies in our universe? Who created 20 million tons of gold in the ocean? 

 

Still doubt the power of Allah? If He can do all these and much more, if He can manage everything in my body and in your's, then really, do you think your problem is too big for Allah to handle?

 

Know who Allah is. Know His power and ability. So when you ask Duaa from Allah the next time, don't allow any doubt to creep in. Know the power of the One you are asking from. And if you've asked Him and your Duaa hasn't been granted, understand that if the Controller of the heavens and earth knows it's best for that Duaa to be answered in a different way, then trust that as well. After all, what more security do we need after knowing that our matters are in total control with Allah. He has our whole life planned out. 

"To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills (and plans)." Quran 42:49

اللَّهُمَّ رَحْمَتَكَ أَرْجُو فَلا تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْن، ٍ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ لا إِلَهََ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ.

 ‘O Allah, it is Your mercy that I hope for, so do not leave me in charge of my affairs even for a blink of an eye and rectify for me all of my affairs. None has the right to be worshipped except You.’
 

10 OCCASSIONS WHEN WE SHOULD "FLEE TO ALLAH"

Just picture this for a moment: A child who has been hurt and is crying and the mother says "Come to me" and the child rushes to her.

Now put it in this perspective - you are hurt and breaking and there Allah says "Flee to Allah". Not come to Allah but flee because you know what? We have no better choice than to flee to Him. The faster to we turn to Allah, the safer we will be.

If our mother called us with affection, we go to her, don't we? And Allah, who loves us 70 times more than her, when He says "Flee to Allah", how much faster should we run. Flee to Him desperately.


1. Flee to Allah when you have sinned

We are human as we sin. That's natural. But the best of sinners are those who repent. No matter how large your sin was, it is not greater than Allah's mercy and forgiveness so turn to Him in repentance. In fact, flee to Him in repentance with a sincere heart. No one forgives as mercifully as Allah does.

2. Flee to Allah when you are hurt

This Dunya, there is hurt everywhere. From your own family even sometimes and at those times when we are heart beyond words, flee to Allah. He knows you are hurt and He is calling you to Him. So go... go to your Lord and you shall find comfort with Him.

3. Flee to Allah when you are confused

You don't know what to do. What is right and what's not. Your mind is confused, you feel lost. So flee to Allah. Tell Him why you feel the way you feel. No matter how confusing you sound even to yourself, He understands.

4. Flee to Allah when everyone has abandoned you

In fact, you should flee to Allah at all times but often, when we are let down by those closest to us, we realize that Allah will never let us down, so flee to Him and hold Him closer to you. He will be right there with you all the time.

5. Flee to Allah when you want to get closer to Him

Ibn al-Qayyim spoke at length explaining that the level of “fleeing to Allah” is one of the levels of those who are striving to reach Allah. Flee from disobedience of Him to obedience to Him. Flee to Him and strive to obey Him. In even the smallest of things. Smile at another Muslim and do it for Allah. You'll attain closeness to Him. Be patient for His Sake and you'll attain closeness to Him. Everything you do, do it for Him. Flee to Him.

6. Flee to Him when you are depressed

‘Amr ibn ‘Uthmaan said: Flee from yourself to your Lord. He also said: "Flee to (and be content with) that which Allah has already decreed for you, and do not rely on your own efforts". Talk to Allah, beg of Him and ask Him. Feeling depressed, that's normal and it happens. But at this time, turn your attention to Allah. Prolong your Duaas, prolong your Sujood. And even if your lips don't utter anything, Allah understands the language of your heart. He knows you are hurting and no one can fix your heart better than Him. So flee to Him.

7. Flee to Allah when you have nowhere else to turn to

When all your paths have become constricted and you just don't know where to turn to, know that the path to Allah has, is and will always be there for you. Just accept His invitation and flee to Him. It's the best thing you can ever do to yourself.

8. Flee to Him when you need help

We turn to people for help and yes, they may help us or they may not. The only One who is guaranteed to help you no matter what is Allah. He is Ar-Razzaq, your Provider and He has taken it upon Himself to provide for you- everything from your parents, to your house to your food and even the very oxygen you are inhaling in right now. So why, when we know that everything we have and want comes only from Allah, don't we flee to Him? Allah called turning back to Him fleeing, because turning to anyone or anything other than Him involves a great deal of fear and negative consequences. In turning to Him there are all the things that one likes, security, happiness and victory.

9. Flee to Him in obedience

Flee from that which Allah hates, both visible and hidden, to that which He loves, both visible and hidden. Flee from ignorance to knowledge, from kufr to faith, from disobedience to obedience, from heedlessness to remembrance (dhikr) of Allah. The one who achieves all of that has fulfilled all the commitments enjoined by Islam, and will no longer have any fears; he will have achieved his ultimate goal.

10. Flee to Him because He is calling you to Him

This one reason is enough. Therefore, run to Him for help. Run to Allah to find solace. Run to Him for indeed all things come from and return to Him in His sublime perfection. Allah loves you and will never abandon you, so never abandon His remembrance and obedience. Do you think that when Allah Himself asks you to flee to Him and when you do, that He will abandon you? No. He will welcome you. With Allah, we are always safe. We always have a place of refuge. A home to finally go to, In sha Allah.

TALK TO ALLAH. BREAK FREE

 

Let me tell you of someone who is better than your best friend

Those moment when we feel depressed, often for reasons we can't properly explain even, we yearn to talk to someone about how we feel. In those times we feel so low that we desperately want to talk to anyone, anyone who will listen, we forget that we have someone with us all the time, the All Hearing, the One who hears us all the time.

We pour our hearts out to people who hardly pay any attention to us, or even if they do, they will never understand us completely. They may judge us, consider us to be stupid even, but yet, in our desperation to just talk, we are willing to speak our thoughts out to people, forgetting that there is someone out there who understands you so totally because He is the One who created you.

We have a deep secret in our hearts that we don't want to tell anyone but to just get it out of our chest, we confide in people who will sometimes even betray our secrets, forgetting that there is someone out there with whom your secrets are totally safe.

We seek ways out of our problems that we are willing to ask help from people, forgetting that the one who put us in that situation is the only One who can get us out of it. Forgetting that the entire heavens and the earth function by His will and for Him to bring us out of our problem, all it takes is a simple word - "Be" and it is.

We get depressed because we have no sister, no mother, no friend, no family with whom we can talk to freely about - our fears, our wishes, our thoughts, even the most random ones... But you know what? Even if you forget it, there is always someone out there who is watching out for you. The only One who takes care of you and looks after you, even while you are asleep. Your Lord, the Most Compassionate, the most Understanding.

Pour your heart out to Him. Tell Him your secrets. Tell Him what your afraid of. Tell Him about what you want. Tell Him anything and everything. Because He just as we love to be heard, He loves to listen to us. He is the best friend you can ever have. The One who totally understands. The One who knows you inside out. The One who looks after you in those times when you don't look after your own self. Your Lord, the Most Gentle, the Most Kind. The One who is so, so close to you. The One who hears every ache in your heart. Every unsaid feeling. Everything.

 

So what's there to hide from Him? Feel free to talk to Him. And when you do so, feel yourself tearing free of the shackles of this world, your soul rejoicing in confiding with Allah - the One who created you.

 

Allah hears. Allah knows. Allah understands.

"And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein"

Quran 50:16