Musings of a Servant of Allah
Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. (13:28)Archive for Hope
On Jordan
SubhanAllah. I don’t ever want to leave Kharabsheh. What a blessed neighbourhood! I live directly opposite the zawiya and am therefore neighbours with Sheikh Nuh, and I have never, ever been happier in life. Even the dust on my shoes has barakah (blessings), because this is the land upon which Prophets walked, and that in itself is healing.
The peace in this place is impossible to put into words. Every day, we wake up to the adhan for tahajjud. I never thought I’d ever be this blessed. Alhamdulilah. My days are filled with studying Arabic, Shafi’i fiqh, Hadith, Seerah….going to zawiya for Hizb Al-Bahr and Latifiyyas, visiting Um Sahl for her women’s lessons…subhanAllah. I couldn’t ask for more.
As much as I miss my family and friends back in Sydney…this is the place where I want to be. May Allah bring those who seek Him into the safety of Kharabsheh, inshaAllah.
Almost there…
Alhamdulilah, only a few more days left til I fly to Jordan 
Hasn’t quite hit me yet, and it probably won’t, not until I’m on the plane with my brother! Please pray that we’ll arrive safely, and return safely too, God willing. Packing up and leaving everyone and everything I know is exciting, especially after such turmoil over the past few years of my life. A fresh start, in the company of those loved by Allah. I can’t ask for more, alhamdulilah. Part of me misses med school (crazy, I know lol) but the rest of me knows that this break is for the best.
My trials remain, as always. Despite the obvious pain, my hardships are a means to reaching Allah, and I’m learning to be optimistic and think the best of my Lord, and my circumstances. Like Sheikh Nuh said to us in the Sydney Suhba, out of all the infinite possibilities for our lives, Allah has chosen the absolute best for us, in His Divine Wisdom.
You are exactly where you need to be. It’s up to you to use this moment to draw closer to God, or stray away. So whether it be the loss of a loved one, your health, your wealth – whatever it may be – it happened because God willed it, and He loves you, and He wants you to return to Him. It’s the nature of the human being to forget….the root word for the arabic word for human (insaan) is naasiya, which means ‘to forget’. So these blows of fate, no matter how painful, are gentle reminders that God is the one in control, and that He is the only one whom we can seek solace from. What a lonely existence it is, without Him. So ask Him! He loves to be asked. Another beautiful gem Sheikh Nuh gave us at the Sydney Suhba was this: each time the tongue of the servant utters a prayer for something, know that Allah wants to give it to him.
If there’s one thing that can fill your heart with distraction and empty it from any longing for God, it’s music! So check this link out, and download that mp3 file.
Here’s an interesting article:
Getting Rid of the Need for Approval
Posted by Abu Ulfah in Guidance, Priorities, Reflection, The Self on 03 15th, 2009 | no responses
Bismillāh ar-Rahmān ar-Rahīm
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
On getting rid of the need to look to creation for approval
Strive to purify your heart from the fear of creation and from putting your hopes in them, for this would make you remain silent when faced with falsehood, compromise your Dīn and neglect exhorting to good and forbidding evil, this would be humilation enough, for a mu’min is strong by his Lord, he has no fear and no hope except in Him.
When one of your brother Muslims offers you something by way of showing affection, take it if you need it, thank Allāh for He is the real giver and thank the one whom Allāh has chosen to deliver it to you. If you do not need it, see whether it would be better for your heart to take it or refuse it, if you refuse, do it tactfully so as not to hurt the heart of the giver, for the feelings of a Muslim have great rank with Allāh.
Beware of refusing for the sake of acquiring a reputation, or of accepting for your lust, however, to take for lust is better than to turn down to acquire a reputation of ascetism and of turning away from dunyā. The truthful and sincere will not be confused by this, his Lord gives him a light in his heart by which he knows what is required of him.
Imām ‘Abdallāh Ibn ‘Alawī al-Haddād
Risālah Ādāb Sulūk al-Murīd
http://www.spiritual-tendencies.com/2009/0…d-for-approval/
Shaykh Abu’l-Hasan said this to Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah, in response to the younger man’s various worries and sadnesses:
There are four states of the servant, not five: blessings, trials, obedience, and disobedience. If you are blessed, then what God requires of you is thankfulness. If you are tried, then what God requires of you is patience. If you are obedient, then what God requires of you is the witnessing of His blessings upon you. If you are disobedient, then what God requires of you is asking forgiveness.
Ibid., p.196, read in The Key to Salvation: A Sufi Manual of Invocation
:)
Salams world!
So…I’m back. Alhamdulilah. Lots has happened, subhanAllah. Life is an ongoing journey…with ups and downs. What matters is dealing with it with as much optimism and trust in Allah as possible.
The Sydney suhba 2008 was incredible. It was such a blessing to be able to sit in the presence of Shaykh Nuh, and later on, his wife Umm Sahl. Alhamdulilah, they’ll be coming every year now, instead of every two years! We’re so blessed. InshaAllah next year Umm al-Khayr and Sheikh Ashraf will come too.
Gratitude marks my path to the Divine. Knowing that everything I am afflicted with is not ‘by accident’, but through the loving kindness of Allah, because He knows what will bring me closer to Him. He is what I regard Him to be, and in my time of need, He is my Compassionate, Merciful and Generous Lord, who hears my call. Sheikh Nuh’s advice to me is to remain optimistic. Hope is always so very important when faced with the trials of this world.
I’ve reached a crossroads in my life now. What keeps me focused and grounded is the remembrance that Allah Most High, in his Perfection, knows me better than any other, and has placed me exactly where He wants me to be. It’s up to me to reflect upon my situation, and reap the fruits of it.
There is good in everything Allah tests us with. May Allah grant us all patience, steadfastness, and acceptance of His Decree.
How my faith sustains me through medical school
Apropos, the day before my Barrier exam.
1. Keeps me focused on the bigger picture
2. Reminds me of my accountability
3. Helps me view patients as people and creations of God
4. Prayer punctuates my day and gives it structure
5. Earnest supplication keeps my heart alive
Spirituality and health.
Have a listen to Spirituality and Health. Fascinating!
To all the atheists out there – and I know that a few are reading this – studies have shown that religious individuals recover quicker, have longer lives, and are better able to cope with long-term illnesses such as HIV/AIDS.
So, don’t give up on faith just yet 
On knowing God
For too long, my practice of my faith was mechanical.
I had the outward trappings of the religious, conservative girl. From head to toe, I was every inch Ms Goody Two Shoes. But I didn’t know God. I didn’t love Him. Sure, I knew of Him and I knew I should love Him….yet the words on my tongue and the logic in my mind were not sinking into the recesses of my heart.
Two years ago, I underwent tremendous personal hardship. The kind of mental, emotional and spiritual agony which you would never wish upon your worst enemy. The end effect of these turbulent months was the most terrifying period of my life – the complete disentegration of self.
Everything I had held dear had been ripped away from me. I was broken, bleeding – a raw stump, open to assault. Every day felt like punishment. I was angry at God. I self-destructed, and would have continued, if it wasn’t for an old friend. She pulled me from the brink of destruction, dusted me off, made me face the reality that behaving like that was not helping my situation.
And so my healing began.
Forgiving myself proved to be the hardest part. I reconciled with my Creator by realising that He cared about me more than I ever did. I put things into perspective, accepting that certain decisions I made caused a lot of the heartache and headache. I forgave what was self-inflicted, and let go of what wasn’t.
End result? A much deeper, more spiritual connection with God. I see Him now, when I failed to, before. Every breath I take is Him sustaining me – I live by His will, and through His mercy.
And for this realisation alone, I am grateful for the suffering I endured.
“Peace unto you for that you persevered in patience! Now how excellent is the final home!”
[Chapter 13, verse 24]
Alhamdulilah for…
…everything, Ya Allah. Everything.
Daily reminders are necessary. Look around you. In comparison to what Rasullulah (SAW) had, we all live in varying degrees of luxury. He slept on a “mattress made of leather stuffed with the fiber of the date-palm tree”…to the point where it left marks on him. And he was the best of mankind.
In our day of plenty, there’s really not much to complain about. It’s an effective whine when we complain at times. Like Sheikh Hamza Yusuf says…nobody likes a whiner! Not even other whiners. But of course, being human, we forget, make mistakes, get blinded by our own self-preoccupation……then we turn to Allah and realise our shortcomings. Hardship is part of life. This life is temporary, and one big fat test.
So alhamdulilah.There is so much to be thankful for.
Thank you list:
#1: Allah – Alhamdulilah for Islam! So many individuals have battled through decades of misery, soul-searching, physical and emotional pain before discovering the faith I was born into. Alhamdulilah, Alhamdulilah. It’s been effectively given to me on a silver platter, and inshallah I strive, every day, to earn that blessing, and to earn Allah’s pleasure, inshallah.
#2: Parents – They’re the best parents ever. Alhamdulilah, I’m blessed to be one of their children. My mother is such a selfless, patient, understanding woman. My father works so incredibly hard so we don’t have to worry about finances, helping us focus on being the best Muslims we can be through acts of worship and our chosen profession (“Remember, it’s your good deeds that’ll help you on the Day when nothing else can!”) May Allah grant him respite in the gardens of Paradise. There’s my mother, who’s raised six kids, without complaint, through incredible amounts of hardship, being away from her family. May Allah grant her peace in the gardens of Paradise too.
#3: Siblings – They’re incredible. I’m so proud of my siblings. They’re a crazy, hardworking, bright, funny and witty bunch with their own idiosyncrasies. Three of them are studying hard in university, and alhamdulilah, make the time to contribute to the dawah cause here. My brother made a good point about how every day, at university, is a struggle. He teaches at a high level part-time, and has to remind himself not to become arrogant because of that…..and how it’s much easier to “stay in a room all day and worship Allah” – it’s safer. Out there, you’re tested, and we’ll get rewarded for it inshallah. My youngest two siblings are still in highschool and inshallah will remain on the straight path.
#4: Friends – in their different shapes and forms, may Allah bless those sisters who have stood by me through my many trials. May Allah guide my non-Muslim friends to Islam. And may Allah bring you closer to Him, and reunite us all in Jannah
#5: Wealth – Sure, we ain’t loaded, and we live very humbly, but it’s more than enough, alhamdulilah. Plenty. So many brother and sisters live in abject poverty, when I can wake up to a steaming mug of hot chocolate. May Allah aid us in rectifying this gross imbalance.
#6: Health – Five senses are intact, alhamdulilah.
“Take benefit of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you are preoccupied, and your life before your death.” – a saying of the Last Prophet, Muhummad (SAW), narrated by ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas.
Our inboxes will always be overflowing with things to do. Our lives will always have some sort of hardship. Our human inadequacies – and Shaytan’s whispering – will make us doubt ourselves – our abilities, our resilience…. This is why we turn to Allah, who has power and control over all things, and relegate our worries to Him, trusting Him with the final outcome. All we can do is be proactive and do our part, and leave the rest to Allah. Alhamdulilah for Islam. The ultimate coping mechanism
