The Sweetest Realisation

A dear companion of mine, sent me one of the most beautiful messages I've recieved in a very long time, mashaAllah. A week after returning to Saudi, I received this in my text message inbox:

"One of the Salaf said:

"The people of this world are deprived. They left this world without tatsing the sweetest thing in it!" It was asked of him: "And what is that?"

He said "love of Allah, knowing Him and remembering Him."

So love knowledge and constant remembrance of Allah; lean to Him (Swt); feel tranquil with Him; single Him out for love, fear, hope, dependence and attention; such that He (Swt) Alone, is the main preoccupation of your heart and goals; such that He (Swt) is your paradise and delight of this world - which none other can compare to - and such that He (Swt) remains the coolness of your eyes, love of your heart and life of your soul... for true life is for those, who know Him."

Now that's what I call a beautiful reminder, mashaAllah ;)

An unspoken belonging: a silent reflection

The blessing that once descended, A mercy uncomprehended, The unknown divine yearning, I long to capture the occasion.

A moment of contemplation, An hour of relocation, A glimpse of a belonging, I yearn to capture the occasion.

A favour of inspiration, A gift of realisation, An unspoken grace... I have captured the sensation.

Only You Know . . . Your Love for me is Greater.

As I sit contemplating my current state, my situation and spiritual level, I recall a beneficial reminder, one that often goes forgotten and yet should always be recalled:

When Allah (Swt) wishes good for His servant,

He will test them with the very things they hold dear. . .

And suddenly it all begins to make sense. . . Do I hold my health dear to me? Well, to be honest I've never really thought about it until I started being tested with it. . . So maybe that's it! My lack of appreciation, gratitude and love for the health Allah (Swt) bestowed upon me is the cause of it being taken away. . . Allah Knows Best.

Whatever the situation may be, I won't let the shaytaan trick me into feeling pity for myself, no! And neither will I allow him to make me question my Lord (Swt)'s Decree, absolutely not!

For I know that Allah (Swt) ONLY tests those that He (Swt) Loves, thus how can I feel anything but pleasure and delight at suuch a thought.

My love for Allah (Swt) is more than words or even actions could possibly portray - this I know is known only to my Lord Alone.

So maybe, just maybe, this is my Lord's Way of telling me that He (The Creator of The Heavens and earth) Loves me too . . .

Wishful thinking? No . . . merely tawakkul - trust.

Ameen.

Allah (Swt) Knows and We know not

In the heat of the moment we hasten to take shade, contemplating the intense situation in which we are placed. Can this really be? Is this actually for me? We question, ask and ponder over the possibilities of being faced with what we think is far too unbearable. Is it we who know, or Allah (Swt)? So who is it that we question? Our souls – for its weakness? Our hearts – for its hardness? Or ourselves – for our own misunderstanding. For our Lord – Al Aleem (The All Knowing) informs us:

You may like a thing that is bad for you, And you may dislike a thing that is good for you, Allah Knows and you know not.

So when such thoughts enter into thy mind . . . pause . . . reflect, and take heed: For truly . . . there is goodness in all things.

‘When will it all end my Lord?’ She quietly sighs. And refrains from uttering anything else forbidden

To this, her Lord doth Smile at her As He Alone Knows what goodness is kept hidden.

© 2007 Umm Thameenah

A reason to smile

How truly amazing I felt yesterday. . . Why? To be completely honest I wouldn't know where to begin; but I simply wanted to share my happiness with the world. . .

It has been about five months since I begun my magnificent journey. An unpredictable and yet magnificent journey, unraveling hidden secrets, silent promises and heart-provoking realities. My journey is actually one of irony, tainted with naive-ignorance and the underlying echoes of yearning. Yearning and longing for so much more. So much more than what this world strove to offer me.

The beginning of my realisation marks the beginning of this journey, my journey, our journey. For each and every one of us are travellers, lost travellers journeying towards our forgotten homes. Some of us have remembered, whilst others have chosen to forget.

Over six and a half years ago I thought my journey had begun, looking back, maybe it had, but many many things failed to be present. For how can a traveller be successful along their journey without provisions? How can they achieve their goal without knowledge of their destination or of how to get there? How can a traveller really succeed along the path of their journey, whilst remaining ignorant of what path to tread upon? Well you see, six and a half years ago, I was a new-traveller, one that merely wanted to pack their luggage and be on their way, without ever looking back; and so I did.

But there was a problem, a big problem. I had failed on all of the above questions, mistakenly believing that I was treading successfully along my journey; when rather I had been filled with nothing more than false hopes. As I sit here remembering those chapters of my life, I cannot simply rip out the pages and be done with them, no, of course not, as they are crucial parts of my life; chapters that make up my completed story - having played a significant part of my journey. However, these chapters have now been closed, not for good, just temporarily closed.

So yesterday as I awoke to another blessed day of my journey - filling another page of my life, my soul was immersed with so much happiness and contentment. Walking through my local superstore I wanted nothing more than to proclaim to all: 'Can't you see my excitement! Can't you hear my joy! Look! Look! Look at me! No I'm not oppressed! I'm not sad! And I'm certainly not mad! On the contrary, for I've been given the cure for madness - Islam!' I wanted nothing more than to have them hear my inner-screams, only to enable them to harbour within themselves, what it is that I have so grown to love and long for . . . Allah (Swt).

My Lord (Swt) has honoured me with something that, truly. . . words will never be able to do justice to; a realisation and understanding that would instantly break all hearts; a love and longing in my heart that is only sufficient for my Beloved-Allah (Swt).

So you see, as I awoke to the sound of the birds perched upon my garden tree making dhikr and my heart ever so swift in joining them; I knew, I had a reason to smile.