The crab story

Patience is indeed one of the most beautiful lessons of life.

That day, as I stood at the beach shores and watched the waters hit the sand, I saw a tiny crab try its best to come out of its hole...everytime it would make an effort to come out, the waters would gush forth, leaving it to sink inside.I stared at this tiny little thing for a while...seconds passed, minutes passed, but this little creature of Allah did not give up.At every safe moment, at the relapse of the beach waters, the crab would pop its head out again to make its way out.

I wondered what is the tiny lil thing seeking.

And then it hit me hard.

As much as I watched it struggle and feel the need to help it out, I sat back silently, watching. Why?
As much as I appreciated its efforts, I wanted it to make its own way out of the hole.Why?
As much as I despised the cruel waters, I appreciated it.Why?

Well, for a lil crab, I'm a Giant.
But ain't for a lil me, Allah the Sustainer?

He watched me silently, as I struggle through the ocean of life but in the end, this water is not meant to drown us, instead it is to cleanse us and help us come out of our "holes" with truly deserved hard earned success.

Trust Allah and appreciate the cruel waters.
Believe in the power of Dua and what you will get is what you needed.
Imbibe the art of patience in every climbing of life.
Seek the love of Allah in being patient.

After all, this Dunya is nothing but testing waters of your faith. So ace it :)

A Humbling Experience

Tonight was special.
Tonight Allah gave me a chance to witness poverty.
Tonight Allah showed me what it means to feel "REAL" hunger.
Tonight Allah taught me the value of being grateful for the blessing of being taken care of by my parents.
Tonight Allah showed me how it is to feel the warmth of another human being.

Tonight I realized,

I may not have everything, but everything I have keeps me Happy.
I may not say everything, but anything I say speaks of Gratitude.
I may not have food to eat, but every time I eat, gives me Hope for another day to live.
I may not understand your problems, but in my eyes, you can see the Beauty of living life without complaints.
I am not you, but you are Me.

#Indeed, one of the most humbling experience to share the streets with these beautiful people of peace.
May Allah SWT reward all the silent soldiers of I Can Feed The Poor campaign. The Prophet (SAWS) would be sooooo proud of you if he was here with us today! Keep going, by Allah!

Tonight, I realised how poor I am.

 

Clue

If you see that your heart is becoming hard and your body is becoming weak and your provision is decreasing, know that you are involved in that which doesn’t concern you.

-Malik ibn Dinar

Expecting the Best from Allah

“In accordance with how good your expectations of and hope in Allah are and how truthful your reliance and trust are in Him, Allah will not betray your hopes in the least, as He does not betray the hopes of those who hope and does not cause any effort to go to waste.” 

-Abu Muhammad

The Walk of Faith

For most of us, walking through the bridge located in the center of UIA has been a routine activity. It’s beautiful how the petite bridge connects the two parts of UIA. Many a times as I walk along the bridge, I often appreciate how pleasurable the walk is and how by the time I realize, I’m already at the other end of the bridge. Sometimes, a beautiful fountain springs into life and adds a nice cooling touch to the overall saunter. It’s splendid as to how the bridge is surrounded by awe-inspiring scenery around- the river beneath, the exquisite masjid in front, the towering mountains from behind and the happy blue sky above. Indeed how picturesque.

And then one fine day as I walk through the very same bridge, I could no longer see the river or the mountains.I feel intense heat surrounding me and flames gushing forth from underneath. It’s dark and scary and I hear people yelling in pain. As I put my foot on the bridge to cross, I realize the bridge has become sharper than a sword and finer than a hair strand and I’m afraid to put my next foot on. I can see someone ahead of me who has fallen. My feet are getting hurt from the obstacles but I just want to hold on. Then I start to see light. Light which is inexplicably different for each one of us. For some, it is as tall as a palm-tree, whereas for some others, it’s like their shadows. How long will it take for me to reach the other end? It seems like forever. But I can see some people passing by like the blink of an eye, some like a lightning bolt, some like a bird, and some as if on a noble horse. Yet some others cross it crawling and some are snatched and thrown beneath. What is going on? Why has the walk on the bridge become so agonizing?

Alas, I remember the saying of our Prophet (S.A.W.S) “And the Bridge is laid down over Hell and I and my Ummah will be the first to cross it. None but the Messengers will speak then, and their invocation will be ‘O Allah! Grant us safety! Grant us safety!”( Muslim) Al-Sirat, The Bridge, before me- the final test of truth and the exodus begins to paradise or to hell. As I’m drawn back to reality, I realize the most certain truth, that one day we will be tested on the walk of our faith. Our walk on this path is up to us, our speed on this bridge is up to us, our fall is up to us, the obstacles which will hurt, are up to us.

My beloved fellow Muslims, we are here now, in this world, where the light is, where the opportunity is, where the preparation for the walk is. 

Let’s Light up our Path in the after-life by being heedful of the commands of our Lord. Let’s begin our walk here and conclude it in the courtyard of paradise.
Insha’Allah.

Feel what must be felt.

I learned something today.

Again.
This is Dunya. Dunya. Not a place of ease. Only glitter.
The place where you have to feel cold and hungry.

The place where you have to worry and feel scared.
The place where it gets cold.
So cold, sometimes.
The place where you have to leave the people you love.
Where you can’t get attached, because even if you do, it doesn't make it stay, it just makes it hurt when it doesn't.
The place where happiness and sadness are only players, waiting for their next line in a play.
Competing for their place on stage.
The place where gravity makes you fall, and frailty makes you bleed.
The place where sadness exists, because it must.
And tears fall to remind you of a place where they don’t.
Where they just don’t.
And isn't that just it? Isn't Jannah that place after all,
that place that Allah describes over and over and over in 2 ways?

La khawfun alayhim wa la hum yahzanoon…
On them shall be no fear…nor shall they grieve.

[Yasmin Mogahed]

Metamorphosis

Every change brings with it a refreshed spirit.

Be it walking barefoot to feel the greens or climbing the hills to kiss the clouds, be it studying in the open verandas or trying the cuisine from the opposite end of the world, be it learning the art of  painting or drowning in the aroma of fresh baking, change is something that encapsulates the heart and mind to see light from a different angle.

There is a time in each of our life when a change is expected and needed.

  

                         Embrace this change. Welcome it and live it.

After all, the future comes one day at a time =)

 Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become!

 

Little Thanks Do We Give.

Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar La ilaha illaallah, Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Walillahil Hamd!

The Eid festive is here again.

It was a glorious morning with the sky spread out as a beautiful canopy. Delicate winter with the sun’s rays peeping from the clouds and providing the much needed warmth.

Happy people with their best outfits on, fill the spaces on the Eid prayer ground. Little kids cuddle beside their mothers. Shaking hands, hugs and kisses filled the air.
We find our space and gradually settle down…reciting the dhikr, waiting for the iqamah.

In those silent moments, I noticed a young girl, with her mother, place her prayer mat in front of us…As she tried to button up her abaya, I noticed something peculiar.…her fingers couldn't move. I thought maybe it was the frosty weather that made her fingers remain stiff...but when her mother gradually drew in to help her button up and take off her shoes, I realized that I was sadly mistaken. She really was unable to move her fingers.

SubhanAllah.

I cried and thanked Allah for granting us a simple yet the most basic blessing in our lives--the ability to move our limbs.

His countless blessings encircle us all the time. Little thanks do we give.

 

 

 

Light

Far across the skies
the pen moves
The tales of man
are delicately laced

Boundless is the wisdom
of The Hand
That moves the pen
like a wand

Babies born, children grow
young marry, old die
Life meanders
as the pen ticks on

Ocean rises, trees grow
wind blows, flowers fall
Horizon beams on
as the pen ticks on

Every delicate soul
has a story untold
Every fleeting moment
has a reason unknown

Alas! One Truth
wipes out all lies
God is One
and so is this life.

Death awaits
on each doorstep
Grave darkness
has it to offer.

Heaven or Hell?
It shall be Decided.
On That Day
When the pen has halted

You and your deeds
Before your Lord
Your Final Destiny
Before you

Walk in light
to keep your goals in sight
Make it to your eternal life
safe.

 

~Sharmi

 

 

Celebrate People

There’s something so special about relationships.
They can soar you up into the seven heavens or bring you down to the deepest oceans.

A special chemical bond made by Allah SWT to form an orbit of happiness within and around ourselves.
Sometimes I wonder-- How it would be like to live alone…just by yourself and the trees maybe. A cup of tea perhaps. No cell phones. No internet. No human touch.

Can’t imagine right?

From family to friends, from spouse to children, from teachers to students, from Boss to colleagues, our life revolves around people. Companionship, friendship, fellowship, love and mercy.
The Lord of the creations knows exactly what HIS creation needs.

Amidst a tough semester of research, feels soo good to take time out with my loved ones and rejuvenate the bond of being together. How beautiful it is when you can feel the love and warmth of another human being. Makes you want to create and adorn beautiful happiness just for them.

Be it Mom, Dad, family, your favourite aunty or your best buddy, the street sweeper or your home cleaner, in the end, every human being needs to be celebrated. In the best of ways.
For Allah loves kindness and He loves that you be kind to HIS creation.

Give time to your fellow human beings and receive the gift of love.

Ask yourself-- Who’s heart did your reach today? Who remembered you just because you bring a smile on their face? Who’s burden was lightened at the thought of your radiant soul? Who’s searching for you just because you love them?

Celebrate people. Celebrate Love. :)

The given Love.

There are moments when you feel Allah's Love in His creations and these are the moments you need to search for.To be in awe in HIS beautiful carvings and makings.In HIS marvelous painting of the skies. In HIS distinguished shades of the ocean waters. In HIS soft touch of the bird wings.In HIS gentleness in the breeze.In HIS kindness through the gift of nature.

Live.Love.Realize.Thank HIM.

A journey of a thousand miles…

This time it was different.

One of the greatest ni'mah of being a resident of Saudi Arabia is the occasional visits to Makkah and Madinah.Dad always loves to drive us there to give us the comfort of being in our own car and granting us the flexibility of stopping on the highway when and how we wanted. may Allah bless him for that.

Visits to the holy land is always filled with sooo much fun and warmth..specially cuz of having sisters who are more like friends..so the journey of more than 9 hours would fall short for entertainment all along. Right from jubail days till the time we shifted to Riyadh, this is one journey that is always fondly looked for by me and my sisters.

We would make special food and snacks and pack them neatly to have our picnic in the dessert highways.Just the thought of it brings soo much excitement! This time, it was sam’s fried rice & chicken, mom’s shrimp masala and chotti’s sinfully delicious choc brownies. And my exclusive Indian masala chai :P (since, as usual, I was busy washing clothes in the last minute to take them for the journey, just had time to make the tea) Oh, and I did ask dad to buy some gulab jamuns since I sorely missed Sarah baji’s home made gulabs. Gotta try out her recipe soon inshaAllah!

It was the last day of Ramadan and the excitement was building up already.Soo many duas to make and soo much to ask for before the holy month ends..as we started off from Riyadh, the sun began to settle down and we continued our dhikr..it was beautiful to see many people stopping their cars by on the side of the deserts to have their iftar. As we had ours, I realised I forgot to fry the samosas :D khair, the brownies, gulabs and some biscuits did the job well.

Then comes the best part—star gazing!! Love love LOVE to stare  outta the window and search for constellations! And this time around, it was a beautiful star studded night! Amazing how these stars twinkle sooo beautifully, they are soo near yet soooo far! Can’t seem to get enough of them!

As we arrive at the beautiful radiant city of Madina, we could feel the festiveness all around…people selling fitra rice on the streets, buses line up and get to the hotels, people scurrying everywhere, children playing and then of cuz the MOST awaited sight of all—the Holy Masjid of our beloved prophet SAWS..just sighting the minarah is enough for one to have tears, subhan'Allah…how so beautiful and perfect in every way! The heart can't wait to be there already!

So we finally get to our hotel, leave our stuffs, freshen up and walk towards the masjid for Fajr..the air is sooo gentle this morn and the beauty of the nabi’s masjid can never be described in words.It can only be felt, subhana'Allah!

May Allah SWT grant all muslims the blessing of being there.Aameen.

Dad had to rest after that long long driving..so we are back to our hotel to catch some sleep before dhuhr. Mom went for some shopping after that. There are lovely things here and just looking at the beautiful people, you would want to buy everything from them. It’s something about their simplicity and their hard work.masha’Allah.

Our last iftar in the courtyards of our Nabi’s masjid..

Mom , Dad, Sam & Me

was soo beautiful to see people from different parts of the globe, assemble together to break their fast.

And the workers, kudos to them! Their team work is something sooo outta this world! Imagine how they lay the mat to place the food for millions of people in just few hours! subhan'Allah!

Me and siddi went inside the masjid to get some cool fresh air, hehe. People inside also started distributing food! Generosity everywhere! SubhanAllah!

As the beautiful magrib azan roze in the air, people celebrated their joy of having the last iftar for this month! Could see joy-lit radiant faces everywhere in anticipation for Eid. Couldn't ask for more. Felt so much at peace here.

We had our tea, prayed isha, had dinner and headed back hotel to rest well before Eid.

Eid prayers was awesome, Alhamdulilaah. Had the beautiful blessing of saying salam to our beloved Prophet SAWS on the day of Eid and even got the chance to pray on the green carpet! Alhamdulillah.

As I started walking back, I noticed how people wrote their names on one of the walls..just for the sake of leaving some memories of being there...

so I had my share too =) 

Meanwhile, didn’t know there was a lady silently watching me as I was inscribing my name..after I was done and turned back to walk, she called out and said—“I saw what you did”
It was cute to get that remark from that aunty, so I greeted  her salam and Eid mubrak and she talked to me for while and for some reason she gave me this advice —“ Donot let anyone cow you in your life. Do what you want and Live your dreams as long as it is in the path of Quran and the Sunnah” also –she said—“Look for a life partner who will grow with you..someone who has religion and will walk your journey of dreams together”…subhan’Allah…I thought this could be from Allah alone…as I was in a situation where decisions had to be made and answers had to be sought…at times like these,  advices like these just hit you right on the spot!

The teary eyed aunty then lifted up her hands and asked me—“ Tell me what dua you want me to make for you?”
I said—“ I want to be close to Allah and earn HIS Jannah.”

She cried as she sincerely made this Dua for me. I was soo touched, I hugged her tightly.May Allah grant her relief from all her tests and accept her duas.Aameen. Aunty Sharidah definitely left a deep spot in my heart and I wish I had taken a pic of hers to share with you. Insha'Allah will meet her in Jannah.

As I walked back, I pondered on why Allah just brought this specific incident to happen in my life.Why would a stranger lift her hands and cry as she made dua’s for me…I still don’t know the answer but I definitely know that her words of advice are some sign for me to contemplate upon.

I forgot to ask her to make dua' for me, my sis and my friends to get a righteous husband lol…for  a moment I wanted to race back and ask her..but then I realised, I had already asked her the Highest dua..the blessing of being close to HIM alone..and when I'm close to HIM, everything else is taken care of =)
So the calm heart walked off to the courtyards of the Masjid where her parents had been waiting for her  patiently for nearly an hour :D

Sam, dad and me came to fetch some Zamzam water during Dhuhr. And a peculiar thing happened then too. As we were taking turns to fill the bottle with Zamzam, I lost my niqab somehow..and I was scared that my mom would be upset since it was a new niqab…but as I looked eevrywhere, I couldn’t find it..so I sat down and remembered the words of a dear friend of mine, my adik, Anis Ishak. She once told me that anytime she lost something, she would look around but then in the end, if she didnt find it, with a peaceful heart, she would invoke Allah sincerely for HIM to bring it back to her if there was khayr.And be calm afterward. Subhana'Allah, I love her soo much for Allah's sake and she is soo close to my heart..So I tried her beautiful advice...and... SubhanAllah! The next moment, Sam came running with a “Tadaaaa” and there was my niqab. She found it lying somewhere near the gates.

I know this is a very simple story but then it teaches us to rely on HIM alone. Everything else is just a means. Every sincere dua should be followed with conviction and a calm heart, cuz Allah loves to answer us. Its just that we don’t know how to ask HIM.

Me in sam's niqab :P

I was sooo happy that Allah gave me what I wanted, but more than that I felt confidence in my duas..and that really cheered me up =)

It was time to take some farewell pics in the holy masjid, then rush back, pack things, visit the Quba masjid, ice creams and finally hit the road back to Riyadh.

Quba Masjid

This beautiful journey taught me sooo many beautiful lessons, most of all,  the gift of being at peace with yourself, no matter where you are, Allah is with you.

Ma’assalam!

Silented heart.

Clear sky.Gentle breeze.

29th Ramadan Qiyaam  ..in the outskirts of Riyadh.

And a calm heart.

Just like how a lonely stone on the beach bed needs to get washed and kicked and overturned many times by the ocean waters  for it to turn soft & yielding, indeed the heart of the slaves of Allah needs these testing waters in the form of trials and difficulties to wash our hard hearts and help us to see through clearly.

How blessed is that trial that makes us spiritually mature and acknowledge HIS wisdom in our every decision.

How beautiful is this patience for HIS sake.

Amidst the millions that stood here, I felt HIS peace swiftly encircle my heart and nothing else mattered anymore.

Allah is near...

I wish...

I wish to be like a duck
waddling on the beautiful lakes

I wish to be like the stars
twinkling in the sky

I wish to be the lake
reflecting the moons light

I wish to be the breeze
that tickles the flowers and trees

I wish to be the clouds
that sails away far and high

I wish to be the water
that dances with the breeze

I wish to be the oceans
with unfathomable depth

I wish to be the moon
that wakes up the sun

I wish to be a ribbon
that can lace a gift for a beloved one

I wish to be the smile
of my parents hearts.

~Sharmi