The pressures of our personal and professional lives are constantly in conflict and competition with our struggle to find reasonable balance, oftentimes forcing even the strongest among us to lose footing. Despite our best efforts, feeling unhinged, helpless and alone can somehow find a way to flood back into our day-to-day lives. Earlier this week, I gave into such emotions. After driving my sister, brother-in-law and two darling nephews to the airport following a visit for Eid holiday came such a moment.
As I stood there for about 10 minutes, rush of calm came over me. It was as though I was the only person in the world looking at the sunset; that somehow God had reserved a quiet moment like this for me so I could pause and realise that everything in my life that I was worrying about was as it should be, despite the uncertainty and sorrow I may be feeling. I seized the opportunity to move positive thoughts of my struggles to the forefront of my mind, and bury the negativity that had been weighing me down. For the rest of the evening, I felt light and content.
For the 10 days they were in town, my one-bedroom apartment was bustling, becoming a pleasant cacophony of laughter, childish jokes, playful songs, home-cooked meals, YouTube videos and cartoons. As we found creative ways to comfortably host five adults, a four-year-old and a toddler in his terrible twos, we managed to find balance and pleasure in an organised form of chaos.
Then, in a quick flash the vacation was over and they returned home, leaving an impression of vacancy in my apartment that became more palpable. The series of concerns I had tried to put aside during the hectic and eventful holiday abruptly flooded my mind again, and I was beset by an unsettling mix of emotions stemming from the fresh residue of a heart break and looming professional anxiety. As much as I may recognise that I shouldn’t allow negative thoughts get the upper hand, I couldn’t help but wallow in a bit of self pity.
Having deep faith in God, I knew in the back of my mind that everything is as it should be; that destiny unfolds as God wills and that He harbours our best interests however long we feel we are waiting to know what they are. Truly believing this means any struggle we face should be embraced wholeheartedly with patience and continual acceptance.
But moving this understanding from the back of my mind to the front can be a struggle at times. It is human nature to often give in to emotions of sadness, anger and angst, although to live in a state of unbridled submission to God, or Islam in Arabic, would all but eliminate such unconstructive emotions.
So there I was, more irritable and grouchy than I should be given the immense blessings in my life, moping around my apartment for much of the following day even though I knew I shouldn’t be. I asked God after my daily prayers to fill me with patience and tranquillity and pull me out of my gloom.
Seek and you will find. Something I have learned in the course of discovering my faith is that if you ask for a moment of clarity, God will surely help you locate it.
On this particular day, that moment came in the late afternoon as I looked out my bedroom window to the sky and found a most-exquisite sunset in progress. Following a rare rainfall the night prior, the day had been oddly dim and cloudy for the arid desert climate. I stared intently through the window as the sun descended through a dense pattern of broken clouds that scattered its rays in multiple directions. Watching this brilliant prism of shattered light beating through crevices of clouds, I repeated to myself ‘Subhan’Allah’, or Glorious is God.
“It is He who sent down tranquillity into the hearts of the believers, to add faith to their faith,” reads the Holy Quran (48:4). “The forces of the heavens and the earth belong to Him. He is all-knowing and all-wise”.
Sometimes we need only a little push to make an effort to take the lessons embedded in the Quran and Hadith to heart, implement them in our lives and apply them to our struggles. My lesson that day was that even when my emotions get the better of me, I must trust God sincerely. Even in sadness, I must surrender to the idea that every step in our lives is a blessing, no matter how painful it may be.
Living in submission is not always easy; I constantly feel as though my faith is a work in progress and there are always multitudes of ways I could improve. Remembering that God is with us at all times—closer than the jugular vein in our necks as the Quran teaches us—is the best way to help us tackle our innermost fears and struggles.
When we remember Him, we are better positioned to recognise the blessings in everything that befalls us. Worry and sadness may be an inevitable part of life, but the burden they level can be lightened tremendously if we make small efforts to draw nearer to God and be receptive to the gifts He grants us each day rather than dwelling on the difficulties.
“Whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the strong hand-hold that will never break. God is all-hearing and all-knowing. God is the patron of the faithful. He leads them from darkness to light.”
(Quran; 2:256-7)
Hi Daliah,
ReplyDeleteInteresting as always....
what are you upto these days...
Regards,
Adil
Thanks Adil,
ReplyDeleteI'm great elhamd'Allah. Found a new job, starting next month insha'Allah so all is well.
Best regards, and thanks for reading!
Daliah
If you are not married, please, consider me. Was there a better way to say this? In case you feel offended here is something to cheer you up. If you have not come across it yet, that is.
ReplyDeleteA Converse of Wisdom By Abdullah al Andalusi
A Skeptic said, “What if you are wrong?” I said, “What if I am right?” An Atheist said, “How is there a Creator?” I said, “How is there a Creation?” A Christian said, “Love God and worship Jesus” I said, “Love Jesus and worship God” A Jew said, “God will be true to his covenant with us” I said, “But have you been true to your covenant with God?” A Buddhist said, “The purpose of life is to discover Enlightenment” I said, “Enlightenment means to discover the purpose of life” A Polytheist said, “I worship many gods that hear and intercede for me with the almighty God” I said, “I worship one God that's almighty enough to hear me without an intercessor” A Secularist said, “Wars and killing for religious reasons are bad” I said, “Wars and killing for materialistic reasons are evil” An Evolutionist said, “The universe created life by itself, without needing God” I said, “Did the universe create itself without needing God?” A Democrat said, “The majority must rule” I said, “But what will rule the majority?” A Nationalist said, “The Nation comes first, before God” I said, “God was first, before the Nation” A Conservative (Republican) said, “Why don't Muslims assimilate into our culture?” I said, “Because your culture demands assimilation” A Patriot said, “I support my country, right or wrong” I said, “A country has no right to be supported in wrong” A Liberal said, “What vanity prevents you from adopting Liberal values?” I said, “What Liberal value isn't based on vanity?” A Zionist said, “Palestinians impose their demands for justice onto others” I said, “Zionists impose their religious demands onto Palestinians” A Noe-Conservative said, “I believe we are the superior Civilization” I said, “That's what makes you an inferior Civilization” An American politician said, “We resist against those who use terrorism and violence” I said, “You use violence to terrorist those who resist” A French Politician said, “We have banned wearing the Niqab to free women” I said, “You have banned women's freedom to wear the Niqab” An Islamophobe said, “I hate Islam, and fear for my safety from Muslims” I said, “I fear for the safety of Muslims, from those who hate Islam” A Pacifist said, “The just way is to be peaceful” I said, “To be peaceful to the unjust, is injustice to the peaceful” A Pragmatist said, “Always choose the lesser of two evils” I said, “Then your choices will always be evil” An Ascetic said, “Leave worldly affairs, and seek God” I said, “Seek God in your worldly affairs” A Conspiracy Theorist said, “I believe that ‘They’ control the World” I said, “That belief controls your world” A ‘Moderate Muslim’ said, “Ideally, you should embrace compromise” I said, “You should embrace an uncompromisable Ideal”
i like very much
ReplyDelete