How good of a listener are you?
Not just when someone is speaking, but to your life?
How well can you listen to what your days are showing you? To what your body tells you?

This form of active listening is a spiritual skill. 
It takes patience, presence, curiosity, and an openness to be taught by Allah ﷻ in real time.

'We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that this is the truth.' (41:53)

Lately, Allah ﷻ has been calling me to rest more. To relax. To honor my body in ways I hadn’t realized I was neglecting.
I thought I was living in stillness, but what I was practicing was a mental kind of stillness. It was quiet, yes, but still subtly controlling.
My body, it turns out, hadn’t yet learned to fully surrender to Allah ﷻ.

Even though, alhamdulillah, I had rewired my mind and heart, my body was still operating on the muscle memory of fear and anxiety that I had lived in for years.

Our bodies are often the last to trust because they’re often the last to properly receive their rights. 
And I believe our bodies have rights over us because of how easily we take them for granted.

'Your body has a right over you.'  (The Prophet ﷺ, Bukhari and Muslim)

The body is not a shell to transcend. It’s how we experience this human life.
It’s how we fast in Ramadan, how we kneel in sujood, how we make hajj and hijrah, how we feel the heartbeat of the heart Allah ﷻ knows better than we do.

The thing is, we don’t know our own blind spots. So Allah ﷻ tests us to reveal them, not to Him, because He already knows, but to us.
Each test is a mirror, showing us what still needs purification, softening, and surrender.

'Allah would not leave the believers in the condition you were in, until He distinguished the good from the evil.' (3:179)
'And that Allah may purify those who believe and destroy the disbelievers.' (3:141)

Listening to your life means allowing Allah ﷻ to teach you through your emotions, your reactions, your timing, your fatigue, your resistance, and your attachments. 

It’s being willing to sit with what you feel instead of trying to manage it.
To sit in uncertainty without trying to force your way through.
To look at the parts that aren’t adding up properly and rework the problem.
Or to simply find the sun on a cloudy day.

You may or may not have seen those videos of housewives who seem so peaceful, light, and feminine because their husbands understand the value of a well-rested woman.
They’re described as being 'put up', living softly, moving gracefully, and flowing through life, free to be feminine, creative, maternal, and present.

As a single mom, I used to long for that too, thinking that it was impossible to feel that way without a husband.
But Allah ﷻ taught me that I already have access to that way of life. That I can, in fact, rest.
That even without a husband or male mahram as my qawwam, I have Al-Qayyum, the One who sustains me.
And that realization has completely shifted how I live.

Once I realized that tawakkul and tawheed are the keys to a soft life and that literally everyone benefits from the calmer version of me, I made it my priority.
Because a well-rested woman nurtures differently.
Deeply.
A well-rested Muslim serves differently.
Generously.

I choose to go through life as an unmarried wife; knowing that Al-Qayyum gives me the support needed to carry the weight gave me the freedom to live as though I was already 'put up'... because I am.

'And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] measure.' (65:3)

I don’t have to worry about provision. It’s written and always on time, especially when I don’t focus on how or when it will come.
I’m able to play with my son, enjoy motherhood, and be creative because I don’t have to hustle to make ends meet.
I’m so well taken care of that I get to continuously study Islam and share what I learn along the way, and have fun doing so. Alhamdulillah.

Learning to listen to your life and intuition allows you to ask Al-Mujeeb better questions about your life’s challenges.
Learning to listen to your body and give it its right to rest results in better quality ibadah.

Listening is an act of surrender. It slows the heart down enough to notice the nearness of Allah ﷻ in the ordinary.
Tazkiyah is, at its essence, the art of listening beneath the noise. The cleansing of the heart until it can hear what the soul has always known: that peace was never lost, only buried beneath misaligned priorities.
When you begin to listen with presence and allow your body to soften in the safety of Allah ﷻ, everything gets lighter and your life feels like a conversation with Al-Qayyum Himself.

'And He is the One Who made for you the night to rest in and the day to see. Indeed, in that are signs for people who listen.' (10:67)

Masha Allah, wa jazakallah khair.
In sha Allah, it’s definitely possible for you! May Allah ﷻ grant you tawfiq in resting in the ways your body, heart, and mind need most. Ameen. 


‎فَـَٔامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِۦ ۚ
‎وَإِن تُؤْمِنُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ فَلَكُمْ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌۭ
…So believe in Allah and His messengers. And if you are faithful and mindful ˹of Allah˺, you will receive a great reward. (3:179)

  
‎تَتَّقُوا۟ 
- Taqwa is being cognizant of Allah. It is being so conscious of Him that you think twice before saying or doing anything because you know that He is watching. It enables you to be more vigilant of your heart, tongue and actions. It is not the 'fear of Allah' as is commonly translated, but the fear of displeasing Him.

The virtues of taqwa are immense.

وَمَن يَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ مَخْرَجًۭا
And whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them (65:2)

‎وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ ۚ
and provide for them from sources they could never imagine. (65:3)

‎وَمَن يَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ مِنْ أَمْرِهِۦ يُسْرًۭا
And whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make their matters easy for them. (65:4)

Such beautiful ayat سبحان الله. Being conscious that Allah is always always present allows us to watch our deeds. In holding ourselves from doing anything wrong, in seeking the pleasure of Allah, He provides for us. Our focus is not to get out, rather it is to please Him. And yet, He knows what our need is and makes it easy for us. He gives us the means to the end.

Taqwa is the foundation of your Imaan, so make it incumbent upon yourself to cultivate it.

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْهُدَى وَالتُّقَى وَالْعَفَافَ وَالْغِنَى
O Allah! I beseech You for guidance, piety, chastity and contentment.

#taqwa #Allah #loveAllah #heart #tongue #actions #imaan #wayout #dailyreminders #ramadan ##Day4 #Alhudadiary #alhuda #Quran #juzz4 #Ramadan2022

Salmah & Sarah 

A Divine Decree, addressed initially to the Companions, but applies universally:
مَّا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَذَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَىٰ مَا أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَمِيزَ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ ۗ '
Allah would not leave the believers in the state you are in until He separates the evil from the good.'