Always take a moment to express gratitude—even when you're focused on what you lack. Pause and ask yourself: what small blessings can you appreciate today?

For me, it’s the simple joy of a solo walk, the beauty of nature, capturing aesthetic videos, and learning or refining a skill. 

I’m grateful for the opportunity to write and read, for having food on my table without having to ask, and for those moments when someone lends a helping hand during stressful times. 

I appreciate the people who care for me, each act of kindness, not missing Salah, and having someone I can count on. 

I’m thankful for the comfort of my bed and home office, and for a routine that keeps me busy and productive.

There are so many blessings that often go unnoticed in our hardships. 

Let’s be grateful for every little blessing and make gratitude a part of our everyday life.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful,

Right now you might be going through something incredibly testing, you might be suffering a natural course of anxiety, you might be feeling perplexed by what you are experiencing and having to go through. Maybe, this is the hardest and toughest test you have yet encountered. 

But you can get through it. 

Do you know how?

Think about all the blessings Allah has bestowed upon us and perhaps one of the greatest is the love for Him and His religion. 

Talk about His blessings and contemplate in the past how He rescued you from great difficulties and how there were other times when you felt things were also falling apart. But. They  didn’t, because Allah was there, He always is. Rather, everything caused you to become the person you are today. 

So keep remembering His blessings and being incredibly grateful for them and this will ease your heart and inspire you with greater trust upon the One who is the source of all such help.

This trial is also something you will also get through, ask for His help and if it’s more difficult than the last trial it means your faith will only get much stronger with His Help and you will become someone very beautiful. Indeed Allah always knows best.

In certain phases of life, we believers may feel as if we have become more disconnected from Allah's pleasure, mercy, and His blessings. More or less, this same feeling may be silently lurking inside some of us as we remember that Ramadan has just come to an end.


As I reflected on this, I was reminded that there was a period of time in the Prophet's life (peace be upon him) in which he himself started to feel that perhaps he was cut off or abandoned by Allah, because revelation stopped coming to him. And this is what scholars believe was the context of revelation of Surah Ad-Duha.


There was a significant waiting gap between one revelation to the next, just as there is a significant waiting gap between one Ramadan to the next (which we have just entered into). There were no revelations being sent down to the Prophet (pbuh) for a certain period of time. So, he started to feel depressed about that, and others started to mock him about that.


According to scholars, the length of pause in revelation was somewhere between 6 months to 2-and-a-half years. The exact time can't be known, however, and Allah knows best. But what's important is that there was a feeling of despair or loss growing inside the Prophet's heart. The pause in revelation was causing him distress and making him doubt his closeness to Allah.


And then Allah consoled him by revealing:


‎وَٱلضُّحَىٰ ٭ وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَىٰ ٭ مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَىٰ ٭ وَلَلْءَاخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ ٱلْأُولَىٰ ٭ وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰٓ


'By the morning sunlight, and the night when it falls still. Your Lord has neither forsaken you nor is He displeased. And indeed the Hereafter is better for you than the present. And verily, your Lord will give you so that you will be well-pleased.' (93:1-5)


And then in the next few verses Allah says, reminding him about his past:


‎أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَـَٔاوَىٰ ٭ وَوَجَدَكَ ضَآلًّا فَهَدَىٰ ٭ وَوَجَدَكَ عَآئِلًا فَأَغْنَىٰ ٭ فَأَمَّا ٱلْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ ٭ وَأَمَّا ٱلسَّآئِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ ٭ وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ


'Did He not find you as an orphan and then gave you shelter? Did He not find you lost and then He guided you? And did He not find you needy and then made you self-sufficient? So do not oppress the orphan, nor repulse the beggar. And proclaim the blessings of your Lord.' (93:6-11)


For us, too, these verses are a message of hope and optimism, especially if we are feeling grief due to any reason, because gratitude is being offered as a solution in these verses.


Instead of being too focused on the limited present moment, we should allow our minds to drift more and remember Allah's favors upon us in the past, and also be hopeful of Allah's rewards in the future (both in this world and the next).


And these 'time-traveling' reminders will then automatically reset our gratitude to a higher level even with regards to our present circumstances.


#MuslimMindset

🐟 Don't Forget the Fish

Reflecting on these verses together (18:63 & 93:11), I was thinking about those amazing moments we witness and then so easily forget. When we witness the Power, Might, and Generosity of our Lord, let's try to remember it. Let's not allow satan to make us forget.  Our enemy knows how much benefit comes to a believer when they remember and reflect on those awe-inspiring moments of life that could have come from none other than Allah. And consider sharing it with those in your life who will be inspired by it and gain benefit from it (while being cautious to glorify Allah and not ourselves).

🌟  Tell me a moment when you have experienced the power and blessings of Allah in your life. Was it an answer to a dua, a positive change that you saw in someone you never thought possible, a problem solved that seemed unresolvable, etc? 

❤️ Let's reflect on how amazing our Lord is and let's never forget those powerful moments we are blessed to witness.

As the days go by, we are witnessing a genocide taking place. And we always ask ourselves, When is this going to stop? And sometimes we might wonder, When is Allah (swt) going to give victory to the Muslims suffering, especially the Palestinians? However, sometimes we define victory in the wrong direction. For example, if you take a look at the people of Palestine, we are wishing that this genocide will stop. And this is what we define as a victory for them. However, we might be overlooking the other forms of victory they have gained, such as people seeing the truth (that Muslims aren’t really terrorists), the oppression of Muslims being more visible, the people of Palestine’s faith becoming stronger, and more and more people starting to see the truth of Islam. So remember, although we are saddened by the difficulties of the people of Palestine (and I am not saying to not speak against what is going on right now), we as humans have different forms of tests, but the one who is testing us is the same. STAY HOPEFUL. REMEMBER, INDEED WITH HARDSHIP COMES EASE.  And proclaim the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon you.

Very profound reflection!!! Thank you so much! I just read what I was thinking of Allah's plan for a bigger victory for all of us and for Muslims to come after all of us! No one will dare to call them Terroir or many other names. ISLAM is taking its place everywhere and must be!!

'But when you are safe, ˹take time to˺ remember Allah for teaching you what you did not know.'

Tell me something (or many things) that Allah taught you through Islam. It can be as simple as manners and daily habits, or as complex as in-depth knowledge of something.  (It will be difficult to narrow it down, but please share at least one thing no matter how simple it may seem. Those 'simple' things are actually so much greater than we recognize!) 🙂

Proclaim the blessings of your Lord!

#IslamTaughtMe

SubhanAllah. What a blessing Islam is, Alhamdullilah

I was speaking to a friend yesterday, and she mentioned during the conversation that her brother is severely allergic to meat. 

It made me realise how blessed I am not to be allergic to any food. Alhamdulilla.

HE الله عزوجل has bestowed upon us myriads of blessings that we often don't even acknowledge or appreciate. I have been thanking الله عزوجل specifically for not being allergic to any food since that conversation.

We're so accustomed to looking at the bigger picture that we neglect the blessings of الله عزوجل. For instance, shelter, clean water, food, health, family, wealth and the list is endless.

Yah الله  don't include us amongst those who acknowledge your blessings once YOU الله عزوجل take them away. 


اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ، وَشُكْرِكَ، وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ

O الله, help me remember You, to be grateful to You, and to worship You in an excellent manner'

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful,

And what is the greatest loss of all? 

And the greatest sadness of life is that you didn’t recognise His love upon you, you didn’t contemplate His blessings and that all the affairs which you encountered were to make you come closer and closer to Him. 

That you did not humble yourself in gratitude and nor did you look back and contemplate how He saved you from disaster over disaster. Neither did you look back, to see He kept shaping you and transforming you into something you were not before. 

Everyone else had to leave you but Him. The greatest loss is that you walked through life not getting to know Him and His immense love for you. Greater than that of even your mother and you didn’t go through life loving Him back and longing to meet Him. Longing to meet the One whom there cannot be any equal to, for every blessing and good comes from Him. 

Surely this is the greatest loss of all. So look back and remember His favours upon you, you will find reason to smile and continue forward. It is ok to be anxious, it is ok to cry but it is a loss to lose hope. 

Surah Ad Duhaa always makes me contemplate that Allah is the most kindest, most caring, most appreciative, most patient, most understanding and all knowing and How Merciful and gentle He is upon his anxious and vulnerable slaves.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful,

Read each ayah slowly, and contemplate each ayah carefully particularly when you are at a loss and each ayah will bring you an immeasurable amount of comfort and guidance.

Whatever is troubling you, have you noticed it troubles you even more so in the night, when you awake in the morning you feel much lighter even though things might remain the same. Why does the morning bring a sense of calm and focus? Surely all of this is the mercy of Allah!

You are under the care always of none other than Allah the Most Merciful, the Most compassionate even though you might feel alone. Remembering this allows you to feel not only better but also deeply loved. Allah is All Seeing and He sees you and He hears you. He is navigating you always in the best and right direction. Surely won’t you go to Him? 

Do not be consumed by your worries and difficulties even these have to end and whatever is troubling you could be the means of your paradise. Perhaps, the patience that you exercise will cause you by His mercy to enter paradise, the place that is everlasting and beyond our comprehension, free from every kind of worry. He wants you there. Perhaps all the difficulties life throws is to cause you to be focused towards the next!

And if you feel unable to have a positive outlook on life, then look back at your life, and see how Allah fixed and took you out from previous difficulties, or caused you to learn from mistakes, setbacks or allowed you to thrive despite your vulnerabilities - can you see this? Surely, this should calm your heart and understand that He has always been with you and will always be with you. 


Remain always humble in life and look at those who have much less than us. Humility causes honour and grace. Whereas arrogance causes even the most blessed their downfall and destruction.

And during this short and fleeting life, keep praising your Lord and keep reflecting about all tbe favours He has bestowed upon you, and if you find this difficult at times, say them aloud and talk to Your Lord. The heart will surely find peace and happiness when it is grateful to Allah. 

You can lead a much happier life knowing the following:

You are always under the observance of Your Lord,
You are on a journey of growth and it is often hardships that allow you to grow and become more resilient and steadfast. Allah has taken you out of difficulties in the past and He will do so again. Be humble, humility gives you clarity and lower yourself in front of the Almighty realising His immense love and mercy. 

You will get through this and He loves you very very much!

Jazaak Allah khair very impressive and heartfelt advice.

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh!

InshaAllah we will continue our Live Interactive Reflection Workshops: ReflectionRetreats this Saturday, 16th August 2025.
This special ReflectionRetreat will showcase and celebrate the reflections submitted for the QuranReflect Contest 2025, InshaAllah.

We will also be announcing this year’s winners during the workshop,  but remember, in the sight of Allah, every sincere reflection is valued, and every participant is rewarded. This contest is about connecting with the Qur’an, deepening our understanding, and sharing insights with the community far more than it is about 'winning.'

In this contest, every sincere reflection is already a win and the real prize is drawing closer to the Qur’an.

We warmly encourage all participants to join us, InshaAllah to celebrate your efforts, learn from one another’s reflections, and continue this beautiful journey of Qur’anic engagement together. JazakAllah 

Please join us and see details below:
📅 Session Date:
Saturday, August 16th, 2025
⏰ Time:
2 PM BST (UK)
9 AM EDT (New York)
6 PM PKT (Pakistan)
9 PM MYT (Malaysia)
4 PM AST (Saudi Arabia)
👉 Join and interact live:
www.quranreflect.com/zoom 
#reflectionRetreat

I entered the contest without full sincerity.
I did try to purify my intentions, but I forgot one thing - am I sharing this reflection purely for the sake of Allah SWT, am I dedicating this solely for Allah SWT . The futher I pondered I thought Allah SWT words are so grandeur any way - it is Subhan so no matter what I wrote was never going to elevate it by an ounce.

MashaAllah tabrakAllah I have read some reflections here with various hash tags and I felt - wow so many gems out there . May Allah SWT elevate all of you and further enhance your brilliance. May he ease your burdens and grant much barakah. 

Plenty reflections MashaAllah tabrakAllah, but as you scroll through many the one you end up reading finds you, like a prescribed medication.

May Allah SWT purify out intentions and our desires. May he forgive our shortcomings and transgressions that we have done, knowingly or unknowingly. May he rescue us here and in the akhirah. Dunya is a very hard place and it's not easy - whoever coined 'the world is a jungle' said it very right, we have seen and unseen forces at play and then ourselves - we are a bag of meat who needs constant HP to survive.  Then add to that commotion, you have emotions to deal with and not just your own but others too. It reminds me of ' (29:2) Do people think that they will be let go merely by saying: 'We believe,' and that they will not be tested,1

(29:3) for We indeed tested those who went before them?2 Allah will most certainly ascertain3 those who spoke the truth and those who lied'.

The verses above then reminded me of surah ankubut (The Spider), verse 41 - 'Indeed, the weakest of homes is the home of the spider, if they only knew,'. The heart - the home is where the heart is and where true iman lays.  Just simply doing anything or speaking or thinking and just living without putting Allah SWT first makes your heart like the home of the spider - weak and destroyed very easily. 

That's why we should always say bismillahirrahmanirahim before we do anything.

JazakAllah khayran for the organisers who made me reflect and your intentions must of been very sincere for as you stated - 'In this contest, every sincere reflection is already a win and the real prize is drawing closer to the Qur’an.