What I love so much about the Quran is that it doesn’t strip the emotions out of people, but magnifies them. Each and every one of was built with an internal mechanism that we can access our Creator with. Our emotions are a tool, an avenue, to Allah.  The raw vulnerable emotions of prophets and the pious are highlighted. Prophet Musa was scared (20:67), Maryam peace be upon her wished she had died (19:23), Prophet Yaqoub was overwhelmed with intense grief (12:84), Prophet Musa’s mother’s heart was in distress (28:10), Prophet Noah felt defeated (54:10), Prophet Muhammad’s heart felt constricted (15:97), Prophet Ayoub was in pain (21:83), Prophet Yunus felt helpless in extreme darkness (21:87) and the list goes on.

You don’t have to search long and hard to find the deepest of feelings in people mentioned the Quran. And they’re not just any people, but prophets of God and righteous people to look up to. A pious person isn’t someone who lives a life in the path of God free of feelings, of times of hardship and intense grief and suffering. Rather, we learn through these stories that the pious are those who use their vulnerable situation to draw even closer to God.

In the examples mentioned, feelings are exposed. But what honored these people is that they exposed their wounds to none other than the One who can heal, their Creator and Sustainer.

Feel. Feel every bit of your hurt. But direct it to the only One who can elevate you because of it.


#emotions ​ #feelings ​ #heart #psychology ​ #psychology ​intheQuran #prophets ​ #Quran ​ #Quran ​icocean

* ***For depression or hopelessness that needs medical or professional help, obviously there is a need for that in many cases which is equally important***

:بسم الله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله اما بعد

قرآن کریم میں جو حضرت مریم علیہا السلام کا قصہ نقل ہوا ہے اس میں بےشمار خزانے ہیں، بےشمار سبق ہیں۔ حضرت مریم علیہا السلام جانتی تھیں کہ یہ جو حضرت عیسیٰ علیہ السلام کی پیدائش ہے یہ اللہ سبحانہ و تعالیٰ کی طرف سے ہے، قدرت کے عام قوانین سے ہٹ کے ہی صحیح، لیکن اللہ تعالیٰ کے حکم سے ہے، اس کے باوجود ان کے لئے یہ بہت مشکل تھا، لیبر پینز کا اتنا مسئلہ نہیں تھا، اصل مسئلہ ذہنی تناؤ تھا، لوگوں کی باتوں کا ڈر تھا، وہ ایک نیک خاندان سے تھیں اور ان کو لوگوں کی بے شمار تہمتوں کا ڈر تھا۔ وہ سوچ رہی تھیں کہ کیسے سہیں گی لوگوں کی باتیں، بےشک کہ وہ جانتی تھیں یہ اللہ کی طرف سے ہے، لیکن وہ بشر تھیں، جذبات بشریت کا فطری حصہ ہیں، یہاں تک کہ مریم علیہا السلام کہہ اٹھیں کہ کاش میں بھلا دی جاتی، میرا سرے سے ذکر ہی نہ ہوتا، کسی کو پتہ ہی نہ چلتا کہ کوئی مریم ہے بھی یا نہیں؟ اور پھر جب ہم آگے بڑھتے ہیں تو بالکل ایسا ہی ہوا، لوگوں کی جیسے ازل سے عادت ہے، طعنے بھی دیے، سادہ الفاظ میں کہا کہ تمہارا خاندان کتنا نیک، تمہارے ماں باپ کتنے نیک، اور تم نے یہ گل کھلائے ہیں۔ لیکن پھر آپ میرے رب کی رحمت دیکھیں کیسے ان کو بری الذمہ کیا، عیسیٰ علیہ السلام بول پڑے، ننھے سے بچے اور اپنی والدہ کی پاکیزگی ثابت کی۔

مریم علیہا السلام نے کہا تھا کہ کاش میرا سرے سے ذکر ہی نہ ہوتا، اور اللہ تعالیٰ نے ان کا ذکر اتنا بلند کیا کہ قرآن میں ان کی تعریف کی، جب تک دنیا قائم ہے ان کا ذکر ہوتا رہے گا، جو لوگ اللہ کے لئے مشکلات سہتے ہیں، ان کے ذکر بلند ہی ہوتے ہیں۔

تو آپ میں سے جو لوگ دین کے لئے مشکلات سہ رہے ہیں، مثلاً کسی نے نیا نیا حجاب پہننا شروع کیا ہے اور لوگ عجیب عجیب نظروں سے دیکھ رہے ہیں، یا آپ سیکولر بیک گراؤنڈ سے تھے اور دین کی طرف آگئے ہیں اور نمازیں پڑھنے لگے ہیں اور لوگ طعنے دے رہے ہیں، یا آپ نے اپنے عقائد درست کیے ہیں تو آپ کے لوگ آپ کے پیچھے پڑ گئے ہیں، آپ نے یاد رکھنا کہ اللہ تعالیٰ آپ کو کبھی اکیلا نہیں چھوڑے گا، اللہ ہمیشہ آپ کے ساتھ ہے، آپ کو ذہنی تناؤ بھی ہوگا، ڈر بھی لگے گا، گھبرائیں گے بھی، یہ سب جذبات نارمل ہیں، بشریت کا حصہ ہیں، لیکن اہم چیز یہ ہے کہ ان جذبات کے ہوتے ہوئے بھی اب جو آپ نے ٹھان لیا ہے کہ اللہ تعالیٰ کی ماننی ہے تو بس ماننی ہے، دنیا جو مرضی بولے۔ جذبات ہمارے بس میں نہیں ہیں، اعمال ہیں۔

اللہ ہمیں اس کے دین پر ثابت قدم رہنے کی ہمت دے۔

Thank you for taking out the time to read it. jazanaa wa iyyakum. 

Allah (swt) does something amazing in the Quran. Instead of focusing on the celebration of Maryam (as) for being blessed with a miraculous birth, He tells us about her pain in delivery. Instead of focusing on how Yaqub (as) spent his days in joy after being reunited with his son, He tells us verse after verse about his sorrow when he lost him. Instead of focusing on the relief Musa (as)'s mother felt that her baby was safe, He tells us He had to intervene in her heart when she wanted nothing more than to grab her baby out of the river.

Throughout the Quran, Allah (swt) highlights the depths of human suffering; fear, anguish, worry, and anxiety to connect us to a universal experience. When the heart is in joy, it feels close to its Lord; when the heart is in sadness, it begins to feel abandoned. Not only does Allah (swt) tell us about their pain, He quotes them word for word. He is aware of your sadness to the point every word of distress you utter, and every time your heart aches in pain, is accounted for by Him.

In these moments, our Lord wants us to experience the fullness of who He is. How can you experience Ar-Razzaq (The Provider) if you’ve never known what it feels like to be left with no provision? How can you experience Al-Jabbar (The All Compelling) if you’ve never felt every inch of your heart bursting apart from pain? How can you know Al-Fattah (The Opener) if you’ve never seen no way out of a calamity? Our pious predecessors were tested with extreme pain and in return were granted a knowledge of Allah (swt) like no one else will ever have because knowing Him is the relief.

Through pain, Allah (swt) births a deeper understanding of Him. With every trial, another name of our Lord is shown to us. Another layer of His love is brought forth for us. He reminds us of who we are to Him; worthy and loveable, especially in our lowest moments when people often turn away from us. So when you find yourself asking, where is Allah in my pain? Where is Allah in the depths of my sadness? Hear Him responding to you: '…I am with you, Hearing and Seeing' (20:46).

JazakAllahu Khairan for sharing such an inspiring insight.!

When faced with a difficulty, we often feel that it is unbearable. It feels as if we are dying. This verse tells me that whatever Allah has tested me with, it is something that I can handle and navigate through. Yet, my heart still feels uneasy. I will continue to make supplication to my Lord, asking Him and begging Him for His Rahmah and guidance to help me through the difficulty. This reminds me of the plea of Sayyidah Maryam A.S.
 
فَأَجَآءَهَا ٱلۡمَخَاضُ إِلَىٰ جِذۡعِ ٱلنَّخۡلَةِ قَالَتۡ يَٰلَيۡتَنِي مِتُّ قَبۡلَ هَٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسۡيٗا مَّنسِيّٗا
 
Then the pains of labour drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She cried, 'Alas! I wish I had died before this, and was a thing long forgotten!' (Maryam, 19:23)

The example given through the story of Maryam A.S. further strengthens me. She didn’t think that she could get through the test, but Allah knows better, and she emerged from the test victoriously and with an elevated rank.
 
I know that I have many shortcomings—I tend to forget things, forgetting His bounties. He tested me so that I will continue to remember Him. Now, His tests have made me remember Him. Yet, I still feel afraid that I cannot pass through the test and keep on asking Him for forgiveness and guidance. Allah, the Giver of Mercy will not disappoint me. Hence, this verse is a relief for me.

#ReflectionRetreat

Waiyyaki dear sister. Missing you during the Reflection Retreat

Pregnancy and childbirth is one of the greatest manifestations of the ayah of our lord.Allah SWT has said children is adornment in this dunya.To receive that best gift,we care and nurture ourselves with the best.We patiently wait throughout the pregnancy with so much love,hope and awe.The labor pain which is one of the greatest pain is patiently endured for a greater purpose and as it ends with a beautiful gift 🎁that moment becomes joyful and the noblest.

ALLAH has offered  bestest of the bestest gift in the hereafter which no eyes has seen to the succesful believers ,with pure heart who have patiently strived in this world.

How much we are taking care and nurturing ourselves to get that eternal gift from our RABB.We all have to strive to be humble and steadfast upon each trials and hardships through beautiful patience,to earn his ultimate pleasure.Allah is the TRUTH,his words are the TRUTH,his writings are the TRUTH.

May Allah out of his mercy bestow upon us beautiful patience along with gratefulness,knowing that hardships are also goodness that Allah has sent upon us.
May Allah out of his mercy,help and make us among his grateful servants who trust and have reliance upon him in all the situations.May Allah SWT allow us to meet him,the Malikul Haqq,the Jameel,the Noor well pleased.

Allahumma baarik...
May Allah SWT make all your affairs easy...

1: What a thing!  No husband, yet the child came in the womb!  What will happen now?  How to show face in society?  Maybe that's what Maryam thought.  That's how it should be!

 2: The situation was so dire, she couldn't help but say,
 يَـٰلِيۡتَنِي مِتُّ قَبۡلَ هَـٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسۡيا مَنّسِيّا
 'Alas! I wish I had died before this, and was a thing long forgotten!' (Maryam 23).

 3: The child she wished to die for was the center of all Maryam's honor.

 4: The difficult time that death seemed better than surviving, the difficult suffocating situation became the beginning of real life for Maryam.

 5: Why do I get so upset during difficult times?  Rabbi Kareem may be testing me.  Rabbi Kareem may be punishing me for some of my faults.  Both will open the door to a new beginning for me!

JAK for sharing this encouraging reflection that indeed with hardship comes ease with the will of Allah SWT. Life is a test of various obstacles, but our perception is critical in how we perform. I like this: 'Both will open the door to a new beginning for me.' Insha'Allah. An excellent approach! 

'Alas! I wish I had died before this, and was a thing long forgotten!'

Sometimes life can get so overwhelming and painful that we wish we could disappear. 

When I read these ayat, I think of how Maryam (a) is being told about the blessings that Allah has provided her. Sometimes we are so weighed down with sorrow that we might overlook the blessings right in front of us. 

Then she is told to take action. We cannot allow our emotions to paralyze us. We have to push through and have hope, even through great sadness and difficulty.

☀Do not grieve. 
☀Be aware of the streams right at your feet. 
☀Shake those trees. 
☀And watch the blessings fall upon you. 

Insha'Allah

As I was walking outside in the morning, there was someone in front of me who was walking alongside his dog, and on the back of his shirt, there was a nice quote which states:


'Pain is weakness leaving the body.'


So after I saw that, those words resonated with me, because it flips around the immediate perception of pain and reveals the essence and the purpose of pain in our everyday lives.


We can think of it more from a religious point of view, so it's not necessarily just physical pain, but it can also be emotional or psychological pains that we carry sometimes.


The weaknesses that we may have could be not remembering Allah enough, not being grateful for His blessings towards us, not being humble enough, not doing what we are supposed to do, lacking trust in Allah's plan, and so on. We start getting more off track from a God-conscious path unless we are hit with a trial, pain, or something that tests our patience.


Those are the real weaknesses that can exist within ourselves and it's not the pain itself that is the weakness. Rather, the pain can help to eliminate some of those weaknesses from ourselves.


The pain that Maryam felt when giving birth to Issa (peace be upon him) drove her to the trunk of a tree, and she wished that she was something forgotten. But perhaps she wasn't aware that the pain was in fact Allah's mercy upon her; it was only wrapped up and packaged in a different form which wasn't recognizable to her immediately.


So, the pains are sometimes a disguised sign from Allah SWT that His help and reassurance is indeed very close to us, which will inevitably strengthen us even more than before.


#MercyandPain

Prophet Yunus in the darkness, alone in the belly of a whale.

Prophet Yusuf in the darkness, alone in a well and in prison.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them) in the darkness of a cave as he leaves his beloved city.

Prophet Musa in the darkness of a basket alone in a river.

Maryam gave birth alone away from her family and community.

All these great figures in our history, who were chosen by Allah and beloved to Him, had to endure difficult and trying experiences, times of darkness, loneliness, fear and uncertainty.  

They could have been spared all this pain and suffering but instead we are told their stories of hope and resilience so we can learn and grow. 

It makes me think these dark and lonely instances were like incubators for these great figures to grow utter reliance on Allah and the strength, stamina, trust and faith to become triumphant and deliver important eternal legacies to humanity.

So if you're feeling restricted or constricted, perhaps due to illness or any other type of adversity,  it could be preparing you to fulfill your potential, to pave your purpose, to grow your capacity to deliver an important legacy.

Maybe in this restriction, through Allah's lutf and subtle grace, you are being protected, elevated, cleansed, healed and given an opportunity to focus on what really matters. 


#reflectingincrisis

Jazaak Allah khair, Ma shaa Allah truly inspiring ✨. 

There are 2 really beautiful lessons about these ayat that go hand-in-hand that didn’t strike me until today subhannallah. 

The first is that Maryam (as) was so terrified and that her situation was so bad that she wished she was dead before this. That she can’t imagine how to get through this. So she utters this statement, and what was the response: 'don’t grieve.' This woman just wished for death before this and instead of the reply being, 'astaghfirallah! How dare you say such a thing!' Or that 'it’s haram to think about death like that! Your iman is low!' she was consoled. 'Don’t grieve.' Subhannallah. The root of her statement came from grievance, it came from overwhelming worry, so in return she was comforted. Yet when our friends, our siblings, our children come to us with a heavy weight of emotions anchored onto their chests we judge, instead of comfort. We attack instead of listen. And then we complain we don’t know what’s going on with them. Yet we have this beautiful example in the Quran to show us, that when someone is feeling burdened, comfort them. Don’t judge them. Don’t ridicule them. Comfort them. Console them. Be there for them. 

The second thing that stood out to me was that she was instructed to shake the palm tree to receive fresh fruits. Now, in the story of Maryam (as) we know that Zakareeya (As) used to find her with fruits outside of the season, just there for her. It wasn’t rare for her to just have things appear for her. However, in this instance she’s instructed to shake the tree even though provision could appear right there for her with no effort, per Allah’s will. This goes to show that even in times of disparity you have to put in the effort. You gotta try. 

You must put in that effort to reap the rewards of helping yourself. 

Yes, things are tough. Yes, it’s hard to push yourself but in these ayat we’re being shown: don’t grieve, Allah is with you, but you gotta meet Him halfway. You have to get up and help yourself as well, because no one else can do that for you. And once you do, Allah will be there to provide for you in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine, but you have to put in that effort.

Jazakallahu khair , beautiful reflection..

成为月捐者