quran

How being grateful and positive in the time of crisis can help you through : A promise from the Quran

While studying the story about the Prophet Moosa (May Allah be pleased with him) in our weekly halqa, I came across a beautiful lesson from the Quran giving timeless advice on being positive in the time of crisis.

The ustadh in the video I watched explained that as human beings, when we are in a difficult situation, we tend to focus on the problem. What we learn from this story that when faced with a testing scenario, if we want relief and a turnaround of things, we should stop thinking of the problem and focus on what would make us grateful to Allah. 
Context 
In the story of the Prophet Moosa (May Allah be pleased with him), he led his people who were tortured and humiliated in their homeland to escape through the split water. Whilst they were now safe from Pharaoh, on the other side, they were all alone in the burning desert- they’ve left their home behind and now have to face a new path and set up a new life with nothing at all. Moosa (May Allah be pleased with him), gives them a speech about how to best to deal with this crisis they were in at that time. From the Quran (14:6):

And [recall, O Children of Israel], when Moses said to his people, “Remember the favor of Allah upon you when He saved you from the people of Pharaoh, who were afflicting you with the worst torment and were slaughtering your [newborn] sons and keeping your females alive. And in that was a great trial from your Lord.

He begins by advising them not to be patient – but  to be grateful.  When you’re in a crisis, all you see is the problem in front of you. Its hard to see how in the middle of a life/death situation there is any good, right? Yet Moosa (may Allah be pleased with him), reminded his people and us – that a way of being  grateful is to at least reflect on the bad things you have been saved from. 

This will shift you to a positive mindset. And where does this positivity take you? In the ayah below, we are given the promise from Allah:  “If you are grateful, I will increase you. Holy Quran (14:7)

And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe’
Furthermore, how much and what exactly is being increased is not defined. As when we are in a rough, dire situation we need all kinds of help and Allah recognises this by keeping it completely opened and limitless – Subhanallah!
In the context of the pandemic this is extremely relevant. We may find it hard day to day to see the good in the  lockdown restrictions and impact on our lives – however there is always room for us to be grateful to Allah for what we could be facing. Many of us have not had to suffer through the virus, we had a lockdown in luxury, or some of us who did get sick experienced it mildly or fully recovered. If we reflect with an open mind, there is always so much to be grateful for what we have been saved from.
Oh and by the way, even if you’re not appreciative and choose to complain, it takes away nothing from Allah – you only harm yourself. As is captured in this verse (Quran 14:8): 
And Moses said, ‘If you should disbelieve, you and whoever is on the earth entirely – indeed, Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy’.

Lesson: Get over yourself. You’re not doing it for Allah. You’re doing it for yourself.

So in summary, how can being grateful and positive in the time of crisis help you ?
Allah promises in an undefined, open ended guarantee that He will “increase us”. All we have to do is show one little speck of gratitude and Allah will take care of the rest. How do we do this?
1. Switch from focusing on the problem to being grateful even in the situation you’re in.
2. If you cant find the good in your situation, then at least be grateful to Allah for what you have been saved from.

This also made me realise that you can’t be grateful and complain at the same time. Go on, try it!
So every minute we spend complaining, is taking us away from drawing in good to change our situation. So really it’s in our hands – do we choose to go down the path of being negative and moan OR the path of being positive and grateful to Allah in order to attract more good in?  
Perhaps I’ll add this to the things I want to do to do better in 2021 i.e simply complain less! It’s a practical way to show gratitude as well in every situation or moment.

Being grateful, one less complaint at a time,
Muslimahbydesign

Getting ready for Ramadan….Beyond stockpiling the freezer!

With two weeks to go before the start of Ramadan, I began some planning for this special month of mercy and forgiveness. Planning involving taking actions to be in the best space for maximum gains. As given are already self isolating, being home and with no distractions about going out – I feel we already have a headstart!

For many years, I found that I would consider myself ready for Ramadan once I had containers of savouries in the freezer, and a pantry filled with ingredients to make traditional desserts and dishes we especially enjoy in this month (sometimes to the extent of mandating it!)

But if the purpose of this month is to develop Allah Consciousness (“taqwa” in Arabic) as Allah says in the Quran (2:183)
“O you who believe fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you so that you can learn Taqwa” 
Taqwa includes Allah fearing, piety, and self restraining. An opportunity to turn things around. To become closer to Allah and to learn more about ourselves by learning more about Him. It involves doing lots of good to please Allah. And to exit the month with more than we entered – physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally.

Which is why I drew up this chart – to remind myself about adopting a “holistic approach” to welcoming the Holy Month of Ramadan. Looking at all ACTIONS necessary to make the month as productive as possible. Here it is:

Holistic Approach to preparing for Ramadan. Please SHARE

Physical and Practical
This is usually my starting point. I would look at the key dates such as when do we start fasting and when is Eid and jot them into my calendar and diary. This would give me an indication of what else is going on around Ramadan (for example any appointments, meetings etc). It also gives me a good jolt into how much time is left for preparations before the start of the month! 

Next step is to plan what food preparation is needed. Without the convenience of abundant home made savouries and delicious chutney dips like we get in South Africa, if I want anything like what I am used to back home (such as samoosas or pies!) here in Istanbul, I better make it all myself (or do without it as I have in some years. Borek will have to do!). So this year where I could I used two evenings to do some preparations and I’m calling it a day.

A tip I learnt from my dear mother was to also do any Eid shopping such as clothes and gifts before Ramadan. That way you are not using precious Ramadan minutes running around with these activities! Also you can avoid the crowds. This year given the lockdown situation, I really don’t know what Eid will be like so holding on with any gift planning till things are more clear.

Lastly in this area is setting up the environment at home – putting up some exciting decorations, involving the kids in some crafts- all with the intention of creating a positive spirit and love for this beautiful month for the whole family. We have already started talking about Ramadan parties, so my little one is amped!

Mental Readiness
Setting a real focused intention immediately puts me in the right space. Reading up on the benefits of fasting, and listening to a few great speakers on the blessings of this month are great reminders about why I need to maximise on stacking up reward. 

If there are any habits I want to change, I might start working on them now, weeks before we start fasting. This year, I aim to give up on junk shows (at least!) on Netflix. I actually enjoy documentary style shows so I have already started switching to that instead. In Ramadan, I would aim to watch nothing at all. It always amazes me how I am able to detox in this way so easily, and occupy my time with extra prayer -or just rest.

Closer to the start of Ramadan I would begin my “fasting focus”, and do my best to clear my mind of all other peripherals – binge chats, binge Instagram scrolling, anything else taking me away from the sole purpose of this month – worshipping Allah and gaining closeness to Him.

This mental focus is so important as it sets the tone for the last pillar. We cannot pray in the sincerest way we are meant to if our mind is still cluttered with other things. I mentally put on hold anything extra that can wait for after the four weeks- so my mind has clarity and space.

Spiritual
The focus of the month will be on my soul- to uplift myself in a deep spiritual way Insha Allah. Usually this involves goals for completing recitation of the Quran, listening to tafseer, revising previously memorised surahs. I really enjoy understanding what I read in Quran so for this I have begun at least listening to (and often making notes though I do need to revise more so its more entrenched), the tafseer from leading scholars on the verses of Quran we read most often – for example starting with Surah Yaseen, Surah Kahf, and the last 20 surahs in Quran which are the ones I would read in my Salaatul Taraweeh every night. 

Other great resources I have come to love has been the daily 20 minute lectures that some scholars give live after Taraweeh salaah. My favourite being Ramadan Gems  and Ramadan Nightly Reminders (Mufti Menk). These are all available on demand on YouTube if you miss it live. It is centred around a theme such as Stories from Quran, or Stories about the Messengers, making it compelling listening to complete the full picture. Great learning.

So as you can see, if we start to break down all the aspects to consider in preparing for this month Insha Allah, there’s so much more beyond hanging up decor or stock piling the freezer!

 How far are you with preparations for this beautiful month? And which aspects do you focus on?


Wishing you all a productive Ramadan, filled with barakah and blessings
Taskeen

Moaning, not appreciating

While studying the story about Moosa AS in our weekly halqa, I came across this ayah from the Quran on showing gratitude:

And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.’ ” (14:7)

We discussed what the Shaykh had taught us in a course on “Discourses from the Quran” that we attended in London a few years ago and we remembered how he had mentioned that gratitude is something you ARE and LIVE, not just DO. So through your actions you are grateful, not just doing a ritual for a few minutes when you feel like it, thinking your gratitude action is done for the day (or week or month!).

I started thinking about being grateful and  made me realise that you can’t be grateful and complain at the same time. Go on, try it!

So every minute we spend complaining, it’s taking us away from focusing on all that’s good and counting our blessings. Rather we are left feeling more horrible and finding more ways to deepen our sorrow- not a very positive place to be in!

And  I think we moan far more than we actually think we do – from the time the alarm goes off in the morning (Oh boy, time to wake up already?!), we have niggles about everything. Or is it just me thats grumpy when things don’t work out?! Good exercise to practice – observing how many complaints we have in a day – nothing like starting a complaining journal to give us a reality check!

Perhaps I’ll add this to the things I want to do to do better in 2018 i.e simply complain less! It’s a practical way to show gratitude as well in every situation or moment.

Being grateful, one less complaint at a time,
M4life

There’s always so much to appreciate – if we can be aware!

Two Forms of Mercy…Two states in One

Salaams

So I listened to a talk recently by Ustaadh NAK (you know who I mean!) explaining the two Names of Allah Ar Rahman and Ar Rahim : two forms of mercy and I was so inspired. 

I also learnt that by listening to something more than once it really solidifies your understanding. Anyway here is my take on it based on what I heard:

Ar Rahman – ارحمان : Allah’s mercy and love is extreme, not permanent( this life),  happening right now ( eg hunger similar word pattern جوعان)  mercy that’s more immediate.

Ar Rahim – ارحيم – Allah’s mercy  that’s always there and you can count on it. Quality that doesn’t change. Not necessarily taking place right now- potential.

So what does it mean?

When you want Allah’s mercy in a time of need, you need it immediately – and intensely! Then you appeal to His quality of Ar Rahman. Not thinking of the future or the potential of mercy right now. But as a human we need instant meeting of needs.

Once it’s met, you now can turn to his quality of Ar Raheem knowing he will always have Mercy should you need to call upon it in the future.
Subhanallah!

Only in Allah the Most Powerful can two forms exist in one – amazing.

May Allah grant us understanding and MERCY

Aameen

🙂
Praying for His Mercy,
M4Life