Waking up at tahajjud and crying your heart out to Allah because you don’t have anyone else to turn to
And even if you do have people to turn to, nobody can replace the warmth and openness you feel with Allah. Sometimes sadness and difficulty brings us closer to Allah than happiness and prosperity. In those moments of sadness and confusion, reach out to Allah and release all your worries and sadness to Him. Tahajjud is the time to speak to Allah without any distractions from the world. Tahajjud is the time to cry profusely, open the wounds that are hurting you and speak to Allah.
Pouring your fears and hopes into dua
Most of my blog posts about the ‘soul + mind’ mention dua because it’s seriously life-changing. It’s the one tool that can radically change the course of your life. When I say dua, I’m not talking about the 2 minute duas that we make after salah, often empty hearted, repeating words that don’t even touch the edge of your heart. When I say dua, I’m talking about the invocations that come from the depth of your heart. The prayers that you are too scared to say out loud – but you do so anyway, trusting Allah. The cries that are so deep within you, that you’re afraid of becoming vulnerable and opening wounds that you thought were healed. I’m taking about duas that shift your entire body chemistry – where every hair on your body is raised out of awe and overwhelm of the magnificence of Allah.
Living freely with no worry
Worry and faith cannot coexist in the same heart at the same time. You can’t be feeling worried and hopeful at the same time. Worry, doubt and fear is a tactic used by shaitan and a thought pattern used by your egoic voice. We all have that voice in our minds that plagues us with fear. “What if it doesn’t happen? What if I lose out?” The key is to not engage with those thoughts – let them pass like a river streaming by. Gently watch the thoughts as an onlooker and the less you engage with them, the less power and control they have over you.
Being okay with both outcomes
Even if you pour your entire heart into dua, cry beyond measure and make numerous dua’s at the most blessed places and times of acceptance – if Allah hasn’t decreed something for you, accept it. Your life could go beyond your wildest dreams or it could go the complete opposite direction with twists and hurdles that you could have never imagined – both ways fully accept the outcome.
No attachment to this worldly life
Linking back to the point above – have no attachment to this life. You could have it all (and if that’s what you want, go for it girlfriend!) but don’t let it consume your heart. Go after this world but don’t let it cloud your mind. Attachment to this materialistic world has nothing to do with your possessions. It has nothing to do with how many designer bags you own or the size of your bank account. But it has everything to do with how much you let those things consume you.
Embracing uncertainty
All. my. life. I’ve been bombarded with the questions such as “What’s your 5 year plan? Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? What are you financial projections for the next 15 years?” Here’s the thing with these type of questions – I don’t know where I’ll be at the end of this month, let alone in 15 years time. Whilst I’m all in favour of life planing (with reasonability i.e. monthly goals, yearly goals, 5 year plans, general awareness of your life’s message), anything above a 5 year plan to me is pretty crazy. I had my life all figured out on paper, except that when depression hit – all my glorious, grand plans flushed down the drain and my life took on a whole new direction.
Go with the flow of life (+ work hard)
Trusting Allah doesn’t mean sitting your tush on the sofa and waiting for your dream man in shining armour to save you and miraculously give you a life full of happiness and prosperity. Neither does it mean scrapping your feet in 5 inch heels all day and pulling all nighters for something that was never meant to be destined for you. It’s a tricky balance of going with the flow of life + working ridiculously hard for your dreams + not getting attached to the outcome.
23 Responses
MashaAllah…super
Thank you ?
Gosh sis I loved this so much and wallahi I really needed to read some (most…ok all) of these points! It’s so easy to get consumed in worry and fear and continually think about the future or dwell on the “what ifs” but if we truly trust in Allah we’ll take things as they come, work hard, and trust that He will give us what’s best, whether it’s what we wanted for ourselves or not.
Jazakillah Khair, thank you so much for your kind words ???? It really is about taking things as they come, being happy in yourself and enjoying the ‘wait’, realising that nothing we do can make the destination/future come faster x
salam Alykum,
Wise article this is exactly what muslim woman needs to be a strong one bi Idni Allah,to face life and raise kids. I would like to add just one important point .REFRESH YOUR NYA (tajdid ennya) every day, ideally after fajr. YOU Will feel the blessing (baraka) in every thing you do.In the simplest stuff, preparing healthy cooking is to make family in good health to be a strong muslim to serve his deen..etc..SMILE Always for sake of Allah .This is sadaka! YOU WILL GLOW positive energy that every one want to be around. Soubhan Allah!
Jazakallah khair this is exactly the reminder I needed! I especially love the point about embracing whatever Allah (swt) gives us. We can make so much dua for something but we have to remember that He will only accept what He wills and we have to be OK with either outcome. That can be a hard one to embrace but it’s so important to try! <3
So true. An absolutely beneficial reminder.
Jazakillah for reading and stopping by x
Beautiful Post! MashAllah!
Exactly this: ‘if Allah hasn’t decreed something for you, accept it.’ Wise words.
I also hate being asked about my plans next month or where I will be in 5 years… No idea…I go with the flow
Trust in Allah is key! It’s so important to keep turning back to Allah and not forgetting that he is the only one that can help us.
I’m the type of person that is always making plans. When I’m this age I”ll be done with school than a year later after doing an internship I’ll get a job and then get married blah blah blah ! I think I have everything figured out but honestly, my life isn’t even going near that plan. I made duahs so much and saw the exact opposing result of what I asked ! I started asking Allah to make me accept that what I’m asking for isn’t good for me, I asked him to give me sabr, to help me trust him. Wallahi since that day, I’m ok with where I am and I know that he sees the bigger picture and knows what better for me. But it hurts so much not to have what you want and see people getting those exact things without even having to put the same effort as you did or even ask. Sorry for such a long comment haha loved your post
I love all the pointers you have written here. REALLY! It was a great evening read and I strongly believe that trusting Allah solves so many problems and worries.
Putting your whole trust in Allah is very hard for the smallest things or the biggest life decisions. It takes practice but once you read that level of trust the way your heart will feel at ease is unreal! It’s something I learn’t very early in life alhamdulillah because of what I went through little as it was it was hard for me and it was something I couldn’t control, all I could control was how I felt and dealt with the emotions, putting my trust in Allah is the best lesson I ever learn’t. (www.beautywithzainy.com and http://www.spicyfusionkitchen.com)
I love that – all we can really do is control how we feel about it and put our trust in Allah ?
I did a one month course on quran in Ramadhan and one thing I found amazimg was prophets are praying ALL the time. Either they are happy or worried or sad. Either they have comitted a sin or doing a good act. You always find the prophets praying it really changed my prespective of dua I used to think Allah knows whats in my heart he will help me but I learnt from the prophets that with all the hardwork prayers are equally important. Even if they are answered after years (40 years in prophet Musas case).
With that being said thankyou for this amazing article
Honetly when things are not going your way despite all the hardwork you put into it, you have to trust Allahs plans.
Wow, that is such an interesting gem of knowledge, how inspirational! – Jazakillah for sharing ?
Dua. Indeed dua can change taqdeer.
Being okay with both outcomes..so true… indeed the 6th pillar of Iman. .believe in fate..good or evil
May He bless us to be His best servants.
Yeah that’s a great way to explain it ‘belief in fate – good or bad’ 🙂 Jazakillah for stopping by x
Loved it, MashaAllah! JazakAllahu Khair, It’s exactly what I needed to hear and be reminded of!
BarakAllah fee, so happy to hear that sweetheart x
What an amazing post! This actually coincides perfectly with something else I read earlier – sometimes it’s hard to do a lot of these things but truly trusting Allah’s (swt) plan is a key to happiness. Thanks for sharing!
Jazakillah khair for your lovely response. It really is the key to happiness and peace x