Wisdom
“And know that victory comes with patience and that relief comes with hardship.” - The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w)
When I stumbled upon this hadith while searching for some solace last week, I was touched to the core. The Prophet’s words ease all the worries I was feeling, every fear, nightmare, bad thought, negative vibe. Everything along those lines. The theory is simple: easy come, easy go. Everything that is easily obtained may be too slippery to maintain. But the problem is patience. How do we attain the utmost patience? We are weak. I am weak. Sometimes I forget. No, scratch that. A lot of times, I forget. Then I whine and I complain and I cry. But Allah always answers me. Like last week. I was feeling negative about my study opportunity but the moment I realized that I was being overboard, He quickly delivered a dose of good news for me. And I was ashamed for not being patient.
“Every matter that Allah decrees for His slave is better for him. And know that what has befallen you was not going to miss you and that which has missed you was not meant to befall you.” - The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w)
Life is full of regrets. But the key is not to regret but to learn from those mistakes. They happen for reasons we may not understand now but all will be clear later. Like the people I have met and wished I have never known. I now know I met them for many reasons. To show me the type of persons I should never associate myself with. And the type of person I should never be. And the type of person I do not want my future husband to be. And the type of person I do not want my future children to be. Nauzubillah. There are also the kind and wise people I met. People who I am lucky to call my family and friends and for them to be able to teach me lessons in life I was too ignorant and stubborn to learn about. The things that happen to me. All to teach me about many, many things. Allah knows Best, doesn’t He?
“Leave the future alone until it comes.” - ‘Aaidh ibn Abdullah Al-Qarni, author of ‘La Tahzan’.
The future is not ours to worry about. We work hard for the future, planning everything. But in truth, Allah is the One Who Decides. So human planning has its limitations. Of course we need to give the best for tomorrow. After all, whatever we sow, so shall we reap. But think about it. We may not even be able to reap what we sow as death is certain yet unknown. So the best is to do the best everyday: both for today and tomorrow. Come to think about it, how many times have I witnessed my plans which I have carefully and selectively outlined everyday go to pieces as Allah has His Own Plans for me. Shakespeare said: “All the world’s a stage and we are merely players.” True. We are all actors in the huge stage and Allah is the Director. He decides what happens.
“Do not love someone too much as one day you might hate him and do not hate someone too much as one day you might love him.” - The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w)
How true this is again. Look arond us. How many lovers have turned into enemies and how many enemies have turned into lovers? Isn’t it better to aim for Allah’s Blessings when we fall in love rather than shout out loud and show off to the world that we are in love? Pray that he or she is the one for us. Pray that he or she will be able to bring us closer to Him, to be the best for our families, our societies, our future generations and for ourselves. Pray for a happy union. Pray for a blessed marriage. PRAY. Remember Rossa’s song ‘Ayat-ayat Cinta’? The line: “Namun harus ku tinggalkan cinta, ketika ku bersujud.” A reminder that human love is NOT eternal, NOT forever as many lovers would like to believe. Even when we pray, when we face Him, we have to leave those feelings behind. Love for Allah is far greater. So when I fall in love, I wish for him to be able to bring me closer to the Lord, to be able to guide me to be a better person: a good servant of Allah, a good wife to him, a good mother to our children, a good daughter, a good sister, a good friend and a good lecturer. And I also wish for me to be able to encourage him to be a better person than he already is. And I hope for both of us to build not just a successful family but a blessed one too. Children who know the ways of the world but remember that they will all return to Allah one day. Children who can give us, the parents solace and happiness and who can pray for us when we are gone. I hope to emulate the way the Prophet brought up Fatimah and the way Fatimah and Ali, brought up Hassan and Hussin.
I can always get through day by day without a lot of things but I can never get through a day without Allah’s Guidance. May we never go astray from Him.
