I must apologise for the long break in my writing. Alhamdulillah I got back safely from Syria over a month ago. Apart from suffering from rooh-lack (spiritual deficiency) as opposed to jet-lag, I’m pretty much settling back into Cardiff life, but alhamdulillah as a completely different person. Coming away from being in an atmosphere which continuously reminded me of my Creator and my purpose in life, has not been easy. I still have random breakdowns when I feel like I left my heart behind in Syria and so my body sits here with me, lifeless and empty.

I never knew what it felt like to have a personal teacher. I mean a guide, someone who carries you through your life, moulds you and directs you towards the Creator.
Alhamdulillah, in the past year Allah allowed me to experience a sweetness I never could have dreamt of tasting. It’s so true the saying – man lam lahu sheikh, fa shaykhuhu shaytan (whoever does not have a teacher, then his teacher is shaytan), because subhanAllah, when there’s no-one telling you what to/not to do, we as humans fall so easily. Leaving all my teachers behind in Syria was probably the painful aspect of leaving. SubhanAllah, when I came back, though there was my family and old friends all around, I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of loneliness; and barakah in time, what was that again?! It all seems to have disappeared! Khayr, it just goes to show how much harder I have to work on myself and inshaAllah I have to just keep grabbing onto the things that were thrust into my life in Syria.
People experience all types of wonderful things in their lives at different times and in different places, Syria for me was that special time, the most beautiful period of my life, alhamdulillah!

So, I thought this entry would be one from which you guys could derive some benefit rather than hear about my different escapades. By comparing the lifestyle I was exposed to in Syria to lifestyle here, I was hoping I’d be able to inspire an urge for change amongst us all. We don’t realise or appreciate the importance of certain times, let alone exploit them for what they’re worth.  It’s Ramadan and alhamdulillah we all looked forward to it, but I doubt the correct preparation methods were adopted by us all. Preparation? I hear you ask. Yes, hard core preparation. The sahabah would actually start preparing for this blessed month 6 months in advance! But that’s not what I wanted to talk about, I thought I’d bring up a couple of things that we allow to slip by every week, or worse yet, every day.

Let’s start weekly – so, we have a day every week which has been described as the master of days, and the greatest of days before Allah. Greater, in fact, than the day of al-Adha and the day of al-Fitr (Ibn Maajah, 1084); Jumu’ah. Do any of us feel goosebumps rising on our skin as the time for Maghrib kicks in on a Thursday night? Rest assured, Friday is no ordinary day. So, Damascus rises with the harmonies of dhikr and salawat being projected throughout the city long before Fajr. So they rise, knowing exactly what day it is. I was told to engage in nothing except ibadah until the time for salatul Jumu’ah arrives.

Obviously, the guys (if not the girls) attend jumu’ah salah here, but ibadah all morning? They’ve only just rolled out of bed!  The prophet saw stated that there is no angel who is close to Allah, no heaven, no earth, no wind, no mountain and no sea that does not fear Friday (Ibn Maajah, 1084).  Even the creation is aware of the days, whilst we sleep, astaghfirullah. Fear is mentioned here because Judgement Day, subhanAllah, JUDGEMENT DAY, which draws closer with each breath we take, will fall on a Friday. How about that to help us stop, sit and ponder over what our state is on Friday, and wonder what our state will be like on the Friday when we stand before Allah.

Did you know that there is a time on Friday when a person asks Allah for anything and He gives it to him? (Sahih al-Bukhari). Some say this time is when the Imam enters the masjid till salatul jumu’ah is over, and others say it is an hour between Asr and Maghrib. Just as we search for laylatul Qadr in the last ten nights of Ramadan, we should be searching for this special hour every Friday.

Now lets zoom in even closer, every night we find ourselves offered a gift that only a few extend their hands to. The gift of nearness to the Almighty Creator and forgiveness for our plethora of sins. Tahajjud. “Ok, woah, isn’t that something to do with waking up at crazy hours of the night? It’s hard enough that I wake for Fajr, right?!” This is where we lead ourselves into a pitiable state. Let me make clear that I’m not talking about Islam here, but rather matters of Iman (true faith) and Ihsan (excellence) which we, as an ummah, lack. Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said, ‘In the last third of every night our Lord descends to the lowermost heaven and says; “Who is calling Me, so that I may answer him? Who is asking Me so that may I grant him? Who is seeking forgiveness from Me so that I may forgive him?”‘ [Sahih al-Bukhari]

Allah speaks with loving words about those who slept but little of the night, they are the ones described as the doers of good [51: 15-18]. The sad truth is that we have grown lazy. SubhanAllah, have you noticed that we sleep like 3 times more than our mothers? And who on earth could possibly be more in need of rest, us or them?! Now to get out of this, the reality is, we’re not willing to put in the effort. Allah promises the patient ones lofty rewards, but is patience just patience in calamity?

There is also such thing as patience in ibadah, it’s not easy for the likes of us to wake and stand before Allah whilst the world sleeps around us in warm comfortable beds. We fool ourselves into thinking that we’ll be too tired for the following day, yet we fail to realise that it is in this prayer that the soul is re-energised, and that light is able to penetrate our hearts – Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest [13: 28]. SubhanAllah I was with women in Syria who had full time jobs, were mothers, ran projects, gave duroos, and yet they would never miss their special appointment with their Lord.

Allah questions in surah al zumar whether the one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing in prayer, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, like the one who does not do so? He says that only those who have understanding will take heed [39: 9]. Let’s be a generation of understanding, reviving the sunnah, and energizing our souls.

Here’s another thing we need to seriously consider, Al-Hasan al Basri was asked by some people to give them a cure because they just couldn’t wake up for tahajjud. He said to them, “Do not disobey Him during the day and He will help you stand before Him during the night.” SubhanAllah, we have a lot of sins to wipe away. Every day that we fail to wake and stand before Allah is a reflection of our sins, then it’s not so much about us not wanting to talk with Allah as it is about Him not wanting to talk to us.

May Allah remove the filth that coats our feeble hearts, and may He revive them with His light, and strengthen them with Ibadah, and may we be beacons for the rest of the world, and per chance His mercy will fall on us for being “the doers of good”. Ameen.

There are 7 special nights and one special day each week of our lives. Pay attention to what time it is, what day it is, inshaAllah we won’t be of those who lose out.

Your sister in Islam,

Nishat