Under the vastness of the blue skies, walk frayed beings forlorn and confused.
Every heart is mourning in pain, every soul wounded,
every eye glistening with tears, weeping,
every being going through a similar journey, packaged with tailor-made tests
that we all need to complete and pass.
Our starting points were the same and our end points shall be too,
although we might be tested in disparate ways but one fact remains intact:
We all are tested, we all are toiling.
Why? Why this test and this toil?
Because, you and me – we were all born to toil. We were born to go through this extremly painful process of breaking and shattering for a reason.
“We have certainly created man into hardship.” [Surah Al Balad]
Yes, each one of you is weirdly stuck in a dilemma – in a shock, in loss, in love, in betrayal, in grief – in short, yourself – your innermost existence beyond the flesh, the rooh, which is filled with enormous emotions that you can no longer control. You are tired of the pain, of your bleeding heart that awaits its healing, of the emotions which leave you scattered, of the late night sorrows that puts you to sleep, of your swollen feet and your worn out strength. being dragged with a faint hope, that one day the season of delight will come that shall wipe away every trace of suffering.
And when that faint voice within you asks, “When?” Well, you just reassure it somehow that it will just happen in its own time. But honestly, let me ask you – Are you sure? Who has guaranteed you that assurance without any efforts from your side? What makes you believe milestones are achieved while you sit there doing nothing? What have you done to change your condition? Have you taken any steps apart from this complaining?
Now you may reply, “But, what can I do? It’s not in my hands!” Well, but you see, it is!
The Good News!
If you examine the world today, you will find that it’s literally ‘rushing’ towards that One Divine Entity – Allah. Yes! Watch closely and analyse with a microscopic eye.
Ask those women who are at the pinnacle of success – what is the mystery behind their achievements? Question that man who once frowned at everything and now smiles at the slightest chance of joy dropped in his arms. Inquire of that reticent girl, who once cried at the death of her parents; ask her the secret ingredient of courage, contentment and delight. Or that women who yearned for a baby of her own for ages and was now blessed with many. Ask one, ask everyone!
Yet the answer is just One – Al-Ahad, the Only One!
“And I’ve prepared you for Myself.” [Surah TaHa]
How overwhelming is this verse, where the Lord of the Worlds Himself declares that He created us for Him, with a fitrah to worship Him, to connect to Him, to confide in Him, and to seek refuge from Him. But, when we just go on disturbing the mechanisms – breaking the laws, running in opposite directions, ignoring the voices of our souls and going against the fitrah, it’s only then that it hurts. And it hurts very much.
It’s your turn to build the bridge to ar-Rahman. And what better way than through the best of the months, the most blessed of nights. Which time better than Ramadan – the month of rahma, maghfirah and khayr! It opens the closed doors, awakens the dead hearts, purifies the sinners, humbles the arrogant, feeds the hungry, lights the dark houses and guides the lost souls. Subhan Allah! A wonderful cleansing experience, a spiritual bath that nourishes your soul, a chance for redemption and an opportunity for reconnection with the Rab ul ‘Alameen, a new beginning and back to the Siraat (Straight Path).
Me-Time: Your Personal Cave of Reflection!
The nature of this Duniya is to hypnotize everyone by its dazzle. It’s easy to lose yourself, to corrupt your soul, to dirty your hearts and ultimately to be someone you are not. And the nature of Ramadan is to call us back to our purpose, back to the real “me”!
But for that purified version of YOU, you need to hold on to ME-TIME! It’s absolutely important for each one of us to hit our caves and spend some time in solitude, for self-reflection, for the sake of our souls – without any compromises in quality. Cut off from the tech, from the busy schedules, from our friends, from the vain talks, from every distraction so that we can stand up again in front of our Khaaliq – Rabbul Izzati wal jalaal and refocus on our souls. A time for just you and your Lord, away from all social media, gadgets, and companions!
It’s only when you disconnect from the outside and spend beautiful moments on that sajjaadah (prayer rug) of yours, that you come to realize the evil that’s hindering the good to come out.
We all are humans, hence we are flawed but Allah also named us ‘Ashraful Maqhlooqaat’ (the Best of Creations). But, who are they? They are those who understand that they err and fall but along with that, they also rectify themselves constantly through purification (tazkiyaa), repentance (tawbah) and good deeds (‘amal saalih). These are the ones who emerge stronger from the fall and higher than the imagination.
All this is only possible when you step out from the extremely polluted world where you can’t even hear what your inner voice has to say. Mute the surroundings so that you can relish your precious time alone in Ibadaah.
The stars shine more in the dark, so choose the night to illuminate the hidden sparkle in YOU.
It’s beautiful when you raise your hands in the darkness of the night, conversing with Ar Rahman, reading the divine ayahs that he sent down in this month of healing and contentment. Now is the perfect moment for the revival of your soul, for the cleansing of the filth that’s there somewhere concealed, for rejuvenating the Imaan and building high levels of Taqwa.
The ME time is must for attaining the above goals.
We all know, Ramadan is a vigorously hectic month as well and we all have families Mashallah tabarakallaah! Having Cave time, doesn’t mean ignoring the other responsibilities and sitting in a room the entire day rather it’s the fixing of your schedule and molding it in such a way that every day you get at least 2 hours for yourself which is actually – your soul, your body, your mind, your heart.
Subhaanallah! Yes! The time spent in loneliness conquering the barriers within and digging deep into your heart brings sukoon that cannot be described in words. Once you start hitting your den for a couple of times, it becomes easy for you to tackle issues that you have and gives you freedom to pray in calmness, hence reducing stress and increasing the attention span.
Reconnecting Again
We all go through different trials in life; we all have certain problems but the solution and reason for all it is One – Reconnection with Al – Ahad.
Every single tear, every block, every obstacle is because HE wants you to come back to him, so which better time than THIS to make this wonderful habit a part and parcel of your hayat?
I urge you to start today without wasting a single minute. May be even beautify your den? Eh? Why NOT?
Like seriously! Get some new musallahs and hijabs too, clean and perfume the area. Have a translation and tafseer of Quran, a du’a book handy, also grab some water and keep dates nearby so you don’t need to step out often just because your battery is dying.
You can even put up some charts with ayahs thats inspire you. Make sure the room isn’t dark and has has enough lights to brighten your mood and not make you feel sleepy.
The way you keep your surroundings, actually has a huge impact on you. The place is going to attract you only if you set it that way. So yallah! Get going folks!
Also, make sure you relax for a first few minutes, get the Dhikr on, build the Niyaahs strong, read some Quraan and just sit.
Don’t overburden yourself, just think, and contemplate on your being, on how you are?
And what’s going wrong, the secret habits that you want to get rid of, the minor sins that disturb you, the evil which drags you to it and in spite of not willing – your ultimate handsdown to the devil. Your weaknesses, your flaws, your guilt – think about it all.
Now at this very moment of information about your state in the past and the present will leave you in tears burning in those eyes, and exactly that’s what is needed. The sincere tears of Tawbah and Istighfaar.
These 2 weapons can wipe away all those burdens of sins whilst At – Tawaab replacing it with Hasanaahs beidhnillaah.
Just let that burning lava of hurt erupt out – tell it all to HIM. Drain yourself, let it all out. Enjoy the vulnerability because you are in the safest hands.
As far as your healing is concerned then just grab the Quran and make it your Cave buddy, because it heals every wound, cures every ailment, comforts every soul and paves the path to success and Sakeenah.
Once you are used to these ‘Cave Moments’, wallahi you will feel the change from within. The beauty of entering the garden where nothing matters but HIS pleasure, His nearness and only HIM is fabulous.
So as you get comfortable, aspire for more and try to be in complete submission to the ONE in whose hands lies our souls. Soon, you will see flickers of hope, love and purity flourishing in that little heart of yours, chasing away all the fears and the whims of this Duniya.
With Imaan soaring high, and the increasing levels of Taqwaa, you will taste the sweetness of faith, which is the water that quenches the inner thirst, the Real fruit desired by the believer – Subhaanallah!
Our aim is to get back on the track, to feed the hungry souls, to nourish and nurture it with Qura’n, to instill the love of Allah and a passion to meet HIM which can be achieved only by his will and your sincerity. Fall in love with the Salaah, with the heartwarming names of Allah, His attributes and ultimately you will just fall in love with HIM and will crave for being loved by him as well. Experience the divine beauty of Entering that Blissful Cave, where lies the key to all your Bliss.
Now without wasting a second, get into that peaceful Den,
Have your secret delightful moments with Al – A’zeez and sincerely repent,
Ask till there is no desire left, cry till every tear dries up,
Steer the wheel in these 30 days, with a flaming desire to see an awesome version of YOU rising up….
DISCLAIMER: All material found on InkOfFaith.com is for free and is for information purposes only. All material may be freely copied & shared on condition that it is clearly attributed to InkOfFaith.com as the original source. The views expressed on this site or on any linked sites do not necessarily represent those of InkOfFaith.com
