Pain + resistance = suffering. Everything that happens is Allah’s will, we must accept each moment as part of the Divine Plan. Pain is an inevitable part of life, when we accept that we may cease to resist it, and just let it happen. When we are not resisting, we are submitting, we are in the State of Islam. 

“O my God make me love You, make me love those who love You, make me love all things that bring me closer to loving You. O my God, make me love You, and Your angels, and Your prophets, and all of Your creation. O my God, make my love for You dearer to me than myself, and my family, and my wealth, and my children, and from cool, pure water to the thirsty.”

I was reading Quran and I was really trying to read with reflection on what is Allah showing us about ourselves.

I came upon this verse

But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and attack your Faith,-Fight ye the chiefs of Unfaith:For their oaths are nothing to them, that thus they may be restrained.

At-Tauba (repentance):12

This really made me reflect on my Nafs and how Nafs will sneak around and play tricks to mess with Faith in a seemingly harmless way. But rising up to that Nafs and fighting for haqq for belief in Allah subhana wa ta ala. La illaha il Allah Muhammadan Rasululah, This is what I have to say(fighting the chiefs of Unfaith because who is the chief(s) of Unfaith but Nafs!) There is no GOD/REALITY/TRUTH but ALLAH except ALLAH and MUHAMMAD is his messenger! To keep on the Suratul mustaqim and reaffirm that ALLAH is truth and there is no other truth but ALLAH!

~Safiya

Speaking of the generosity of ‘Aisha (Rd.) -

“… she also was very generous – Bareerah was a woman that ‘Aisha (Rd.) purchased and then set free, and the famous story about Bareerah was that she was married to someone named Mugheeth. Now if two slaves were married and then the woman was freed, then she can leave/divorce her husband if she wants to because now she’s free and the husband is not, so there is no parity between them.

So Bareerah wanted to leave Mugheeth, but Mugheeth loved her. He went into total distress, and he literally was walking behind her around Madina begging her to take him back.

Abbas (Rd.) was with the Prophet (saw) one day and they saw Bareerah and the Prophet (saw) said: “Isn’t it strange how much Mugheeth loves Bareerah and how much Bareerah dislikes Mugheeth?”

And the Ulema say when the Prophet (saw) said “Isn’t it strange”, the Arabs use the word “strange” only when the means/cause (sabaab, lit. ‘door’) of/to something is unknown – and that there is no need for something to be called “strange” if the cause is known.

So the Prophet (saw) was calling him to the point the strangeness of love. Love is very strange.

Why do people fall in love?

Why are our hearts are attracted to some people and not other people?

Why love is sometime unrequited (un-returned)?

Because the worst type of love is unrequited love: when you love somebody and they don’t love you – there is nothing worst than that in the world, unrequited love. And obviously the worst type of unrequited love is with God, because we want the Love of God. That’s why Abu’l-Hasan ash-Shadhili (teacher of Ibn ‘Ata’ Illah al-Iskandari ) use to say:

“Oh Allah -
make my wrong actions, the wrong actions of people whom You Love, and
don’t make my good actions, the good actions of people whom You do not Love.”

In other words – I would rather have wrong actions and be someone who You Love, than have good actions and be someone who You don’t Love.

So the Prophet (saw) went to Bareerah, who was the freed slave of ‘Aisha, and he said: “Won’t you reconsider Mugheeth?” And she said: “are you telling me to do this, because if you are telling me to, then I have to do it.” He (saw) replied: “I am only interceding on his behalf”.

And that’s his Shifa – ‘he finds it difficult things you find difficult’. The Prophet (saw) saw Mugheeth suffering and he wanted to help him. That shows you his shafaaqa, even in love he wanted to help this poor man who was suffering from the loss of his love.

So when the Prophet (saw) replied that he was only interceding, Bareerah replied: “I don’t have any need for him”. So there was something arrogant in her answer, as she was free and he was still a slave – there was something there from her nafs.

Now when Mugheeth saw that Bareerah rejected intercession from the one that even God had given intercession, Mugheeth suddenly lost all desire for her – it was just taken out of his heart.

And at that point when he lost all desire for Bareerah, suddenly she fell madly in love with him – like a punishment for rejecting the intercession of the Prophet (saw) – he did not want anything to do with her, yet she was now begging him to take her back now!”

SubhanAllah

- Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

minuitmarauder:

“Surrender happens simply and naturally whenever we stop paying attention to our mind’s version of life and start paying attention to life, itself, as it is coming out of the Now. 

There’s something else to do besides think! And that is to notice, to be aware of what is happening now. Notice, look, feel, listen, sense, and give yourself fully to the experience you are having, and you will drop into the Now.”

— Excerpt from ‘What About Now’ by Gina Lake

Beautifully said!

Bismillah

Life these days is full of stress, hardship, and pain. As a result of this we find ourselves running everywhere searching desperately for solutions yet finding that we still have an emptiness.

I want to talk about something you’ve probably heard a million times,”our happiness, peace, and joy is within”. I know what your thinking, “yeah, yeah if only it were that simple”. Well, IT IS!

The very first and guaranteed way you’ll come to this realization is to ,drum roll please, RELAX! Yes that’s the first step to inner peace, true happiness, and joy.

We are full of worry, stress, and a seemingly desperate attempt to control the outcome of our very lives. Be it our careers, marriage, or parenting. The list goes on and on.

We only need surrender our control and let Allah’s plan reveal itself. Ironically, while we are busy making our plans, which usually don’t workout and we spent so much time and energy striving for, Allah’s plan prevails anyway. Then we get even more distressed because we are not in harmony with Allah’s plan so things don’t make sense to us. As a result we lose more peace, happiness, and joy. 

So in order to end this vicious perpetuation of pain and suffering, we need to relax and surrender to Allah’s magnificent plan. The best plan for you and the whole Universe!

When we relax and get centered (the opposite of being tense and scattered) we re-align ourselves with the Divine. In this relaxed surrendered state you are now open to receive from Divine inspiration. You’ll know, because you are calm and centered with a laser like focus, just what to ask for from Allah regarding anything in your life. Then sit back and watch as Allah’s plan unfolds right in your very life.

Know with full faith and confidence that Allah knows best and be receptive for what Allah manifests in your life. You heart will always tell you what you need as it is in allignment with Allah’s plan.

So get relaxed, get centered, and be open to recieve. No more feeling worried, stressed, or unfulfilled. Life is rich and beautiful because it is Divine manifestation. We just need to relax long enough to witness it.

~Safiya