Corn fields of Dammaj
Well now that
we had arrived & rejoicing with my son (who I had not seen for over 1 ½
years), I asked Allaah to strengthen me and make this transition easy amidst so
much of mixed emotions, new country, culture etc. Hmm.. No matter how
disciplined or strong or how much will power we have, in truth without exception,
in all instances, every human being is dependent upon Allaah’s protection and Mercy.
We need Him.. He doesn’t need us!
Words of wisdom of my
teacher and dearest friend Umm Aslam as-Saylaani came to my mind: ‘Life is problem solving… you solve one problem and
thereafter get ready to solve the next, so box on with life!’ How
true.. our solar batteries in the house were both being temporarily revived
after a sudden death. There are no guarantees for anything indeed!
SubhanaAllaah! A simple incident like this shows how very very much we are
dependent on our Lord for EVERYTHING! The house that we moved in was supposed
to have solar panels which supplied electricity and the batteries seemed to
have died before the 5 year warranty period was over! It is not even 3 years
and these fellows are dying! Does it have to happen now, as we arrived? What a
welcome!
Well,
what is the best thing to do at this point in time when my Panic alarm bells
were sounding all over me? Where do I pack and run?? In Sri Lanka of course, I’d
pack and go to my mother’s place until the water supply was attended to or
electrical circuits were repaired… one rush from my home to my Mum’s in a Tuk
Tuk or my brother would pick us up.. but here where do we go? What are we going
to do for electricity? Without electricity there will be no water??
This is when I
appreciated the value of Ilm. Ilm played a MAJOR role indeed as my advisor, companion, comforter, guide! Alhamdulillaah I focused on why I was TRULY here
in Dammaj, traveled all this distance from my home… for what purpose…? I had to
RELY on Allaah (azzawajal) and Him ALONE to get through all the obstacles! I
realized that it was Sabr, sabr (patience) and then Ihtisaab (hoping for the
reward of Allaah) is what is needed in my situation.
I had read recently that the sabr (patience)
we exercise will place the slave in the ma’eeyah of Allaah, subhanahu wa ta’ala
(i.e., Allaah will be with him), as confirmed by Allaah’s statement: {Allaah
is with those who are patient}. This is a special ma’eeyah, one of
support, help, and it is more special than the general ma’eeyah: {He is with
you wherever you are}. This is the general ma’eeyah, as for the special
ma’eeyah, it is: {Allaah is with those who are patient}. Likewise, along with
this (special) ma’eeyah, Allaah, tabaarak wa ta’aala, has made (the patient
one) from those whom He loves: {Allaah loves those who are patient}.
