Ichiban D-Lite

Never discredit your gut instinct. You are not paranoid. Your body can pick up on bad vibrations. If something deep inside of you says something is not right about a person or situation, trust it.

Being a woman in today’s world must be hard. So much is expected of you and everyone is on your case. Doomed if you work, and doomed if you stay home. Told how to dress, and it’s never good enough. It must be really tough! Remember, Allah created you perfectly and if you work on perfecting your relationship with Him, there lies your happiness.

When life is overwhelming you and you want to complain, scream, shout, or just run away from it all, please understand that having these feelings does NOT make you a bad person. Nor are you a bad person because you dare to complain when there are millions all over the world who are suffering far more than anything you could be going through. Remember… 1. God designed the world to test every single person uniquely. 2. God is well aware of what each person can handle and needs to experience for growth, guidance, or salvation to happen. No two people are exactly the same, thus no two experiences will be exactly the same. 3. Those with the strongest faith will be tested the most. Many of our scholars and saints would worry if they were not being tested. 4. The ego loves to indulge itself. Don’t fall for its tricks. Your guilt and negative self-talk isn’t about aspiring to true piety as much as it is wallowing in shame, which is false piety, and a great barrier for spiritual growth. 5. God does not prohibit complaining so long as we complain to Him and seek His assistance. 6. God loves those who submit to His will and display beautiful patience, but that does not mean one has to love whatever struggle/tribulation they’re enduring. They simply have to love the One who is testing them and trust that His will is for the best even if they do not understand it. 7. The believers are tested in this world as a MERCY to spare us from the torment in the next world. So, keep this perspective in mind and you’ll realize why we say, “Alhamdulillah `ala kulli haal.” (praise be to God in all circumstances)! May we become people who allow our hearts to feel what it feels without guilting or shaming ourselves, suppressing our feelings and becoming ticking time bombs, or walking around as bitter and grumpy people. May we always turn to God with all the burdens in our heart and never let whatever dissatisfaction and disappointment or pain and heartache ever make us question His love and mercy. Amīn.

Call on your Lord when your heart is brittle, that is a time when it’s in pieces and the Light of Allah can fill the gaps. That is why Allāh is with the brokenhearted.

“You might think He is giving you (something), while in reality He is depriving you; and you might think He is depriving you, while in reality He is giving you (something). If through your deprivation, He opens the doors of understanding for you, then this deprivation is a gift. You feel that your deprivation is dreadful because you do not understand. He might open the door of worship for you, but does not open the door of acceptance; and you might be destined to sin, but this becomes a means of ascension towards Him. A sin that produces humbleness and need is better than an act of worship that produces arrogance and prejudice.“

The truth is, when we thought we were looking for a good husband or a good wife or a good job or a lot of money or a lot of fame, we were really just looking for God. So it’s no wonder that we got disappointed when the husband, the wife, the job, the money or the fame didn’t fill our need—or our emptiness.

Imagine that you’re shopping with someone you love. No, not just someone you love. Someone you’re madly in love with. Now suppose that this person picks out a gift for you in a particular color and style. How would you feel about that gift? Chances are you’ll cherish it simply because of who gave it to you, simply because of who picked it out for you. There are things, events, people in your life that Allah has picked out for you. Are you pleased with His choice? Do we not love the gift simply because of who picked it out? You will know you really love someone, when you love anything that comes from them—no matter what it is. And you will love their gift, not for any quality in the gift itself—but only for who it came from.

Know that the path to Allah is not a flat one. Your iman (faith) will go up and down. Your ability to worship will go up and down. But, know that for every dip, there is also a rise. Just stay patient, stay consistent, don’t lose hope and seek help in Allah. The path is hard. The path will have bumps and drops. But, like all things in this life, this path will come to an end. And that end will make it all worth it!