dainty empress.☘︎ ݁˖

to be human is to be a lifelong learner. you learn to stand up each time you fall, no matter how numb your body is from carrying the burdens of life. you learn to move on and let go of the past that lingers, despite its shadows following every step you take. you learn to forgive every spoken word and action that wounds, even though they leave unhealed scars upon your heart. you learn to embrace every emotion that resides within you and find a way to live with it, slowly learning what it means to be human... to be human is to learn forever, to be human is to be a lifelong learner.

Riding in the desert heat yesterday made me feel like my very blood was boiling. It was unimaginably hot and the humidity coated us like a film of glue. The horses were sweating. And I couldn’t help but think of the resilience it would require to live in the desert as the Arabs used to at the time of the Prophet ﷺ and before him.

The scholars have discussed and agreed upon a number of possible reasons as to why Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was sent from among the Arabs as opposed to other nations that existed at the time such as the Romans & the the Persians.

One of the reasons was that the Arabs were inherently resilient people. They were the furthest from luxury and comfort. They were not a people of extravagance. (even though the extravagance of their poetry is unmatched!). The harsh desert life made them people who learned very easily to live with the bare minimum. While the Romans & the Persians were reclining on beds of feathers in their palaces drunk on philosophy and alcohol, some of the Sahaba who conquered these nations were barefoot. When Mu’awiyah رضي الله عنه was the governor of Sham, his wife, so unaccustomed to a life of ease and luxury, asked that they return to their previous life in the desert.

This mentality and lifestyle bred strong men and women alike. Resilience in all matters, physical/emotional/mental, is such an important quality to have as people and more specifically, as Muslims. In fact, it is so important that it is one of the characteristics that were among the reasons Allah chose the Arabs to be the tribe from which the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came. This leads me to three personal reflections.

1. In a life full of temptations and luxuries, it is human nature to want it all. However, an easy life comes at the cost of the weakness of the heart. When everything comes to us easily, we forget that this home is temporary. We forget that we truly need to work hard for the luxuries promised to only those who strive for them.

2. Secondly, we truly can be happy with very little because the little things are not little. When I imagine life at the time of the Prophet ﷺ, a life where everything had to be worked for (food, water, livelihood)– a man could appreciate how rich he was just by having a roof over his head, a good wife to come home to, righteous children and food on the table. An appreciation he would not have if his heart was distracted & drunken by the riches of this world.

3. This quality of being mentally, emotionally, and physically resilient is teachable. We can teach it to our children. But before we do that, we must teach it to ourselves. This doesn’t mean you have to go and live the Bedouin life. This is a mindset. It is knowing the value of hard work. It is in not allowing our hearts to get distracted by this world. It is by keeping this life and everything in it in our hands instead of our hearts.

May we become like the desert flower. Blooming in the middle of a barren land, content with little, and still providing those that encounter it with beauty and a sweet scent.

A note by Dr. Zummar F. Ansari hafidzahallah, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), taken in Al-Khawaneej, Dubai, on July 4, 2022.

orang yang cita-citanya pada pagi dan petang hari tidak lain hanyalah Allah, maka Allah akan menjamin semua hajatnya, menanggung segala kegetirannya, mengisi hatinya dengan perasaan cinta kepada-Nya, menggerakan lidahnya untuk berdzikir kepada-Nya, dan menggerakkan anggota tubuhnya untuk melakukan ketaatan kepada-Nya.

sebaliknya, orang yang cita-citanya pada pagi dan petang hari tidak lain hanya untuk dunia, maka Allah akan membebankan kecemasan, keresahan, dan kesulitan dunia kepadanya. Allah juga menyerahkan urusan orang itu kepada dirinya sendiri. Akibatnya, hatinya dipenuhi dengan kecintaan kepada makhluk daripada kecintaannya kepada sang Pencipta. Lisannya disibukkan dengan menyebut-nyebut nama makhluk, daripada menyebut nama sang Pencipta.

Ia bekerja, membanting tulang seperti binatang yang melayani makhluk lainnya. Ia tak ubahnya seperti pandai besi yang harus menarik nafas dalam-dalam, hingga mengembungkan perutnya dan menekan tulang-tulang rusuknya, untuk memberikan manfaat kepada orang lain.

Dengan demikian, setiap orang yang berpaling dari pengabdian, ketaatan, dan kecintaan kepada Allah pasti akan mendapat cobaan atau musibah dari-Nya, yaitu berupa pengabdian, kecintaan, dan pelayanan kepada sesamanya, yaitu makhluk-Nya.

Allah berfirman, “dan barangsiapa berpaling dari pengajaran Allah yang Maha Pengasih (Al-Qur'an), Kami biarkan syaitan (menyesatkannya) dan menjadi teman karibnya. [Az-Zukhruf: 36]

Fawaidul Fawaid hlm. 429—430 oleh Ibn Qayyim rahimahullah.