Spread kindness like confetti –

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarkatahu,

It’s currently 3:28 AM.

I’m sitting on my prayer mat, thinking about the world, the current situation and our Ummah.

I haven’t been able to sleep well of late, Ofcourse I know it’s Ramadan and sleep is compromised but that’s okay, Alhumdulilah for this packed schedule in Ramadan.

Look! We’re already half way through it, how time flies.

Personally, for me, lately, laying down in the darkness of night, secluded from the world, with pin drop silence, thinking about things, talking to Allah, helped me clear my head regarding a lot of matters.

It’s a source of calmness to me. Alhumdulilah.

Coming back to the reflection about the current situation of the world that how brutally people are killing one another in the name of peace, whether it’s people killing the innocent or people who claim to follow the religion killing others( PS: they know no religion, because no religion in the entire universe teaches violence)

But Who is at Loss?

We!!

The Mankind.

It’s so sad that people of Islam are always looked upon with suspicion because of few inhuman people who don’t even follow Islam and use Allah’s beautiful name and this peaceful religion that we’re all proud believers in, as a reason to inflict harm.

This is not Islam, this is not what Islam teaches us.

My heart cries.

In what universe did Allah, The Most Merciful and The Most Compassionate ever commanded to anyone to hurt and inflict pain?

Are we not reading the same book of Allah?

Are we not following the same leader, Rasulallah SAW, who is known to be the kindest and the most gentlest human being ever lived?

The actions of those inhuman people is no where described in The Quran, it’s not what Our beloved Rasulallah SAW taught us.

I had so many questions in my mind, I was so deeply affected that I had to start writing my thoughts.

Alhumdulilah, since then I’ve managed to move away from that sadness and now write with faith and optimism.

I started thinking to myself,

“What would a True Muslim do?”

I took sometime to think and reflect

And here are some of my thoughts,

⁃ Instead of pointing fingers, shoving blame and being sad, the more productive thing to do is to actually look within our own self. To step up and focus on bettering ourselves.

⁃ If a Non-Muslim was to ask us, what is Islam? Would we be able to answer that? Have we kept ourselves busy in seeking knowledge for His sake, so much that we can say with confidence that we can be good ambassadors of Islam? Our Deen is in the spotlight more than ever and people are looking at us, to see how we carry ourselves. It is highly likely that their first interaction with Islam is through us, and we as their friends, their neighbors, their colleagues, their classmates, Are we carrying ourselves with grace and kindness like Our Rasulallah SAW did? Are we The Real Islam?

⁃In Surah Fussilat(41) Ayah 34, Allah says, “ Repel (evil) by that (deed) which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity (will become) as though he was a devoted friend” can we just stop for a second and re-read this beautiful Ayah? Allah says we must fight evil by doing good and it is only through love and kindness that a foe can become a devoted Ally, SubhanAllah ❤️ Not through hatred, not through revenge but through compassion, gentleness, warmth and affection. And the truth is, If we want to do something good to affect change, we don’t have to go to major rallies or participate in demonstrations, we can just start by doing something small, shall we ask ourselves how can we contribute by doing good today?

I’ve a few ideas –

1.Smile – this is easy as it gets. Smile to your helpers, smile to the lady at the supermarket, smile to the waiter, smile to the cashier, smile to your colleagues, your friends, your neighbors and greet them with a Salaam and a ‘Good morning’ or whatever time of the day it is, trust me, they will smile back and your smile will grow wider. And even if they don’t, it’s okay. There are many out there who would appreciate your kind gesture. Don’t give up after trying once. Do this and notice the difference a simple smile can make. And only then will we know, why smiling is a Sunnah and why it’s a form of charity.

2.Help someone without being asked – start with Home, help in the household, it’s Sunnah. Wash your dishes, make your bed, open a door for your busy mother who has her hands full, help someone with the right direction on the road, give food to your sick neighbor or anyone who might need a meal. Help anyone who needs it because someday you will need help too.

3.Call your grandparents or text a friend you’ve not heard in ages. Tell them you miss them and that they’re loved. It’s makes a lot of difference.

4.Make Du’a. Make Du’a for everyone, for the entire Ummah, for all of humanity. Spare few seconds to ask for others instead of asking from Allah just for you. When you make Du’a for others, the angels make Du’a for you. And if you ask, “what Du’a can solve?” Remind yourself that Du’a can do Miracles, trust in Allah’s Power and Mercy.

I’ve learned that how fragile life is. But within fragility, lies a lot of beauty. And beauty comes from a spirit so strong that despite weathering many hardships it still chooses love over hatred, it still chooses the care despite being let down.

So we cannot give up.

Not yet, not now, not ever.

We also must not just consume this beauty but create it, share it, spread it.

If there’s only one thing you take away from this blog today, I urge that every single one of you to try to do even more good to spread kindness like confetti, to re-learn Islam and to understand The Quran and imply it in your day to day life, practice what our beautiful Deen teaches and let that reflect in our actions, especially now during this blessed month of Ramadan.

To spreading love and kindness,

Love and prayers always,

F