Gratitude.

There have been manifold of phases in our lives where we find ourselves trudging through a swamp of troubles and grief. We are anxious and paranoid whether the said swamp disguises quick sand ready to devour us and drown us further to our impending doom. This journey of massive struggle and distress is, in fact a test from His Omnipotence that has been, as Nouman Ali Khan said, “custom made” for every individual on the planet.

While such phases are common to all of us, only few of us imbibe our hearts with gratitude during these tests. Yesterday, I was drenched in an abysmal of despair at my state of affairs. But today, after witnessing a tragedy of someone close, I have been put in a position of self-evaluation and gratitude towards Allah (SWT). This is not to say that I’m not aggrieved by what my friend is going through, but it made me realize how worse are the struggles of people when you look up close.

My friend, ‘A’, has always been someone I secretly idealized. Her profound intellect, pristine morals and just about the most prim appearance makes her the little miss perfect of her surrounding.This astounding character has subconsciously gathered many admirers of which I am an ardent participant. I look up to her in many ways and envy her personality. She surely is, Masha’Allah, someone who will make you learn about your shortcomings without even having to pass a gesture. A person like myself, ungrateful and unsatisfied with life, wanted to have her life but today, after what happened with her, it made me never want to have a minute of being her. The poor soul’s wedding, which was to happen within few days after a great deal of hype on the social media was called off unexpectedly due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’ between the two families. As soon as I received the news, I could feel tears well down my cheeks and my body grow completely numb for a split second. I would ask you to empathize with ‘A’ and imagine losing your most beloved friend after years of mutual adoration with the blink of an eye. No don’t just imagine this, imagine your hopes and dreams about your future life shatter before you can even take the step towards a healthy conjugal relationship. I don’t know about others, but I’m pretty sure that I would have been devastated. This would have potentially been the one thing that would have lead to the demise of my sanity. But it was a tribulation Allah (SWT) fashioned had for her. I was grateful that I had a life tailored to suit my persona and I wouldn’t have ever wanted to be ‘A’ if it meant facing this kind of adversity at any point in my life. I thanked Allah for reminding me to be grateful for the life He gave me.

The tragedy also served as valuable lesson. This wedding made it to numerous coffee table conversations and was one of the most anticipated events this summer. It would have been adorned with the elites of our country: the literati, the intellects, the glamourous and the popular. It would have been furnished with the most extravagant themes and showered with tons of money. But little did anyone know that it shrouded a shocking downfall. It was probably because of this hype that it invited the ‘nazar’ from ill-wishers and ‘be-barkati’ from above. The families are also partly to blame. We have made weddings a hallmark of culture rather than it’s true purpose of being something unalloyed by societal pressures and done for the sake of completing our Deen. The weddings trending nowadays involve things that are completely against the nature of Islam. How can we except the blessings of Allah to shower upon us then? I would have to struggle with people-pleasing for a 2 hour function as well, but the fact remains that we ought to avoid whatever we can that incurs the displeasure of our Lord while stepping in something as pious as matrimony.

May Allah grant ‘A’ and all of us a life of barakah in this world and Hereafter and make us grateful for the blessings He has given us. Ameen.