Qur'anic Reflections

#13. You are a warrior

Allah swears on a lot of things in the Qur'an and every time he does, He follows them with powerful statements that jolt us back into reality.

In Surah Balad, Allah swears on the city of Makkah, on a father and his son (thought to be referring to Adam and his children or Abraham and his offspring) and then He follows it with a harsh truth about us all.

"Indeed, we have created mankind in hardship."

Let's hold on for a second and think about how we got here, okay?

Our mothers bore us for 9 months, went through the most painful ordeal to get us into this world and then we came with all our shebang--all wide eyed and hopeful.

And then we got tossed around.

There are a million bacteria out there that want to get inside of you. A million cells inside of your body that could potentially malfunction. There is war, poverty, drought, calamities happening all around us.

And inside us?

My God we're plunged into turmoil every other day.

We're constantly struggling with insecurities, societal pressures, expectations, loss of loved ones and what not.

Allah doesn't deny it. Allah tells us the truth so we grow up and see the world for what it is and decide what we're going to do about it.

In life, you come across circumstances that shake you. You feel like you don't deserve all the problems you're going through, like whatever is happening is unfair, but remember that this is only your thinking and the reach of your mind is limited.

If you are troubled, trust me, it gets better. Every cloud has a silver lining. The despair will leave and happiness will come. The sun will shine brighter and the sky will seem hopeful.

But only, if you take the first step and accept your hardships. Accept the fact that life is messed up some times and it will always surprise you when you least expect it to. It'll hit you hard every time you try to stand up. It'll choke the air out of your lungs. It'll wring your soul dry of patience.

That's the truth. There is no running away from it.

But there is one more truth at this end of the rainbow.

That you are a warrior.

You may have cried when you came into this world but it was only because you were so determined to just breathe. You came out wide eyed because that's how a warrior scans the battlefield.

You were born to fight. Every cell in your body is throwing in its best to just keep you alive. Every cell in your body is fighting against the insults you put it through.

And your heart is beating and pumping blood into those veins despite being beaten so many times. Your body wants you to fight.

You will have to fight because your body and you deserve a shot at life.

As a Muslim, we need to see these hardships as challenges. Because Allah has mentioned that He created life and death for one purpose.

To test us. And to see who excels in it.

Accept the messed up reality and keep calm. Brainstorm. Listen to your inner voice. If you do not find one, read the seerah. Think of the Prophet's bloodied feet, think of his tears in the dead of the night and then think of how he got up every day to persevere, think of how he put his faith in Allah and just went on.

Think of how he is considered the best of creation now. The hardships he faced only got the best out of him and established him as the most influential man in the history of mankind.

Do the same with your problems. Let them make you stronger and remind yourself everyday that this is Allah's world and it works according to His Will. We are only His slaves and are in absolutely no position to question His decisions.

But the beauty of this whole thing is that Allah's so Merciful that even His trials are blessings in disguise. What you hate, might actually benefit you!

He sees your efforts and He will reward you. Every struggle is just a means to get you closer to it.

Don't let it slip through your fingers.