“The writer Mustapha wrote,

'When I looked into history I found a small number of individuals
whose lives mirrored the life cycle of a grain of wheat. They were
torn from their roots, then crushed, then ground in mills, then
kneaded with fists, then rolled out and baked in ovens at high
temperatures… just so they could provide food for others.'
Patiently persevere in the face of hardship hoping for a good outcome
because you never know how manydead hearts you will bring to life in
the process. No hardship lasts forever. There is always an end."

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Where Are the Answers?

"What am I going to do? Why is my life so messed up? Why can't I find
happiness? Why am I alone? Why do I feel stuck?Why do I have these
problems?'…
These questions only have meaning if we direct them to Allah. No one
else can answer them. Consider the words of the Prophet Ya'qub
(alayhis-salam, peace be upon him) when his son Yusuf (as) was
secretly thrown into a well by his brothers. They then reported to
their father that Yusuf had been killed by a wolf.
And he turned away fromthem and said, "Oh, my sorrow over Yusuf," and
his eyes became white from grief, and he fell into silent melancholy.
They said, "By Allah , you will not cease remembering Yusuf until you
become fatally ill or become of those who perish."
He said, " I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah , and
I knowfrom Allah that which you do not know.
- Quran, Surat Yusuf, 12:84-86
"I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah…"
When you feel stuck, when you feel that no one understands your
situation,when you're in pain and you can't even imagine a solution,
only Allah has the answers. You can't see a way forward, but He can.
You don't see your own worth, but He does. You can't figure out the
road to happiness, but He can show you.
I remember a night in Arizona when I was twentysix years old. I lay on
a cot in a small, frigid cell. There was snow outside and I had only a
thin blanket. As I often did, I put on all my clothing in layers –
three pants, three shirts, an armyjacket and a pair of boots –and
still I kept waking up shivering and shaking. Yet, even more than the
physical discomfort, my spirit was tired. I had mademistakes in my
youth and had been locked up for almost five years. I had become hard
mentally and physically, but my heart was full of sorrow. I lay there
that night and I thought, "I have nothing inlife. I have accomplished
nothing. I have no university degree, no wife, no children, and not
even my freedom."
That was a bad time. But I had my faith, and I used to weep to Allah,
asking Him to have mercy on me. I think I gave up on myself for a
while, but I never gave up on Allah. It would not even have occurred
to me to do so. I did cry to Him sometimes saying, "Why, Allah? Why?
Why am I here, suffering like this?" But it wasn't despair,only
confusion. In my heartI knew that He heard me and that an answer would
come.
Shortly after that I receiveda letter from the parole board granting
me early release. I had previously been told very clearly that Iwas
not eligible. It was entirely unexpected, and if you are familiar with
the American penal system, miraculous. But for Allah, nothing is
impossible or even difficult.
Within a few months I was free. I found a job a week after my
release, and I excelled. I began writing, sitting at my desk every
night after work and disciplining myself to work on poetry, stories
and articles. Eventually I went back to school and began anew career,
got married, bought a beautiful house, and one day had a child…
What can I say except Alhamdulillah! SubhanAllah! What can I doexcept
weep in gratitude for these blessings that I did nothing to earn, but
were given to me by my Lord who loves me and cares about me, and wants
good for me. I am so deeply touched and movedby the way Allah has
answered my prayers from the depths of darkness. If I did anything to
merit His blessings, perhaps it was only that I directed my pleas to
Him. I knew that no one else could help me.
This is a very emotional post for me to write. I want every Muslim to
havethis sense of Allah as their friend, as someone who cares for them
deeply. I want to put that awareness into your heart like a gift.
When I was in that cell I used to pray the same dua'over and over,
begging Allah repeatedly. If I had made such pleas to a human being
they would have stopped hearing me long ago. When we're needy with
people it pushes them away, but when we're needy with Allah He comes
closer to us! He never tires of answering our need and forgiving us.
I know of many similar stories of people who havehit rock bottom and
have called upon Allah – or , not even knowing "Allah" by that name,
have called to the Supreme Being, saying, "I know you hear me, tell me
what I need to do, show me the way!" – and then, like a circle of
sunlight piercing a cloud, something or someone comes into their lives
to show them the way forward.
When we're out of ideas, surrounded by problems, and feeling totally
alone… we're not alone . Allah is with us. If we pray sincerely and
strive, He willput light in our hearts and help us from directions we
did not expect.
Ask Allah sincerely, open yourself to Him, and acceptwhat He gives you
even when it goes against your own desires.

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Faith, love and kindness are secret weapons to change the world

Faith, love and kindness are not cute ideas or naive catchphrases.
They are elemental forces with the power to alter human hearts, and to
change the world. They are transformative emotions and behaviors that
were bestowed upon us by Allah,who is Al-Rahman (The Most Merciful)
and Al-Wadood (The Most Loving). They are stronger than hurricanes,
and they transcend the birth and death of individuals, and the rise
and fall of nations.
Don't we still have love for the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), and for
the Sahabah, all of whom lived many generations and nations ago? In
fact we look upon them as our heroes and leaders and we love them as
if they were dear friends. This is proof of the enduring nature of
love, which survives when all else changes around us.
Faith, love and kindness are the secret weapons that Allah has given
us to conquer corruption, cynicism, hatred, racism, and evil, in
ourselves and in the world.
These ideas are not naive, as some might say. Was the Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) naive? He suffered in his mission, but he persevered. His
mission was rooted in faith and love of Allah, and expressed through
kindness to all people. There are so many stories about him showing
tremendous kindness to rude and even murderous people, and changing
their hearts in the process. He succeeded in the face of impossible
odds. His success is a testament to the power of these noble emotions
and behaviors.
That's why I illustrated thispiece with a photo of sun rays shining on
a dark and snowy world. Because these powerful emotions and behaviors
are not thestuff of sunny afternoons, cotton candy and daisies. They
are like a guiding starthat is only seen in the darkness. They come
into their own and show their true power by confronting and overcoming
hatred, bitterness, painful loss, war, poverty and despair.
I describe them as behaviors because faith that exists only in the
heartis not true faith. Faith is proven by action. Faith is defined by
the way you live your life. The same is true for love and kindness.
Love is a verb, not a noun. It's not an abstract feeling in your
heart, but a matter of behavior, the way you treat people, the way you
help, forgive, and show mercy to people.
Love Works Miracles in the Heart
It may be a cliche' to speak about love changing the world. It's not
something we can envision in concreteterms. So let me bring it down to
the level of one human being.
Growing up, I had a friend named Ismail. He was a few years younger
than me– when I was 17 he was 14, I think – and had grown up in a
dysfunctional family that had moved around constantly and had not
bothered to educate the children, so that at the age of 14, Ismail was
functionally illiterate.
I began tutoring Ismail andhis younger brother, teaching them to read
and write. I started from scratch, teaching them the alphabet and the
sounds ofthe letters, and working upto small phonetic words. I tutored
them for one hour every day, seven days a week, in the living room of
their apartment. Their parents were not supportive. I was never paid.
Sometimes their parents were fighting with each other at the same time
I was trying to teach. At times I noticed that the two boys could not
concentrate because they were hungry, so I began feeding them before
our study sessions, and giving them multivitamins. Slowlythey began to
learn, until they could write short essays and letters on their own.
Back then I worked for the United States Geological Survey, measuring
water levels at farms in the Central Valley, and taking water samples
to be testedfor various fertilizers and pesticides. It was hot,
difficult work. I'd ride my motorcycle more than hourto the huge
corporate farms on the west side of the valley. Armed with survey
maps, I would trudge across vast farms in 100 degree heat, seeking the
sumps that brought up ground water for irrigation.If the farms had
been recently irrigated the ground might be soft and my feet would
sink into the mud with every step. Some of the sumps were a dozen feet
deep or more, so in order to get a sample I had to toss a chain link
ladder down into the sump, climb down, fill a test tube, and climb
back out. I was very aware that if the ladder broke I could get stuck
in the sump, and I might not even be missedfor two or three days (no
cell phones in those days). It worried me.
So I began asking Ismail to come to the farms with me. He wasn't doing
anything anyway – he was not enrolled in school because he could not
function anywhere near hisgrade level.

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Resilience is Contagious

"Resilience is contagious." –Amy Estrada. Sure, life comes along now
and thenand blows you off your feet. That's alright. What matters is
that you get back up.
You don't have to have theanswers. You don't have tobe superman or
superwoman. When the thundercloud opens up, who among us can stop the
rain? When the hurricane blows, who can stay on his feet? No one.
When the storm passes, stand up. Dust yourself off, take stock, and
move forward in the name of Allah. If the storm has disoriented you
and you don't see the way forward, look to the Quran. "And if there
should come to youguidance from Me – then whoever follows My guidance
will neither go astray [in the world] nor suffer [in the Hereafter]."
(Quran, Surat TaHa, 20:123). The Quran is a mighty book. Never
underestimate it. If you cannot speak Arabic and find the English
translations unwieldy, get one of the modern translations that are
easier to read, like those by Umm Muhammad, or Thomas Cleary.
When you get knocked down and then stand up tall, with strength,
others see it, and it rallies them. Your spouse sees it, your children
see it, your friends see it, and of course Allah sees it. Don't think
of it as showing off. Not at all. Think of it as brotherhood and
sisterhood, all of us helping each other, giving each other strength,
being good shepherds to our flocks.
Superman is no hero, he's impervious to bullets! Real heroes get hurt,
they get down on themselves sometimes, they're imperfect, they
struggle to pay the bills and raise theirchildren, they struggle to be
become stronger in their faith, but they struggle! They don't give up.
That's inspiring, and it's contagious, and maybe sometimes it will be
someone else inspiring you, and maybe sometimesit will be you, getting
up after the hurricane, showing us all how it's done.

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