بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

I keep coming back to this sentiment over and over again in my reflections — but it needs the repetition, because of the importance it carries.

This passage in surat Al Baqarah is about struggling in the cause of Allah ﷻ . For me, reading these passages, it reminds me of the human struggle against the lower self. And it gives me encouragement when I hear Allah ﷻ describe the importance of defending ourselves and being firm upon iman — all this makes me think of my fight against my lower self.

When I reached this ayah today, it made me pause.

Because Allah ﷻ mentions how believers and those who migrated and strived, they are the ones who hope for the mercy of All

Last morning, while making breakfast, my hand brushed the heat. The skin peeled away instantly, right at the point of the burn. And as I watched it come off, a verse surfaced on my tongue:

*كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُم بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ* _“Whenever their skins are scorched, We will replace them with new skins, so they may taste the punishment again.”_ [An-Nisa 4:56]

I shivered. More than the sting of the burn, the words of that ayah pierced me.

I’m still waiting for this skin to grow back, for the wound to close. For me, regeneration is mercy — the sign that healing is coming, that this pain has an end.

But I wonder: what will it feel like on th

Day by day, I find myself letting go of this dunya. Slowly fading from the things that once occupied my heart, detaching from what is temporary, and trying to build a stronger bond with the Hereafter.

The things I once thought were mine no longer hold the same place in my heart. My ambitions are changing. My priorities are changing. My heart is changing.

I no longer want this world to be my greatest concern. I just want to be close to Allah, to be a righteous Muslimah, and to leave this dunya with a heart that knows its Lord.

May Allah make our hearts attached to Him more than anything else, and make the Hereafter our greatest concern. Ameen.

Does anyone else feel a sudden change in the

SubhanAllah, this verse is so powerful and really shows me that Allah SWT is all-knowing and all-seeing.

My late father, Allah yarhamhu, was truly in love with the Quran, and he would spend hours reading, reciting, and pondering the Quran's deep meanings.

Unfortunately, I did not share his love, and he would often try to encourage and share with me the delights he was savouring. One such day, he called me over enthusiastically to read an ayah he had just read ..... Now, throw down your staff!” But when he saw it slithering like a snake, he ran away without looking back. ˹Allah reassured him,˺ “O Moses! Do not be afraid! Messengers should have no fear in My presence. (Surah

The Quiet Disappearance of Our Anchors

The passing of Shaykh Salman al Nadwi made me sit with a realization that has been quietly growing over the past few years. So many scholars have returned to Allah recently. Men whose names rarely trended, whose lives were spent teaching, preserving, correcting, and carrying the weight of this religion. Their departure leaves behind a silence that feels heavier than we often realize.

It brings to mind the Prophet's ﷺ warning that knowledge would not be lifted by being removed from people's hearts, but through the passing of the scholars. As they depart, ignorance gradually fills the spaces they once occupied.

Perhaps that is why our age feels so stra

How often it happens: whenever something goes against our desires or our choices, we get upset and become ungrateful to the One who never abandoned us, to the One who is the Giver. We might not see the good it holds yet, and we start being mean and surround ourselves with bad thoughts, which is really unacceptable, but still, our Lord forgives us. Still, he chooses to forgive not because we deserve it but because it is how He is. The most merciful and the most gracious, we should practice next time when things do not go our way to trust Allah, and this is the best thing we can do. Jazakallahu Khairan

At the end of Maghrib prayer, my heart suddenly ached. I didn’t know where it came from, but it felt as though all of my sins came crashing into my chest. Heavy, stinging. Some sins came to mind that I know of, but many others I don’t even know.

Then I continued my Qur’an recitation until I suddenly stopped at this ayah. “Except for those who repent, believe, and do righteous deeds. For them, Allah will replace their evil deeds with good ones. And Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” Surah Al-Furqan (25:70)

I felt undeserving. I was ashamed of myself. I placed my forehead on the ground in shame, realizing I couldn’t even remember the last time I prayed Tawbah prayers. and I stayed for

Bismillah

Your flaws should bring you closer to Allah.

I make mistakes.

Sometimes they're in my actions. Sometimes they're hidden within my heart.

Even after making istighfār, when I sit with the Qur'an or stand to pray, a thought sometimes lingers:

"Not right now. I'm not ready."

But notice . . .

The Qur'an describes itself as a shifā' (a cure) (10:57). A cure is for those who are sick—not those who are already healed.

A beautiful statement from a shaykh was:

Allah mentions traits like arrogance, jealousy, greed, and other diseases of the heart throughout the Qur'an so that we recognize them, reflect upon them, and strive to cure them.

He then said something profound:

Some of the

These verse reminds me that we all made an effort for something—whether it's our deen, occupation, education, health, or anything—but sometimes here, in this dunya, we didn't get the results we wanted. This dunya never looks to your effort. It looks to the end result. Was it successful? Was it a failure? Well done, you've failed. That's all. But the efforts....where do they go? Unnoticed from people, yes. But never unnoticed by Allah. Here, from these verse: we have two groups. They both strived hard. But the end result are different. One is exhausted with their efforts. The other is pleased with their efforts. What makes them different is: how did they make effort? With sincerity? faith?

{ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Take on only as much as you can do of good deeds, for the best of deeds is that which is done consistently, even if it is little.” } (Sunan Ibn Majah, 4240)

Let's take a habit as simple as saying alhamdulillah—attributing the praise to Allah—regularly: for moments when you find good; alongside moments where you find otherwise; even in moments between where you wouldn't have thought about it.

It wouldn't be strange to find yourself wondering as to why it is we can say alhamdulillah for anything and everything at first. You might have been used to seeing life as an outcome of effort, you might never have considered Allah's aid in our day to day lives. As t