How do you find blessings in pain?
Making forgiveness and gratitude actionable.
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In our exploration of forgiveness, we've delved into its liberating power. Our previous discussion brought to light the significance of honoring our emotions by acknowledging our true feelings.
Today, we embark on a practical journey, fulfilling the promise of transforming pain into blessings through a guided exercise.
The Quran, as the divine word of Allah, holds undeniable truths. It states that with every hardship comes ease. Yet, sometimes, the ease eludes us, prompting the question: why can't we feel it?
This conundrum led me to a profound realization: the ease exists, but it requires us to seek it out actively.
The result of this quest is the exercise I'm excited to share with you. Numerous women have found it to be transformative, noticing a tangible shift from distress to positivity within a mere seven minutes. This remarkable change stems from where we direct our focus.
The Pain is Your Roadblock
Often, after experiencing deep hurt, our attention fixates on the pain, reinforcing a negative belief that hinders healing:
“I can't heal!”
If this belief were true, it would contradict the Quran, which cannot be. The Quran is the speech of Allah, and its truth is absolute. Today's exercise incorporates two practical lessons from our faith (deen) that challenge this belief.
The Blessings in the Pain
Practical Tip One
The following hadith teaches us about the unique fortune of the believer, who finds good in every circumstance. This perspective may seem challenging amidst suffering, but when applied practically, it reveals numerous lessons which the promised exercise I will guide you through in this article will help you discover:
"Wondrous is the affair of the believer, for there is good for him in every matter... If he is happy, he thanks Allah, and there is good for him. If he is harmed, he shows patience, and there is good for him."
Source: Sahih Muslim 2999, Grade: Sahih
Trials are a sign of Allah's favor, as another hadith tells us:
"If Allah intends good for someone, then He afflicts him with trials."
Source: Sahih Bukhari 5321, Grade: Sahih
As a Muslim, I am not a scholar, but I strive to apply the deen in practical ways in my life.
One such application is actively seeking the goodness in every trial, which we will explore through today's exercise at the end of the article.
Have you sometimes found it hard to find the goodness in the trial? Leave a comment.
Practical Tip Two:
Surah Luqman, 31:17, imparts wisdom on perseverance and righteousness:
يَـٰبُنَىَّ أَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَٱنْهَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَصَابَكَ ۖ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ ٱلْأُمُورِ ١٧
“O my dear son! Establish prayer, encourage what is good and forbid what is evil, and endure patiently whatever befalls you. Surely this is a resolve to aspire to.”
This verse emphasizes the comfort found in salah (prayer) and offers several insights:
1. Establishing salah is crucial, whether it means beginning to pray or improving the quality of your prayers.
2. We are encouraged to promote good and prevent evil, starting with ourselves.
3. Patience in adversity is a virtue that leads to gratitude and contentment.
The remainder of this article will focus on patience during trials.
When we face hardships, especially those caused by others, patience can be difficult. However, recognizing the hidden blessings in these events is key to fostering gratitude and patience.
What lessons do you draw from this ayah? Share your thoughts so others can benefit.
Let’s Exercise Our Heart ❤️
For this exercise, you will need:
A timer
Writing materials
A quiet space
Steps:
1. Begin with "Bismillah" and a dua (prayer).
2. Set the timer for one minute. During this time, write down any troubling thoughts. Stop when the minute is up.
3. Set the timer for two minutes. Reflect on each point you wrote and ask yourself:
What blessing has emerged from this?
Notice how your feelings shift before and after the exercise.
Let me and others know what you learned from this experience. Remember that in sharing we help ourselves and others grow.
Coaching Questions
Now let’s end with three coaching questions. Ponder them until the next newsletter:
What have I discovered about myself through this exercise?
How can I transform my pain into gratitude?
In what ways can gratitude towards Allah foster greater patience (sabr)?
I'm eager to hear about your experience with the exercise. Feel free to share your insights with me.
May Allah bless you with ease and contentment. Ameen.
Much love 💕,
Nour
I have been loving Al Maghrib’s 360 Ramadan program. Check out their website for more information on how to sign up:
Make sure you don't miss the part withUst Taimiyyah Zubair—it was absolutely mind-blowing!
My key takeaway was the profound significance of true sincerity (Ishaan) with Allah in consistently choosing what Allah Loves. It's only through this genuine connection that true consistency can be achieved.
Experiencing this realization triggered a major shift in my mindset, and I'm immensely thankful to Allah for blessing me with this knowledge. I feel privileged to share it with you, my friend.
Pro-tip: Log in to zoom early, the maxed out the 1,000 participants on zoom and by joining live on zoom you can participate, inshaaAllah.
To know Allah is to love Allah and what better way to know Allah that by knowing His Beautiful Names, after all Allah has the Most Beautiful Names and Attibutes. Calling on Allah by His Names makes me cry in dua and I want you to feel the more love for Allah by getting to know your Creator better. Studying Allah’s Beautiful Name in my book should be a life long endeavour. This is also part of the Al Maghrib Ramadan 360 Program. Ohh Yeahhhh I am just loving it and loving Ramadan, so far it is my best Ramadan since 2020 and may it be my best one yet, ameen. And may it be your best Ramadan thus far ameen.
How is your Ramadan going?
What is your favorite name of Allah? and Why?
Life finds meaning when we establish prayer admist going on with our daily activities.Be patient when we encounter hardships.Be ready to stand for what is good and also be bold to speak up when things are bad
So true