The Pens Have Been Lifted

رُفِعَتِ الْأَقْلَامُ وَجَفَّتِ الصُّحُفُ “The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried.” — Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī 2516

An overwhelming image of destiny already written — the decree completed, the ink dry, nothing forgotten, nothing accidental.

What reached you was never going to miss you, and what missed you was never truly yours. Not people, not love, not opportunities, not pain.

Yet the more I sat with this hadith, the more I realized It does not imprison the heart in fatalism; it releases it into tawakkul- making it free from the illusion of control.

We spend so much of life replaying moments in our minds- all the “what ifs..”:
 “What if I said t

There are moments in life when we're touched by worry and sadness, as thoughts like 'If only...' begin to reverberate within us. We find ourselves replaying situations, with 'What if...?' and 'It could have...' ricocheting through our minds, wishing, hoping, and yearning for a different outcome, especially when reality unfolds differently than we had imagined.

Yet in those moments, we must remind ourselves: no matter how earnestly we hoped, how fervently we prayed, or how hard we tried, if it did not come to pass, it was never meant to. Be it a fleeting moment or a life-altering event, it transpired exactly as Allah willed.

It is maktub. It is written. It is qadr.

The path we tread has al

Spring has arrived in southern Spain where I live, as it has for all of the northern hemisphere. Down at the river, male frogs are chirping in search of mates, and some of the trees are dropping cottony-soft fibers that look like snow. I wish I could share pictures here. Allah SWT is bringing forth signs of new life everywhere I look. I'm 59 years old, a late-life revert. And I will be the first to say that, 'on paper,' no one could probably have guessed that I would eventually turn to Islam. I am, to put it mildly, not the best of creation. Most of my life was spent in gratification of whims and pursuit of ego goals, with little attention paid to matters of the spirit or my family's nee

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful. the Especially Merciful, Each Ramadan I pass through these ayats. I tend to reflect less in Ramadan and focus upon recitation. When Ramadan is over I like to recite more slowly with reflection. I have passed these verses over again and each time they cause me to pause. So many times I have wanted to make and pen a reflection. Ramadan has left us and I took out my notebook which contains a reference to these verses. Many times we are tested with something we often don’t like, something which causes us anxiety, uncertainty, anger and frustration. This anger and frustration can often hinder our patience and trust upon Allah. Though, Yunus (peace

I'm just catching up with this week's

, and Shaykh Saeed reminded us of the hadith that this Surah gave the Prophet SAWS more white hairs than any other surah!

These two ayah, to me, are a reminder that biological

is not the same as family in the deen. That has been my personal experience as well especially since I am a revert.

I can only imagine how the Prophet SAWS must have taken this message, especially if Abu Talib, who never took his shahada, was still alive. This is a

surah, and I do have to wonder if it was revealed before the death of his beloved uncle. And even for those members of his family who had taken the shahada, there has never been any gua

Last month, one of my goats gave birth to twins - a male and a female. But we lost both of them. I was excited at the prospect of twins because that is like the yearly bonus you never expected. But, I accepted the Qadr of Allah. Indeed to Allah we belong and to Him we all return. Today, I received the news that one of my sheep has given birth to twins - this time, both female. If you are a farmer like myself, then you understand very well that 'the male is not like the female'. Not only that, the sheep breeds faster than the goat, so i will take ewes to does any day. When Allah takes away, He replaces with better. It maybe in the same instance, it maybe a month later or a even a lifetime

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Kind, Calm your heart. Ibn ‘Awn (RA) said: 'In both times of ease and difficulty be content with Allah’s decree, it will decrease your distress and serve you better in your pursuit of the Hereafter. Know that the servant will never attain the reality of contentment until his contentment at times of poverty and tribulation is the same as his contentment at times of affluence and ease. How can you go to Allah to adjudge your affair and then be discontent when you find His ordainment does not accord to your desires?! It is well possible that, were your desire come to fruition, you would be destroyed! When His ordainment accords with you

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Kind, Today, I returned back to my current reading - Captured thoughts by Imam Ibn Jawzi RA (Dar As Sunnah Publishers). Simultaneously, I continued with my reading and reflecting of the Qur’an and reached Ayah 155 from Surah Al Baqara. I would like to share the following that Imam Jawzi RA wrote: 'I heard a person whom I used to think was pious saying during his final nights (on earth) ‘My Lord is being unjust to me!’ Since then I have been worried and keen on acquiring enough, ammunition to pass that inevitable day. And how would I not be like that when it was reported that at the moment of death, the devil tells his companion ‘foc

‎وَجَآءُو عَلَىٰ قَمِيصِهِۦ بِدَمٍۢ كَذِبٍۢ ۚ قَالَ بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًۭا ۖ فَصَبْرٌۭ جَمِيلٌۭ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ ٱلْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَىٰ مَا تَصِفُونَ And they brought upon his shirt false blood. [Jacob] said, 'Rather, your souls have enticed you to something, so patience is most fitting. And Allāh is the one sought for help against that which you describe.' (12:18)

What caused Yaqub AS heartbreak was the same thing that ultimately brought him solace. His grief began with Yusuf AS's shirt and it ended with his shirt.

‎فَلَمَّآ أَن جَآءَ ٱلْبَشِيرُ أَلْقَىٰهُ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِۦ فَٱرْتَدَّ بَصِيرًۭا So, when came the man with good news, he put it (the shirt) on his face, and

This life was created as a test and setbacks are bound to happen. We generally assume that problems alone are tests, but Allah ﷻ says

‎إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ زِينَةًۭ لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًۭا Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them [as to] which of them is best in deed. (18:7)

reminding us that tests are not only through difficulties but through blessings as well.

Yes, hardships are tests and become a catalyst of growth and self-development, but when we look at the blessings of others and sometimes wish for the same things, we should not be envious of them, reminding ourselves that those very blessings