Blessings again ...

I shared in the blog a post about a week ago about Yusuf Estes coming to Muscat. I attended two of his lectures here and both were wonderful =) I was so so so excited to see him right in front of me rather than on Youtube like I usually do. He used the same jokes as always but I still ended up laughing anyway LOL xD

During the first lecture, a man reverted to Islam. I believe he was British judging from the accent. I can't tell you how emotional that was for me. I never cry in public, but on that day I found the tears streaming down my face. I kept thinking how fortunate I am to be here, to witness a man who's sins are about to be replaced with mountains of Hasanat. I also felt happiness from the great blessing Allah has bestowed upon this man to give him Hedaya and guide him to Islam. I hear sniffling and turn my head around to find most if not all the women in the row I was sitting in (including my Mama) with tears in their eyes also. Yusuf explained to the man the words of shahada that he is about to say in English, then guided him through the Arabic words. It was wonderful =)

I did not attend the third lecture unfortunaltly, but my cousins did and they told me that four people on the day reverted to Islam, mashaAllah. One before the lecture and three right after it. I was super disappointed that I did not make it =( Al Hamdullah in the end of it all.

Blessings take different forms in our life. There are the super obvious ones, like the people that have reverted back to Islam with the guidance of Allah Subhanho wa Taala. Then there are the less obvious ones, the tiny ones if you may. The day before yesterday, I went for my usual walk in the park with my Mother. At the end of it, I was thirsty and hot and I craved for oranges. As soon as I got my hands on a piece of orange, I bit into it and its sweet juice exploded in my mouth and cooled me off as well as quenched my thirst. I realized how incredible this simple little fruit is, how blessed we are that Allah gave it to us. You must remember that as Muslims, we have to bear in mind that NONE of what we have in this world is ours. Even our own limbs are not ours, but all blessings from Allah. He gave us arms and hands, and did not give others. He gave eyes to see with, and did not give others. He gave us a family and a home, and did not give to others. He blessed us with the ability to eat whenever we want to, rather than starve like many people in the world. It just goes on and on.

وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحۡصُوهَآ‌ۗ
إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ لَظَلُومٌ۬ ڪَفَّارٌ۬

"If you count Allah's blessings, you can never encompass them all.

Indeed, the human being is transgressing, unappreciative."

(Surat Ibrahim, verse 34)

Try to think about the blessings in your life, the tiny ones and the big ones. Take a few minutes out of your busy time in the day and think about it. Thank Allah for it all, for bear in mind that the most blessed in this world will be asked the most of what they did with their blessings and if they appreciated and thanked Allah for it. Another thing that is also good to mention is that many people these days seem to think that they are loved by Allah because of their wealth and health and good life ... and therefore better than the people whom are not as blessed. Do not for a second even believe that.

ثُمَّ لَتُسۡـَٔلُنَّ يَوۡمَٮِٕذٍ عَنِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ

"Then, shall ye be questioned that Day about the joy (ye indulged in!)."

(Surat Al Takathur, verse 8)