"Is it time
for prayer?" I asked, as I watched her pick up her sallaya (praying mat)
to spread it on the floor.
"No, I just
saw my midterm scores"
I paused to take
her in for a moment, she had gone on
sujood (prostration) after laying the mat & afterwards as if reading my
thoughts she said "It was Sujood
Ash - Shukr (Prostration of thankfulness)"
Abu Bakrah (may Allaah be pleased with him),
said that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) heard
any news that made him glad, he would fall down prostrating to Allaah, may He
be exalted. (Reported by the five except al-Nisaa’i; al-Tirmidhi said, it is
hasan ghareeb).
Ma sha Allah, was
all I could mutter & for the next few minutes I was lost in my realm of
reflections.
Here she was
showing her gratitude for the outcome of her midterm exams, that she worked
hard for. What they were exactly, I didn't know. But I assumed they must've
been excellent scores.
Perhaps she was actually expecting them, looking at
how hard she had studied during the midterm exam period, she wouldn't say she
wasn't almost certain that she would score no less...but still, she kept it at
the back of her mind the message of this Ayah...
"wa man
nasru illa min indillah (And success is only from Allah)" [surah Al-Imran,
Ayah 126]
All success is
from Allah.
I thought about
this Ayah, & how easily we tend to forget it's message. How easily we tend
to attribute our success to ourselves & forget to show gratitude.
You know, it's
easier to feel grateful when we get
miraculous outcomes, those that we never even expected, those that we could've
never earned or deserved. That moment when you write a really difficult exam
and you know you need a miracle to pass it, or when you've messed up big at
your interview and you're not even expecting a call back...but you pass, you
get the job, and you just know that couldnt have been you. It's easier to be
thankful in those moments because it's clear, its a miracle.
But when you've
put in all your efforts, stayed up all night preparing, ticked all the right
boxes, answered all the questions right...that's when you forget that even then
it wasn't your efforts that granted you success,...but Allah.
And there's one
more reminder I took out of this. When we internalize that everything comes
from Allah, while remembering that we're talking about the one who loves us
most & knows what is best for us, then it makes it easier for us to be
grateful...whatever the outcome is...it would be Alhamdulillaah.
So Alhamdulillaah
when it's what we expect/what we want, for it is by His will & Mercy, and
Alhamdulillaah also when it's not what we want as well, for that is also by His
will & Mercy...and all things that reach a believer are good.
On the authority
of Suhaib (may Allaah be pleased with him) he said: The Prophet (sallallaahu
alayhi wa sallam said:
“Amazing is the affair of the believer, verily
all of his affair is good and this is not for no one except the believer. If
something of good/happiness befalls him he is grateful and that is good for
him. If something of harm befalls him he is patient and that is good for him”
(Saheeh Muslim #2999)
May Allah enable
us to recognise His Mercy & favours & to be grateful in every
situation, Aameen.
