Life Usually Makes Sense When You Reflect On It!

images“It is He Who has created you from dust; then from a sperm-drop; then from a leech-like clot; then does He get you out as a child; then lets you (grow and) reach your age of full strength; then lets you become old,- though of you there are some who die before;- and lets you reach a Term appointed; in order that you may use your reason.”
–The Holy Quran 40:67

Over the winter break I visited Istanbul, Turkey for a week, which is a beautiful city. Unfortunately, it is also freezing in the winter and I ended up becoming sick with the flu. Sometimes, when we become ill, we are not sure what exactly caused our illness.

I was feeling clueless about why I became so ill, but after a few days, I realized that I did actually make a bad choice which caused me to catch the flu.

I remembered that a few days before I became sick, I rode on a boat on the Bosporus Sea, which is quite gorgeous. However, I became seasick and went to the top of the boat in the open air and I took off my winter coat, due to feeling hot from the sea sickness.

I exposed myself to freezing weather and arctic-type winds and although it helped me to get over my sea-sickness, in retrospect it was an unwise decision.

I realized that life often makes sense when we reflect on our actions. Sometimes we cannot explain why certain things happen to us, but usually, we can gain lessons from life.

This is a great blessing of Allah (swt) because not everything in life happens randomly. Usually, we can learn from our past experiences and then make better choices in the future.

HAPPINESS HINT: VIEW LIFE’S DIFFICULTIES AS OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN AND GROW. YOU WILL FEEL MORE EMPOWERED.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) teaches us to learn from our mistakes. He (s) said,

“A believer is not stung from the same hole twice” (Bukhari, Muslim), which means that we are responsible for learning from our past mistakes.

Another point on reflecting on life is to notice the signs of Allah’s mercy. His mercy is in everything, even in our hardships. In my case, I had a very kind sister-in-law who took care of me while I was sick.

“…If you count the blessings of Allah, never will you be able to number them…” (The Holy Quran 14:34)

2 Comments

  1. nora

    This is a very beautiful reminder with excellent advice sister jazakaa Allahu khayran.
    This advise would make our lives easier, stop and reflect on our actions and their impact. We should as muslims try to make the best choices and although it’s not fun making mistakes or failing it is a natural part of life and does contribute to learning and growth. Embracing these poor choices in a positive way is a great way to move forward and learn in shaa Allah.
    Thank you Sheima for sharing all these wonderful stories on your blog with us I enjoy reading them. Congratulations on the release of your second book may Allah grant you success in all of your endeavours.

    Reply
    1. Sheima (Post author)

      JazakAllah khair so much dear sister for your kind words and encouragement!

      Reply

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