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One year ago, I watched my home burn down. So much has taken place in the last 12 months that made me reflect, learn, grow, and ultimately understand purpose. [1]
For this reason, I wanted to use these reflections and share some of the lessons that I feel relate to the verse,
Indeed, with hardship comes ease.” [2]
The key point here for the very first premise is that hardship comes with ease and it’s completely attached together. Throughout any difficulty. trial, test, tribulation — there will always be ease in that very same process.
Unfortunately, we seem to have tuned out of seeing the ease and blessings behind a test. There is a huge tendency to focus on matters that do not reveal the positives in a given situation.
However, the lens a believer should hold at all times, is one of gratitude and this very lens allows us to see the essence behind the divine will.
Displacement and struggle
So much has taken place in this last year, it is extremely hard to sum up or even categorise it all. But one thing it has taught us, is that life has no certainty of anything.
A time of displacement, uncertainty, and challenges, which has — at the same time — only been filled with hope, dreams, and du’ā. There were days we learned to live with less, days that we had to continue to fight for our rights, days of anticipation as to when something would materialise… But we never gave up and we never lost hope.
After the fire, the love and support that we received in so many different ways (without even asking) was incredible. From staying with family to receiving acts of kindness, this generosity kept us going.
We had to live life “normally”, alongside trying to rebuild. Taking care of businesses, routine, family, and also giving relations their due rights were things we did whilst trying to reconstruct.
We attended countless meetings and were met with the failings of multiple organisations and the council itself. To date, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) have not concluded the cause of the fire. Our building was demolished whilst Grenfell still stands. We were just brushed over as if we didn’t matter because our losses were not as big — which they weren’t — but the system needs to be called out.
From our side, a huge thanks goes out to the demolition company who performed miracles for the majority of the residents.
Family and blessings
These past months of not having our own home, our own comforts, going from one office to another, chasing emails with officials to help with our situation… were all whilst expecting a new baby. Needless to say, it couldn’t have been more challenging.
But we were blessed with our third child and he comforted us whilst bringing his own rizq for us all.
It’s only when we take the advice of the Prophet ﷺ that we really try to analyse things.
Indeed, as narrated by Abu Hurayrah (radiy Allahu ‘anhu), the Messenger ﷺ is reported to have said,
Look at those who are beneath you and do not look at those who are above you, for it is more suitable that you should not consider as less the blessing of Allah.” [3]
We were blessed with the NHS, blessed with free healthcare, blessed with nurses and doctors on standby to help with the birthing process.
Yet on the other side in Gaza, our brothers and sisters had makeshift tents that couldn’t be sustained. How Allah gives us so much, and how much we overlook His blessings!
Perspective and Gaza
Often we think of our brothers and sisters in Gaza who support each other whilst not having the smallest of things for themselves.
I remember one night during a Ramadan live appeal, we were raising funds for medical tents to function for a single day, helping hundreds. Yet the following day the brother mentioned that they cannot take extra funds due to the area needing evacuation.
When you have less, you realise this material world is a temporal one. No matter what you want or try to attain, it is possible to live in comfort with far less than what we imagine.
The illusion materialism gives us of wanting more, tricks the believer into taking off the default lens of gratitude.
Demolition and remnants
The building was demolished floor by floor.
Each level was called on a specific date and time to retrieve their items (if anything survived). The demolition team did their best. A few men in hi-viz jackets with eagle eyes would try to see what is salvageable and return whatever small amounts they could to the residents.
The day came for us to see what we could recover, from what we thought we had lost. We stood there, staring at what was coming our way — and we were taken by surprise!
As expected, some things were completely unusable, whereas some remained in great condition, which left us in awe of the miracle we were witnessing.
The people in Gaza go back to a destroyed building to try and find pieces of their family, and here we were trying to get some scraps from our old lives and belongings.
A blessing, a true gift. We had gotten so much more than we could have imagined.
The Ummah’s support
Through all we went through, Allah never left us, nor did we ever feel hopeless.
We constantly felt the support from friends, family, and the wider community. The comfort and presence that was showered over us by those who genuinely cared will never be forgotten.
Sometimes a random message from someone on the other side of the world made us smile and only further allowed us to appreciate the people who cared about us. Even strangers would remind us of the goodness Allah placed over us, the ease He created, and the help He gave.
We are truly grateful for each and every one of those people who didn’t let us down, even if it was a message or a du’ā we didn’t know about. Because of that, we could face it all, because we had an Ummah standing behind us. This is just us — now imagine how the Gazans would feel knowing about our efforts for them?
A new beginning
12 months have past, which feels like an extremely long time and in the same breath, an instant. Indeed, with hardship comes ease. This is just a period of time — one period of hardship, one period of ease — and life is a rotation between the two.
Following that period, we have now reached the next. Allah has blessed us with our own home, Alhamdulillāh!
A beautiful new beginning, our youngest bringing his rizq with him. Every inch between these walls feels peaceful, every door is a door of ease, every window is the window of hope. It’s now a time to rebuild and renew ourselves once again.
There have been so many lessons we have learnt over the year: homes may burn but īmān must not be extinguished. Nothing in this life is permanent, except what we sow for the Hereafter. Every test carries a seed of growth — so come out of it as a mu’min!
If you are going through anything right now, hold firm, make du’ā, and remember the night always gives way to dawn. Through this we ask Allah to replace every loss we face with something better. We ask Allah that He gives us the lens that results in gratitude and the tawfīq to face everything that is predestined.
Alhamdulillāh for the past, present, and what’s to come.
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Source: Islam21c
Notes
[1] https://www.islam21c.com/spirituality/reflections-as-my-home-burned-down/
[2] al-Qur’ān, 94:6
[3] Sunan Ibn Mājah, 4,142; https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:4142
