Reflections as my home burnt down

With the title, you may wonder what on Earth has happened. My home was caught in a building fire. I wrote this at 2:15am, almost 24 hours after the incident started.

These are some reflections from the incident and how al-Latīf — a name of Allah that signifies His subtlety and kindness in unimaginable ways — has shown His mercy in this situation.

A peaceful getaway

It being a bank holiday weekend, we were away for a peaceful getaway, away from home, not knowing this was more than a little break from home.

It was the final goodbyes to our first family home as a couple and then as parents, too.

Its rooms were decorated with love and laughter. All the memories kept flooding in, and the hearts yearned to see the desolate place it is now.

Waking up at the hotel on Bank Holiday Monday, 26^th August 2024, I unexpectedly received multiple calls from family and friends asking if we were okay and if they had heard the news.

I woke up late and was rushing to breakfast, so as not to miss my meal. Frantically, my wife and I were getting the kids ready as well as ourselves to not only grab breakfast but also check out in time.

Then, as we got to the breakfast table, we finally had a minute. And it hit us.

Our home, all of our things gone, with nothing left.

We were leaving to head back to it with thoughts of what was potentially lost and more and more items throughout the day appeared in our thoughts.

Clothes, gifts, sentimental things, and important documents are all you can think of that you don’t actually think you’d ever lose, because they’re there in the safety of your home.

My reflections

Now that the news has broken, you’re probably wondering where the reflections are. This is a long intro, but it leads right up to this point.

I’m writing this to firstly etch these reminders in my own mind and heart, and secondly to allow you to realise that veneration and glorification should always be given to Allah in every situation.

As Muslims, we have a very important phrase,

“To God we belong, and to Him certainly we are returning.” [1]

This phrase is often recited in times of loss and serves as a reminder that everything we have, including our lives and possessions, ultimately belongs to Allah and will be returned to Him.

No matter what you think is yours, it is not yours. It is ultimately on loan, and we should all treat it as such.

You can say this is difficult, but I promise you Islam gives us such an easy solution to cope: to actually manage our emotions and the situations of life by remembering our purpose and principles.

All these reflections come from someone who has lost their home, safety, and comfort, and they come from a place of hopeful gratitude that we ask Allah to accept from us.

Being away was a miracle

I reminded my wife that us being away was a miracle.

It was truly something that was a huge blessing as I couldn’t imagine what our neighbours would have gone through: being woken up, having to pick up their belongings in frantic haste.

In such a situation, your main concern is only grabbing your loved ones and leaving immediately!

We said “alhamdulillāh”, for we didn’t see the flames surrounding us, we didn’t have to worry about taking our children through worrying about their safety in that manner.

And they will not have the trauma of any sort by having witnessed such a horrific tragedy.

Think about the people in Gaza

My wife then reminded me of how people in Gaza must be feeling. Losing their homes and everything else.

We reflected on how they return to their broken buildings, ready to pick up the bodies of their family members through the rubble.

Yet, we have not experienced a percentage of the loss they have, in this dunya, but do we attain the gain that they have, in the heart?

The īmān, the faith, the optimism, and the hope they have in Allah is what we learn from, because it is from the teachings of what we should be implementing.

“Without warning, death can strike.”

I mentioned this in my last khutbah, not realising that — subhānAllah — calamities and tests can also occur similarly and leave one feeling vulnerable and numb.

Our hearts accepted what happened

Praise and thanks belong only to Allah for His countless blessings.

Throughout the day, we interacted with others as though nothing had happened, smiling and laughing. Truly, our hearts accepted what had happened.

Having witnessed what īmān — which is the Arabic term for faith and trust in Allah — looks like from our brothers and sisters, it was so easy to embrace and remind ourselves of what truly mattered.

Others around us had no idea, but I decided to tell a good friend what had happened whilst feeling content that this was meant to be for a bigger purpose, one that will only be good for us.

He had an equally polar shock on his face. I wish it could be captured, but that scene was amusing.

The entire experience was a blessing

The support of your fellow brother and sister is truly remarkable.

Believers and good humans effortlessly consoled us and extended warmth, love, and help, with some honouring us by opening doors to their very own homes. We can never forget the goodness exhibited by these people.

Of course, our plan was to eventually move and so we saw this as a divine push to get us started.

We sit and think about how we still have so much, yet we just don’t realise how much we have, unless we look at those who don’t have anything.

The blessing of others witnessing you going through a calamity and holding out hope for that reward from the Almighty gave us even more comfort than we could imagine.

We had recently lost a loved one and, at their burial, the testimony of their righteousness gave us hope that — inshāAllah — those who see us will also witness that we are content.

These reflections have no order or may not uncover the true message behind them. It’s almost 3am and we’ve just lost our home. With a lack of rest after hours of driving, I had the urge to sit and reflect, to note down my thoughts. And I wanted others to benefit from it too.

Nothing is everlasting

Our true home is Paradise, where we will, by the mercy of the Most Merciful, reside for eternity.

So reflect with me, how do we meet our difficulties and do we take them as an opportunity to capitalise on our journey to the Hereafter?

There is a greater good and ultimate wisdom behind all things that occur.

Throughout the day, we found signs of how, even months ago, we decided to move a few important items to immediate family homes. There was just a gut feeling to do it; now it all makes sense.

It was done with such precision and subtlety that no-one would be able to guess at the time. Yet, when you uncover the blessings, you see the wisdom of it all.

There is a surplus of reflections here, but I leave you all with the questions, thoughts, and points to contemplate over.

And with that, I conclude and remind you and me: be content, give up any attachment but the one with Allah, and you’ll own everything you ever dreamed of.

3:01am
Tuesday 27^th August 2024/1446
Ahtisham Aziz

Source: Islam21c

Notes

[1] al-Qur’ān, 2:156