Reflections during Travel – Our Journey is written

Whenever I witness my older daughter playing with her friends joyfully, I cannot help but wonder about the kind of life my daughter and I would have had if we lived close to family or family friends in the initial years of her life. My mind quickly jumps to conclusions about the impact it would have had on her personality and our mutual relationship. Then I remind myself that this alternate reality does not exist, as per the Will of Allah SWT.

My Lord had written down for both of us to spend more time with each other, in isolation from other people, for the first five years of her life. Even though it was not the natural way for bodies, minds, and souls to thrive generally, it was the journey that Al-Hakeem (The All-Wise) had crafted for us, out of His Wisdom and Love.

Allah is our Rabb and the Rabb of our children. He sustains and nurtures us. Yes, He has given us the responsibility of doing our children’s tarbiyah (nurturing). We must take care of the physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs of our children, for them to InshaAllah reach their highest spiritual potential. However, we must remember that He is the primary Doer – He is the One who is carrying us and our children through this life. Whatever experiences and circumstances He has put us in, are the most perfect ones for us to journey back to Him. Our task is to reflect the light of Allah, Al-Noor, into our children’s hearts, as we go through different situations and seasons of life already predestined by Him. While doing so, we seek strength from Al-Qadeer (The All-Powerful) and put out trust in Al-Wakeel (The Most Trustworthy and the Best Disposer of affairs).