Moving, Friendship, and Stories behind Objects
“Use it or give it away”. She said, as she left. She did not want the cooking pot back – she was emptying her house, preparing for the big move. The true authentic soul, who always cooked with her heart, was moving countries two weeks later.
She had brought mouth-watering biryani in her degchi (cooking pot) to the get together. Everyone enjoyed it like any other delicious meal, but I knew that specific biryani carried more than just flavour. It was filled with stories and silent emotions. Each bite held mercy, love, and warmth, stirred together with with worry, sadness, and the quiet ache of goodbye. Someone described her food perfectly – it was cosy.
Coming back to her words – they evoked a wave of emotions in me that no one was aware of. I don’t think anyone else at the gathering had ever made an international move. But I had. Four times. And each time, I had given away my cooking pots, furniture, and the “cosy” little things that make a place feel like home.
SubhanAllah, just a few days before this gathering, my phone had showed me this picture of my kitchen from a previous “home”. The blue mixing bowl with its white lid, the green and gray cutting boards, the blue and white plate, the Instant Pot, the honey from Costco… each of them held a unique story.
Some were gifted, some borrowed, some carried in a suitcase all the way from Pakistan – home – and some were bought after careful consideration. Before moving here, I gave away all of them, except the spoon.
It’s strange how seeing simple objects can transport us back to earlier times. I can almost see a younger version of myself standing in that kitchen, slicing those tomatoes, probably worrying about something that no longer matters in my current life. But what stands out most now is… rizq.
Allah SWT is Ar-Razzaaq – The Provider. He provides things, people, resources, and skills to us during different stages of our lives – exactly when we need them. Whether its friends he sends our way or the kitchen utensils that He makes a part of our daily lives – all of them are meant to assist us in experiencing His attributes. All of it – every detail – is part of His provision, designed for us to carry out His remembrance.
These things themselves are meaningless unless we engage with them in Allah’s presence. Without the presence of Allah, these things are just… things. But in His presence, they become signs. Carriers of His Names. Vessels of gratitude So when I picture that younger version of me in that kitchen, I feel grateful for every bowl, every spoon, and every season they belonged to.
Their arrival, and even their departure, was written with precision by Al-Hakeem, the All-Wise.
Every bone in my body is a witness to the physical, emotional and spiritual weight of moving one’s “home”. It’s not just about shifting spaces – it’s about surrendering parts of yourself and trusting that what comes next is from the One who knows best. As my dear friend prepares to leave her home behind, I make dua that this move becomes a means of nearness to her All-Loving Lord – the One who decreed it for her with wisdom and mercy. May her new home be a place of peace, provision, and deep remembrance. And may every pot she places on a new stove bring her closer to her All-Loving Lord. Ameen.
