Reflections about Water – The Source of Life

I have met countless mothers feeling the heavy responsibility of raising their children upon deen. As a result, they spread themselves thin – physically and mentally. I have been in that position many times myself. Throughout the day, I often make conscious intentions to reflect Divine attributes while interacting with my children – doing things in the Name of As-Samee, Al-Baseer, Al-Wadood, Al-Haadi and Ar-Razzaq and others. May Allah SWT accept our broken imperfect efforts.

However, I recently visited a beautiful waterfall. I sat near it, observing it carefully, remembering how Allah SWT mentions water as one of His signs many times in the Quran. Water is the source of life, and thus points towards Al-Hayyu – the Ever-living, Source of all life. I noticed how the water at the top of the waterfall flowed faster and appeared purer. But when the same water reached the very base of the hill – it seemed to have less “life” and less purity. Yet despite its changed speed, flow, purpose, or path, its source remained the same. It did not exist on its own, nor did it have the ability to flow without the force that came from its origin.

Similarly, Allah SWT is the Source. When we interact with our children, we are simply vessels through which the light of Allah flows. The purer the vessel, the purer the transfer. The closer the vessel is to the Source, the more energy and life would flow from it. We often speak about how one cannot pour from an empty cup, but we don’t talk about the purity of the cup. When we pour love and guidance into our children, we hope our cup is free from idols, ego, jealousy, and anything else that leads us away from Tawheed. For that, we need to move upwards towards the Source ourselves. This doesn’t come by spreading ourselves thin – rather by focusing on being present with Allah ourselves, witnessing His attributes unfold in our journeys.