Musings from Medina
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
وَإِن يُرِدْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَلَا رَادَّ لِفَضْلِهِ
“…And if He intends good for you, none can withhold His bounty…” (10:107)
A story on friendship, gifts, and the Giver
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(وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ مِن رَّحْمَتِنَا أَخَاهُ هَارُونَ نَبِيًّا (53
“And We granted him, of Our mercy, his brother Aaron as a prophet.” (19:53)
Allah’s gifts to us are many, too numerous to count. Throughout the Qur’an, Allah tells us how He gifts people to each other: children, siblings, supporters. Allah gifted (“wahabnā”) to Moosa (as) Aaron (Harūn) as a prophet to support him. Sometimes Allah gives us gifts through other people (who in themselves are gifts!), and other times He puts in our hands a gift to give His beloved servants. It could have been direct, but in this way, we are shown so much more in order to be grateful to al-Wahhāb for the layers of His grace and giving. And part of the gift is bringing together the hearts of His believing servants:
وَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِهِمْ…
He brought their hearts together… (8:63)
I was blessed to be in Madina recently (already a huge blessing!). Because of COVID regulations, you have to book a slot to visit the Rawda. When we arrived at the airport, the first thing we did was try to book. There were no slots available at all until after we were due to leave.
My friend’s aunt said that the trip organizers would try to get us in regardless. We breathed a sigh of relief.
A few minutes later though, my friend found an open slot. We all quickly opened the app to book, but I was the only one who was able to.
We arrived at the hotel, and proceeded to pray in the Prophet’s ﷺ mosque. I messaged a dear friend (you might know her ;) Hafidha Maryam Amir) who was also in Madina, asking if she was going to pray at the Rawda. I don’t know why I asked her that - I didn’t even give the question much thought.
She told me she couldn’t because there were no slots; and she was heartbroken, because she wasn’t able to pray in the Rawda years prior when she had come either. She was clearly distressed and upset, having only 24 hours in Madina and worried that she would not have the opportunity to pray that blessed place, a garden from the gardens of Paradise, by the grave of the Beloved ﷺ.
I thought, if the organizers are able to get us in to pray tonight, then this slot I had booked was meant for her.
By Allah’s grace, the organizers were able to get us in to pray in the Rawda and we were blessed to pray there that very evening. I quickly called Maryam. She would take the slot I had booked. It truly was written for her, brought through her friend, by al-Wahhāb.
Allah is truly Generous and He is the Gift-giver. The events could have transpired differently: my friend who found the slot could have gotten it; Maryam could have gotten a slot herself; I might not have thought to ask whether Maryam would pray at the Rawda. Yet it all happened so beautifully - being in Madina at the same time, being in the same hotel, finding a slot before her departure - so that Maryam could pray there when she thought that might not be able to.
When the gift comes to us without effort, we might not be as grateful. But there is a delay so that we can call on Him for that much longer, so we can truly *feel* the weight of the blessing, and so that His gift can come to us from where we cannot imagine. Allah says:
“… And whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them, and provide for them from sources they could never imagine. And whoever puts their trust in Allah, then He ˹alone˺ is sufficient for them. Certainly Allah achieves His Will. Allah has already set a destiny for everything.” (65:2-3)
While Allah can send us gifts or His provision directly, with no human intermediary, He might put them in the people who love us as a way to bring the hearts together. We have more to be grateful for because He made events transpire in such a way that we receive much more than we had originally wanted. And that growth in love and support is also a gift, made stronger by His gifts.
And in these circumstances, we are reminded of who Allah is : the Generous (Al-Karīm), the Provider (al-Razzāq), the Most Affectionate (al-Wadūd), the Giver (al-Wahhāb) - to know that we are never left behind, but that He is always with us, caring for us in both the subtle and the overt.