A Dose Of Humility
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Asalam Alaekum Waramatullahi Wabarakatu,
Trust you are well, striving and thriving, In shaa Allah.
And do not walk on the earth arrogantly. Surely you can neither crack the earth nor stretch to the height of the mountains.
(Surah Al Isra Verse 37)
Humility is an essential character of a believer, one that we should all have.
The way and manner in which we become humble however can be uncomfortable. We don't know how or when it is going to happen. We can only hope and pray that Allah brings us there lovingly and gently.
Recently I've been in situations that have taken me down a notch or two. You see, I'm not going to lie, I'm used to being the star! Allah blessed me with a career that kicked off early and that grew pretty fast. Alhamdullilahi. In almost every work situation I've found myself in, I've excelled and exceeded expectations. You'll always find me in a top role and Alhamdullilahi it's never been because I was great at office politics ( If this was the criteria, I would have failed big time). It was because of Allah's generosity.
Things are different now, I left that comfort, structure, and familiarity a while back for a life of uncertainty, Alhamdullilahi robbil alaameen.
My recent state has also come with a bonus, my ego is also taking a special whooping. I'm in spaces that should be familiar but aren't, doing new stuff, learning, and growing. I'm having to stretch and stretch, move outside my comfort zone, and accept that there are A LOT of things that I simply don't know.
My every move is no longer followed by words of praise and my actions don't leave people in awe. It is no longer cool being me 😂😂😂 Despite the absence of what I might have mistaken as fuel and motivation though, there's room for gratitude.
I am learning a LOT! I am reminded of the wisdom of Steve Jobb’’s advice in one of my favorite speeches ever to ‘stay hungry, stay foolish’. I am also journeying with decent, God-fearing people, who give me room to stretch with little fear. I'm dealing with the discomfort knowing that they just want what's best. Alhamdullilahi robbil alaameen.
This journey is also teaching me a lot, a few lessons that I’d like to share:
1. The harm of excessive praise: My teachers always caution against excessive praise and I see why now. The things it does to your heart can lead to permanent stains you aren't even aware of. The bloating it leads to is REAL! Subhannallah! Now this isn't to say we shouldn't appreciate people, of course, we should. We just need to know when to draw the line. We need to be careful of overdoing it.
2. My fuel isn't praise, my connection to Allah is.
The things that keep me going I am trying to focus on keeping me going, are different now. Instead of looking for motivation where it doesn't exist, I'm instead focused on powering up through the tools and resources that Allah has so graciously blessed me with. Wondering what they are?
Well, my conversations with Him.
The Qur'an
Dhikr
These are just some of them that I now lean on, to give me the push I need to power through my tasks.
Still nowhere near perfect (and yes because I'm human, I was blushing nonstop recently when someone appreciated a task I did)but at least I now know where to go.
3. I've also learned that it's easy to say you're doing things for the sake of Allah. I may be guilty of throwing this around carelessly. The true test of my sincerity came when I had no motivation/inspiration left and was left with my intention. Which eeerrrrrr should have been your motivation in the first place? The question then became; Will you keep going?
3. Feedback and a lesson in humility.
As far as I'm concerned 'feedback' is one of the greatest tests of humility when working on anything! Chuckling now at the number of times when I was super sure that this was 'done and dusted' and someone just came from nowhere with a comment, you know one of those that take you back to square one?
The ability to accept feedback, calm down, be open-minded, and see things from a different perspective instead of thinking that yours is superior, is a gift!
4. The blessing of learning and applying
My current situation is in compartments. On one end, I'm getting the feedback on the other end, I'm giving it.
Allah isn't just teaching me humility as a follower but as a leader too. My 'experience' from the first compartment has helped me to understand what it feels like and is also teaching me to think carefully before giving feedback and deliver it in the most compassionate way I can. Also, not easy.
May Allah help us to refine our character in the kindest, gentlest and best way.
May Allah polish our hearts and make them stain-free.
May Allah fill us with light and bless us to be a light to others.
Please keep me in your Duas!
REFLECTION OF THE WEEK
Walking with arrogance - Hammad Fahim
This phrase is repeated twice in the Quran, where Allah is reminding us to be humble and moderate, to avoid being vain, insolent, boastful or arrogant in the way that we live. This humility should be manifest in all of our actions, to the degree that even the way we walk should reflect these characteristics. The manner of the prophet’s (pbuh) walk is beautifully described in a hadith, where we see that he walked ‘energetically but humbly’.
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Ribaat Summer classes have also started! There are great courses there ranging from Reflections From The Quran(A personal fave) to Women on the front-lines with Anse Tamara line-up and The Guided Khalifas in Times of Uncertainty, The Power of Dua , there is a lot to choose from. Also, do not forget that there is an 80% discount code for Nigeria for the whole year, so you are barely paying anything! If you are outside Nigeria, there are country codes for other countries too. If you do not have the time to attend a class this term, I encourage you to support their work and donate a scholarship.
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It is free and you can download it here.
All errors (and typos) are from me and all good is from Allah.
We leave you in Allah's care,
One Of Us at Ibadahplug.