You are selfish
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatuLlah wa barakaatuh. Trust that you're good, striving and thriving?
لَن تَنَالُواْ ٱلۡبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُواْ مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ ۚ وَمَا تُنفِقُواْ مِن شَيۡءٍ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِهِۦ عَلِيمٞ
You will never achieve righteousness until you donate some of what you cherish. And whatever you give is certainly well known to Allah ~ suratul Aal-Imraan, verse 92
‘You are so selfish’!
Wait, what? Me? Howwwwww???? It was only yesterday that you praised me for being so generous, how did I become so selfish all of a sudden? You are so selfish, he insisted.
I was upset! It made no sense to me. How can someone be labelled as 'so generous' but also so selfish? Surely something was wrong here. It just did not add up.
Years later, it finally hit me. He was right, I was very selfish. Did I give? Oh yes, I did but did I give from what I truly loved? Maybe not.
The first time I came across this verse, it was from one of my teachers, who also gave us homework to open up our wardrobes and ask our siblings to take anything they wanted. I was a little hesitant but finally tried it. Interestingly, it didn't hurt that much. Then, I tried it with many other things: money, prized possessions, food, maybe I did feel a pinch but not that much. Till I really started digging and I realised two things I hold very dear, I will share one of them.
My space - In every sense of the word.
My mind immediately went back to the root cause of ‘the previous accusations’ and realised that this man knew me too well. He knew how protective I was of my space (introverts, say Hi) and how being around too many people on too many occasions is a struggle.
I think a lot of times, when we think of giving, our minds easily think of that as ‘the material stuff’. But what of the non-material things that we hold dear?
Quick disclaimer, this does not mean it will be the same for you, we are all very different and I still hold my space dearly, I need to do that to even function, lol. I am just amazed by this discovery (it is over 2-year old though, lol) and wanted to share.
I hope you will dig deep and ask yourself today, what can you give from what you love?
Our Ramadan poll showed that you loved the reflection segment, so we have decided to keep it..AlhamduliLlahi, today’s reflection is on selfless giving and it is explained so beautifully in this reflection by Shaykh Fahim.
Was going through one of my fave YouTube channels and stumbled on this video! So far one of my best videos on the topic of courting, marriage and settling down. It is clear, practical and pretty honest. Is it weird that even though it has no romance in it, I still had ‘awww moments? Anyway, you should check it out
Next up, is one session I am pleased to recommend. It is hosted by Bro. Wadud Hassan, who is doing such beautiful work in Islamic Mindfulness and Dr. Abdullah Rothman who is also doing great work in Islamic Psychology. Best part? You get to submit your questions ahead of the session.
This Sunday, we will be hosting our second post-Ramadan workshop and we are sooooo excited!!! We have 60+ people registered and we CANNOT wait to meet all of you. What should you be expecting, you may wonder?
A session on modesty beyond Ramadan facilitated by our dear sister, Oyinkansola Fatimah Momoh.
A mini-watch party on post Ramadan life.
And then a practical activity where we use our workbooks to identify our strengths in Ramadan and how we can sustain them post-Ramadan.
We are really excited about the workshop! If you have not signed up, please do? If you cannot make it, please keep up in your Duas!
With that, we are off to resume planning!
We leave you in Allah’s care,
One of us at Ibadahplug