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- You learn only when you are humbled.
Alhamdulillah, I have never been told that I cannot do something. My parents have always been super supportive, my closest and dearest have always been extremely encouraging and affirmative.
And I have always been privileged to have the luxury of choice.
So, to be told I could not do something truly was a kick to my pride.
But this Ayah in the Quran was a much-needed slap to my ego,
a wake up call my soul sorely needed, and it was an Ayah that truly humbled me.
Allah SWT says in Surah Ibrahim, Ayah 34:
"If you tried to count Allah’s blessings,
you would never be able to number them."
When Allah SWT says you would never,
then it means you would never.
Full stop.
Meaning... no one, from the beginning to the end of time, can ever list ALL of Allah's Blessings even if they tried!
His Ni'mah is truly innumerable!
So here I am thinking... if I cannot even begin to number all of the things that He has already blessed me with, the tangible and the non-tangible, the visible and the invisible, the obvious and the subtle, then who am I to question what Allah SWT has "supposedly" "not" given me? What if He had already given me something even better than what I asked for but I was too blind to see because I was too preoccupied complaining?
If I cannot even begin to count Allah's blessings, what right do I have to doubt Allah SWT's Perfect Plans for me? How can I question His plans when I will never fully understand how flawlessly He has arranged my every step?
The Gen Z voice in me whispered, "The Audacity!"
And the Ayah continues: and
"Indeed, mankind is most unjust and ungrateful."
(PS: The words Allah SWT used in Arabic are much more "ouch" -
Unjust : Zalim لَظَلُ م / Ungrateful: Kafur كَفَّار)
I was crying, humbled.
"Indeed, mankind is most unjust and ungrateful."
Subhanallah.
But just as I was about to feel all down and sad, I remembered that the Quran is a Mercy. I remembered that the Quran is a Light. And that the Quran will never leave its reader to feel hopeless and distraught.
So imagine my delight when I found an Ayah that was astonishingly similar just two Surahs down, in Surah An-Nahl, where Allah SWT said,
"If you tried to count Allah’s blessings,
you would never be able to number them.
Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
Ya Allah.
The beginning of this Ayah was the same as the last one,
but the ending of this Ayah.... I felt like He gently embraced me, reminding me that He has never asked for Perfection from His creations, but the least we could do is to Strive.
It's incredibly comforting to know that no matter how much we will falter, our Rabb is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
It's incredibly comforting to know that despite our weaknesses and flaws, Our Rabb continues to give, and give and give.
I am truly humbled.
By how ignorant I am.
By how enormous His Mercy is for me.
And this too, is incredibly comforting. :)
Source:
Received through WhatsApp message.