From the series: ‘Reflections from Tarim’

The air is still warm here, carrying both peace and trial. Each morning, I wake to the soft call of prayer and my baby’s gentle stir, and I remember everything begins with “Bismillah.”

Yet, how often do we go through life feeling self-sufficient, as though our little daily tasks are within our control?

We save our desperate du‘as for when things feel impossible as if Allah’s help is only reserved for the “big” matters.

But this is a hidden illusion of the heart.
The same Lord who grants kingdoms and cures the incurable is the same One who lets a leaf fall, who feeds the ant in its dark hole, who helps us breathe and blink and walk.

Nothing, not even the smallest movement escapes His permission.

“And you do not will unless Allah wills, Lord of the worlds.”
(Surah At-Takwir 81:29)

We fool ourselves thinking we can manage the small things alone yet Allah loves to be sought in all things; the great and the minute, the joyful and the mundane.
He never tires of our asking.
In fact, the more we turn to Him, the more He loves us.

Unlike His creation who grow weary when we ask too much. Allah draws nearer the more we depend upon Him.

“Call upon Me; I will respond to you.”
(Surah Ghafir 40:60)

And so, du‘ā becomes the language of surrender, confession of our need, a whisper of our helplessness, a symbol of our faith.
Every time I raise my hands, I am reminded: I own nothing, not even my breath.

Tarim tests me gently, yet deeply.

There are thorns along this path of knowledge, unseen struggles and quiet tears.
But amid it all, I feel a strength that isn’t mine, a hidden current carrying me forward. I know it is Allah.

“Do you people think that they will be left alone because they say: ‘We believe,’ and will not be tested?”
(Surah Al-‘Ankabūt 29:2)

Faith comes with tests, not to break us but to reveal us.

“May Allah make us true to our claim, sincere in our submission, mindful of why we are here: to worship Him, to answer His call, and to love Him through every decree”.

The call of Allah is not just in prayer; it’s in how we walk, trust, and wait.
It is in surrender to His timing, His wisdom, His plan. It is a call to love.

“Say, [O Muhammad], ‘If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins.’”
(Surah Āl ‘Imrān 3:31)

To choose Allah is to choose love itself
for He created us out of love, sent the Prophet ﷺ out of love, and guides us back to love.

And as I look around, I see His miracles scattered everywhere; in the sky that never abandons us,
the earth that carries us despite our ingratitude,
the rain that descends upon us,
the tiny birds and even the flies. Each one a sign of His perfection.

“Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of the night and day, are signs for those of understanding.”
(Surah Āl ‘Imrān 3:190)

In my own small world, my daily miracle is my 5-month-old baby; his laughter, his milk-drunk sighs, his sleepy eyes, his tiny hands discovering the world and his everyday new development alhamdulilah. Through him, Allah teaches me gratitude in new dimensions.
Even a full, dirty nappy becomes a blessing when you’ve once feared it wouldn’t come.

I still remember those early days in Tarim. The relentless heat, 40°C + days, the broken AC, the worry over his dry nappies. I drank litres of water, wondering how much was enough for him. But Allah was teaching me patience through thirst, and gratitude through the simplest of signs. When the air cooled and his nappies grew full again, I whispered alhamdulillāh for wetness, for health, for mercy unseen. 

Nothing happens except that Allah is calling us closer to Him. Even our smallest worries are invitations to fall in love with Him more deeply.

Now, as I watch my baby learn to roll, to reach for his feet, to giggle at distant faces I realise how often we take these moments for granted.
We stop noticing the everyday miracles because we’ve grown used to them.
We forget the Giver behind them.

But Allah deserves to be worshiped not out of fear, nor habit but because everything He does for us is born of His love for us, even our hardships and our pain. They are temporary lessons pointing toward eternal joy.

So tonight, I close my journal with this whisper:

“Ya Allah, make me ever aware of Your nearness. Let me see You in every blessing, every trial, every breath. Teach me to love You in the small things so I never forget that You are the Source of them all”.

“So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.”
(Surah Al-Baqarah 2:152)

And until next time…..

Peace be with you.