Renewing intentions for the sake of Allah
The Hijrah was comprised of a variety of people. While by far the majority of them were emigrating for the sake of Allah, there were those who had other intentions, such as moving for business opportunities or to get married.
While these were not wrong for the Hijrah, their rewards were only based on their intentions.
Similarly, with our own personal Hijrahs, reassessing our intentions for all the right reasons will ultimately set the paths to the right goals and, in turn, reap the right rewards and blessings in order to undergo such changes.
The Hijrah is a great reminder to renew our intentions throughout the changes we go through so we don’t fall waylay along the way.
Wishing the same for one’s sister
The Hijrah teaches values of brotherhood between the Ansar and Muhajireen at Madinah.
The Ansar took in the Muhajireen without second thoughts, providing them home, food, and shelter, and were praying with them in the new Masjid that was built in Madinah.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) preached about the importance of holding on to each other as one community, and this is a much-needed reminder in today’s divided society.
Remembering to wish the same for a brother or sister as oneself is part and parcel of a believer’s faith; what a great lesson from the Hijrah, especially in today’s world of consumerism and materialism.
What is it that we really want for ourselves and our brothers/sisters?
Going through changes is a wonderful time to reassess what we really mean when we talk about success, happiness, and guidance.
Learning from the past while moving on
No matter what we are moving away from, whether good or bad. The past is part of us and carries lessons for the future, influencing our decisions and shaping our opinions of things to come.
The Hijrah is actually not a one-stop solution to our problems or a dead end to an opportunity.
The journey continues, much like the journey of the Muslims, whose ultimate goal was to return to Makkah.
As they settled down in Madinah, there were numerous attacks upon them, as their da’wah work spread as an institution (state), rather than at an individual level.
This was a grave threat to the people of Makkah, especially the Quraysh tribe, who were unable to eradicate such a movement on such a grand scale.
Humiliated and dejected, the Quraysh attacked the Muslims outwardly, and when they could not kill off their spirit even when the Quraysh were victorious at the Battle of Uhud, they began to create allies within Madinah through Jewish tribes and attacked from within.
The Muslims, even though they had escaped persecution in their homeland, were still at risk in Madinah. After a moment of calm, they settled down in the relatively safe environment.
They still had to fight battles. Lives were still lost, and families were torn apart.
And this is the same for Hijrahs today. They are journeys. Just because a major change happened does not mean life came to a stop.
More challenges come along the way—maybe even more difficult ones—and we must force ourselves to look forward and renew our intentions at every possible juncture.
Putting trust in Allah, and Allah alone
At the end of the day, much like the comrades of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and some of the many iconic women of the time, like Asma, Umm Salama, and Zaynab, we have to remember to put our trust in Allah.
After planning, strategizing, and thinking through a big change, we can have so much control over our situations, whether it is entering into a marriage or taking an opportunity to climb the corporate ladder.
Women all over the world face challenges of their own, whether personal, family, professional, or spiritual in nature.
Some of them are physical Hijrahs, where they move from one place to another – and every single change needs to be endorsed by Allah Ta’ala for it to happen smoothly.
So while we plan, face the obstacles and embrace the change, we have to remember that we can only do so much – and once we have tied our camels, we need to leave the rest to Allah.
We have to trust that He is the Best of Planners and our Guide, no matter how difficult or enthralling the journey becomes much like the Hijrah from Makkah to Madinah.
From the archives.
Pages: 1 2