Yasmin Mogahed

When the pain overtakes you, reach inside. Gather the broken pieces, and hand them to God. Ask Him to remake your heart. Different, this time. Stronger. More beautiful. This is how we are made, and remade by the Maker.

God tells me to cover myself, to hide my beauty and to tell the world that I’m not here to please men with my body; I’m here to please God. God elevates the dignity of a woman’s body by commanding that it be respected and covered, shown only to the deserving - only to the man I marry.

Tawwakul is not an act of the limbs-it is an act of the heart. And so while the limbs are striving hard, the heart is completely reliant on Allah. This means whatever the outcome of the limbs' striving, the heart will be completely satisfied, knowing that it is the flawless decision of Allah. But in order to reach this level, one must hold on to hope, strive with the limbs, and let go with the heart.

So often we think that Allah only tests us with hardships, but this isn't true. Allah also tests with ease. He tests us with na`im (blessings) and with the things we love, and it is often in these tests that so many of us fail. We fail because when Allah gives us these blessings, we unwittingly turn them into false idols in the heart.

Do not say that every day you spend on this earth is a day closer to dying. Every day you spend on this earth is a day closer to finally living.

Many years ago, our father Ibrahim (AS) made a choice. He loved his son. But He loved God more. The commandment came to sacrifice his son. But it wasn't his son that was slaughtered. It was his attachment to anything that could compete with his love for God. So let us ask ourselves in these beautiful days of sacrifice, which attachments do we need to slaughter?

Sigh... I have learned that *everything* is so hard...except what Allah makes easy. So we must *beg* Him to make it easy on us.

When your failures surround you, and all the open doors have closed, look up. There’s a door that never closes, a way, when all the other ways have failed you.

If you think you're too far from Allah to return, and your 'past' continues to own you, just remember that Malik ibn Dinar (RA) was an alcoholic, and Omar (RA) was on his way to assassinate the Prophet (pbuh) before they became two of the greatest souls to walk the earth!

So often we experience things in life, and yet never see the connections between them. When we are given hardship, or feel pain, we often fail to consider that the experience may be the direct cause or result of another action or experience. Sometimes we fail to recognize the direct connection between the pain in our lives and our relationship with Allah SWT

This life will never be without storms. Stop fearing the storm. Build your inner shelter.

Speak your heart. If they don't understand, the message was never meant for them anyway.

When you suffer, don't speak. Look inside and listen for the duaa He inspires in you. and then ask Him. Again and again. Don't stop.

You cried when He took away your drop of water, not knowing He'd saved for you, the sea.

Know that transformation sometimes begins with a fall. So never curse the fall. The ground is where humility lives. Take it. Learn it. Breathe it in. And then come back stronger, humbler and more aware of your need for Him. Come back having seen your own nothingness and His greatness.

To all those broken or hopeless, I have learned this: Be grateful for every single person who was part of your story. The ones that hurt you. The ones that helped you. The ones that came, and the ones that left. They all taught you. Don't think for a moment that any of it was random. There are no oversights with God. Only perfectly crafted chapters in each unique journey.

But, this dark place is not the end. Remember that the darkness of night precedes the dawn. And as long as your heart still beats, this is not the death of it. You don’t have to die here. Sometimes, the ocean floor is only a stop on the journey. And it is when you are at this lowest point, that you are faced with a choice. You can stay there at the bottom, until you drown. Or you can gather pearls and rise back up—stronger from the swim, and richer from the jewels.

Seek the ones who never stop caring, who break down your walls, and help you come back to yourself

There will come a day when a person would be willing to give everything they ever loved, everything they ever owned, everything they ever chased in this life, everything between the heavens and earth...just for the chance to come back here and make just one sajdah (prostration). Just one.

Like Musa you too will be saved from the Sea. Just look through it and see Him. Then the illusion will crumble and you'll be left with the only Reality: Him.

Some feel lonely because they haven't found that perfect 'companion' yet. Sometimes Allah sends everyone else away so you can find that only in Him.