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 sister as one’s self 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 sisters? Going through changes are wonderful times 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 of an opportunity. The journey continues, much like 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 at 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, escaped persecution in their homeland, were still at risk in Madinah, after a moment of calm, while 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, it does not mean life comes to a stop. More challenges come along the way – maybe even more difficult ones – forcing ourselves to look forwards 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 out of 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 the other – 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.

First published: November 2013.