Hurricane is time when we feel so helpless and fragile.
It is the ideal time to dig deep into our spiritual souls in the presence of Almighty’s Power.
Two Muslim ladies from Florida share their thoughts around this out of the world experience.
Suman from Pembroke Pines, Florida
Suman has a habit of writing to herself in situations when she has no internet. Airplanes, cruises, dead zones…etc. Note: While writing these thoughts, her Mom is out of the country as well as Adam, her husband.
Hurricane Irma – 09/10/17
Hurricane Irma – 09/10/17Pembroke Pines, Florida
Salaam,
Today is September 10, 2017 and we are currently under a category 4 hurricane. I had very low expectations from this storm.
I really thought the news was hyping up this storm and making us scared for no reason. They were not hyping anything up, this storm is catastrophic.
Old trees in my neighborhood are down and we are not even halfway through this storm.
We are already out of power and I am at 60% battery on my phone with absolutely no service. I am definitely under-prepared for this storm.
You realize so quickly how we are so in need of electricity. We take our everyday life for granted.
By the grace of Allah we have everything we need and so much more. I am sitting here just for a couple of hours without the comfort of AC, phone, TV, etc. and I am losing it.
I very well know that I will have all of this back in just a few hours. Maybe, a day or two but I know it’ll be back. Insha’Allah. Maybe we get the natural disasters for reality checks?
Maybe Allah is trying to show us who we really are?
NOTHING!
Sometimes we are so caught up in life that we forget to sit down and think of all that we are blessed with. How much Allah has given us.
I had to spend the last 48 hours with my dad and that is something I do not do. I am usually not home, or if I am I spend time in my room or with my mom.
It is a rare occasion where I am just hanging with my dad. This has been my greatest lesson. I need to be more kind to him, he is old and I have no patience. His little habits get under my skin so quickly and it’s not okay, I need to be a good daughter to him.
My mom not being here made me realize that I need her so much, not even for things like having food ready, but emotionally. I just like to see her and everything seems alright.
Not having her here is making me really emotional. I seriously have so much respect for those people who go their lives without parents and smile everyday and especially those who have lost their parents. How do they spend each day without them? 🙁
May Allah grant all of them Jannah and reward all those who have lost parents with gratitude and patience. I am beyond grateful to my parents and everything they are. May Allah grant my parents good health and the highest place in Jannah! Ameen.
I also think I fell in love with Adam during the last couple of days. As much as I miss my mom I miss Adam too. He has become the coolness of my eyes, the calmness in my heart. Not having him here under all of this made me realize that I love that amazing man!
My du’a during the Storm
During this storm I really really really miss my siblings! I miss the times I had with them. We would have so much fun during hurricanes. Just sitting around and laughing with each other. Things have changed so much. Day by day they change more and more.
My du’a during this storm as the wind blows and the rain pours – is that I become a better person internally. That I change and be the amazing Muslim Allah sent me here to be. If I were to die during this storm and face Allah right now I am not ready. I need to be ready to face my Creator.
I pray that Allah guide my heart and show me light and guidance of the heart. To guide my every move on the right path. The path on to those who He has granted his favor and not his wrath.
Oh Allah please protect our imaan and grant it noor and shine your light on it. Oh Allah bring me out of this horrible phase! Bring me out of this and bring me into something beautiful. Ameen!
Guide me and my entire family into your guidance. Make us beautiful examples of this deen, AMEEN! Oh and I hope that storm cause little to no damage to people and their homes. That everyone is safe and protected. Ameen. Allah bring the good from the storm and take away the bad. Ameen!
I hope that next time I open this note I am skinnier and have changed in my deen and dunya for the better in a way that Allah is pleased with me.
Signing out! 🙂
Amera from Orlando, Florida
Amera from Orlando, ponders on how Hurricane Irma made her realize how small we are compared to Allah Almighty’s Power.
How some wind could have such powers with Allah’s will. How it terrifies us and how so many decided to leave Florida under the hurricane.
She decided to stay alongside her family. They were under the eye of the storm at 2 to 5 am on Monday September 11. The sounds were beyond imagination; it was as if there was a train moving over the house.
Wonderful Friends and Community
The Hurricane brought out the best in Amera’s Muslim friends. As a Muslim community, she and her friends reached out to their neighbors with food, drink and shelter. She was as well touched with the harmonious cooperation of them all, how when anyone found a supply of items that were on shortage they would get for each other.
Also, the ones that had power outage would welcome the others to come and stay with them and charge their phones, laptops, etc. Eid ul Adha had just ended which meant that there was udhiyah meat in people’s freezers so Alhamdulillah they were able to move that to the homes with electricity as well.
This makes me recall the words of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when he said:
“The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.”
As for shelter during the storm, most of them prepared by removing the furniture to close the windows and main door, and all slept downstairs to stay away from the roofs.
To keep her daughters busy, she got some new toys for them and every time there was a hurricane watch, she would take them to the shelter in her house and keep them safe and entertained with the new toys.
Amera was also fascinated on the speedy recovery of the Floridians. How when the curfew was over, everyone started clearing out the debris and leaves. Those who had any trees fall on their homes would hurry out and saw down the trees.
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