Barakah – How Do I Count Thee

Farah welcomed the news of her third pregnancy with delight and trepidation at the same time. Living austerely in a small one bedroom apartment with her husband and two children, she could not fathom managing the added responsibility that was to come with the impending baby. A year later, she is living in a spacious two bedroom house, a live-in maid and three happy children. Her husband, the sole earner in the family, did not get a new job or a promotion.

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Safiya had to entertain her husband’s surprise guests from overseas. With only one chicken in the freezer and six people to serve in a short time, she panicked at the obvious. But, once her curry was ready to serve, she said, ‘HasbiAllah’ and sent it to the guests. She watched everyone taking a second and third helping from the dish and eating heartily. At the end of the meal, she found the serving bowl still filled with entire chicken pieces.

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When Iman decided to teach tafseer to the women in her neighbourhood once a week, she was concerned about being able to manage her other responsibilities as a homemaker, wife and mother to three young children. But, she persevered. Two years and two more children later, she is comfortably managing six classes a week with no complaints from her husband or children.

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 What impacted the lives of these women so positively? What brought about the change in their situation? What eased their apprehensions?

Barakah

This is an invisible and sublime blessing that causes something to ‘increase’, ‘grow’, ‘suffice’ and ‘satiate’, while defying tangible calculation or logical explanation. There are countless such examples in our lives and those around us where barakah has caused less to become plenty, limited resources to produce vast benefits, and little efforts to yield high productivity. The source of all barakah is from Allah (SWT). Hence we ask Him (SWT) to grant barakah in everything. His beautiful names and attributes become clearly manifest in any blessing touched by barakah. ·

Ar Razzaaq – The Provider – bestows provision from unimagined sources. “My husband and I have been living a student’s life for 11 years – on one modest income. But our life has always been happy and we’ve never felt like we don’t have enough, alhamdulillah. My husband turned down several riba-involved job offers. He finally landed with a halal one and the salary was much, much more than he ever expected to get. SubhanAllah.” – Juli ·

Al Fattah – The Opener – He opens the doors of mercy and sustenance for His servants and provides them the means of attaining both the good in this life and the hereafter. “When I was eighteen, my father arranged for me to be married to a young German, a new Muslim, who had come to India to study at a madrassa near my house. His only possessions were his books and his bicycle. Neither of us could speak each other’s language. But we had the love of Islam in our hearts. My father’s only advice for me was to mind my obligations towards my husband and that Allah (SWT) would take care of everything else. So true. Today, we have a big house, a reliable car, a flourishing business, beautiful children and above all, peace and love in our lives.” – Nasira ·

Al Haseeb – The Reckoner – The One who is All-Knowing of His servants and sufficient for those who put their trust in Him. “Contrary to our community’s practice, my husband and I chose to have a very simple waleema and dowry. Alhamdullilah, I truly believe that our happiness and peace stems from it – as opposed to couples with extravagant weddings and miserable marriages we see around us. “– Raheela ·

Al Waasi – The Vast – Vast in bestowing grace and good. “My father was posted to a very remote tribal area and the shops were quite far. I remember something my mother did at the time. Each day, before washing the rice for cooking, she would always say ‘bismillah’ and stow away a handful from that portion into a separate jar. When asked, she used to say this is for ‘barakah’. Sure enough, even in that remote area, we never ever ran out of rice, even when unexpected guests turned up because she always had enough stored away in that jar!” - Nazida ·

Al Lateef – The Most Subtle – The One who is Kind to his believing servants, guiding them to that which would benefit them and aid them via means that they are not aware of. “I was asked to assist a da’wah organisation to raise funds and because I was too shy to ask people, I only emailed a few I knew who would contribute. Due to logistical reasons, I had to arrange for this cash to pass through several people, before I could collect it from the last person in the chain. SubhanAllah, when I went to collect it, I was surprised to find the expected amount had tripled. It so happened that each time it passed hands it increased – people kept adding to it voluntarily.” – Haya ·

Al Wakeel – The Disposer of affairs – The One who looks after His friends and makes the good easy for them, preserves them from the evil and suffices for them in all of their affairs. “On our way back from umrah by road in the ‘80s, our car almost ran out of petrol. We were on an empty highway in the middle of the scorching desert, with no cellular phone, no human contact and very little fuel left in the reserve tank. We had no idea how far the next petrol station was and we all prayed for a miracle – that a station would come soon.  A miracle did happen – but of a different kind. Our pint of a fuel, managed to take us way beyond imagination – kilometres away to the next station!” – Sumreen  ·

Al Kaafi – The Sufficient – The One who suffices His servants with everything that they are in need of. “I was the type of person who needed a solid chunk of eight to nine hours of sleep every night in order to function properly. When my first baby was born, I was most unprepared for the constant disturbance to my sleep every two hours. I thought I’d never survive. But, guess what, a year later, I am still fit and fine – despite the paucity of deep slumber. Allah (SWT) made those few hours sufficient for me. I now know how righteous people manage to do a lot of qiyam-al-layal.” – Fariha ·

Al Mughnee – The Sufficient – He suffices for the whole of His creation generally, and is specifically sufficient for the believers in that He confers upon their hearts, nurturing knowledge and the realities of faith. “An old man did not pray more than the fard prayers at the masjid-al-haram, but he would busy himself filling cups of zamzam water and serving the pilgrims busy in worship – a very noble deed, indeed. But Allah (SWT) probably wanted to increase his rewards, so He caused that man to inspire a writer who recorded that action in his book. That book is an Islamic bestseller and a source of inspiration to me and thousands of other readers who may get motivated to copy that old man’s gesture – thereby contributing to his rewards.” - Asiya ·

Al Baasit – The Extender – the One who gives provisions freely and gives life to the hearts. “I read about an Islamic scholar who wrote a complete book in the time between Dhuhr and Asr prayer. Today that book is taught at University level in the span of three terms! I thought that was technically impossible until I met a sister who was homeschooling her eight children, teaching Arabic, studying fiqh, doing all her domestic chores and running her herbal medicine business. I now know how all of this is possible – through barakah in time. ” – Summayah ·

Al Mu’tee – The Giver – There is none who can prevent what He gives and none who can give what He prevents. “Whenever my husband and I find ourselves in financial problems, we increase our sadaqa. Our situation gets eased immediately.” – Reem

Ways to Seeking Barakah

“And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him.” (At-Talaq:2-3)

There are means to acquire this elusive, yet most precious blessing. Since the promise of Allah (SWT) is undoubtedly true, results are guaranteed when we sincerely strive for it. So, whether we are seeking barakah in our money, time, health, productivity, food or relationships to benefit our present and the hereafter, here are some keys to open the doors to the most potent force from Allah (SWT):

· Supplicating to Allah(SWT) for HIS blessing

· Seeking Allah’s (SWT) forgiveness

· Abstaining from sins

· Fearing and being mindful of Allah (SWT)

· Trusting and completely relying upon Allah (SWT)

· Offering salah

· Saying ‘Bismillah’ before doing anything

· Waking up early

· Eating suhoor

· Maintaining kinship ties

· Giving sadaqa

· Showing gratitude to Allah (SWT)

· Praying Istikhara before any decision

· Following the Sunnah in everything

· Earning a halal and honest income

· Eating together

· Getting married

· Arranging for ongoing charity

Next time something surprises you by unexplainably increasing or sufficing, recognise it for what it is – barakah – thank Allah (SWT) for it and use its benefits to please Him (SWT).

Oblivious Blessings

He fidgeted uncomfortably on his seat as he nudged his elbow to discreetly push back the loop of a plastic tube that was sticking out from the side of his wheel-chair. I lowered my head and pretended to recheck my audio-recorder in order to give him time to adjust himself, without the embarrassment of being observed.

 Salim was a paraplegic i.e. he is paralyzed from waist down. I was meeting him for an interview to write about life on a wheel-chair, for a local newspaper. Before our scheduled interview, he had kindly sent me books & videos describing all the nitty-gritty details of this physical condition and the everyday challenges faced by people with paraplegia and quadriplegia. Therefore, I was aware of the purpose of that plastic tube that had accidentally showed up. That tube was part of a urinary catheter.

 The interview went fine but I returned home a changed person. His story kept resonating in my mind. A sea diving accident turned his life around: from energetic air traffic controller to a sedate office worker, from newly married to a divorcee & from a physically fit athlete to a wheel-chair bound invalid.

“Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.” [Quran 2:156]

Our Creator tests all of us in different ways. I prayed to Allah (Subbhanawataala) to grant him patience & lighten his burden. And, I also supplicated Him to keep me protected from such trials.

But, that meeting had awoken another sensation inside me – a feeling that, perhaps, began as a faint quiver in my core, on first seeing him, then grew to an intense throbbing with the blood flowing in every vein, till it reached a point that rattled and shook my very soul – a humbling sense of gratitude.

Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinns and men) deny? (Quran 55:13)

  My mind was crowded with questions – for myself. Have I ever consciously expressed gratitude to Allah (Subbhanawataala) for my ability to move? Have I truly appreciated my Creator for giving me a perfect body? Have I ever realized that even when I’m sitting, my legs continue to work for me by providing balance? Have I ever thanked my Lord for the ability to effortlessly relieve myself?

 Yes, to be able to answer the call of nature in privacy and with dignity is a great blessing of Allah (Subbhanawataala) – something I had never realized before. Brother Salim, due to his condition, caused by damage to the spinal cord, is unable to feel when he needs to go to the bathroom. That is why he has to wear a catheter. And when he does go to the toilet, he requires the help of a nurse to clean him.

 I remembered a saying of one of our pious predecessor, “If a man is able to drink, and expel a sip of water with ease, gratitude becomes due on him.” Putting all other infinite attributes aside, I pondered & focused over just this one aspect of my body’s blessings and it left me in awe.

“And in your creation, and what He scattered (through the earth) of moving (living) creatures are signs for people who have Faith with certainty.” (Quran 45:4)

 As a child I had been taught to utter the words of dhikr before and after going to the bathroom. I knew their meanings, but over the years, the remembrance had become a mindless reflex action. That is, until that day.

Today, when I utter the word, “Ghufranaka” as I leave the washroom, my mind is attentive and aware of the meaning, and my heart is humbled and filled with gratitude at the realization that many have to suffer the pain of indignity and shame for this natural function of human body.   

 Realization is the first step towards true thankfulness. “No blessing is bestowed on a slave and he realizes that it is from Allah, but the reward of giving gratitude for it is written for him…” [Patience & Gratitude by Ibn Al-Qayyim]

 I owe my Creator the highest gratitude, so I aim to busy myself with ways of expressing it. Messenger of Allah (Salulahualahiwasallum) said: “There is a (compulsory) Sadaqa to be given for every joint of the human body (as a sign of gratitude to Allah) everyday the sun rises. To judge justly between two persons is regarded as Sadaqa, and to help a man concerning his riding animal by helping him to ride it or by lifting his luggage on to it, is also regarded as Sadaqa, and (saying) a good word is also Sadaqa, and every step taken on one’s way to offer the compulsory prayer (in the mosque) is also Sadaqa and to remove a harmful thing from the way is also Sadaqa.”  [Sahih Bukhari-2790]