Ramadan Day 18 - What is your Badr?
April 9, 2023
Yesterday was the anniversary of the day of Badr. May Allah be pleased with the people of Badr. I found out during TVA’s Qiyam during Shaykha Dr. Tamara Gray’s talk on the topic - “The Struggle: Finding Calm in the Storm.”
A few of the key points I took away from the talk:
“Identify your Badr. What is your Badr?”
“Strengthen the soldier that is you to take on your Badr.”
“Do not be afraid of the struggle, take it on as a blessing.”
These stayed with me through the night & were the bulk of my thoughts throughout today. And as if a lightbulb was switched on in a darkroom, all of my my difficulties seemed so minuscule in the grand scheme of things.
Dearest heart, have we identified our Badr? What are we doing to strengthen ourselves for our Badr? O dearest soul, perhaps the current state you find yourself & your difficulties are your Badr. Do not despair in the mercy of Allah.
Seek only the pleasure of Allah with your striving in your Badr.
And as always, Allah is Al-Khabir (The All-Aware). As I was reciting & reflecting on Juz 19 today during tadarus, it felt like Allah was speaking directly to me. He Al-Khabir was very much aware of the thoughts that had formed a cloud in my mind. He speaks:
“…˹We have sent it˺ as such ˹in stages˺ so We may reassure your heart with it. And We have revealed it at a deliberate pace.”[25:32]
And throughout Surah As-Shu’ara, 3 ayats repeated as the stories of the prophets were being told:
“Surely in this is a sign. Yet most of them would not believe.” [26:103]
“And your Lord is certainly the Almighty, Most Merciful.” [26:104]
“I do not ask you for any reward for this ˹message˺. My reward is only from the Lord of all worlds. [26:109]
From this, I found comfort in Allah saying that the Qur’an was a reassurance to Rasul’s ﷺ heart & by extension my heart. And as if to quel my despair, He says to me in [26:103-104] & in several places in the Surah, all though I maybe negligent or fail to recognize some of His signs, more than being the Almighty, He is the most Merciful. Ya Rabb do not ever deprive me of Your mercy. And then He mentions the example of the prophets who sought reward from no one but from the Lord of the worlds.
So I say to myself - Dear heart, O striving soul, identify your Badr, find reassurance in the words of your Lord, do not despair for He is the Almighty, Most merciful but most importantly, strive in your Badr only seeking His pleasure & His reward.
With love, Ibtisam