Each season is a way of coming closer to Allah or turning away from Him. As winter comes, it brings forth many joys, from waking up to the smell of hot cocoa, sipping it while being wrapped up in a cozy blanket to wearing itchy grandma-knitted sweaters, watching breath turn to fog, making silly sounds while shivering and last but not least, wasting gallons of water trying to adjust the right temperature for a bath. Though I’m not recommending wasting water (you can store it in a bucket and reuse it later) but in some unusual way winter has a special place in our hearts.
Along with all the joy this season brings, sometimes it also pulls our strings and keeps us from being our better selves.
Performing ablution in the icy cold “H2O” becomes a challenge throughout the day. Also, it becomes a losing battle to wake up for Fajr and leave the warmth of the bed. To us girls especially, cold weather means we can dress up pretty, not melt, and enjoy the season of weddings; walking with enticing gaits in unseparated gatherings ignoring the fact that the angels on our shoulders have pens. When winter holidays arrive, we decorate the house, hang ornaments on conifers, invite friends over, and exchange gifts. This seems fun but we forget that this fun is associated with the word “Christmas”. Instead of condemning, we justify our actions believing that this red-green theme based holidays are all about spending quality time with family and friends as in the 21st century, no one celebrates festivals based on religious values.
We need to understand that every time we enjoy ourselves the wrong way, we lose a part of the most precious gift given to us: Iman. Why trade it? What are six decades of temporary fun compared to blissful Heaven for never ending billions of millenniums? This winter, instead of letting desires chart our course, let’s imagine winter as an acronym for “Weather Inspired Nice Time Encouraging Reflection” and reflect upon ordinary things in search for Allah’s mercy.
It is not the lack of willpower that keeps us from being better Muslims, rather it is the lack of knowledge we have about Allah.
Allah loves us, so much so that if we knew about it we’d automatically start loving Him back. In search for Allah’s love, let’s reflect upon the treasures of winter; the citrus fruits namely oranges, pomegranates, kiwis, peaches, grapes, strawberries and the list goes on. Allah, in the form of many flavors, gave us vitamin C packed with immune system boosters because He knows that in winter cough, nausea and frost weakens the lungs quickly and the body requires additional help to strengthen the immune system that fights off diseases. Similarly, Allah knows that in winter, humidity is low and the air is dry. So, He made nuts: peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, you name it, all of them high in fats and proteins, loaded with vitamin E and other minerals — perfect for healing dryness.
The point is when we look at things from a different perspective, we start to realize the infinite wisdom, the mercy and the love of Allah in them. Thereby enjoying and appreciating them more and being grateful to Allah for them. Plus we get rewarded for pondering over Allah’s creations. As a result, we get closer to Allah and it becomes easy to follow His commands, and the content and peace that comes with it forces us to rush to please Allah, let alone disobey Him. Always remember that when times get tough, Allah multiplies the reward of the same deeds several folds, so let’s pick ourselves up and strive for the beautiful Heaven we’re promised.
Image by Alain Audet from Pixabay
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