Wake Up

﴿ قَالَ كَلَّا ۖ إِنَّ مَعِيَ رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ ﴾

[Moses] said, "No! Indeed, with me is my Lord; He will guide me." (Quran 26:62)

Many of us have hiked a long path to be where we are today,  facing numerous types of situations, enduring several hardships, overcoming so many obstacles. And somehow, we still seem to be okay, or in fact stronger, thanks to all of what we have been through. But, there is still much more to come. And it is only going to get harder, or it may seem so. And to some extent we have had enough, after making it so far, it’s almost as if we cannot move on anymore. Exhausted from all that we have had to endure, left with no more energy to continue. But, we need to get back up. We need to keep going. Why is it that we don’t want to, or cannot take it anymore? Perhaps we have been looking in the wrong direction, hiking the trail without the most essential gear, reflecting upon this world with the wrong understanding. 

At one point, it gets too tough, from all around, and it seems that we have reached a dead end, a door shut. Yet essentially, it’s the closed door we slam into that wakes us up, brings us back alive, and forces us to realize what this life is all about, how this life should truly be lived. The trail we are hiking, the steps we are climbing, the earth we are wandering, all require guidance, from Him. Like Prophet Moses standing on the shore of the Red Sea with his companions fearful, not knowing what to do, they were protected by His guidance, protected by Him. Allah miraculously split the sea into two creating a path for them to cross and escape. Likewise, You and I, must go on. We must endure and overcome everything to come, keeping in mind that we cannot wander this world without Him by our side, without His guidance leading our way. It’s at the shut door that we make the most profound realization of our life, the realization we might have been avoiding for so long, that the key to the shut door is His guidance.

This life has thrown so much at our way and somehow we have managed to make it so far. Yet if we continue to fight at this world the same way as before we are only bound to hurt ourselves. Failing to recognize Him and not acknowledging His guidance will only lead us to become helpless, feel insecure, never be content, and remain in anxiety. It is time for us to accept the most valuable token of life, that we are helpless without recognizing His presence in our life. And even then, accepting His guidance does not necessarily mean that we will be eradicated from all of our hardships, rather He will provide us with support to endure them effectively.  

Yes life hurts, yes our thoughts are scattered everywhere, yes we’ve had enough, yes we have ran into a closed door. It is time we take a step back, recognize Him, His presence in our life, His place in our heart, and open the door with His guidance that will lead us on a path for Him, seeking Him, towards Him. And when that time comes, and we have found Him, we must ask Him to help us face our fear, ask Him to guide us to what is right, and most importantly, ask Him to bring us closer to Him. For there is absolutely nothing in this world that will give us content, true happiness, and internal peace, but Him.  

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Reference:

Tafsir ibn Kathir (English Version), pg 3615