TODAY'S HADITH
"... don't say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do ..."
TODAY'S REFLECTION
Somewhere in this week there's a moment we keep replaying.
It might be the message we sent too fast, or the appointment we kept putting off.
We run it again in the car and again at the sink. Each time we change one detail and watch the week come out differently. If only we'd waited an hour. If only we'd booked it sooner.
It feels like taking responsibility, and a week of it can leave us more tired than the work did.
"If only" points backwards, at the single part of life that no effort can reach.
Surrender has a timing. Before a thing happens, the planning, the effort, the du'a and the difficult conversation are ours to do.
After it has happened, acceptance joins them, and so does whatever repair is still possible.
Swapping the two is tiring: easing off before, then working furiously on the past.
Putting the "if only" down still leaves room for tears. Grief and acceptance can sit in the same heart.
It also leaves the lesson. "Next time, book it sooner" is useful, and it belongs to the future.
A scrap of paper can help here, and this part is our own suggestion. Two headings: "my part" and "with Allah".
Under the first goes whatever can still be done, like the second attempt or the phone call. Where we wronged someone, the apology and a sincere tawbah go at the top of that list.
Under the second goes what is already finished.
That second list is short to write and can be a relief to look at. What is finished rests with Allah, and it sits better there than in our heads at 2am.
REFLECT ON THIS
Which "if only" from this week am I still carrying?
TODAY'S RIPPLE
After Jumu'ah or Dhuhr today, take a scrap of paper, write "my part" and "with Allah" at the top, and sort this week's "if only" between the two.
RECOMMENDED WATCH
When worship feels heavy
For the days when worship feels heavy and the heart feels far, Imam Khalid Latif at the Islamic Center of New York City talks through how the Prophet ﷺ met spiritual highs and lows.
THIS WEEK'S COMPANION DROP
Four new stories and eleven Keepsake books, just this week
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MAKE DU'A
May Allah shower the Khokhar and Khatib families with His endless mercy, blessings, and protection. May He grant them Afiya (well-being), Khair (goodness), Barakah (blessings), Rahmah (mercy), Sihhah (good health), and Salamah (safety) in this world and the Hereafter. May Allah, Ash-Shafi, grant Nida's mother, Fatima, and father-in-law, Faisal Khatib, complete and lasting shifa from cancer, ease their pain and suffering, restore their strength, and bless them with renewed health. May Allah turn every hardship into ease, every worry into peace, and every difficulty into a source of immense reward. May He protect their families, strengthen their iman, unite their hearts upon goodness, and grant them success, happiness, and the highest ranks of Jannatul Firdaus. Ameen Ya Rabbal Aalameen.
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