Haseena’s struggles in life.
Allah Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an:
To those who leave their homes in the cause of Allah, after suffering oppression,- We will assuredly give a goodly home in this world; but truly the reward of the Hereafter will be greater. If they only realised (this)! 016:041
(They are) those who persevere in patience, and put their trust on their Lord. 016.042
And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine. And if any one puts his trust in Allah (swt), sufficient is (Allah) for him. For Allah (swt) will surely accomplish his purpose: verily, for all things has Allah (swt) appointed a due proportion. 065.003
Haseena was not always so fortunate to have the ability to ask Allah (swt) for something and receive it. This great gift was a reflection of years of dedication and sacrifice that she had given not only to Allah (swt), but to those around her as well. She did not grow up with the happiest home life, but she made of it what she could and tried to shine light into the lives of those around her even though hers was dim. She befriended many of the elderly within her village, and would spend her days helping them with their chores and errands, combing their hair, or just sharing her sense of humor with them to cheer them up.
They all loved Haseena and could not say enough good things about her; it was through the kind words and well wishes of others that Allah (swt) planted the seed of love and dedication into her heart for Him and His Rasool (owbp). Haseena recognized this love from a very young age, although she was not aware of where it was coming from. She had not gone far in school and could not read or write, but despite this she was able to somehow pick up books of Naats and teach herself to recite them without having heard others recite them before. Being as young as she was, she did not fully grasp how miraculous this was. Once she had learned a Naat she would place a copy of the Naat in one pocket of her dress, and all the other pockets with candies. She would then head out to look for the tallest tree that she could find, climb it and position herself on the highest limb, then with the most carefree attitude, she would pull out her copy and started to sing the Naat, Qaseeda or Munajat.
Haseena was so mesmerized by her own singing that she wouldn’t even notice that people were yelling at her to come down from their tree. Learning these Naats gave Haseena a boost of confidence and a feeling of purpose. Having little to no education she was often made to feel like a disappointment, or embarrassment to her family, (especially her father). But Allah (swt) made her feel like the most loved little girl in the world. Through the love and blessings that she showered unto the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (owbp) each time she recited one line of a Naat, Allah (swt) poured His love onto her, so she did not miss the love which she did not received at home.
The people of Haseena’s village were very much unified as a community and in Islam at this time. There were always Qur’anic programs, Milad Shareef, along with Tazeem at the Masjid or at someone’s home. With her newly found confidence Haseena was the life of each function. Living in a small village, whenever there is a Qur’an and Milad program Haseena was always there, whether she was invited or not. If she was not already on the program, and the program was running out of time, she would yell from within the crowd that she did not have her turn to sing, and they would always accommodate time for her. Unfortunately things did not stay this way. People could not agree on certain aspects of Islam and so it broke off into different sects. One of the main disputes was about whether or not one should stand during Tazeem to show their respect for the beloved Prophet Muhammad (owbp). Haseena’s family was a part of the Sunni Muslim community who believed very strongly in standing during Tazeem. This caused her family to be left out of certain functions. Being only a child Haseena had little comprehension to all these politics and so went about her business attending whatever functions she felt like.
She attended the function of a brother who was against standing during Tazeem. There were about two hundred people at this particular function as it was in preparation of a wedding. Things seemed to be going normally as far as she could tell, in the second part of the program which is the Milad Shareef, she got a chance to recite her Naat as usual, and then they began to recite Tazeem and Haseena rose to her feet as she usually did. It took a couple of seconds for her to realize that she was the only one out of the two hundred people that was standing for the Tazeem. People began yelling at her to sit down, but she refused and continued to stand brave and proud. Even after all of this Haseena was still in the dark as to what had just happened. She went home and proudly told her mother she was the only one who stood up for Tazeem at the function, and that everyone else was too lazy to stand up for the Tazeem. When she did not get the response that she had expected from her mother, it was then that she realized things had changed. When she questioned her mother as to why things were different now, her mother simply responded “You are too young to understand, just don’t go to functions that we are not invited to anymore.” Haseena took this very seriously, and listened to her mother with deep grievance.
The seed that Allah (swt) had planted in Haseena’s heart for the love of the Prophet(owbp) through her love of reciting Naats had been flourishing beautifully up until this point. She knew that she could not let the ignorance of a few people bring her spirits down. As she got older, she started taking a more active role in ladies’ religious meetings; she wanted to share her love of Naats and Salaams on the Beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad (owbp) with others. It was through this involvement and this love that she met and fell in love with a man who loved reciting Naats, Darood and Salaam on the Holy Prophet Muhammad (owbp) just as much as she did. Haseena was old enough now to understand that this was all Allah’s (swt) doing. If it wasn’t for that seed that Allah (swt) had planted in her heart years ago, her love for the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (owbp) and her constant recitation of Naats would not have grown and led her to her future husband, who also follows and observes the same tradition as Haseena’s.
Allah doth wish to lighten your (difficulties): For man was created Weak (in flesh). 004:028
O mankind! verily there hath come to you a convincing proof from your Lord: For We have sent unto you a light (that is) manifest. 004:174
Then those who believe in Allah, and hold fast to Him,- soon will He admit them to mercy and grace from Himself, and guide them to Himself by a straight way. 004:175
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