Dear Fajr Sister,
I’d like to share with you a diary entry I wrote a few years back. With Covid-19, we are no longer able to have our weekly gatherings face to face. However, I will always treasure the moments we spent together, the lessons I’ve learnt through them. Most importantly though, I hope to treasure this very moment as I sit at my desk typing away. The heat of the sun warms my toes, the trees dance in the wind, the birds sing…
December 11, 2018
I’m going to miss this one day. Mornings sitting beside each other with cups of coffee and Roibos tea. Crispy apples. Sweet bananas. Juicy oranges. Raisins. Dates. Date syrup and honey drizzled on yoghurt. Toast and cheese. Boiled eggs with salt and pepper. Oat cookies! I’ll remember the times we recited poetry. The songs we sang. The stories we shared. Our deep conversations. Our laughter. I’ll remember the sun rays kissing our smiling faces. Our voices as we glorify Allah in unison. Washing the dishes together. Hurrying to our rooms so we can get ready for Jumuah prayer. Meeting each other in the mosque after Jumuah. Rushing for lunch before Faraid class. We’ve grown beside each other. Still are growing. And one day I’ll look back and smile at all these memories. Relishing the sweet, sour, salty and spicy. These colourful days have become apart of me. Sewn into the fabric of who I am.
The moments we spend in life, the people we meet, the lessons we learn never fully leave us. They are painted as a part of our story towards becoming who we are. They become apart of our character.
Our moments of calamity make us patient. Our moments of pain make us strong. Our moments of happiness make us positive. Our moments of mistakes make us humble. Our moments of sadness make us kind. Our moments seeking knowledge make us conscious. Our moments of sacrifice make us resilient. Our moments of deprivation make us grateful for what we have. Our moments of gratitude make us generous. Our moments of worship make us peaceful. And every moment we reflect on these moments we discover what it means to be human.
I once read, that the greatest textbook to read is the text book of life. And that how we do anything is how we do everything. So how do you choose to spend your moments? In ignorance and impatience? Ungratefulness and wastefulness? Greed and heedlessness? Or in learning and patience? Gratitude and moderation? Generosity and reflection?
A moment. One moment. This moment. This is who you are. Right now. This is the start of something great. The greatest version of yourself. If you choose so. So say Bismillah. And begin.
“By time. Indeed, mankind is in loss. Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.”
(Quran 103: 1-3)
Lots of love and light,
Your Fajr Sister Fatima
P.S. What’ve you been up to these days? I look forward to hearing from you!
The Fajr Sisters 