I can still remember the first time reading sister Yasmin Mogahed's article two years ago (i even blog about it here) and i was impressed at how her writing have affected me till today.
I learnt a lot about the concept of love and attachments, about tawakkul, about what really matters in life and what's not. I learnt that we are more than just human beings, we are a mind, a soul, a servant of Allah and our love for Allah should be above all things.
It is through her writing too, I learnt that women should never be on display and our value is too high to be reduced to an object. I learnt that Allah swt loves us too much that He orders us, women to cover ourself.
I see the beauty of Islam, through her writings and talks. May Allah grant her the highest rank in Jannah, may Allah inspires her and grant her more knowledge and strength to continue giving dakwah.
Light upon light presented Yasmin Mogahed live in Malaysia, and Alhamdulillah I was among the lucky ones to attend the talk.
It was a full house that night.
Sister Yasmin Mogahed began with the story of Prophet Adam AS. How evil refuse to prostrate to Adam AS out of arrogance and was thrown out from Jannah forever. The same happened to Adam AS, he was thrown out from Jannah too but because he was humble and he repented, Allah swt forgive him and make him a leader to the mankind.
Prophet Yunus story. The du'a lailahailla anta subhanaka inni kuntu minazzolimin (There is none worthy of Worship besides You, You are far exalted and above all weaknesses, Surely, I’ am from among the wrongdoers) when he was trapped in the belly of the Nun fish.
Our external situation will not change if we don't change our internal.
I find the story of Prophet Musa the most inspiring story ever. He was born in the era of Pharoah, the tyrant that was killing newborn boy babies. At that crucial time, Allah swt inspires mother of Musa to place him in a basket in the Nile river. Allah swt was actually giving a lesson to mother of Musa, He wants her to put her ultimate trust in Him.
You know, when you let go something for the sake of Allah, He will replace it with something a lot better for us. Allah swt will never leave people who trust Him.
Prophet Ibrahim is the epitomy of tawheed. He was the Khalilullah (a friend of Allah). His journey of finding the true god was so admirable. From his story we learn that no matter how impressive a creation, it will always set. But Allah doesn't. Allah is always there and He is close, closer than our jugular veins.
Prophet Ibrahim's story is also about slaughtering our attachments. Our attachments to human beings, to our money, to our jobs, to all this worldly means.
When you're enslaving yourself to Allah swt, you're actually freeing yourself.
The more you run after the creation, the more it runs away from you. The more you're dependent on a creation, the more they'll let you down, but Subhanallah, the more needy you are of Allah, the more Allah comes to you.
So, so amazing!
You don't get the love of a creation by running after a creation, you get the 'real' love of a creation by running towards Allah, the Rahman and the Rahim.
And lastly, her words from the talk that I love the most,
When you love the giver more than the gift, then you'll be gifted.
This is just a tiny weeny fraction of the content of her talk and I am truly sorry if the information that I conveyed is wrong or misinterpreted. Please do not take this as it is, do some reading on your own as well as this is only my personal note from the talk.
May Allah open our hearts and our minds to continue seeking and receiving knowledge, InshaAllah.
