Miracles don't come when things are easy

The early years of the Prophet's mission were the hardest.

The Muslims were tortured, enslaved and killed...
Just for saying "La Ilaaha Ill-Allah".

A boycott upon them for years...
Until one day, Allah sent ants that freed the Muslims...

The ants ate the Treaty that was hung inside the Ka'aba.
The contract for the Quraishi tribes to boycott the Banu Hashim.

After three brutal years of starvation, the boycott was lifted.

The Prophet ﷺ celebrated! Freedom at last!

But Allah had written something else...

The Year of Sorrow

The boycott has dire repercussions for some...

Abu Talib, the uncle who supported the Prophet most, lay on his deathbed.
Abu Jahl on one side, the Prophet on the other.

One calling for Tawheed, the other for Shirk.

Abu Jahl won.
The Prophet's uncle dies a kaafir.
He begs Allah for his uncle's forgiveness...

Until Allah reveals the verse below...

The Prophet had lost one of his pillars of support —
the man he relied on for years.

Years of starvation and sickness took their toll on his wife also.
And soon after, Allah took Khadijah from him too.

“Indeed, her love had been nurtured in my heart by Allah Himself,” he said of her.

Devastated though he was, he remained steadfast on his mission.
And left Makkah for Allah’s sake.

The Worst Day of his Life

The humiliation at Ta'if.

The Prophet was exiled from Makkah.

Nobody to support him, he fled to a fortress town to give da’wah.

The chiefs mocked him, but he persisted.
Until they ordered a mob to attack him... and forced him out, soaked in his own blood.

In his words, the hardest day of his life.

The lowest point of his life.

When his family were gone, his status was lost, and his grief at its worst, he turned to Allah.
Because who else can save from harm but the Creator?

Allah heard and accepted.

Isra wal Mi’raj

One night, the Prophet was woken up by Jibril and taken to Zamzam.
Purified, they rode a creature faster than sound to Al-Aqsa.

He prays Salah. Men join behind him.

"Oh Jibril, who's praying behind me?"
"Every Prophet Allah has ever sent, ya Rasulullah."

The man who just had no status was now the most dignified!

And then, up into the Heavens they went.

"Salaam 'Alaykum, my son", says Adam in the 1st.
He ascends, one by one, greeted by Prophets.

All the way up to the Lote Tree, to meet Allah.
To be gifted with a treasure more valuable than the Dunya.

(In the famous story of how Salah came to be, which I’ll save for another day.)

The Unseen Suffering before Success

We all see other people’s seemingly overnight success.
But what we don’t see is the years of sacrifice and suffering preceding it.

My dear brother/sister, there are no shortcuts.
The price of anything you want is sacrifice.
So the more you want, the more you’ll have to give.

Allah doesn’t elevate in haste.
He elevates when the time is right.
So be patient.
Perservere.
Know that it is the nature of this world to be pained and suffer.

Otherwise, how could you enjoy the highs?

So, from today:

• Say Alhamdulillah for the good and bad.-

• Trust in the story Allah has written for you

• And always remain optimistic for when Allah's help arrives. Allah grant us patience and trust in His Will.
  

To my brothers and sisters suffering calamities, heartbreak and grief:
Know that the Most Merciful has written your story.
And who else could you trust you to do so?

Lock In, brothers and sisters.

Glorious success is only a few months of suffering away.

If you know you were made for more, but:
Struggle to stay focused
Wake up anxious because you wasted yesterday
Tired of promising yourself “I’ll start tomorrow”, I built this for you.

Salaamu ‘alaykum until next time,

Hamza.