Salam Everyone!

This piece began as a halaqa – a conversation between forgetful servants. I am sharing it here in the same spirit, because Allah created us knowing we would forget. So He gave us these ten days, and a day within them, and a single command beneath it all: Remember Me. What follows is a reflection on Dhul Hijjah, the Day of Arafah, and the duas we bury so deep within ourselves that we are afraid to speak them. May it serve as a reminder, first to me, and then to whoever reads it.

Attached also is a booklet for you to use on the day of Arafah and throughout the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah Insha’Allah.

The hujjaj are on both a physical and spiritual journey. They have left their homes, their countries, their comforts, and are travelling – outwardly across oceans and desserts, and inwardly toward Allah ﷻ.

And whilst they’re on this epic journey we, at home are continuing with our ordinary lives – the school runs, the work emails, the meals to cook – but that doesnt mean we are excluded from the journey. Today, I want to propose an idea – that we can perform our own pilgrimage. Not a physical one, but a spiritual one. A journey of the heart, toward Allah ﷻ.

My hope is that together, we can embark on that journey through four simple shifts. Four adjustments of the lens through which we see:

– The way we see our intentions.

– The way we see Allah.

– The way we see ourselves.

– The way we see our duas.

The word Arafah itself comes from a root meaning “to know,” “to recognise,” and “to perceive.” And that is exactly what this season, and the day of Arafah more specifically is about. A day of recognition. A day of returning to clarity. A day of seeing properly again.

So, shift these four things, and no matter where you are – running for a bus, walking up and down the stairs in your home tidying and organising, chasing after your kids – you will find yourself walking toward Him Insha’Allah.

Intention

The Virtues of Dhul Hijjah

I wanted to start by reflecting on a few of the virtues of Dhul Hijjah, inshaAllah.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

مَا الْعَمَلُ فِي أَيَّامِ الْعَشْرِ أَفْضَلَ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ فِي هَذِهِ

“No good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these (first ten days of Dhul Hijjah).”

[Bukhari]

What strikes me about this hadith is that the Prophet ﷺ doesn’t specify the type of ibadah to do – which is itself such a beautiful mercy. Whatever point we are at in our lives, there are no fixed obligations or rigid guidelines for us to follow. Do whatever is in your capability, and do it beautifully. For many of us, we’re working, commuting, taking care of others, preparing our homes for Eid gatherings. Allah does not expect us to stop. Carry on – but adjust your intention. Place the lens of ibadah over your everyday actions. Intend everything for Him.

Then your mere everyday actions turn into beautiful acts of devotion.

– Your morning shower turns into purification in His name.

– Your breakfast turns into fuelling the body to perform more ibadah.

– Feeding your family turns into caring for the amanahs Allah has placed in your life.

Allah ﷻ swears by these ten days in the beginning of Surah al-Fajr:

وَالْفَجْرِ وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ

By the dawn, and by the ten nights.

And then, at the end of the same surah, altering speaking about the disobedient nations of the past, and the recompense they faced for their actions, He speaks to His servant with a contented soul:

يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ارْجِعِي إِلَى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي

O contented soul, return to your Lord, pleased and pleasing. Enter amongst My righteous servants, enter My Jannah.

These verses perfectly exemplify the beauty of Allah’s love for the Nafsul Mutma’innah – the Contented Soul.

So how do we become this contented soul?

Allah ﷻ uses the same root word, tama’nina, in Surah ar-Raʿd:

أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

“Truly, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace.”

(Surah Ar Ra’d 13:28)

In these verses, Allah ﷻ emphasises the importance of these ten days. Then He calls to His contented servants in the most beautiful way – ʿibadi, My servant. He claims the Contented Soul as His own. He invites them lovingly into His eternal gardens.

And not only does He extend this invitation, He tells us how to become part of this group; remembrance is all He asks of us.

The Day of Arafah

The ritual of Arafah traces back to the Hajj of the Prophet ﷺ, but its spiritual roots stretch even further, to Prophet Ibrahim (as) and the rebuilding of the Kaʿbah with his son Ismaʿil (as).

On the 9th of Dhul Hijjah, pilgrims gather on the plain of Arafah and stand in worship from Dhuhr until Maghrib, in what is known as Wuquf – “the standing.”

The Prophet ﷺ said:

الْحَجُّ عَرَفَاتٌ

“Hajj is Arafah.”

[Tirmidhi]

Meaning: this standing is the very heart of the pilgrimage. Not Eid. Not Mina. Not Muzdalifah. Arafah.

The Day of Arafah is deeply connected to:

• repentance,

• return to Allah,

• humility,

• remembrance,

• and desperate, hopeful dua.

It was also during the Prophet’s ﷺ Farewell Pilgrimage, while standing at Arafah, that the verse was revealed:

ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ

“Today I have perfected for you your religion…”

(Surah al-Maʾidah 5:3)

And so Arafah became forever tied to:

• completion,

• mercy,

• and the culmination of faith.

The ritual itself is strikingly simple; no grand movement, no sacrifice (yet), no elaborate action.

Just standing. Remembering. Asking. Returning.

Millions, dressed identically, stripped of status and appearance, standing under the same sky before Allah.

And what is beautiful is that even those of us who are not physically on Hajj are invited into the spirit of Arafah through fasting, dhikr, tawbah, and dua.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

مَا مِنْ يَوْمٍ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَنْ يُعْتِقَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ عَبْدًا مِنَ النَّارِ مِنْ يَوْمِ عَرَفَةَ

“There is no day on which Allah sets free more slaves from Hell than He does on the Day of ʿArafah.”

[Muslim]

And one of the most amazing things about Arafah is – we know exactly when it is. Unlike the odd nights of Ramadan, which we search for (a blessing in itself), Arafah is fixed and known. So use these ten days to immerse yourself in the remembrance of your Lord, so that your nafs, your heart, may attain that peace.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of making the two Eids the focal points of our Islamic calendars. But if we really reflect, Eid itself is the gathering that comes after the true focal point.

Eid al-Fitr comes after Ramadan – a month spent cultivating our relationship with Allah. And Eid al-Adha comes after Arafah – a day immersed in remembrance, tawbah, and dua.

One of my teachers once told us, in our first year of studies, that Allah refers to us as insaan, and the root connected to the word is nasiya – to forget. Allah created us knowing we are forgetful, fragile, easily distracted. Which is why He gave us the five salah, anchoring us back to Him throughout our days.

And despite our forgetfulness, Allah does not turn us away. He simply tells us: “Remember Me.”

So inshaAllah, let this simply be a reminder from one forgetful servant to another: let us use these sacred days to cultivate our relationship with Allah, and then let Eid become the celebration of that relationship.

Allah is as You See Him

Allah tells us in a Hadith Qudsi:

أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي

“I am as My servant thinks of Me.”

If we see Allah as Merciful, He showers us with mercy. If we see Him as Loving, He showers us with love.

Think about how we begin everything. With the Basmalah. Allah does not tell us to say “Bismillahi Shadidil ʿIqab” – “In the name of Allah, the Severe in Punishment” (naʿuthu billah).

No. We are told to say: Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Not one form of mercy, but two. Allah reminds us, teaches us, implores us to see His mercy before anything else.

Allah offers us His mercy over and over again, yet so many people carry the misconception that they are too sinful for Allah to even listen to their duas – let alone accept them.

And Allah ﷻ, in His divine mercy, doesn’t just give us one name to call to, or two, he gives us 99. He ﷻ says in the Qurʾān:

وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ فَٱدْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ

“For Allah there are the most beautiful names. So, call Him by them,”

(Surah al-A’raf 7:180)

A teacher of mine once described the names of Allah like a lamp with 99 panels of glass, each different, each letting through the same divine light.

And that is what the Names of Allah do for us. There is a Name for every state we find ourselves in, every emotion, every fear, every hope, every need. When we feel lost, we call upon Al Hadi, The Guide. When we feel unseen, we call upon Al Basir, The All Seeing. When you seek more rizq – call to Al-Razzaq. When we are overwhelmed by our sins, we call upon Al Ghafoor, The Most Forgiving.

So use the names of Allah – which have been given to us as a gift – and like the panels of that lamp that reflect His divine light – place the lens of His beautiful name – whatever you may choose – over your view of Allah, and see how the trajectory of your spiritual relationship completely changes.

How We See Ourselves

Like any relationship, our relationship with Allah is a two-way street. But unlike many of our other relationships, Allah will never let us down. Even when we feel as though He has forgotten us, it is true tawakkul to see a difficult situation and trust that His plan is bigger and more complex than we could ever see. That He ﷻ wants and has planned what is in our best interest.

We are vessels – holding the souls Allah has entrusted to us. And in the same way that we need to guard our bodies with proper nutrition, by avoiding harm and danger and by exercising (or planning to), we also need to guard our minds.

And as much as adjusting our view of Allah will impact our lives, how we view ourselves will have an equal impact. It is easy to fall into the trap of “I’m not good enough,” or “I don’t deserve to be heard by Him.” But if Allah – the One who created all, good and bad – tells us that we are worthy of His love, His mercy, His reward, who are we to not believe Him?

Before we were even born, Allah wrote the record of our entire lives. He knows the mistakes we make without realising, and the sins we commit knowingly. And despite all of that, He still tells us that He loves those who constantly repent and purify themselves. He gave us the blueprint to achieve His eternal reward.

Allah does not tell us we must come to Him with perfect hearts. Yes, He asks for ritual purification, for wudhu, but no matter what state our hearts are in, He still welcomes us back.

A dirty window still lets through light.

Even if our hearts are stained by sin, His light can still penetrate through. And with every act of return – every whispered dua, every moment of dhikr, every act of sabr and shukr, every unseen struggle that no one else notices but Him – the surface of the heart is slowly cleaned.

Even something as simple as wudhu. We are commanded to make wudhu before salah. Beyond the barakah of salah itself, with every drop of water that falls from our skin as we make wudhu, Allah wipes away our sins.

It is almost like a parent setting up a treasure hunt for their child. All of the clues are essentially instructions. All of the prizes are left in plain sight. All the child needs to do is walk the path and collect his rewards.

In the same way, Allah scatters opportunities for barakah and forgiveness throughout our days.

So when we constantly tell ourselves, “I’m not good enough for Allah,” we are going against what Allah Himself has told us:

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ

“You are the best nation produced for mankind.”

(Surah Aal ‘Imran 3:110)

We are the Ummah of the beloved Prophet ﷺ. The most blessed Ummah.

All of the nations that came before us – ʿAd, Thamud – achieved amazing feats of engineering, architecture, riches, and strength beyond what we could imagine. But they lacked iman. They lacked tawakkul. They were essentially wiped from history for their disobedience, remembered only because Allah deigned to mention them in the Qurʾan – not to venerate their achievements, but as an act of mercy to us, to warn us.

They dared challenge Allah, question Him through His messengers – they saw Allah as a threat, so He threatened them. They challenged Him, so He challenged them. And He won. Because He is Al-Aziz – the mighty, the victorious.

Yes, as cliché as it sounds – life is a test. But Allah has given us the answers. He gave us the Qurʾan, showing us exactly what leads to Jannah, and showing us the examples of those who went astray, so that we do not follow their path.

This isn’t a cooking show, we’re not in Hell’s Kitchen. (Contemplating whether or not to leave in the joke about us instead being in ‘Jannah’s Kitchen’). We are not just given ingredients and told to make a meal within a set time. Like the parent at the treasure hunt:

Allah Al-Razzaq has not only given us the ingredients, He, Al-Wakil – The Disposer of Affairs, has given us the tools, the kitchen. He, Al-Latif – The Subtle Carer, has given us the appliances, the gas in the cooker. He, Al-Hadi – The Guide has given us the bodies that have the ability to cook, the minds that has the Aql (intelligence) to be able to combine all these different things together to form a meal.

All we have to do is cook.

It’s the same mind, the same intelligence through which we are able to see all of His signs. So that we can open our hearts to see the blessings He has given us.

All we have to do is remember.

Because Allah is As-Samad – the ultimate refuge. So turn back to Him. With whatever name you may call Him by – just turn.

And once we remember, once we turn – once we shift our perception of these two things, and hold onto them:

1 – Our view of Allah in His infinite attributes,

2 – And that He created us, formed us with perfection – not to be perfect, but to merely turn, to try, to remember,

Once you truly believe those two things, our connection with Allah ﷻ no longer feels distant.

Delusional Duas

Then there is only one thing left: the dua itself.

And this is where I want to introduce you to something I call Delusional Duas.

This is something I’ve been “preaching” to my loved ones for years. Alhamdulillah, I was lucky enough to experience, relatively early in my life, a moment where I found myself in a situation in which I had completely given up on what I wanted. It felt delusional to even want it in the first place. But then, during a family Umrah trip where I should have been praying for exams, I gave in – not up. I gave in to my tawakkul, and I handed the situation over to Allah entirely. I reached down into the depths of my gut, where I had hidden what I truly wanted, and I asked Allah for it – hopefully, blindly, with complete trust. I fought the voice in my mind that told me I was being delusional. And subhanAllah, within a week – before I had even unpacked my suitcase – my duas were answered.

So now, whenever anyone comes to me with a problem, I help as much as I can – which, to be fair, isn’t a great deal. But I will always push them, no matter the situation they find themselves in, to dig deep, to let go of all expectations and restrictions, and to make those delusional duas.

You know the ones. The duas buried deep within you. The secret wishes hidden so far down in your heart that they only rise to the surface in still moments, when life quietens enough for you to finally hear them.

The duas you can barely even think about, let alone say out loud.

And the One who already gave us everything – our lives, our bodies, our senses, our intellect – asks us for one thing: to turn to Him.

So turn. Make those duas.

Make the impossible duas. Make the embarrassing duas. Make the hopeful duas. Make the duas you think are “too much” – the selfish, ambitious duas. And believe wholeheartedly that Allah can grant them, that He will grant them.

The same way that you know when you stand up, your legs will support you. The same way that when you, without thinking, lift a hand to pick something up, you don’t doubt for a moment that the ability is there – don’t doubt that Allah will answer your duas.

Know that no sincere dua goes unanswered. Either Allah grants it exactly as you asked, or He grants it in a better way, at a better time, or He gives you something greater than what you even knew to ask for.

Make your duas – then begin looking for their answers in your everyday life. Because His response may not always look the way you expected it to. Search for His responses in every nook and cranny: in every step, every blink, every fresh bottle of milk, every time we go to switch our cookers on and we don’t have to think about whether that fire will catch.

And if you start doing this – if you start searching for Allah’s responses woven throughout your life – you will discover an entirely different dimension to your life. A whole new way of living the life you already have.

A life filled with noticing.

A life filled with hope.

A life filled with ambitious, hopeful dua.

A life filled with closeness to Allah.

Ya Allah, let these blessed days become a pilgrimage of our hearts before they are ever a journey of our bodies. Purify our intentions, soften our hearts, and anchor us in Your remembrance.

Ya Allah, allow us to see You through the lens of Your mercy, Your love, Your gentleness, and Your nearness. Do not let us despair in ourselves when You have opened the door of tawbah to us again and again.

Ya Allah, protect us from the whispers that tell us we are unworthy of You. Help us to see ourselves as servants honoured by Your creation, sustained by Your mercy, and constantly invited back to You.

Ya Allah, place light in our hearts, hope in our duas, and certainty in our calling upon You. Make us people of ambitious, hopeful duas, who ask You with hearts full of yaqeen, knowing that nothing is too great for You.

Ya Allah, let us notice You in our lives. In our ease and our hardship, in our homes and our work, in our worship and our weariness. Let our lives become lives of remembrance.

And as we spend our lives calling upon You by Your Beautiful Names, Ya Allah, when our own journey finally comes to its end, let us be among those whom You call:

يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ
ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً
فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي
وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي

Among Your ‘ibadi, Your beloved servants, in Your everlasting gardens.

آمين يارب العالمين