Hijrah, where do I start and how do I remain steadfast?

Hijrah - One thing that almost everyone wish to do and start somewhere. Making changes to the better.

Assalamua'laykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

I'm a lil bit pumped up to start writing again this morning, probably the brand logo I just received from my designer is giving me all the courage to start writing again (alasan ya Ayesha!)

I thought I will start with the topic Hijrah. Since many of you were asking on this. Lemme share a bit which I hope is going to be helpful and beneficial.

Bismillah...

I always share about my hijrah story in my gathering, how I started, how I stumble in the process, get myself back again and how I struggle to remain steadfast (istiqomah) in the whole process, even until today, I am still struggling....

But I notice some changes I made truly gave an impact to whole a new life journey to which resulting, the person I am today.

So where do one start in their Hijrah?

There is never a one right answer, if anybody ever ask me this, my answer will always be, just start with something good. It could be anything, your hijab, your solat, Quran, sadaqah.. well practically anything (good deeds lah taw) but the main key here is your intention (niah). Always set it and do it for the sake of Allah. Never for any other reasons.

I personally started my hijrah with hijab, and after quite a while, I started praying and ever since the day I started to pray again, I will make sure that I fulfil my 5 times daily prayers. No excuses made this time around, I truly force and drag myself to the make wudhu' and stand in prayer. It was so challenging at that time, but alhamdulillah I survived. But not gonna lie, there are days (yet till today) I sometimes battle with myself to pray (or doing other good deeds), but that's life, we all struggle again and again. The most important thing is to recognise your wrong doing/mistakes and try to stand again/rebounce from every downfall.

Let me share to you one of my favourite hadith,

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassalam  said, Allah the Most High said, ‘I am as My servant thinks (expects) I am. I am with him when he mentions Me. If he mentions Me to himself, I mention him to Myself; and if he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly greater than it. If he draws near to Me a hand’s length, I draw near to him an arm’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.’ - Sahih Al Bukhari

My fav phrase in this hadith,  "If he draws near to Me a hand’s length, I draw near to him an arm’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed". I've never imagine a life like the one I'm having today,  but all praises due to Allah, that one duaa I made in my first prayer (went I started praying again) has lead me to so many beautiful doors and path in life. Allah truly, and literally come to me at speed coz it felt like it was just yesterday I am all lost in my own world, but Allah saved and guided me through it all to which sum up to who I am today. Alhamdulillah.

So if you feel like changing, making hijrah, here are some points that I can share:

• Set your intention right only for His sake, keep renewing it only for His sake.
• Give your best level to fulfil your 5 times daily prayer, this will truly help you to form a 'stronger' new you.
• Just start somewhere with one good deeds, be it hijab, reading Quran, attending/listening to Islamic lectures.. just dot it, don't doubt yourself. Small baby steps but do it consistently.
• If you're going to do things that is not beneficial, ask yourself, how is this thing will bring you closer to Allah?
• Find your support system, be around people who encourage you to be better, eliminate those toxicant people that letting you down.
• Reading helps me a lot too, so perhaps you can start reading as well

(this is all I can think of as for now)

And to remain steadfast, you need to keep on checking yourself, and renew your intention again and again. You will at some point feeling tired and overwhelmed with all this changes you've made, and that is okay coz we're all human and we break easily, but what is not okay is when you're down or drown you keep yourself in that position and not wanting to be saved or helped. We all need help, we all need Allah to help and save us, Allah is Al Wahab, The One that helps and give help. We turn to Allah good or bad for His assistance, and don't think The One who named himself As Samad (The One satisfier of every need) will let you down.

One last most important point, make duaa.. lots of duaa. Ask Allah for strength, patience, aafiyah (ease) to go through all these stages. It is never easy, but Allah will make it easy for you. Write you duaa list, read it, do your TTA (talk to Allah) as many frequent as you can, tell Him things, your worries, sadness, happy days, down moments... everything! I personally practice and write gratitude/duaa list on daily basis. I enjoy this activity so much, it really helps me to connect and strengthen my relationship with Allah. Do you practice gratitude/duaa list too? Share with me your experience, inshaallah. Let us inspire and be inspired by each other.

I guess that's all for now, need to get back to my wife duty, hehehehe. Comment below if you love this posting and let me know what are the other things you want me to share in my next post, I planning to do a video post.. let me know! Thank you. Wa'alaykumussalam warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Ayesha S