By Romina Afghan

The Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) said, ‘Say: “I believe in Allah” — and then be steadfast.'”

[Muslim]

Take that advice of the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him); take it and make it your mantra.

Commit. Just do it, no more second guessing. No more dithering. No more waiting for someone else’s permission to sanction what you already know to be right and true and good for you.

Commit to your best self. Commit to it today. Know what that looks like for you. Know what it requires of you in your actions, every day. Then commit to it, fearlessly if you can and courageously when that fails and the fear refuses to abate.

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

“…Strive for that which will benefit you, seek the help of Allah, and do not feel helpless.”

(Sunan Ibn Majah).

“Strive for that which will benefit you.” Strive for it because that’s what you do. Commit to your standards and strive for them: the ones that define you, the ones that make you who you are, even if they are the ones that make you stand out from others, even if they sometimes cause you to feel like you don’t belong, for indeed you are a stranger and you must

“Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller along a path.”

( Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6053).

Commit to your submission, commit to it with the full force of every nerve ending you have that screams in resistance. But commit to it. Because this is who you are:

You are a committed slave of Allaah.

You are a Muslim, one who submits.

One who puts their commitment to Allaah before vain desire; one who puts their covenant with God above what her soul desires.. even as you know those desires may never fully go away– their form may change as your tastes, weaknesses and strengths change, but you will always have a thread of resistance or rebellion in your soul that you will have to strive against, and that will be your jihad until the day you meet Him. That will be the struggle of this dunya that will end all too shortly, and when it does, it will be followed by a peace that drenches your soul, a contentment that permeates everything around you and a joy unfettered by any worries. So know that this is the day of fighting, and tomorrow comes the day of rest.

Commit to your highest spiritual self. The one who knows how to get closer to Him; the one who knows the power He has given you. The one who knows how to connect to Him, and how to stay connected so nothing can shake or sever that tie- yes, acknowledge and know you have been gifted all that you need to make that reality yours.

Commit to your highest self,  your truest self, your best self, the one that you were created to be:

لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ فِىٓ أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍۢ

Verily, We created man in the best stature (mould). Quran 95:4

Commit to the self  that follows through, the one that sees through the oppressive clouds of this world into the clear light of Jannah;  the one whose certainty in that reality guides her through every mountain and every valley, every low and every peak, every darkness and every glimmer of sunshine that she comes across.

Commit to your patient self, the one feels the pain but does what she needs to and smiles through it – not because she doesn’t feel,  or because she is pretending those feelings aren’t there, or because she wants to present herself as something to this world that she isn’t, but because you take the advice of Yaqoob alayhis-salaam,  when he said, “I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah…” ( Quran 12:86) and because you know that when you lay your burdens at His door, when your tears fall before Him they speak more eloquently and more powerfully than any words you could articulate to a human.

Commit to your fullest self: the self that is nourished by the Words of God descended from Heaven as a beautiful gift and guide; the one that reaches higher with hope even as she sinks, the One that carries others even as the storm beats her down and the waves of despair threaten to drown her, and the one who does so because she knows the rope of Allaah that she clings to will never let her go as long as she grips it.

“…truly it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace”

( Qur’aan 13:28)

Commit passionately  to your most loving self: the self that is nourished by Al Wadood, who loves for His Sake  and gives for His Sake; the one that forgives and lets bygones be bygones; the One who lives in the moment, ready to live in it to the fullest without dredging up the past  nor cowering from the future. The one whose love flows like a river, nourishing all those around it with life-giving water of love, not because of anyone else deserving it or needing it, but because of the depth of your gratitude to The One who loves you and nourishes you with His Love.

Commit fearlessly to your most fearless self. The one that knows the pens have been lifted and the ink  has dried, that her story has been written with a beautiful end , that the One who wrote it is al-Wakeel, the trustee, in whom trust is never misplaced.

 And whoever places his trust in Allah, He is sufficient for him. (Quraan 65:3)

Commit to your most courageous self. The one that isn’t afraid of failing, of falling, of getting hurt even, because she knows that what she believes in is worth it, and she will bear those battle scars with pride on the day she meets Him.

And whoever desires the hereafter and strives for it as he ought to strive and he is a believer; (as for) these, their striving shall surely be accepted.

(Quraan 17:19)

Commit to your most proactive self-  the one that is certain that whatever the outcome, the result of ihsaan will be ihsaan, that the reward for good will be good; and the effort put in is what will be weighed in the scales of ultimate justice.

هَلْ جَزَآءُ ٱلْإِحْسَـٰنِ إِلَّا ٱلْإِحْسَـٰنُ

Is the reward for goodness, anything but goodness?

( Quraan 55:60)

Commit to your freest self; the one who is free from the shackles of others expectations, the One who is free to servitude to anything but her Rabb, the One who is free to fly to Him, heart body and soul; the one who is free from needing approval and validation from beings as flawed, broken and needy  as herself and the one who is certain that she has all this and more from the One who has no flaws and needs.

وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌۭ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ

“And I shall not worship that which you are worshipping.”

( Quraan 109:4)

This is my letter to you, my younger self:

Commit to Allaah as if your life depends on it, because your aakhirah certainly does, and when you have made that commitment, allow yourself to see the Mercy of Allah unfold around you and within you so that your life becomes a testament and vessel of that mercy to those around you.

About the author:

Romina is a happy mother to four children, a Master NLP-practitioner in training, part-time teacher, transformation coach and passionate believer in unlocking the wonderful potential of each and every soul by connecting them to Allaah and His Book. She has been blessed to be a  part of Solace for some years now, and loves connecting with sisters and children everywhere! You can connect with her on Instagram at @connectedcoachingbyrom and listen to her podcast “Grounded in Guidance” at https://anchor.fm/groundedinguidance or on Spotify.