Assalamualaikum!!
Hello!! It’s been sooo longggg.. Haven’t had much going on except for me constantly needing to motivate myself to finish writing my thesis. Things that have passed were basically, going through another Ramadhan (alhamdulillah), celebrating a very busy Eid (!!) (alhamdulillah) and turning 26 (alhamdulillah)! Scattering thesis writing in-between, then that’s basically it. But then there’s another very recent thing – the AA Plus Eid gathering! If it wasn’t for that gathering, I wouldn’t have the motivation to write here haha. Also since I’m in the midst of thesis writing, whenever I feel like doing something else (i.e. writing on this blog), I immediately feel guilt and cancel my plan in doing so 😬.
Back to the gathering! Subhanallah, MashaAllah, Alhamdulillah hehe after attending the gathering, I’m filled with inspiration, aspiration, motivation.. you name it! I’ve been a part of AA Plus (link here) for almost two years now (!) and because it’s almost entirely online (we have weekly Zoom calls and podcast-like classes are on the website) so it’s a surprise seeing everyone in real life! (although disclaimer, I rarely open my camera during the calls so it’s me mostly fangirling inside seeing the ones that do 😆). I do have to admit that being in AAPlus has helped a lot in grounding myself and realigning my perspective of life while learning (and rediscovering!) more and more about Islam. I’m just soooo grateful to have discovered a beautiful space of sisterhood and knowledge.
So regarding the Zoom calls, I usually just listen in while some champs (that’s what we call ourselves hehe) reflect on anything that we’ve learnt during the class or on any ayahs of the Qur’an after Tadarrus. (a while back, I had an opportunity to share verbally once and i felt like my points were all over the place and it made me realize how bad i am talking in front of a lot of people 😂). During the gathering, we sat in tables of maximum 10 (my table had 7 people… or should i say ‘champs’ hehe) and in turns, we had to share one of our favourite ayahs from the Qur’an. Here are the ones shared from my table group:
Surah Ar-Ra’d 13: Verse 28 (link) –> when falling down in fear and anxiety, remind yourself of Allah and that He always plan for what’s good for you
Surah Al-Inshirah 94: Verses 4-5 (link) –> it’s not that AFTER with hardship comes ease (this is also true but it’s in another ayah, 65:7), it’s WITH every hardship comes ease. While you are going through a difficulty, don’t forget that Allah has also ease for you matters that you might not notice
Surah Al-Baqarah 2: Verse 186 (link) –> when you feel like you have lost someone to talk to, Allah is always (and has been) there. Talk to Him, no matter what it is. The small things, the big things.
Surah Al-Baqarah 2: Verse 286 (link) (i shared this ayah hehe) –> although only after having gone through the difficulty that I had that I realized this, it is true that Allah puts you through certain situations because He knows you can make it through. It might take a while and it might be hard but it’s something that I will try to hold on to when things get tough.
Surah Ar-Rahman 55: Verse 13 (link) –> (i relate to this sharing sooo much 😣) sometimes you find yourself complaining about the things you don’t have when Allah has given you sooooooo much and protected you from things you might not even realize. The fact that your here at this very moment (good health, having shelter, enough food) is something to be grateful for always.
Surah Al-Isra’ 17: Verse 80 (link) –> a du’a to make when you’re trying something new! (and of course, for your akhirah 💕). Whenever you do something, do it lillahitaala (for the sake of Allah).
Surah Yasiin 36: Verse 40 (link) –> “each is travelling in the orbit of their own“. Nothing that happens in this world is ‘too slow‘ or ‘too fast‘, especially when you feel like you’re ‘behind’ in life (#notetoselfffff). And there’s also layers of the orbit that applies to your life! For example, the different roles you have – a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a mum etc. And another point that was shared: “inshaAllah, there’s goodness to in the slowness and fastness of each of your planet/roles in your life.” Also, the fact that the letters that make up “all in an orbit” is literally IN an orbit is so cool mashaAllahh
Alhamdulillah, we did our sharings one-by-one though I do feel, again, that my points were all over the place. The funny thing is that I had already prepared what I was going to share (because we had a heads-up about this activity in an email before the day of event) but it still turned out messy. I’m okay with a one-to-one conversation, but if it’s a one-to-many conversation, I’m not that good 😂
I just had the time to go through the photos that were shared and I can’t stop smiling!! It’s very heartwarming to see all the smiles despite the majority of us have not met before. I was feeling veryyyy awkward and nervous but in a gathering as blessed as this, how can I not feel happy to be there?! (because of the nervousness, i barely took any pictures 😂 but i’m glad that there are photos to look back and see!)
Before I end, I’ve learnt a few things about myself from this gathering – I still need to work on my social skills (i’m just used to doing things and being on my own unfortunately there was a point where i felt sooo drained during the gathering but a few minutes to myself while maybe people watching, helped a bit); I’m okay with writing but not verbally presenting my thoughts without properly preparing myself beforehand😂; it’s ok to be awkward and nervous hehehe and it’s so validating to find someone who is as nervous as you are :’) Looking forward to (with a LOT of mental and emotional preparation) more gatherings inshaAllah!
(edit: i would also like to add that it was interesting to see how different ayahs of the Qur’an stand out to us in different moments of our lives. and actually being able listen to our different experiences physically and together was so nice and heartwarming because it feels like we’re all in this together? idk if that makes sense haha ok that’s all hehe)
Wassalam ❤
p.s. here is my doodle update! if you read this, pleeeaseee make du’a for me to have the motivation to write and finish my thesis as soon as i can, i really should not be extending my semester any longer 🙅
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