MALEEHINI.ART

[Hybrid Narrative]
by Maleeha Ampatuan Ansari

Start Small

Start Small

It is the process towards what we work hard for that Allah looks at.

If you find yourself in a difficult situation or if you find yourself complaining then renew your intention.

People judge the end result but Allah judges the behind the scenes, the process, the day to day choices you actively make to do good – for Him.

“The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if it is small”
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Even if what you do may seem small compared to others; keep going.

You are Human

Don’t feel guilty for taking a break;
you are human.

When things pile up and start overwhelming you,
take a step back.

Rest,
you function better when you are rested.

Be your own friend

be your own friend and enjoy your company alone;
learn to enjoy the silence

and
the presence of you and your thoughts

enjoy the very company of yourself;
be the friend you want to be

and

enjoy the world around you even when you are all alone

say good things to yourself;
stop playing on repeat your insecurities and your flaws
think good about yourself

and
stop putting yourself down

there are words you don’t dare to say to others
yet you curse and insult yourself with

loosen up

and allow yourself to accept that sometimes you will slip and fall
and some days things won’t go as planned
and that some people are bound to hurt you

but even when all this happens
know that at the end of the day
there will be one less person who hurts you
and that is you

Intention

When you set a goal to please Allah and feel like giving up in the midst of it,

then know your intention has changed.

Intention should be planted on strong grounds.
Refresh and renew your intention.
Remind yourself why are you doing it in the first place.

When things get more difficult, remember such work becomes more precious in the sight of Allah.

Love Yourself Even at Your Weakest.

When tides change and faith is tested
You discover another side to yourself you never knew existed
Days now seem to get a little darker
Even the things you used to do are now a lot harder

But these clouds that hover over you will soon departure
A reminder to yourself, there is no use in being harsher
You miss the faith when it was at its sweetest
But please, love yourself even at your weakest

My friend who is a Hadifhah, or someone who had memorized the whole Qur’an

She is younger than me by a year and we get along casually. We can spend the whole night talking about Islam, the world, different sciences, and reflect about life.

In one of our conversations she told me about this particular ayah in the Qur’an:

“Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.” Surah Al-Ahzab (33:72)

I didn’t pay much attention to her explanation because I thought it was a random “share ko lang” moment. But one word that stuck with me was the Arabic word she mentioned “Jabal” which means Mountain.

Few days past, it was Ramadan. She led the Maghrib prayer and recited this ayah in the first rakaat. She recited it slowly, with such emotion, paying attention to every single word. Her voice started to shake, and she began tearing up when it came to the end of the verse.

I recognized the ayah because of the word Jabal along with a couple of words but I was confused and curious. Why was she so moved by the ayah? What was the ayah saying that made her tear up? I asked her after the prayer about the surah and searched the verse to read it for myself and then it all made sense. I remembered her explaining it to me before but this time I understood it much better.

In the verse, the word Amanah or Trust is pertaining to the Qur’an/Revelation. When Allah asked the mountains, the earth, and the heavens if they would accept to bear the responsibility of receiving this Amanah (Qur’an) they rejected it because of fear, fear that they would not be just in fulfilling the responsibility of such an honorable Amanah. Yet we, an-Nas, mankind, accepted the responsibility of receiving the Revelation.

This made me realize that my friend, a hafidhahtul Qur’an, a protector, a defender, a guardian of the Qur’an, was reminding herself by reciting these verses that mankind has accepted to be entrusted with the Qur’an. And that being a hafidha didn’t mean she just simply memorized the whole Qur’an by heart but that she also had to make it her duty to live up to its teachings and share her knowledge.

SubhanAllah. This moment of realization stunned me.

We need to know our purpose.
We have to be intentional with everything we do.
We are accountable for our actions.

So many more reflections can be drawn from this.

May Allah continuously bless the hafidhs and hafidhas of our Ummah in both this world and the next. May Allah bestow strength and persistency to those who are currently memorizing the Qur’an. May Allah make us among the people of the Qur’an.

― Reflections on Rough Sketches

(Reflections on Rough Sketches is a series of reflections paired with rough sketches)

Maleeha Ampatuan Ansari is a medical student who has a passion for uplifting and inspiring people through her writing and creativity. She is the creator of Maleehini.art, the associate editor of her medical school’s publication and the co-founder of Muslimah Artist Philippines which is an online group created for female Muslim artists and aspiring artists to share and connect with one another.