Miracle or luck: How living with faith gave me hope

Miracle or luck: How living with faith gave me hope

Do you believe in miracles? Or do you think they are too good to be true? Perhaps you don’t feel worthy to be blessed with them or you might even think it is all luck?

 A miracle according to the dictionary is defined as such:

1. an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.
2. such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.
3. a wonder; marvel.

 If we slow down and pay attention, there are many miracles occurring in our lives DAILY  we just need to pay attention. Now I want to share one of my miracles with you. But first, I want you to answer a question:

 If you lost a diamond ring, do you believe you would find it again? And if you did, would you believe it was chance, luck, destiny or the power of God?

Turning to Allah in a state of panic

It was the beginning of Ramadan about 7 years ago and I was fasting. That meant no food or drink, including water, from sunrise to sunset. The first few days can be challenging as the body adjusts to not being nutritionally nourished during daylight hours. It’s common to feel a little irritable and lightheaded due to headaches, nausea, poor concentration and weakness. All similar to the keto flu symptoms from the popular diet currently trending.

 One day I came home from work and realized that my diamond rings were missing. I instantly panicked. "Oh my gosh, where did they go?!" I searched everywhere - my pockets, the counters, the car. I don’t remember what I did or how they were missing. I just remembered that I was wearing them and then somehow I lost them. Those rings were very dear to me (and also quite expensive).

 At that moment, I remembered the dua as I was taught to do as a child when I lost something and so I read it with full faith and conviction that it would return to me if Allah willed it.

 Choosing my faith in the face of struggle

But as the days passed, I was starting to lose hope. When I told my husband about what happened, I was addressed with familiar rhetoric. “Fasting has bad effects on you. You can’t concentrate and that is why you shouldn’t fast when you go to work.”

I was being told all the reasons why it was justified for me NOT to fast. Yet, deep down I knew that wasn’t a reason to forgo the 3rd pillar of my faith.

That Ramadan, I knew that my fasting was with the intention to please Allah and so I would never be at a disadvantage. Allah would bring the rings back to me but I was also accepting the fact that it’s OK that I lost them.

Material things come and go. They don’t make or break us. I was sad for a moment, but I also understood and recognized that everything I have physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually comes from One Source.

Nothing belongs to me, nor am I entitled to anything. The way Allah gives, He can take. So I was starting to come into the acceptance, that remaining firm in the confidence that He can find it for me, He can return it to me. All He has to do is say “Be” and it is.

I found comfort in knowing that when I make sacrifices to do what is right even when it’s hard (and others might tempt me with reasons to justify defying Allah), I will be rewarded for it.

But it was becoming really hard to resist when the “logic” presented was pointing to the reasons why fasting was to blame for me losing my precious diamond rings. I was riddled with guilt about myself, 'how could I be so absent-minded and irresponsible?'

At the same time, I knew in my mind I would never intentionally forgo fasting for material gains.

Allah’s power and blissful rewards

Since the day I realized my rings were missing, I tried to remain calm and I continued reading my duas. I backtracked and remembered that I had them in the morning when I left for work so I must have lost them there.

I decided to call my manager at work to ask if anyone had found them. I fought the sinking feeling I had that they were gone for good. "What person would turn in 2 diamond rings if they found them?" They were not found. I must admit that even though logically I knew  Allah had the power to return them to me, I was somewhat skeptical that they would be.

It was not until a few days later that I was notified that someone turned those rings in, to my manager. I felt an overwhelming sense of humility and gratitude. They were found in the parking lot at work. That neighbourhood is not the safest and it is expected that if something valuable was lost there, it would not be returned. However, nothing happens without the permission and will of Allah.

Miracles reinforce your faith

I consider that event to be one of those everyday miracles. It reinforced my faith and my belief in doing the right thing and living a life that is pleasing to Allah.

Since then, I can tell you countless stories where I have lost the same diamond rings or other jewellery only to find them again and again or have them returned to me by another person.

“Hasbunallah hu wa ni’mal wakeel”

Since childhood, my parents (May Allah reward them and elevate them to the highest ranks) taught me this dua (prayer). I relied on it every time and it never failed me once. I found every single thing I lost in my life, with the exception of one bracelet which I accepted wasn’t meant to come back to me. I found them through the process of prayer, patience, reliance, faith, and acceptance of the outcome that Allah chooses for me, my belongings and really my life.

If you notice, there is one common thread throughout how I experienced this situation. It was my thinking. Our thinking and not the situation at the moment is a direct indication of our feeling in the moment.  Each of us has the power to be aware and in charge of our thinking. Asking is there another way of thinking about this?

So, Miracle or Luck?

What did you decide?

Have you ever lost something meaningful to you and then found it? Do you remember how you felt? Did it feel like a miracle? Comment below and let me know.