The Conversation
I’ve been meaning to record this conversation in this blog but of course, life gets in the way and I found myself consistently getting distracted that I didn’t have a chance to properly sit down with my thoughts and to ponder on this conversation I had with my colleague.
It was a few months back in August.
She teaches secondary while I teach primary. both of us are teaching in different buildings. That means, we don’t get a chance to meet often. Only sometimes we would cross path with each other perhaps in the corridor or at the cafe or even the staff room.
One fine day, we went for lunch outside together, and I get to hear her stories. We talked about many things and I was particularly intrigued when she mentioned she had her own school back in Pakistan.
It was like the most perfect timing according to Allah because I was secretly battling with my inner self to start something for the community… but I didn’t have the guts for it. I didn’t know when or even how to start. In the end, I’d stuck to my full-time job and left the idea at the back of my head and the corner of my heart.
She started small — just a room inside of her home. Her family didn’t agree with what she was doing. She had a different degree qualification, not exactly in teaching and why would she bother at all? but she persisted. She was passionate. And the kind of students she hosted were the underprivileged children. Those who had no access to education, those who were left behind. Those who nobody batted their eyes for.
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The minute she set the intention to pull through in establishing the school — Allah tested her.
She told me she anticipated them all. After all, even when we shop for glasswares we would test them first by tapping them lightly to examine the quality. That’s what she said.
I don’t know… at that moment it felt as though Allah’s wisdom that soothe my worries came in the form of her experience that she shared.
She told me about how her home school grew into a small centre and now a proper school. It’s running with staff and now she no longer needs to be there as she hired somebody else to look after it.
She also reminded me with every good intention that you do for Allah, there will always be barakah. The barakah will help ease the technical, financial struggles that comes with what we want to build.
Through the conversation I had with her, she taught me to always look inwards whenever I feel lost. That I’ll always find the answer within myself. Biiznillah.
Allah will test you with what you ask from Him, the doas that you make — whether you truly deserve it? do we truly want it? will we appreciate it? with what we asked, comes a weeny bit of test of a little hardship.
Life comprises of hardships, so we must choose our hard.
