Sidratul Muntaha

It’s raining in London today. 

Mini Maryam enjoys playing in the rain. 

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I guess she gets it from me and I, from my mother (Rahimullah).

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I remember back in 1992 when I was living the life of a princess in Lahore, Pakistan, mum (Rahimullah) would run onto our marble courtyard at the slightest hint of rain and find the most hidden spot away from the sight of our neighbours. There she would stand, looking up at the outpour descending from the heavens, arms outstretched, whispering the dhikr of Allah (SWT), allowing the gentle rain drops to soak through every inch of her body in sheer pleasure and delight. 

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To this very day, each and every time the rain pours from the skies, wherever I maybe, I too long to run outside, look up and soak up the rain, in pleasure, in memory of my mother (Rahimullah) but even more importantly in rememberance of Allah (SWT) and the mercy that he has blessed us all with time and time again; this blessed water flowing down from a very blessed place, Sidratul Muntaha. 

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Upon discovering only quite recently, from where exactly the rain in our world ORIGINATES from, and how are beloved Prophet Mohammad (SAWS) was brought before it, I immediately shared this new found knowledge with my family. This discovery was not about what we are all familiar with, ‘The Water Cycle’, this was more then that, this was mind blowing. This truest of stories would make any believer seek the pleasure of the purest of water from Sidratul Muntaha. 

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My dearest of friends, as the rain continues to fall in London today, allow me to take you back in time, to the time of our beloved Prophet (SAWS), on the night that he was taken on  a journey by the blessed Angel Gibrail (A.S), the journey known as, ‘Al Isra wal Miraj’. 

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After crossing through the seven heavens with Angel Gibrail (A.S) the Prophet (SAWS) arrived at a place called Sidratul Muntaha. Here he was informed that each and everyone of his Ummah, his people, that would strive to walk down the path that he has laid out for them, their souls will reach this exact point and place. 

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The Prophet (SAWS) witnessed four rivers flowing from Sidratul Muntaha. Two rivers flowing from the top and two that were more hidden, flowing from underneath. 

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(And now for the WOWZERS!)

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Angel Gibrail (AS) told Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) that the rivers that are flowing from the top, these rivers become all the water that Allah sends down upon the Earth, Subhan’Allah, and the two rivers underneath, are the rivers that flow into paradise and becomes all the water that is found in paradise that Allah (SWT) mentions in the Quran; rivers of pure water and milk that will never go sour, wine of paradise that will not intoxicate, rivers of pure unadulterated honey, Alhamdulillah. 

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There is also a spring gushing forth from this point of Sidratul Muntaha. This is the spring of Salsabeel, splitting into two streams one of which is the fountain of Al Kauthar, a blessed gift to Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). 

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Over Al Kauthar there is a canopy, adorned with pearls, rubies and gems. The most exquisite looking green coloured birds are perched up on top of this canopy. There are cups shaped as goblets made of gold and silver that surround the fountain. The water is very pure and clean, extremely white and clear, so much so that you can see through the water to find rubies and emeralds that lay at the bottom of the fountain. 

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The Prophet (SAWS) picked up one of the goblets and scooped up some of the water and drank from it. He (SAWS) said, ‘It’s  taste was sweeter than honey and it had a sweeter fragrance then musk.’ 

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After the Prophet (SAWS) had drank from Al Kauther and enjoyed it so much, Angel Gibrail (A.S) said to him, ‘This is the stream that your Lord has given to you as a gift!’

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He was then told to wash himself in the stream that is the mercy of Allah after which an announcement was made that all his sins had been forgiven; meaning by bathing in this stream any past or future sins that he hypothetically could have committed have now been washed away. 

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The gift of Al Kauthar was given to the Prophet (SAWS) at the passing of one of his children, his young son. Enemies of the Prophet (SAWS) at the time took the death of his son as an opportunity to exploit the tradegy by taunting him and calling him, Al Abtar (to be cut off) i.e having no legacy, no progeny, no son to carry his name. At which point Allah (SWT) sent the surah Al Kauthar down to console the Prophet (SAWS). Don’t listen to them for we are granting you the honour, dignity, the gift of, Al Kauthar.

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The honour and greatest dignity of the Prophet (SAWS) will be that he will have the pleasure to stand at the fountain of Al Kauthar in anticipation of the arrival, one by one of his Ummah. He will scoop up water using the gold and silver goblets and serve it with his own blessed hands, to each and every single soul, Alhamdulillah. 

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We know from the Seerah that our Prophet (SAWS) relishes for such an opportunity. For he (SAWS) has said, ‘If you face any difficulty on the day of judgement, look for me at three places, one of them being at the fountain of Al Kauthar. You will be tired, fatigued and exhausted by the trial you have faced, don’t worry for I’ll be waiting for you at the fountain  of Al Kauthar with a drink of water that will make you forget, any or the most severest of thirsts. It is such a drink of water that you will never feel thirsty ever again.’ 

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This gift of Al Kauthar was bestowed to our Prophet (SAWS) on the night of Al Isra wal Mirage at a very turbulent time in his life, so he could see that great things await him. All of what he was going through was for a reason and a purpose. 

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The enemies of our Prophet (SAWS) had said that he would have no legacy, in fact, today 

the most common name in our world is Muhammad and there are over 2 billion people on the face of this earth, that when the name Muhammad is said they say, ‘Salallahu alayhi wa sallam’ (Peace and blessings be upon him). They pray, they dream, they wish to drink water from the blessed hand of the Prophet (SAWS) at the fountain of Al Kauthar. 

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May Allah (SWT) make us all from amongst them, Aameen. 

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Ever since I shared this story with my children, they are forever looking up at the heavens, during rainy days especially, in awe, in wonder, knowing now that it’s not just about, ‘The Water Cycle’, but a whole lot more. On days when it’s raining and Mini Maryam can see that I’m not feeling too great, she’ll turn to me and meaningfully will say, ‘Mama, let’s go catch some heavenly rain’.

And off we go...:)

(Sidratul Muntaha Story adapted from ‘Seerah, Life of The Prophet’, by Sh. Abdul Nasir Jangda, Qalam Podcast)

End of Home School...

And so ends 6 years of home schooling, well, for one of them that is..

Maryam got dressed all by herself, even watched a YouTube video on how to do up her school tie! Her dad was gutted now that he was being made redundant by his number 3. I remember back in my days the job for helping me knot my uniform tie belonged to either my father or brother. I remember witnessing the sense of responsibility unfold on my fathers face knowing that this was, ‘his job’ and he was proud to be the one to do up his daughters tie. So much for YouTube eh? 

Maryam was very excited and a little anxious at the start of her new journey. Her mind was buzzing with question after question, a few months back she questioned whether she would still be able to meet up with her HomeEd friends and visit places like Kidzania during school days! She questioned whether she could continue with gymnastics and finally achieve level 1 or whether her little sister will be able to cope without her.

As the start of high school drew near, her never-ending questions changed and she began to wonder if she will make friends? What will her teacher be like? How hard will the work be? Will she get a locker? Will she have to wear a face mask? What will school dinners be like? 

When the first day of school finally arrived, I watched in silence as she got herself ready. Admittedly I was the one that ironed her school uniform, I hadn’t done that chore for years so that brought back many painful memories..as I was ironing I remembered the times I used to take my elder two to school; uniform shopping...ongoing! Constantly sewing-in the waist of their uniform trousers, forever late on school runs, paying fees for every school trip, writing notes to teachers...Maleeha will be late for this..., Iman is unable to attend that..it came as a breather once I decided to home school knowing that I wouldn’t have to deal with any of those tasks any longer, that is until now with Maryam wanting to trial school I was about to re-enter the world of ‘school’ once again. 

Over our 6 years of homeschool, Maryam has developed her people skills pretty well. She is a very confident young lady, always willing to help others. She is caring, kind and considerate of others and knows when to admit to mistakes and say sorry. She is my ‘joker’, always able to make me laugh. Admittedly she is very different in her mannerisms compared to my other children and sometimes I wonder whether this is because I was at my highest level of deen when I was due with her and that she was the only child that I had breast-fed for 2 complete years, Woo Hoo! Alhamdulillah! 

As Maryam began to put on her hijab it suddenly dawned on me that she was now a ‘big girl’ and that I was about to let her experience, ‘School’! (cue theme tune to Eastenders). 

The fears of ‘Maryam losing her confidence’ that we had built upon as a family, began to creep in. All bad things ‘school’ began to flood my mind with bullying for sure, at the top of my list. 

However, I reminded myself why I had chosen to send her to school. Maryam has dreams of one day becoming a civil engineer Insha’Allah. Home schooling my elder was a tad easier as she had aspirations of becoming a professional patisserie chef and Alhamdulillah she is now on on the way to achieve just that Insha’Allah. 

My chosen method of ‘home school’ has always been to allow my children to follow their dreams and desires and for me to facilitate it in anyway that I can. So at the age of 4 when Maryam was introduced to a drill by her father there was no stopping her. She would enjoy taking things apart and discovering how to put them all together again. Taking apart a dyson vacum cleaner for example and then putting all its bits back together again is one memory she continues to share with everyone she meets. She is my, ‘Bob the builder’, forever trying to fix things in our house that have almost fallen apart. So these were the tell-tale signs that Maryam had a passion for a tool box and art. Take a look over @alburouge where you will find little Maryam in her element, interviewing architects that she aspires too. 

As my personal circumstances began to change again, with less time on my hands and Maryam’s intense desire to want to learn more, I now felt that perhaps school will be the way to go for now. Where she will be able to gain free access to subjects like design and technology, textiles and ICT. Subjects that I know very little about and can not afford to pay for them outside of school, subjects that Maryam needs access to to help her along the way. 

My nerves were calmed somewhat knowing that I had chosen to send Maryam to a school that had a very good reputation, a school on my doorstep, literally, a school with very good parent/teacher/child support. 

And now the time had come to let go. 

It was hard. 

Yes, I cried. 

I didn’t show her my tears though. I hugged her and gave her that, ‘Mummy talk’, to which she replied, ‘Mummy, your heart is beating so fast!’ Little did she know that I had butterflies in my own tummy and was on the verge of tears. 

I see my journey with Maryam like a kite, soaring through the skies. She will have a little more freedom within new territory but I will never let go. I will hold on tight to her and be there for her, to pull her back in as and when needed. As a parent, getting involved with the school is one way that I will be using to stay in touch, for the sake of both of us, Insha’Allah. 

Before leaving home Maryam prayed two nawafil and read the leaving home dua, just as she was taught when she was younger. This time however, mummy wasn’t going to accompany her to school, Maryam was going to make this grown up journey all by herself. Was she ready? Was she happy? 

Judging by her pictures, I think she was...;) 

My duas are forever with you, my darling Maryam, good luck x