Strive

Assalamoalaekum

I am sharing an ayah that inspired me today. I seek guidance, mercy, help and forgiveness from الله سبحان و تعالى

أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم

________

 An-Najm (النجم) / 53:39

وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَٰنِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ

And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives
وَأَنْ And that  -  لَيْسَ is not  -  لِلْإِنْسَانِ for man  -  إِلَّا except  -  مَا what  -  سَعَى he strives (for),  - 

________

There will be nothing for man except what he strives for. In life I have noticed again and again whatever I strove for it, eventually I achieved it alhamdolillah.

Whenever I talk to people, they tell me they achieved what they strove for.

So almost everybody is able to achieve what he or she strives for. But the problem lies in what I am striving for and is it really worth i should be striving for?

I want to relate here a personal story that is hard to forget. We went for umrah last December alhamdolillah. Haram was extremely crowded. It was 30 minutes before maghrib prayer and we just finished our tawaf. I had my 3 kids with me including my 18 months old. I was striving to reach a place to offer maghrib prayer where I could see Kaaba in front of my eyes. Because I was with 3 kids, it became harder to find a 3 people spot so I told Haniyah and Sawera to find their own spots and i was left with Adeeb. Very soon Haniyah and Sawera were out of my sight and my mind was going in all directions thinking and praying if they will be safe as that area was extremely crowded. Worrying about them occupied my mind so much that I even forgot to look at Kaaba for which I was striving for initially. SubhanAllah.

Later I realized that my efforts were not for right purpose. I thought that if Kaaba is in my sight, I will remember Allah exclusively but that didn't happen. I remembered Allah but for the safety of my kids. Instead if my effort was just to remember Allah and thank Allah exclusively then that could have been achieved anywhere. But the problem is that there are so many distractions here. It is easy to loose focus.

Alhamdolillah. But that event became unforgettable. Now each day I want to remind myself what I am striving for and is it worth striving for. And I have to strive hard to keep the focus.

Some people strive for Dunia, some strive for Jannah, some strive for both, some strive for seeing Allah.

Oh Allah we are weak. Please direct us in right direction and accept our effort, however small they are.
Ameen.