207-INSPIRATION

by Khadija Sabur-Hawkes

(Woman by Nature, invites you to support the Save a Sister campaign to help sisters who are struggling with stress, trauma, self-neglect, serious illness, and low self-worth, to reclaim their lives, by the permission of Allah.)

So often in life, we humans struggle and strive to have our basic needs met. Safety, comfort, accomplishment, advancement– these are all basic human drives. However, in pursuit of these we often think that if we are more educated or can prove ourselves worthy of promotion, then we will finally achieve a level of security regarding our worldly needs.

How often have you struggled valiantly to ace your exams, or worked to ensure that your presentation before your company’s board of directors was the talk of the office? This is all excellent, but there is a missing ingredient– one that could make all the difference in your success or failure.

As you strive for self-sufficiency and excellence, don’t forget to help your Muslim brothers and sisters who may not have the same resources or opportunities as you.

This is one of the keys– the “secret sauce of success,” so to speak, as narrated in the below sahih hadith:

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar:

Allah’s Messenger () said, ‘A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever screened a Muslim, Allah will screen him on the Day of Resurrection.’     [Sahih al-Bukhari 2442]

Applying This in Everyday Life

Subhana Allah, there is so much benefit in this hadith, but for the purposes of this discussion, I want to focus on two particular gems:

1. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs . . .

and

Whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of 2. the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection.

The lines above hold all that we truly desire as humans and slaves of Allah, subhana wa ta’ala– protection and provision in this world, and safety and success on the Day of Judgment. Allah has promised all of this, to those who aid and help uplift their fellow Muslims. Allahu akbar!

So when we think about the true means to having our needs fulfilled– in the most perfect fashion— it is through being one who fulfills the needs of others. One who’s heart is attached to, and moved by the situations of his Muslims brothers and sisters, as in the sahih hadith:

The example of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever. [Sahih Bukhari 5665, Sahih Muslim 2586]

I have seen this principle at work all around me, and even in my own life and work, alhamdulillah.

As a Certified Holistic Health and Lifestyle Coach at Woman by Nature, I regularly work with Muslim women who are struggling to maintain their iman, fight depression, heal from abuse and trauma, improve their health, increase self-esteem, and reduce stress and overwhelm.

In working with these sisters, my heart has been opened in a way that I never thought possible. Hearing sisters speak of being homeless, suffering panic attacks, feeling worthless, and struggling to connect with Allah gave me a new appreciation for the struggles I have overcome by the permission of Allah, and the many blessings that abound, which many take for granted.

To meet the needs of our sisters I have created an in-depth emotional wellness course:

The Self{ish} Project: Sacred Self-Care for Muslim Women

Self{love}   Self{care}   Self{healing}

The Self{ish} Project is an online, interactive holistic wellness course, which helps sisters who are struggling with stress, trauma, self-neglect, serious illness, low self-worth, and low iman. We have run this course for women in various communities in the past, but now it is time to take things to another level to benefit our Muslim sisters, with the aid of Allah harnessing the “recipe for success” mentioned in the hadith above. But we need your help.

We have seen that Allah’s promise is true and have experienced the actualization of this success formula (fulfilling the need of a Muslim and easing his or discomfort) in administering this program. However, because of the nature of the hardships that many sisters are struggling with, they are often in dire financial straits and unable to afford emotional wellness coaching. For this reason we have allowed a number of sisters to access this life-changing course for free, and we have seen that in doing so Allah has continuously given us just enough to keep moving in the spirit of service and sisterhood.

However, in order to truly meet the enormous need to help the thousands of sisters who feel alone, overwhelmed,and worthless, we need the help of the greater Muslim community. We need you.
With our “Save a Sister” campaign, Woman by Nature is collaborating to create a global initiative to reach out to and support our sisters who are currently struggling, lost, and alone, giving them access to this course free of charge.

Up until this point, we have worked on a local and community level- both on and offline. However, in doing so – we have seen that no matter what community or group of women we interacted with, their issues were truly universal. This is a global need!

Masha Allah, our work to date has helped hundreds of women and girls to improve their spiritual connections, enhance their self-worth, heal from trauma, reduce stress, and learn practical tools to design a life in which they thrive, bi’ithnillah.

This has been accomplished through our various programs and partnerships, including Islamic Womanhood Training (IWT), Youth Round Tables and workshops via the Islamic Heritage Youth Foundation, sisters counseling through our masjid, marriage seminars, articles and resources on womanbynature.com and our facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/WomanbyNature/), as well as four sessions thus far of The Self{ish} Project – which has helped women in the general community, those struggling under the weight of living with a chronic illness, and our Muslim sisters as well. In every community that the program has been introduced, it has been welcomed as a long-awaited and much needed resource. A life-line if you will.

We Need Your Support!

In order to have a bigger impact, and seeking the promise of Allah— Whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection— we are asking for your support to take this initiative global to help Muslim sisters all over the world to heal from the inside out regardless of their financial circumstances, bi’ithnillah.

Every community around the world provides support and services for their members. In shaa Allah; we can do the same and show that we care for and support our Muslim sisters in need.

Jazakallahu Khairan for your support.

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