. :
There was a phase in my life where I questioned everything about Islam. I went down a deep rabbit hole of doubts, second-guessing everything I believed in until I felt like I had completely lost my iman. One night, I stayed up late with my friends talking about Islam and sharing some of the struggles I had. They kept reminding me to make dua. As simple as that sounded, it felt hard to hold onto because I had been making dua nonstop, yet nothing seemed to change. At the time, I was deeply unhappy in university, constantly struggling to keep up and feeling like the system was against me. I prayed and prayed, but my situation never improved — and I think that’s what pushed me into doubting my own duas. That night, after leaving my friends, I went home and laid in bed for over an hour just crying my eyes out. I felt so lost, and all I could repeat was: “Allah, show me a sign.” I begged for it over and over again until I fell asleep. The very next day, while visiting some relatives, one of my family members suddenly came up to me and told me to pack my bags because we were going for ʿUmrah the next day. It was so unexpected — no one in my family had even talked about going for ʿUmrah before. They didn’t ask me if I wanted to go; they just told me directly to get ready. I was confused, but in that moment something in my heart felt lighter, as if a weight had been lifted. The next day, I packed my bags and before I knew it, we were on the way to Makkah. The whole trip felt surreal, almost like a direct response to the prayer I had cried for the night before. Alhamdulillah, I didn’t just complete one ʿUmrah, but two in the same day. Throughout it all, I was in awe — my heart felt connected to Allah in a way I can’t put into words. That experience changed me. For the first time in so long, my mind went silent. The doubts, the questions, the heaviness — they all faded away. By the time I returned home, it felt like my iman had been replenished. I no longer carried the endless questions that once consumed me. I am endlessly grateful — to my family member who became the means, and to Allah ﷻ who answered my desperate dua in the most powerful way. Alhamdulilah.
2025-08-29 08:13:13