Bottling up Hope for You

To my daughter,

I was recently asked in an interview – if you could bottle up any emotion and gift it to anyone, what would it be and for whom? The answer came to me without any thought.

If I could bottle something up it would be hope, and it would be for you.

I would save it for a rainy day, for a day when the gloom of the devil in all his shapes and forms has darkened the sky. For a day when the sun cannot penetrate that layer of grief over something or someone lost, try as it may.

That is the day I would bring out my bottle of hope and gift it to you. That is the day I would tell you, the contents of this bottle will push the clouds to the far ends of the earth, will bring light to your path forward, and will heal whatever is cracked inside of your heart.

But this isn’t just any old hope. This isn’t hope in the goodness of people, or hope that the world will suddenly change for the better. This isn’t hope that pain will never enter your home.

This is a greater hope. This is the greatest hope.

The hope I have saved for you is hope in God – that He will, no matter what, no matter when, no matter how, come to your aid the exact moment you clasp your hands together and ask. He will forgive you if you ask. He will heal you if you ask.

That is the hope I want to give to you. I cannot promise you that the clouds of pain and restlessness will not return. Actually, I can promise you that they will – because that’s the nature of this existence. But none of that is of any consequence if you hold tightly to this hope, if you ingrain it in your heart.

Then, no matter what pain you face, the light, guidance, and forgiveness of God will always be able to reach you.

The Prophet (saw) said, “Indeed Shaytan said, ‘My Lord, by Your Honor and Might! I will not stop misleading Your slaves as long as their souls remain in their bodies.’ So Allah responded, ‘By My Honor, Might and Majesty, I will not stop forgiving them as long as they seek My forgiveness.’” (Ahmad)

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