Mazaher. What the fuzz?
I just poured myself a cold glass of milk and added a hint of mazaher (orange blossom water). Let me tell you, that combination is literally a gift send from Allah. I have no idea who came up it, but if you are a major milk fan like me and you come from a Moroccan or Arab household, I can only advise you to open your fridge right now and look for that little green bottle with an orange sticker (I know) that says ‘mazaher’, as you most likely will have this at home. Pour yourself a glass of COLD milk… I’ll wait, I mean this blog isn’t going anywhere.
Oh, if you don’t have cold milk in the fridge, put a bottle in to cool down first. This is an ultimate requirement. I’m aware that milk with mazaher isn’t Zamzam, but it makes my mood go up and my body release a sentiment of joy. Crazy? I think not!
Settled? Great! Now let’s dive into the more interesting stuff. About a year ago, somewhere after reading the Qur’an and the month Ramadan, I remember telling my sister something about my wedding ring. Future wedding ring, that is. At the time I didn’t really realise where I got the idea from, but a couple of days ago, I got the insight I needed.
Sipping atay bi na3na3
I don’t really recall how the conversation with my sister went exactly, as I have glitches in my memory… someone is NOT getting younger, to say the least. But imagine me and my lovely sister, who you may or may not know, have a nice chat while sipping a not-all-to-sweet Atay bi na3na3 (moroccan mint tea) and some delicious cheesecake.
By the time we have our small talk out of the way, I tell her that I have a new idea for my wedding ring. I would love to include a pearl next to a coloured gem as part of the ring into the design. At that time I didn’t really consider the origin of the idea as much, yet I felt really strongly about it.
Fast forward to a couple of days ago where I was rereading surah Al-Nahl (the bee). Within the surah, Allah swt gives us many beautiful insights, lessons and warnings. One of those insights in this particular surah is that Allah swt mentions the gift of water, sea and ocean. He tells us that he created the sea with incredible depth so that we can travel from one shore to another; that we can generate food from under water and that we find pearls and treasures for our jewellery.
The takeaway in this, is not me wanting a pearl on my ring and subconsciously having registered it the first time I read the Qur’an. What is important though, is that Allah swt reveals to us pieces of information every time we are reading the Qur’an. It shouldn’t come as surprise to find new things or insights the 7th or 115th time you read the holy book. I believe that is the beauty of it all. The Qur’an contains so much information. Even though you may think you have grasped a great deal in the beginning, you’ll never really have finished reading it completely, hence why we are rereading it as muslims.
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِي سَخَّرَ ٱلۡبَحۡرَ لِتَأۡكُلُواْ مِنۡهُ لَحۡمٗا طَرِيّٗا وَتَسۡتَخۡرِجُواْ مِنۡهُ حِلۡيَةٗ تَلۡبَسُونَهَاۖوَتَرَى ٱلۡفُلۡكَ مَوَاخِرَ فِيهِ وَلِتَبۡتَغُواْ مِن فَضۡلِهِۦ وَلَعَلَّكُمۡ تَشۡكُرُونَ
“It is He who made the sea of benefit to you: you eat fresh fish from it and bring out jewellery to wear; you see the ships cutting through its waves so that you may go in search of His bounty and give thanks.” (Al-Nahl, 16:14)
Tuwa, a sacred place
When Prophet Musa a.s. was standing at Tuwa, Allah swt spoke to him about his task in defeating Pharaoh. The passage is beautifully described in Surah Taha. Within the surah, Musa a.s. asks Allah swt a couple of things to help ease his task for him. One of those things is to help Musa a.s. with his speech, so that his people may understand his message more clearer as it is to understand that our Prophet was having difficulties such as a stotter. Additionally, Musa a.s. asked Allah swt to bless his brother Haroun a.s. as well, so that they may complete the task of guiding the people and defeating pharaoh together.
The more I reread surah Taha, the more I understand not only the humanity behind our prophets but also the love they had for their families. Some of our prophets had to separate from their closest ones as their values and beliefs didn’t align, while others were able to find strength in a family bond. Whichever side of the spectrum our prophets were on, the thankfulness towards Allah swt was constant.
Thankfulness
I too am thankful for my family and siblings hamdoulilah. Time has thought me that people grow individually. Sometimes this growth leads us to take a step back from certain connections and other times we take a step forward. At the end of the day, I think we all need to surround ourselves with the people who are going into a similar direction. We mutually invest in time, in values, pour in love, act with respect, hold up aspirations and work towards common goals. Not only for this dunia, but also for the akhira, In Sha Allah
We’re born into a family but we also create our own family upon marriage. If we are lucky enough to recognise a good and peaceful thing for what it is, we’ll go that extra mile to create a mutual safe haven and place of thankfulness. People grow individually, yet grow together as well. Sometimes, the best growth accomplished is the one where you don’t waiver in faith, don’t doubt the strength of a connection, put in extra effort, allow space for building, kneading and sculpting. Sometimes recognising a good thing simply means being willing to give it your all and then some. Allowing yourself and the other to be every part of themselves. Yet, most of all it’s being thankful to Allah swt for anything, the littlest of things and the most of things.
Together in faith