I peeped through the window to watch Almighty God shower his mercy.  It was the first rain that I witnessed in the desert of UAE, which has now become my new home. It was enthralling to watch the water droplets falling on the windowpane & I was ecstatic that I could feel some of them more intimately on my face. Rain always evoked a plethora of emotions within me & had the ability to transform me into a different world altogether.

I started reminiscing the good old times when the capricious rain in my home country would come uninvited & desert us in times of need.  As children, we used to pray for heavy rains at 9am so that we could miss the school, Jump and slash in puddles & play with paper boats. Rains also meant it was time for family bonding & to share some lighter moments. My mom would prepare hot scrumptious snacks & we would all devour them, when my father used to seize the moment to enlighten us with some profound divine thoughts. He would quote the hadith ‘Whenever Allah's Apostle saw the rain; he used to say "O Allah! Let it be a strong fruitful rain." Bukhari Hadith (2:142) 

He urged all of us to relish the savouries & at the same time offer thankfulness to Allah SWT for providing us with lots of bounties, a privilege which we often take for granted.  He used to instruct us to send food portions to our relatives and neighbours without fail.  “He does not believe in Allah SWT, the one who sleeps full while his neighbour is hungry.”[Al-Bazar] he quoted. 

Then he would make us all recite a lovely prayer “Oh Allah, give us, and do not deprive us; and increase for us, and do not decrease for us; and be generous to us, and do not be severe with us; and grace us, and do not disgrace us; and help us, and do not forsake us”. I recited this prayer recollecting memories spanning back a decade & mingled feelings of pensiveness & nostalgia hit me hard.

I had lived my past professional life with an engaging occupation, holding a lucrative IT job. When I was moving to UAE to join my spouse, leaving behind family & friends, the comforts of my home & a treasured profession, my heart twinged. My family had always been my ardent supporter & motivator.  And, fully aware that setting up a new home away from home would be a tough deal for their pampered daughter, they made me gear up to the challenge. My father quoted the verses.  “For truly with hardship comes ease (94: 5-6) whoever has fear of God - He will give him a way out and provide for him from where he does not expect. Whoever puts his trust in God - He will be enough for him” (65: 2-3) Though I had studied these verses before, they imparted in me a renewed strength & peace & at the outset, I was eager to convert the pathway of challenge into a road full of opportunities.

It’s strange that we all tend to take our parents & family for granted simply because they don’t demand anything from us & also because they are always there for us. They are the only people who don’t expect anything in return from us while they dedicate their whole life selflessly for our betterment. They are the reason for our existence & for shaping our future & personality, yet we fail to acknowledge their importance or presence in our lives. On reflecting on the bygones, I am filled with remorse that i should have spent more time with my mother, instead of always being busy with my studies & job. I should have taken advice from my dad more often, instead of thinking that I was capable of making my own choices.

I guess it’s true that we realize importance of some things only when they begin to slide away from our hands. So before it’s too late & just memories & reflections are left behind, let’s cherish the presence of parents’ in our lives unlike many of those for whom this is still a dream. 

Try to get their bountiful blessings & who knows, this could be your path to success in this world & thereafter.