Introduction to Asma ul Husna

Favorite Season

Everyone has a favorite season. Mine is hajj. Because It is the season that reminds me of how Allah honored an otherwise insignificant woman only due to her unwavering and unfaltering trust (tawakkul) in Him. How she was the reason for an entire civilization to arise.

When her husband left her and her newborn baby in the lonely desert and started to walk back, she asked him “O Ibrahim! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no one nor is there anything else around?” She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her. Then she asked him, ”Has Allah ordered you to do so?" He said, “Yes”. She said, ”Then He will not abandon us“. 

Later, when she ran out of milk and water and when her baby began to cry, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like a person in distress and trouble, until she crossed the valley and reached the Marwa mountain, where she stood and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she could not see anybody. Hajar ran between Safa and Marwa seven times, and each time she searched the desert, expecting to see somebody. Despite being in the midst of an unsettled and uncultivated desert, she did not lose hope that Allah would send her help.

Guess what? Allah honored this woman so much so that He made emulating her in her endeavour (saee’) of searching for Allah’s help that she was so certain to find, which is running between Safa and Marwa 7 times, exactly as many times as she did, a major pillar of hajj that every single person must perform. There’s no hajj without saee’. Even if he’s a king, he HAS to emulate this slave woman if he wants his hajj to be valid.

Through Hajar, Allah also demonstrates to us that when Allah sends us a solution, He gives us that which exceeds our expectations. When Hajar was running between Safa and Marwa, all she hoped for was some nourishment for her baby, or to see people who could help. And she didn't give up, going back and forth 7 times. So Allah did not just give her nourishment for the day or week or month, He gave her the well of Zamzam, which we still drink from today. Zamzam brought people to settle in the area, marking the birth of a new civilization. Hajar was no more alone! 

It is also clear how Allah gave her the upper hand over those people despite being a single woman. The Prophet (saw) said, ’Ismail’s mother was sitting near the water. They (Bani Jurhum) asked her, “Do you allow us to stay with you?” She replied, “Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water”. They agreed to that’. [Tafsir Ibn Kathir]

She was clearly a leader. 

This is why it is my favorite season. It reminds me that trust in Allah does wonders. It reminds me that Allah does not differentiate between genders no matter what the world says about Islam. All that matters to Him is our consciousness of Him and our trust in Him. Taqwah and tawakkul. He’ll literally move mountains for those who love Him. No matter how insignificant we are, He’ll provide for us from where we could never have expected. In ways that would never fail to flabbergast us.