The story of the woman walking down the street

“Do not fear for Allah is with us.” (Qur’an 9:40)
I recently heard of a Native American tradition from the Cherokee Tribe where a young boy’s rite of passage into manhood consists of a terrifying night alone in the forest. The tradition says a boy is blindfolded by his father and taken into the middle of the forest at night. The boy is placed on a tree stump and told he cannot move from his place until he sees the rays of the sun shine through the fabric of his blindfold. He must withstand an entire night in the forest without removing his blindfold or leaving the tree stump. There is no one to call to and no one to seek help from. Even as the wild animals roar, the wind makes noises in every direction and the sounds of forest amplify the boy may shake with fear but cannot move from the tree stump if he wants to become a man. After a horrible night of fear, the sun finally rises and as the boy removes his blindfold he surprisingly finds that his father had sat on a tree stump behind him throughout the entire night watching over him. The morale of this story is that even though it sometimes feels like we are alone, like we have to navigate the dark night of our souls on our own, we must remember that Allah is always present and that our guide, the father of the believers, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is spiritually beside us in a way we can’t always see but whose presence and prayers consistently protects us.

Practice:

•     Close your eyes and breathe in deeply 3 times.

•     Once you feel grounded contemplate on the following line: God’s light and love surrounds you in this very moment.

•     What does it feel like to be reminded that you are never alone and that God is always watching over you?