by Mona Mobarek
When I was asked to write a message of hope from the Islamic point of view I paused for a moment and thought it is going to be a difficult task with all the chaos and challenges that we as an international community are facing.
Luckily, I am not one to immerse myself in negativity for too long and reflected on how faith is the cure for hopelessness and vulnerability and that there is always light at the end of the rainbow.
In fact, from the Islamic perspective, it is an intrinsic part of our faith to understand that within hardships there is always ease and that we as imperfect humans often discover what we perceived as bad or negative in fact tuns out to be positive and good.
This is what faith gives us.
When we believe in God and trust in His Wisdom, we are at peace with whatever happens around us and to us.
This is not to say we do not struggle at times, because we do.
We are human and are subject to all sorts of vulnerabilities.
What it means is that we understand the world is not perfect and is not our final destination, so we view life with hope and positivity.
In fact, our strong and unwavering belief in the hereafter reinforces that whatever difficulties we endure in this life is not only temporary but an ultimate act of mercy.
For the believer, life is a test, and struggles and hardships are inherently part of the journey.
When we fully understand that God’s mercy is coming, we are overcome with peace, contentment and of course hope.
I believe the world has lost this sense of hope and that a relationship with God will restore this.
Finally, our connection with our creator is what gives us the will and desire to face our struggles.
As we move away from this connection in this “so called“ advanced world we see very clearly the devastating repercussions on individuals and society as a whole.
My connection with Allah is what has seen me through some very dark moments that could have been totally crippling.
I truly believe where there is life there is hope.
