Dear Child, Sometimes Sad Things Happen, and This is Why it's OK
Dear Child,
Everything is a gift from Allah. Everything that you can see, is good; everything that seems like it is not good nor bad and everything that SEEMS like it is bad. When I was 10 years old, I took a test to go to a private school. I didn’t pass that test. I was very, very upset. Back in those days, I used to write a poem about anything that made me happy or upset. I wrote a really heartfelt poem to my parents that day, to tell them how I felt about letting them down. I’ve kept a book of some of my poems and I came across this one the other day. Back then, I didn’t realise that whatever had happened, was a gift from Allah. Even though, at that time, it felt really unfair and upsetting.
Now, as an adult, I am absolutely sure that if I had gone to that private school, I wouldn’t have lived the next years of my life the way that I have. That means, that I wouldn’t have been the same person. I did really well at secondary school anyway, and I got a degree in Molecular Cell Biology from one of the top universities in the world - thanks to Allah. But if I had been at the private school, I might have become a doctor or a dentist, or anything else. And that means that I might never have written all the books that I’ve written. I might not have shared those stories with you - the Migo & Ali book, My Dad’s Beard, the Hadith and Dua books – none of them. Books that I have absolutely loved writing and that (I hear) you have loved reading – wherever in the world you are.
So you see, what happened to me, when I was 10 years old, felt awful at the time, but it was a gift from Allah. I’m so happy with where I am right now, because I know I’m in the greatest hands and I’m right where I’m supposed to be. And you are right where you’re supposed to be. Allah has always held us and led us to what He knows is best, and He always will!
Sometimes things happen to us that make us very sad. It is ok to feel sad and let others know that you are feeling sad. But you can control how long you are sad for, if you know that everything that happens to you, is a gift from Allah.
All my love and Duas,
Zanib
Zanib Mian is the author of Migo & Ali: Love for the Prophets and 14 other children's books, Masha'Allah. Her work has been praised in The Guardian, featured on Cbeebies Bedtime Stories, Islam Channel and many other media outlets.
