At the beginning of every year, Anse Tamara asks us to try and identify a personal word to encapsulate a focus area for the year ahead. I love this activity, as it really helps shape my goals and aspirations.
For two years in a row, I chose the same word: taslim—complete surrender. In a society that puts so much responsibility on our shoulders, I needed a reminder that the final word always belongs to God. And I want to be happy with that reality.
From the very beginning, this year had a mind of its own—completely ignoring my set up goals. I found myself completing a (totally unplanned but always dreamed of) Quran ijaza, teaching a beloved class of sira in Ribaat—something that brings me immense joy and gratitude—completing my final report at work on time, and, as a cherry on a top, visiting Makkah and Madinah during Ramadan! Blessings over blessings, alhamdulillah. The summer then came with meeting so many beautiful people. Thanks to Bosnia’s gorgeous weather and landscapes in the summer, we are often honored to see many of our teachers visiting and sharing their time and knowledge with us. Another beautiful blessing!
وَإِن تَعُدُّوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَآ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ
“If you tried to count Allah’s blessings, you would never be able to number them. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Al Nahl, 18.)
It’s so easy to be in taslim when everything is easy and beautiful. You feel as if you have wings that carry you from one thing to another, and each thing that’s placed before you is smooth and sweet. You benefit from people, and people benefit from you. You forget your weaknesses, your disadvantages and you believe you can overcome anything. This usually results in remembering Allah ﷻ less and thinking about yourself more…
But then, in His ultimate and overflowing mercy, God ﷻ redirects your plans, changes your goals, and takes you on a path you wouldn’t want in your worst dreams, only so you can reach the destination He has prepared for you.
At the end of the summer, just when I was about to travel to the Ribaat Immersion Retreat with my friends and teachers, I found myself in a hospital bed in Bosnia. Instead of enjoying the very much missed lakes of Minnesota, I was watching my hospital roommates die one by one and asking myself if the angel of death looked at me today as well.
Nothing can make you remember your final goal like looking at the closeness of the end.
فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ
“So where are you going?” (At-Takwir, 26)
This question was all I could think of. Where to? What is it that I am bringing to the home that every breath takes me closer toward? Am I investing all in the home I leave behind with every beat of my heart? Are all those beautiful things I experienced filled with the intention to be for eternity and not to disperse in the temporary? Am I truly content and in taslim about where I am, how I am and what I have and don’t have?
Trusting Him ﷻ in moments like this changes everything. You realize you are not broken, forgotten or abandoned but He is giving you exactly what you need in every moment.
وَمَا تَوْفِيقِىٓ إِلَّا بِٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ أُنِيبُ
“And my success is not but through Allāh. Upon Him I have relied, and to Him I return.” (Hud, 88)
Your courage comes back, your strength is recharged, and your heart is lighter. Wings are back. You know you carry the weight of the responsibility, but you also know you are under the watchful eye of the Most Merciful One.
وَٱصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ فَإِنَّكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا ۖ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ حِينَ تَقُومُ
“So be patient with your Lord’s decree, for you are truly under Our Eyes. And glorify the praises of your Lord when you rise.” (At-Tur, 48)
What I will bring to 2025 is this:
- Plan your goals—set your aims, dream high—but trust Allah knows better than you.
- If things don’t go your way, trust His way is better for you.
- If you ever feel alone, broken and abandoned, know the One you trust completely and fearlessly will never betray you.
- Work hard, never leave your dhikr, recharge with Qur’an, keep learning and keep good company.
May your upcoming year be full of beautiful surprises, blessings you see and give thanks for, lessons that are easy and joy that is overflowing.
رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةًۭ وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةًۭ وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
“Our Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.” (Al Baqarah, 201)
Anse Leila Anwar, Ribaat Academic Institute Instructor
