In Surat al-Baqarah Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala mentions a story of Bani Israel. They asked for a leader so they could fulfill their rights and Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala gave them one – Talut, the best of the kind – yet, they didn’t appreciate him. This story reminded me of each one of us – our inner struggles. Our number one du’aa is to be granted Jannah. We want Jannah and we ask for it all the time, but do we do what is necessary to attain it?

When we think of role models for hijab or hayaa, who do we usually think of? We tend to think of women we know or have heard about: our moms, sisters, aunts, daughters, friends; the Sahaabiyaat, or the Wives of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them. But what about a Prophet, a man, a slave of Allah, as a role model for hayaa?

We had been home for a little over a month when we got the call. I remember sitting in my room when my Dad came to the door. SubhanAllah, how time seems to slow down at that moment. I saw my brother crying – and thinking he doesn’t cry like that, what’s wrong – and my Dad’s voice breaking as he attempted to relay the news. And the shock. The incomprehensible-ness. Dead? He’s dead? But we just spent a summer with him while he was alive?

What if I said the root of all evil is denial of the Day of Judgment? Take a second and think about it. That man who kidnaps a child, when he thinks no one is looking – he does it thinking he won’t get caught, or have to suffer the consequences. Those leaders who oppress their people – they think they are all-powerful and won’t have to answer to anyone when their rule is over. The abusive spouse who thinks whatever happens in the house is no one else’s business. The bully in the dark alley who thinks he can have his “fun” and get away with it.

In the time of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab, radiAllahu anhu, the second Khalifah, it was mandatory upon all the young girls to learn Surat an-Noor. From the beauty of this Surah is that it begins with, “[This is] a surah which We have sent down and made [that within it] obligatory and revealed therein verses of clear evidence that you might remember” [Surat an-Noor: 1].