Lessons from the Snowflakes

By Adam Abu Ibrahim

It may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know.

I do not know about you but, subhan’Allah, as the snow falls it is leaving me in such awe of the power of Allah azza wa jal! I read someone’s facebook status and it reminded me of how powerful Allah jala wa ala is and how weak we are. It was as follows: “He (Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala) knows the exact number and exact shape of all the snowflakes falling, everywhere.” And mind you that every single snowflake has its own unique shape and design. Subhan’Allah, not a single one falls without His permission, jala wa ala! Allahu Akbar!

I was talking with a brother about the amount of snow that has fallen and the amount that continues to fall. And we reminded each other that Allah azza wa jal does not do things without cause, but He jala wa ala does things out of His divine hikma (wisdom). As you read in the verse above, Allah azza wa jal knows that which is best for us and that which is not.

Ibn Taymiyah said:

“We know there is wisdom behind everything that Allah does. This is sufficient for us in general terms, even if we do not know the reasons why things happen. Our lack of knowledge about the details of His wisdom is like our lack of knowledge about the details of His Essence. Just as it is proven that His attributes are perfect but we cannot know the reality of His Essence, so we do not reject what we know and are sure of (that He is perfect) because of what we do not know (the details of His perfection).”

“Similarly we know that He is All-Wise in all that He does and commands. The fact that we may not know the wisdom behind some minor decrees and issues should not undermine the basic principle of what we know of His wisdom. So we should not deny what we know about His wisdom just because we do not know all the details of His wisdom. We know that whoever realizes the brilliance of mathematicians, doctors and grammarians but does not share their attributes by virtue of which they deserve prominence, cannot criticize what they say just because he does not comprehend what they are saying. People are less likely to understand the wisdom of Allah in His creation than the common man is to understand mathematics, medicine and grammar. So objecting to Allah’s wisdom is more ignorant and the one who does that is worse off than an ignorant man who criticizes mathematicians, doctors and grammarians without having any knowledge of these disciplines.”

Also to further drive the point home, look as the dua said after salat al istikhara. This is a way that we ask for Allah subhana wa ta’ala’s guidance, because the one whom Allah azza wa jal guides none can misguide and the one whom Allah jala wa ala has misguided none can guide. This all goes back to the wisdom and knowledge of the unseen that only Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has!

I’ve been thinking of reasons that we, myself first, could benefit from the the baraka (blessing) of this snow and alhamdulillah and here are some ways:

1. Ibada (Worship): How many of us have told ourselves that once we get some free time we will pray qiyam or read some books to increase our knowledge of this deen but we don’t find the time to do so. Alhamdulillah, here is our chance!

2. Quran: Let’s commit to either try to memorize a new surah or review one that we are weak in before the snow melts!

3. Ilm: Alhamdulillah, for those of us who are in school, we are always playing catch up or studying for a quiz or exam, but alhamdulillah, we have had more then enough time to get caught up and maybe ahead of what we are learning in our classes! Now let’s try to get caught up with ilm that will increase us in iman and taqwa!

4. Family: We all know the ajr in keeping the bonds of kinship and there are many ahadith to back that up, alhamdulillah, so for those of us who live with our family let’s try to spend some quality time with them insha’Allah ta’ala! For those of you who have kids or younger siblings (may Allah bless them and watch over them) maybe we can make a snowman, an igloo, or something else that’s fun in the snow! Maybe we can even do one of the above items with them! And if we don’t live with or around any family members, then maybe we can sit down and give them a call and have a nice chat with them!

5. Dawah: Maybe you know of an elderly person who lives a few houses down, or a single mother, or any neighbor who may have some or has had some difficulty shoveling their driveway, sidewalk, or car out of the snow. Give some dawah and help them out insha’Allah, and do so without them asking! Even trick yourself by doing their driveway first then yours that way shaytan won’t be able to come to you and make an excuse like “I’m tired they can wait until later” or something like that. One other thing is if you have room in your home and your neighbor has lost power, ask them if they would like to stay warm in your place until the power returns at their place! Just think of how they will be amazed that the “weirdo” next door has turned into the hero of the day! And just think of the ajr you will receive if they become Muslim! Allahu Akbar!!!

6. Halaqa: Many people have asked if we could share what we learned at Ilm Summit with them. Maybe we could have a online halaqa and go over some of the things we learned insha’Allah ta’ala!

One last thing that I wanted to mention is that this snow may be a form of mercy from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Maybe we had an exam we were not ready for and school got canceled, maybe we have been working very hard at work and needed a break from it all! The possibilities are endless, alhamdulillah!!!

I looked through the Quran and some ahadith for anything about snow but could only find this hadith in Shahih Bukari and Muslim:

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Messenger of Allah used to keep silent between the Takbir and the recitation of Qur’an and that interval of silence used to be a short one. I said to the Prophet “May my parents be sacrificed for you! What do you say in the pause between Takbir and recitation?” The Prophet said, “I say, ‘Allahumma, ba’id baini wa baina khatayaya kama ba’adta baina-l-mashriqi wa-l-maghrib. Allahumma, naqqim min khatayaya kama yunaqqa-ththawbu-l-abyadu mina-ddanas. Allahumma, ighsil khatayaya bil-ma’i wa-th-thalji wal-barad (O Allah! Set me apart from my sins (faults) as the East and West are set apart from each other and clean me from sins as a white garment is cleaned of dirt (after thorough washing). O Allah! Wash off my sins with water, snow and hail.)” (Book #12, Hadith #711)

And with that, I ask Allah azza wa jal to wash away all of our sins like the dirt on the ground is washed away by the snow and water and allow us to benefit from the baraka of snow that He has sent down maybe as a mercy for us all, Allahuma, Ameen!

Anything that you may have found beneficial is from Allah jala wa ala only and mistakes or misunderstanding are from the whispers of the shaytan. May Allah subhanu wa ta’ala save us from him and his whispers, Ameen.