The sun pierced through the windows of my sunroom as I walked in with a cup of coffee in one hand and the Qur’an in the other. This was a routine I grew accustomed to, but today was different.
A few flowers had suddenly sprouted from the plant Auntie Tasnim planted several years ago. The bright fuchsia pink petals were a sight not to be missed. I could not help but appreciate what Allah ﷻ shows us of His infinite signs. These blossoming flowers were planted by hands that are no longer present in this fleeting world. Auntie Tasnim returned to her Lord four years ago, yet the laboring of her hands could not be denied. The pink petals in my room were a testament of the seeds she planted for Allah ﷻ and a reminder that the efforts we put in for Him continue to grow, even after our return to Him.
I am reminded of what Allah says in verses 24-25 of chapter 14 in the Qur’an:
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًۭا كَلِمَةًۭ طَيِّبَةًۭ كَشَجَرَةٍۢ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌۭ وَفَرْعُهَا فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ
تُؤْتِىٓ أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍۭ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا ۗ وَيَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ
“Do you not see how Allah compares a good word to a good tree? Its root is firm and its branches reach the sky, ˹always˺ yielding its fruit in every season by the Will of its Lord. This is how Allah sets forth parables for the people, so perhaps they will be mindful.”
When we are sincerely attached to Allah ﷻ in every seed we plant in this life, the possible fruits that sprout are limitless and beyond our imagination. Growth is not contingent on our heart beating, but on Who our heart was attached to while we were planting. So long as we labor for Him, the results are beyond the fixed number of years we spent planting.
This idea begs a question: How many people are still alive yet have no potential simply because they are cut off from the root, and how many people have returned to their Lord yet their branches continue to grow and bear fruits, surpassing the temporary lives they lived? This is only possible when our planting is done with one intention: for Allah.
Can you imagine the branches and fruits that are now growing in this world simply because one person planted a seed for Allah? Perhaps one mosque was built and the amount of worshippers only increases, or one Quranic verse was shared and those who are moved by it continue to grow.
In a recent Ribaat Qur’an class, a sister shared a verse her father would recite every time he sent her off to school. Our entire class was moved by her father’s commitment to the Qur’an and the impact this had on her for the rest of her life. How amazing to be in a class reflecting on a verse because of one man who returned to his Lord. As his heart is no longer beating, we were all given life through the words of Allah that he once recited.
These are just some of the fruits Allah allows us to witness of the seeds we plant for Him. Imagine what we do not see?
As I sit reflecting on my heart’s intention behind the seeds I plant, I think of Auntie Tasnim who inspired these words that I write. She planted, and now we are all receiving.
Anse Samia Mubarak, Ribaat Instructor
