We all have dreams, some big, some small, some which we will accomplish inshaAllah (God willing) and others we wont (and that's ok Alhamdulillah). Sometimes we just sit and keep daydreaming about it without actually being proactive and looking for ways to make those dreams a reality...
How to make your dreams come true:
Step 1: Make a list of all your dreams...
Step 2: Pick one dream & scale that dream right down and see what practical steps you could take on a personal level to get you on your way
Step 3: Think how can you involve your family and local community to get behind you and help out?
Step 4: Be proactive, don't think someone else will do it or you are not capable of it. Be creative & take baby steps but don't ever stop, keep moving forward.
Step 5: Always make lots of sincere du'a, from the initial thought all the way through and after you have accomplished it or part of it
Step 6: Move onto the next one and repeat
With these steps you need lots of self belief, don't ever let the shaytaan make you feel like you cant do something. It's shaytaans job to make you feel hopeless so don't give him the satisfaction inshaAllah.
What is one of your dreams (big or small)? Lets see if we as an online sisterhood can help you achieve that one dream...
One of mine is to set up a hospital/health centre in a poorer country/community offering free health care because I dislike the fact that just because someone can't pay for an antibiotic they have to die of something easily treatable ....
Steps to making that a reality:
1- Personal level- Study really hard and get the best qualifications now
2- Family & community level- Drum up support from family & community members, get businesses and people with more 'know how' on board
3- Greater level- get sponsorship, do research and get out there and do it!
Allah will not change the situation for a people unless they change themselves, so before we try to jump the gun and dive into our projects to make our dream come true we need to look at ourselves and see what we can do to change ourselves and our families first. Start small and work out. I really believe we can change the world but it starts from within then moves onto the people around us and then inshaAllah to the rest of the world.
That's how Islam spread, the prophet pbuh (an illiterate man, who was not a king or a leader) told his family and his friends about Islam, he then spread it to the people around him and the people in his community and now the religion has spread accross the seven seas and all continents with 1.5 Billion followers and counting Alhamdulillah. [Then again he (pbuh) was a prophet and had a divine message to spread, but lets use his example iA, it's the best one we've got]
There are people who will make du'a and leave it at that but Allah has blessed us with so much and du'a is not enough, we need to use the things available to us to make our dreams come true. We all pray for the end to poverty but many of do nothing about it actively, we even think twice before donating to charity.
There is a story I remember from our Religious education classes at school about a man who prayed. There was a flood and the man prayed to God to save him, he was devout and believed 100% God would save him. A rescue boat came to rescue the man and he refused to get on, saying God will save him. As the water flooded his house he moved onto the roof and a helicopter came to rescue him but he insisted God would save him...I don't know how the story ends but the moral of the story is God sent ways for the man to be rescued but he ignored all the signs and relied on faith alone.
One day Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it and he asked the Bedouin, “Why don’t you tie down your camel?” The Bedouin answered, “I put my trust in Allah.” The Prophet then said, “Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah” (At-Tirmidhi).
Faith is not so black and white, Allah gives us a brain so lets not be lazy with it and actually think of ways to change our situation and make our dreams come true. The things we have been blessed with are not ours they are gifts from Allah so lets use them for the greater good, for His sake. You will be held accountable for how you used all your wealth and possessions so use it wisely. The computer you're using right now is a blessing, use it the right way and make something amazing happen today, make your dreams come true.
I mean look at the revolutions in the Arab Spring, the revolution started because people finally realised that by the will of Allah they could change their situation, they made du'a and they decided to take action as well and that's the only way dreams come true.
And that man can have nothing but what he strives for. (An-Najm 53:39)
When I talk of dreams I mean dreams to benefit society and humanity not selfish dreams. Our ultimate dream is to go to Jannah and the steps to achieving that dream are in the Quran.
Don't just dream, make it happen inshaAllah!
*Reminder to myself first*