the revelation of greater plans...

i don't think i mentioned before about my disappointment in having rebutia cancelled.
no, this is not a complaint about that...so rest assured. when it was cancelled, it was just that many among us were trying to console each other, saying that there are hikmahs to the event not happening.

and i sit here today, contemplating those exact words.

23-27 december was the slated duration of the whole trip.
masya Allah, the things that happened in this time period.

first hikmah - sad one, but fortunately for me, turned out for the better. 23rd december, my grandmother was hospitalised for a high fever which did not subside. 25th december, my grandfather was hospitalised for high fever and shortness of breath. both my maternal grandparents were not doing very good, and were hospitalised two days apart from each other. alhamdulillah, they are recovering well now, and as of today, have been discharged. i dread to imagine if their conditions had not improved, and i was not around to be with them.

second hikmah - by His Grace and Mercy, i managed to personally meet with a shaykh of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, Maulana Shaykh Md Hisham Kabbani. And while attending three days of lectures by him (26-28 decembar) and other eminent Islamic scholars, i met up with old friends, whom i dearly missed. if rebutia was about finding self-awareness and bonding with my friends, i guess He made it up for me by letting me go for a most enlightening lecture series accompanied by those i loved.

and a most intimate wish made since a decade past, has finally been answered.
All Glory be to Him, the Listener and Answerer, Most Subtle, Most High.

so despite my initial woes at not being able to leave the country on a vacation, i suppose that i have been taught a personal lesson in trust and tawakkal, and in the Divine Designs of Allah. and the pleasure of this lesson, and the experience that i have had these past three days, i guess only i can speak of it.

Reborn,
He who seeks the Way is given a compass,
The guiding light shines upon the Golden Path,
His chaotic heart finds tranquility,
In the gardens of Dhikr.

Ilahi anta maqsudi wa ridhaka matlubi, 'atini mahabbataka wa ma'rifataka.
Amin.