A Journey Through the Blessings of Allah : Growing, Learning, and Discovering the World

 

O Allah,

Then You allowed me to grow from one stage to another, and my childhood became a continuous journey of blessings that You renewed for me every day.

O Allah, I grew a little stronger, and the world around me became wider.

Yesterday, I could barely move from my place.

Then You enabled me to walk.

Then You enabled me to run.

Then You enabled me to climb, jump, play, and move wherever I wanted.

How much strength You gave me without my asking for it, and how many abilities I used without thinking about the One who gave them to me!

O Allah,

You gave me a body that grew without me knowing how it grew.

My bones were small, and then they became stronger.

My muscles were weak, and then they developed.

My body changed as the days passed, while I did nothing to make these changes happen.

I was growing even while I slept, while You were taking care of my growth without me even realizing it.

O Allah,

You did not give me only a growing body.

You also began opening the doors of understanding and knowledge before me.

I began learning the names of things.

I began recognizing people.

I began understanding words.

I began discovering places.

I began remembering what had happened the day before.

I began to understand something about time.

You gave me a mind that could learn, a memory that could preserve, an understanding that could distinguish, an imagination that could create, and the ability to ask questions and search for answers.

O Allah,

How many questions came from my lips when I was a child:

What is this?

Why?

How?

Where?

When?

I thought I was discovering things by myself, but I did not realize that You were the One who had given me the ability to discover.

You allowed me to learn from my parents, my family, my teachers, and the people around me.

You made others a means of teaching me, and You placed within me the ability to learn.

O Allah,

You gave me the blessing of language.

You taught me words, then sentences, then the ability to express my thoughts and feelings.

I became able to say:

I want.

I do not want.

I love.

I am afraid.

I am hurt.

I am happy.

I need.

My tongue became a means of expressing what was inside me after crying had once been my only way of communicating my needs.

O Allah,

You gave me the ability to understand and distinguish.

I began to recognize something of good and evil, right and wrong, love and fear, happiness and sadness.

I began to form memories.

Certain places became associated with safety.

Certain faces became associated with love.

Certain voices became associated with comfort.

You were not only developing my body; You were also developing my mind, my memory, my emotions, and my personality.

O Allah,

Then You opened the door of play before me.

You placed joy in play, energy in movement, and happiness in discovery.

I could play for hours without noticing the passage of time.

I could run, laugh, become tired, and then sleep.

I did not realize that the ability to play itself was a blessing.

The ability to laugh was a blessing.

The ability to feel joy was a blessing.

The ability to create memories was a blessing.

The ability to enjoy simple things was a blessing.

O Allah,

You also gave me the blessing of friendship.

You allowed me to meet other children, play with them, share with them, and learn from them.

I began learning what friendship meant.

I learned sharing.

I learned disagreement.

I learned reconciliation.

I began to understand that a human being does not live alone.

Every new relationship was a lesson, and every experience became part of the person I was becoming.

O Allah,

Then came the stage of education.

I entered a new world that I had never known before.

I learned letters.

I learned to read.

I learned to write.

I learned mathematics.

I began learning about the world around me.

Every letter I learned was a blessing.

Every word I could read was a blessing.

Every piece of knowledge I understood was a blessing.

You gave me a magnificent instrument: the mind. Then You opened before that mind the doors of knowledge.

O Allah,

I did not understand the value of this blessing.

I went to school and came home.

Sometimes I became tired of studying.

Sometimes I wanted to play instead.

I did not realize that the ability to learn was itself one of the greatest gifts You had given me.

How many people are deprived of the opportunity to learn?

How many are deprived of sight or hearing?

How many have no one to teach them?

How many live without access to knowledge and education?

Yet You opened many doors of knowledge before me without allowing me to realize the full value of what I had been given.

O Allah,

As I grew older, I began to see the world in a wider way.

I learned that there were cities and countries and countless people.

I looked at the sky and the stars.

I saw the sun and the moon.

I learned about seas and mountains, plants and animals.

I began asking questions about the origin and meaning of things.

And the more my vision of the world expanded, the more I should have come to know You.

Yet Your blessings were greater than my awareness of them.

O Allah,

I was changing every day, and You continued to care for me.

I learned every day, and You were the One who opened the doors of learning.

I became stronger, and You were the One who gave me strength.

I became more knowledgeable, and You were the One who gave me my mind.

I formed relationships, and You were the One who placed people in my life.

I lived through new days, and You were the One who gave me time.

Every day of my childhood was a new page of Your generosity, and every page contained blessings I could never count.

O Allah,

Today, when I look back at those years, I realize that I was not creating my life by myself.

You were the One preparing the means for me.

You were the One protecting me.

You were the One providing for me.

You were the One teaching me.

You were the One giving me the ability to grow, understand, move, and speak.

And You surrounded me with blessings I could see and blessings I knew nothing about.

So praise belongs to You, O Allah, for every step I took, every word I learned, every piece of knowledge I gained, every moment of happiness I experienced, and every good person You made a means of bringing goodness into my life.

Praise belongs to You for the blessings I recognized and the blessings I failed to recognize.

Praise belongs to You for what I asked for and for what You gave me before I even knew I needed it.

O Allah, whenever I look back at my childhood, I see traces of Your mercy in details I once considered ordinary. Now I realize that they were immense blessings surrounding me from every direction.