fīhā barakah

Bismillāh.

Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh, dear sisters.

Today’s reminder is about something we all know is important — yet it’s the one thing so many of us still struggle with. Salah.

Every single day, Allah calls us to success. But how many of us are truly listening?

We stand to pray, but our hearts are elsewhere. We can’t focus, we can’t stay still, and our minds are racing: I have work to finish. I need to find more income. I need to take care of the kids. I need to plan this, fix that… It never ends.

We are constantly striving, constantly chasing — but sisters, are we chasing the right success?

🌿 The Wrong Kind of Success

Many of us rush through our Salah so we can “get back” to something else — but that something else is usually dunya-related. We tell ourselves, I’ll pray quickly and then get back to my work.

But think about it — حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ, “Come to success.” Allah is calling us to success through Salah.

So why do we skip it?
Why do we rush the very act that Allah Himself has told us leads to success?

He is saying: Come to Me. Stand before Me. Ask Me for everything.

Do we really think the Lord who told us to come to Him for success will grant us that success if we rush through our conversation with Him?

🕊️ The Reality of Salah

Salah isn’t a chore. It’s not a task to tick off a list. It’s a divine invitation — five times a day — to meet the Lord of the worlds.

On the Day of Qiyāmah, Salah will be the first thing we’re asked about. It’s literally the difference between a believer and a disbeliever. And yet, instead of protecting it, many of us treat it like a short break between worldly plans.

If we could reframe the way we see Salah, everything would change.

Slow down.
Be present.
Realize Who you’re standing before — Allah, Al-‘Aliyy, the Most High, Al-Mutakabbir, the Greatest. The One who knows everything, sees everything, and still invites you personally to speak to Him.

What an honour.

He doesn’t tell us, “Don’t speak to Me.” Instead, He calls us — five times a day, every day — saying: Ask Me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.

And yet, we rush through that chance to run back to… what exactly?

💭 A Qur’anic Reminder

“Whoever desires the harvest of the Hereafter – We increase for him in his harvest. And whoever desires the harvest of this world – We give him thereof, but he will have no share in the Hereafter.”
— Surah Ash-Shura (42:20)

If you chase the dunya, you may get some of it. But if you chase the Hereafter, Allah will bless you with both — the dunya and the Hereafter.

So ask yourself: why are we still chasing the dunya?

When you die, nothing will go with you. You entered this world with nothing, and you’ll leave it with nothing.

The success you’re chasing so desperately — is it really success?

🌙 A Moment to Think

The next time you hear the Adhān, pause. Really listen.
When the mu’adhdhin calls “Hayya ‘ala al-Falah”, remind yourself — this is Allah calling you to success.

Not the fleeting kind.
Not the kind that fades when your plans fall apart.
But the kind that fills your heart, your soul, and your Hereafter.

Answer that call. Don’t rush it. Stand before Him slowly, sincerely — and you’ll realise that everything else you were chasing was never success at all.

With love and duʿāʾ,
Your sister, Barakah 🤍