This post was written originally on August 3, 2018.
I’ve been on a hiatus in the last two months, with my latest post being at the beginning of Ramadan. It’s been a long while since you’ve seen me write, and I’ve missed all of you! I know you’ve been reading my previous posts on my blog, and I hope inshallah, that they are benefitting you, and you’re sharing them with your family and friends.
The more you share my blog with others, the more the message of hope in duas and supplication will spread and everyone will be motivated to continue making dua with yaqeen (certainty) and tawakkul (trust in Allah SWT). Please continue to share through WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, all other forms of social media, e-mail, and text. It becomes a sadaqah jariyah.
If you are going through a moment where you feel that your duas have not manifested yet, let me share with you some of the miracles I’ve witnessed during the month of Ramadan. These are duas that were manifested through dhikr of certain ayats that our Mufti told me to do, as well as reading durood (salawat), and making duas in sujood, while driving, etc.
Allah SWT hears us in so many different ways. It doesn’t matter if we are making dua in the car, if we are reading ayats and durood/salawat. Allah SWT hears all, sees all and knows what is in our hearts. There are days we ask for miracles, and they come true in ways we could not believe.
For the last ten years, I had been wanting to get my Master’s degree, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I had a C average GPA from my undergraduate schooling at Cal State University, Northridge, and I felt that applying for a Master’s degree would not be feasible. I also did not want to take any admissions exams, such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) because, first, the exams are costly, and secondly, because I felt that I would pretty much fail the mathematics section of these exams (I’m weak in math). But Allah SWT knew my desire and I was enrolled into a Master’s program, concentrating on Human Resource Management at DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management.
Alhamdulillah, as of Eid ul Fitr, I have graduated and received my Master’s degree! The University is having their graduation ceremony this month, and I am excited to walk across the stage!
Oh but wait!! Not only am I going to walk across the stage with my cap and gown on, but I made dua to be selected as the graduate speaker for the ceremony, and did my audition last week. Alhamdulillah, and mashallah, I am the graduate student speaker for our graduation! Truly, duas are manifested! I was also nominated as the Voice of the Student for the West Group and was the guest lecturer for Welcome Week at the university. I had the pleasure of teaching students about success in academia, and pointing them to resources the university offers so they have knowledge about tutoring, counseling, and career advisement services.
During Ramadan, I was also making dua for acceptance into five universities I had applied to for my doctoral program. My mom spoke to our Mufti, and he told me to read an ayah from Surah Baqarah in the Qur’an daily with adhkar, and do dhikr, and also read salawat/durood Ibrahimi. I did that throughout the time I went through the application process, to the writing exams, and ordering transcripts to be sent to the school. I prayed in sujood, and made dua that I would be accepted to all of the universities I applied to.
(For those who are asking which ayat in Surah Baqarah, it is “lan fissama laha” which is part of the ayah number 256. I was told to read one tasbeeh of this daily with durood/salawat Ibrahimi before and after reading lan fissama laha. I did this for about 2.5 months. Always ask your local muftis about duas specific to what you need to read for whatever situation you are in. My mufti told me to do this and thus, I followed suit.)
I found out during my last week of classes right when Ramadan ended, that I received acceptance to all of the schools – the top one being Pepperdine University, for my doctoral program! I was so excited and extremely grateful to Allah SWT for answering my duas. My mom was also praying for me, so both of our duas came true!
Here is the story behind this – last year, I wanted to go to only ONE university for my doctoral program. It’s right here by my house and they had a program that connected with me. However, that school LOST their accreditation and I did not want to apply when that happened. It would mean students would not be able to take classes, or receive financial aid from the government.
I was distraught, and did not know where else to go to. I didn’t want to go to an online university and I had only thought about going to this one by my house. I made dua, and started doing some research on universities, when the same doctoral programs in leadership came about with the universities I decided to apply to.
Being accepted into the universities I applied to, and being accepted to a very prestigious university known around the world was not something I had ever thought about, ever. Be prepared to know that Allah SWT will answer your duas and bring you more than you asked for. It’s amazing how this happens! What you want may not happen exactly, but instead, in a much better, more amazing and powerful way.
And I also received a $2,500 scholarship toward tuition as well (it’s not going to make much of a ding on the price of the program, but it helps with overall tuition cost, so I’ll take it!).
In the first week of Ramadan, I was dealing with some financial tightness. I had many bills to pay and wasn’t sure what to do since I didn’t have the finances needed to get things taken care of. I was also finishing up the last few weeks I had left of my classes during Ramadan, taking care of any application paperwork for the universities I was applying to, and was focused on passing my courses with A’s. Who had time to think about finding a job!? That in itself was a full time job to deal with, and I didn’t have time for it.
In early June, around the 12th of Ramadan, I met up with one of my friends so we could chat. When I sat down in my car to drive over to her, my car didn’t start. The battery had literally died. I thought to myself, “What am I going to do? I can’t even afford to pay for a new car battery.” I ended up taking my uncle’s Mini (which I can’t stand driving because it’s too small and claustrophobic for me) to meet with my friend.
While driving, my mom called me excitedly. I picked up, and told her that my car battery had died and I was driving the Mini instead. My mom told me to be very careful driving the car, but she said she had some amazing news for me.
She found $3,000 in cash that was saved in the master bedroom closet!!!
Can you believe this miracle?? We needed this money to pay bills, and while my mom cleaned out the closet, she found cash and was so excited!
Then we also got another $1,000 from the bank, which I thought had been stolen from the main account, but was not!
$4,000 total for us to be able to pay off our bills, get groceries, and be taken care of for at least a good month and a half.
Allah SWT did a miracle for us. We asked Him, and He provided in the exact perfect timing.
I also didn’t have to pay for my car battery either. I remembered that I had gotten this battery replaced less than three years prior, and still had warranty left. I called Triple A’s Roadside Assistance, and they installed a fresh new battery for me at no cost. I still have till December of this year before my warranty is over if I needed another battery.
One last dua manifestation for now – this was during the month of Shawwal after Eid ul Fitr. I found out about my acceptance to Pepperdine on June 23 (I found out about the other acceptances a couple of weeks prior to Pepperdine, and one more university accepted me two weeks ago). I also found out I needed to pay a $500 deposit to the university for me to be able to register for my courses.
I didn’t have the money to pay them and had till July 20 to provide this money to them. What was I going to do?
I spoke to a few friends who suggested I create a fundraiser to get money for my deposit. I decided to create a GoFundMe account, and asked initially for $1000. I needed to also pay $500 for orientation on top of the $500 for deposit to register for my classes.
I made dua that Allah SWT help me to get the $500 so I can pay the deposit and made dua in sujood many times. I witnessed the miracle as I was able to get $880 within a few days of posting my GoFundMe account and was able to pay my deposit, and register for classes.
My mom’s iPhone literally shut down and stopped working. I needed to save the rest of the money I received for the orientation, but unfortunately, I had to pay Apple for them to replace my mom’s phone, as that’s the only way she can communicate with me (no landline). Apple was going to charge me $349 for the replacement. I quickly made dua, read durood/salawat and asked Allah SWT to help me out. I spoke to the technician and told him that I am a student, and financially unable to afford getting a replacement for the $349 cost. He spoke to the manager who said they could give it to me for $160 + sales tax. Alhamdulillah again!! Duas answered and I was able to afford the replacement for my mom.
Of course, I have to fundraise for the other $500 for orientation again, which is happening next weekend, but I’ll figure that out. Allah SWT will help me find a way.
If you have read my post all the way through to here, you can see the ways in which Allah SWT manifests our duas. Everything is done according to how He wills for things to be. We can make dua, and know that Allah SWT will always be there for us, and in turn, we need to be loyal to our Lord through obeying his commands of praying salaat, giving zakat, helping out one another, be of good character, and make dua to Him daily. Reading Qur’an daily and learning the lessons from our Prophets (PBUH) who have been fearless leaders will help us with our own patience, and faith in Allah SWT.
Thanks for reading!
-Dr. Aasiyah N. Ghazi