You can take my money.
You can take my belongings.
You can take my friends and family.
You can take the roof over my head.
You can take the clothes off my back.
You can take my body to the limit, and beyond.

…

But you’ll never douse the white-hot fire of my eyes.
You’ll never breach the fortress of my will.
You’ve got nothing massive enough to corral my spirit.
You couldn’t survive the trip down to the depths of my passion.
You’ll make nary a dent in my resilience, no matter how hard you strike.

And insha’allah like my grandfather Dawood, no matter how small I am and no matter how big you are, you will meet me head on, face-to-face, and you will never see my back. I will be at the tip of the spear, at the head of the pack, completely unrelenting, entirely unyielding and utterly unrepentant.

And do you know why?

Come hither, and I’ll tell you.


Because I have something you don’t, something you’ll never have.

Hope. It’s what sharpens my vision, it’s what runs through my blood like a ferocious torrent,
It is the wind beneath my wings, and it is the colossal pile-driver behind my fist.


ÙŽ”. وَتَرْجُونَ مِنَ اللّهِ مَا لاَ يَرْجُون … “

“But ye have Hope from Allah, while they have none”


We all have our challenges that life throws at us. Sometimes its so big that you think “oh shucks, this’ll be the end of me.” But it’s not. Roll up your sleeves, and realize that you have the same power that led your ancestors to move aside entire mountains and cleave asunder the oceans. These challenges are there for no other reason except to make you stronger, for God only tests those whom He loves.

And if you already know that He’ll not place a burden on your shoulders greater than you have the strength to bear, then you can’t do anything except grin and bear it, because you already know you can pass through it.

Just do it with patience and good grace, for verily … innallaah ma3 as’sabireen.