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Nur Fatma Koksal's avatar

Thank you for the prompts, I very much wanted to join the session but I couldn't make it. I think the deep desire we find in ourselves for joy is a great Sign that we are created for it here and also in the hereafter. May Allah lift the veils in front of our eyes and we shall not let the oppressors make us fall in despair. I would like to share my answers for the prompts:

5 little things that brought me joy recently

The sound of the dancing leaves of the trees outside my window

Strawberries

The innocence and the passion of the guys at the bakery where I buy sourdough bread and also the bread:)

My daughter who is overseas being happy about the crochet materials she has purchased

The canyon that we walked through in Slovakia and the kindness of the Polish lady over at the hotel and the artful design of the little apartment we stayed and the fire at the fireplace

What obstacles do I have?

Myself

My stubborn ego

Tiredness

My laziness

My living in auto pilot mode

My lack of tafakkur

What practices of my faith give me joy?

Being reminded by everything small and big in the universe that LA ilahe illallah ( there is no powerful but him, there is no sustainer but him, there is no source of happiness but him......)

Prayer prayer prayer

Seeing and feeling connected to the people who are the friends of God.

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Muslim Writers' Salon's avatar

You're welcome and thanks for sharing the answers to the prompts with us. Don't you feel lighter writing these down? This one is a great reminder: "Seeing and feeling connected to the people who are the friends of God."

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Maria Khan's avatar

This is just what us many of us need at this moment…so much has been lost, the grief and anger have been so overwhelming that we don’t want to and shouldn’t have to stay with them all the time. Thank for sharing and reminding me that these feelings are guests and that we must welcome and in fact invite other feelings too. We need to it with all of them, the painful ones and the joyous ones. They are indeed all blessings from the Almighty 💚

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Muslim Writers' Salon's avatar

You're welcome! It's nice to think about feelings as guests. Hmmn, I feel another writing prompt coming on. Thank you!

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Rafia Khader's avatar

Love this post and these prompts! I’ve been so resistant to prompts in the past because I couldn’t see their utility, but I realized that exactly was the problem. My framing! And joy is so hard for me to write about, especially for an audience. But I think to become better writers, we need to be able draw from the wellsprings of joy. And like you said, joy is not just cucumber sandwiches… it comes from something deeper. For us as Muslims, it is from the gifts God has bestowed us with

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