In previous years, we’ve marked the passing of the beginning and end of the new year with Haute Hijab resolutions from the team. But frankly, with the last nearly two years of COVID pandemic living we’ve all been doing, we’re sort of over the sharing of resolutions for the moment. Many of us have privately reckoned with a lot of changes and growth in our lives, and we’ve leaned hard on du’a and the Quran to help us through the past year.

With that in mind, we want to share with you some ayahs from the Quran as well as various du’as that helped us get through 2021 and trust in Allah’s (S) plan for each and every one of us as well as our collective Haute Hijab team. We hope these resonate with you as well for the coming year.

This is Ayah 51 from Surat Al-Tawba (9) قُلْ لَنْ يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلَانَا ۚ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ

“Nothing can befall us except what God decrees. Our protector is He, and in God should the faithful place their trust.”

With any difficulties I encountered this year, I thought of this ayah to ease my anxieties and regain some peace and clarity to move forward – knowing that it will all be ok.

لا يكلف الله نفسا إلا وسعها

God does not place a burden on a soul greater than it can bear. [Quran, The Cow: 2:286]

It turns out you never really know how much you can take in unless you’re literally forced into staying strong through certain days. Sometimes it comes as a surprise, even to your own self, and you watch in awe as a new version of yourself starts emerging along with what you’re unexpectedly enduring. It surprises you because, out of all people, you’re the one who remembers how much it hurt when you used to cry yourself to sleep just a few years back over much simpler issues.

Now that you’ve seen worse, you wish those minor Issues could have lasted. You look back at them with ease because they’re what made you this strong; they’re what made you realize you’re ready to take in more of the hard that is thrown right at your face. This is when you really need to be proud of yourself, more than ever. Because no matter how tough things turn out to be, you’ll find it in you to make it through them. Because لا يكلف الله نفسا إلا وسعها (Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear), and if that’s not comforting enough, I don’t know what is.

لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ

"There is no might and no power except with Allah."

It is so simple, but I find no greater peace than when I remember and consciously recognize that Allah (S) is ultimately in control. Not only do I find great peace in these words, but I also use them to humble and remind myself that I would not have any of the blessings I currently do if Allah (S) had not provided them to me.

With the pandemic there was a lack of in-person get-togethers, which took a toll on many, including myself. It naturally made it harder to see family and friends, and that ultimately caused relationships to drift apart. This took a huge toll on me personally, but then I remembered reading Yasmin Mogahed's book, Reclaim Your Heart, and I realized those who drifted apart from me may not have been meant to be in my life any longer. Keeping them around may have caused me more harm than good.

So I turned to Allah (S) and made du’a that He would keep those who were good for me and would ultimately bring me closer to Him, closer to me. And I prayed to Allah (S) to keep those away from me who would do the opposite.

Making that du’a gave me peace of mind, because I knew that whether I had a falling out with someone or naturally became estranged with someone I was originally close with, it was because their relationship was no longer of khayr (good) for me. And although it was a difficult pill to swallow at the time, having tawakkul (faith in His plan) is what got me through it, Alhamdullilah.

12:28 الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

Like almost everyone over the past almost two years, my heart has had many moments where it's felt unsettled, and this ayah always helped give me a feeling of peace and serenity. There is comfort in being able to close my eyes, take a deep breath, and remember Allah (S), knowing the He is bigger than any of my troubles, and He sees and knows, and will get me through. It's like a mini moment of meditation/reflection, and has never failed me, Alhamdulillah. Does it fix all my problems? No. But it gives me perspective, and a feeling of peace.

Fabi ayyi ala i rabbikuma tukazziban [Surah Ar Rahman]

Then which favors of your Lord would you deny?

For many years my go-to ayat from the Quran was from Surah Al-Inshirah, fa inna ma usri yusra, inna ma usri yusra – “Verily with difficulty comes ease, verily with difficulty comes ease.” And you’d think that would be what carried me through in 2021, with the ongoing pandemic, my kids finishing out a year of virtual schooling, my mother-in-law recovering from COVID-19, ongoing autism stuff with my eldest son and, of course, a myriad of family issues.

But in actuality, it’s the repeating ayah from Surah Ar Rahman to which I turned to the most. Because no matter what came at us in 2021, there were also favors bestowed upon us by Allah (S). After being robbed of her senior year by the pandemic, my daughter graduated from high school and had a limited in-person graduation and a graduation party made possible by vaccines. She started college, Masha’Allah.

I thought I’d never be able to get my eldest son vaccinated, and after much prayer, soul-searching and practice, we did. With that, he was able to return to school after 15 months at home.

There’s a lot of stressful, difficult things that happened, as it did for so many. We lost loved ones to COVID, many of our family members struggled hard – so many things happened. But that repeating ayat from Surah Ar Rahman stayed with me – indeed, what favors of my Lord can I deny? None of them.

يا جبار اربط على قلبي وربِ اجعل لي مخرجا

"Oh Jabbar [Allah’s name that means The Mighty or The Resolver of affairs], tie onto my heart and oh Lord, make for me an exit."

It’s not an actual du’a from the Quran but rather one I made up, something I personally pray for. It references the story about Prophet Musa’s (as) mom. It was always interesting to me how that story never really explained the type of emptiness or pain she went through –you just know it if you’ve been through it, and that's always stuck with me. So, I make a du’a for Allah (S) to tie on my heart the way he did hers when I feel like there’s nothing more I can do to carry it myself anymore.

When things just seem impossible, I make this du’a. And this has resonated with me so strongly, because I feel like everyone’s heart has been heavy this year because COVID keeps compiling and compiling. We’re all exhausted – physically and emotionally – and sometimes we really just need God to carry us through.