Imagine you’re on a flight to a dream destination that has been on your bucket list for many years. 

Then an unexpected layover is announced in a city you have never heard of. 

Maybe you unintentionally booked a flight with such a delay or it was an unpredicted stop -still, it derails all your careful plans and takes away from the time you could be spending in the most desirable of places. 

Now, in this situation, you have two choices. 

You can choose to mope and grumble the whole time, wandering aimlessly around the airport and rolling your eyes at this foreign place you don’t want to be in.

Or you can grab the opportunity to chase new experiences and enrich your time in this completely new city, whether it’s exploring the shops and restaurants in the airport, smiling at strangers and making new friends, trying out some local dishes, or even escaping the airport and touring the city. 

It’s not the cozy beach villa or cinematic mountain retreat you were hoping to be in by now, but it’s still a chance to make beautiful memories.

And the same applies to the transits of our lives. 

We often find ourselves somewhere we don’t want to be.

Somewhere we feel stuck and desperate for a change, a sign that we can move forward and be welcomed into that beautiful place of our dreams. 

Maybe the plans we laid out and daydreamed about for years aren’t coming to fruition.

Life hasn’t panned out like you imagined it would, you didn’t graduate that year, you didn’t get married at that age, your current job doesn’t inspire and fulfill you, or there’s a delay in something that ‘should have’ been within your reach. 

And so, you find yourself in transit, between where you are and where everything in you yearns to be. 

And this is a test. 

The question is - how will we respond?

With what attitude do we work and wait for relief? 

Are we like the first group who are conquered by their circumstances? Do we turn bitter, lose sight of our blessings, and make life miserable for ourselves and others?

Or are we the second group who take the delay as an opportunity to enrich themselves and others? 

Do we mine for hidden gems and use this time to do things we wouldn’t be able to, perhaps, if we had got to where we wanted? 

The only obstacle to our peace and contentment is ourselves - no matter what challenges we face and how our cherished plans are redirected by Allah. 

Because our purpose is not tied to this dunya. 

Our purpose is not to accumulate wealth, own a gorgeous house, or find our one true love. 

Our end-all and be-all shouldn’t be to get highly qualified, to climb to the top of the career ladder, or to garner a huge social media following. 

These things are not inherently bad, but they do not matter in the least without our purpose guiding us toward Allah. 

They mean nothing without imaan (belief in Allah) and amal salih (sincere good deeds).

Allah says, 

“Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds - for them are the Gardens of Pleasure.” 

[Luqman: 08]

Therefore, if you don’t have the benchmarks of success and fulfillment specified by the dunya, don’t feel discouraged. 

If you remain steadfast in your faith in Allah and strive towards good deeds, then you are doing the best thing that you could be doing.

There is only one Straight Path and you are upon it, Alhamdulillah. 

And, by the Grace of Allah, who knows how many people you inspire just by struggling and keeping up hope on your journey toward Him?

Every object and endeavor in this fleeting world fades and loses its glamour, but not this. Never this. 

Allah says, 

“And be patient, for indeed, Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good.”

[Hud:115]

My fellow strivers, know that whatever good you think you’re missing out on, Allah has better with Him. 

When we are with Him, we will be satisfied with a perfect brand of satisfaction that nothing in this dunya can come close to. 

Wherever you are and whatever you’re going through, be a bridge between people and Allah. 

Be a source of benefit, ease, and joy. Connect people to their purpose and their Creator. Be knowledgeable, practical, loving, and giving, calling people to their One True Lord through both your words and actions.

This doesn’t mean we don’t work towards good things- the halal and thayyib (lawful and pure)- of this Dunya. 

When we’re in our ‘transit’, we can still plan for and anticipate the ‘dream destination’ we want to finally end up in. 

But if you try your best and it still doesn’t happen, then know and accept that Allah has a better plan for us and He knows best. 

Don’t let the Shaitaan delude you into an ungrateful attitude, and don’t let him tempt you towards haram ‘openings’ that will only cause you to fall deeper into darkness and emptiness. 

Know that your Lord tells you,

“Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.”

[an-Nahl:97]

A ‘good life’ doesn’t mean a problem-free life or experiences as perfect and put-together as the airbrushed pages of a magazine. 

Out of His Mercy, Allah tells us that we will be tested, so that we prepare to face those tests in the best way - through patience, acceptance, hope, dhikr, du’a, and holding on to the Rope of Allah; the Qur’an and the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. 

But even despite these trials, big and small, we can live a thayyib (good, pure, wholesome, beautiful) life. 

Allah gives tranquility, ease, optimism, gratitude, peace, heart’s contentment, wisdom, understanding, and grit to who He wills, and this can come only from Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى‎.

And we need to keep in mind that the ultimate dream destination is Jannah- where there are pleasurable wonders that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, and no heart has ever imagined.

SubhanAllah, if we broaden our perspective, we discover that our entire life is a transit and that the destination our soul yearns for is within reach and it depends on how we choose to spend this short blip of time. 

May Allah make us from those who race towards khayr during both good times and bad. May He welcome us as honoured guests into His Jannah, and may we look back fondly on our transit in this dunya, eternally grateful that Allah has guided us to our dream destination. 

Allahumma Aameen.