Grace.

a candle-lit reflection on embodying the concept of Ni'mah.

As we peel back the cover of a fresh new notebook, crème lined with amber embraces our dreams and desires for our next orbit. And when the ink of our pens, as deep as the night sky, blots onto the pristine page, a force of desperate alteration drives its motion. An almost aggressive hope to shift oneself in the name of ‘resolution’. 

With the new year in full swing, it is an utterly humane tendency to aspire for change - a change in routine, personality, appearance, interaction and consumption in the name of becoming our ‘best self’. While reflection and aspiration are undoubtedly beneficial in helping to clear one's consciousness for the new year, it is easy to get caught up in self-criticism and dangerous ambition. We grow harsher on ourselves, for we prioritise perfection over progress when we know, deep down, growth is far from linear. This recent realisation came to me as I sat on the beach on the morning of this New Year's Eve: are we showing ourselves grace when we dream of our ‘best selves’?

That word stuck with me: grace. In Arabic, ‘Grace’ is translated to ‘Ni’mah’ {نِعْمَة}. However, like many Arabic words, Ni’mah is a grand, spiritual concept with several meanings. 

Growing up, I recall hearing Ni’mah used to describe blessings - something to cherish and be grateful for. Gathered at the dinner table, my parents explained to my siblings and I that we mustn’t throw away our food as it was a Ni’mah, a gift from God. In many ways, sharing a meal is a sacred gift in itself: the nourishment of both good company and delicious food. Ni’mah is your morning cup of coffee or the mandatory block of chocolate to cleanse your palate after every meal, even the sip of water you take from the water bottle gifted to you from a museum gift shop. Alhamdulillah {Thanks be to God}.

Another instance where we are provided Ni’mah is with our luxury of choice. Being a cripplingly indecisive person myself, I often tend to overlook what an immense gift it is to have the opportunity to simply, choose. Whether it be as little as deciding what to wear according to the weather or as significant as determining what university you’d like to attend, I believe this, too, is a blessing. 

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Upon pondering my own aspirations for 2025, I noticed a popular re-branding of ‘New Years Resolutions’ as setting ‘New Years Intentions’. I like that word: Intention (or, in Arabic, Niyah {نية}), which, may I add, is rooted in Islamic spirituality. This year I tried something a little different; I decided I would tie my New Years Intentions to one word. And what more lovely of a word is ‘grace’. I will be more graceful to myself and to others, InshAllah {God willing}.

Encircled with the most fluorescent mosaic of blessings and the luxury of choice, there are an ample amount of ways we can omit grace from ourselves and onto others. A significant act of grace is being mindful and intentional with our purchasing - are the companies we support ethical towards the environment and exhibit fundamental human rights towards their workers? In a world where we are hypnotised by trending audio and short-form media videos, we fall into a habit of over-consumption. By practising mindfulness, we can act with grace by treating ourselves within the scope of our own morals. 

Another way we can extend grace is by how we treat others. A small act I am challenging myself with is to be more vocal about my positive thoughts about others. I adore it when people are able to uplift each other in the most mundane and familiar places. As an introvert myself, I find it immensely difficult to interact with people; however by vocalising positive thoughts, it is undeniable even one word of grace could flip someone’s entire day around. Whether complimenting a stranger on their fabulous outfit at the store or empowering an awesome person at the gym, we can be a grace to others through our words. 

And if a spoken word seems intimidating at times, a smile is an act of grace surpassing any combination of letters and punctuation. One of my favourite hadith {teachings of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH} is:

تَبَسُّمُكَ فِي وَجْهِ أَخِيكَ لَكَ صَدَقَةٌ

Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity

(At-Tirmidhi)

I hope this made you smile, as it did to me :))

A final thought, which is perhaps the most noteworthy, is being graceful to ourselves. In an overbearing world of competition and comparison tucked behind a glowing screen in the palm of our hands, it is so easy to drive ourselves into harsh criticism. I stress this point to myself first, and to you second: you are deserving of all of nature’s grace and compassion and warmth for simply being. An in simply being, we are imperfect, but with grace, I hope we can grow to accept and embody our imperfections. Take this moment in your reading to close your eyes, take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Sigh it out. Alhamdulillah {Thanks be to God} for the luxury it is to simply be you, in safety, in nourishment, in company and in stability. 

Dearest Reader and I,

May the new year be one where we embody the essence of grace through our actions. By shifting our energy into serving others and empowering ourselves with a more gentle force of pressure, we can sustainably become even more remarkable. With every obstacle and challenge 2025 will inevitably pose, InshAllah {God Willing}, we surge through the opposite end with more grace and resilience. 

Yours lovingly, Shayla

P.s. it would be really lovely if we could all share our dearest Ni’mah/s in the comments! This could be something we encounter on a regular basis, or even one we aspire to appreciate in the new year. Also drop in your own intentions for 2025! :))

Asalamu-alaykum Wa-rahmatullahi Wa-barakatuh.

{May peace and blessings be upon you}.