I’m sorry I don’t have the most perfect skin.
I’m sorry I don’t look like a Victoria Secret's model.
I’m sorry I don’t have the best style.
I’m sorry I’m not perfectly skinny- nor tall 170cm nor 52kg.
I’m sorry I have stretch marks here and there.
I’m sorry I have bad hijab days.
I’m sorry that I’m plain.
I’m sorry my eyebrows aren’t thin and perfectly trimmed.
I’m sorry my face isn’t caked in make-up.
I’m sorry that I can never meet society’s standards.
But you know what?
I don’t need to care about society’s criteria.
I don’t need people to tell me I’m beautiful.
I don’t need compliments to make me feel better.
I don’t need a superficial love that can’t withstand a stretch mark here or chub there.
I don’t need to keep sinking into a never ending pit of low self-esteem.
Because I looked to Allah, and He told me the perfect recipe to be Beautiful.
Not just temporarily, but forever.
“And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace” [25:63]
“And [they are] those who, when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that, [justly] moderate”{25:67]
“And he who repents and does righteousness does indeed turn to Allah with [accepted] repentance. And [they are] those who do not testify to falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity. And those who, when reminded of the verses of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind. And those who say, “Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous.” Those will be awarded the Chamber for what they patiently endured, and they will be received therein with greetings and [words of] peace.” [25:71-75]
Ya Allah, when the world criticizes me a million times over
Ya Allah, when the world keeps telling me hurtful things
Ya Allah, when the world keeps pushing “ugly” at me.
Give me the courage to hold firm to your Deen.
Ya Allah, as long as I am beautiful to you, nothing else matters.
Ya Allah, even when everyone leaves my side, let me take comfort in the fact that You are closer to me than my jugular vein.
[50:16]
AMIN.
