Someone asked about our thoughts and
feelings since moving to Healing Earth Farm in July 2015.
Mai (the Mama):
When I said we were making hijrah to
Allah, I meant it in a very literal sense as every change and move in
a Muslim's life must be towards Allah. As we are here solely for His
worship, Alone, then our aim must always be to improve and increase
that worship and knowledge of Allah.
Living on our farm, we see Allah's
signs all around us, day and night, making it impossible to stop words
and thoughts of praise and gratitude for His power and blessings upon
us. Sunrises, sunsets, winds that scatter, velvet skies showcasing
every star and the vastness of Allah's unfathomable universe leave
our minds, hearts, and senses overflowing with the words subhaan
Allah, al hamdulillah, masha'Allah, la hawla wala quwwata b'Illah,
and Allahu Akbar!
I believe that this “survival test”
is the most excellent way for us to truly connect to Allah with
complete understanding of tawakkal and tawheed. We realize that we
are helpless and our striving can come to nothing if we don't correct
ourselves and our aqeedah. We work hard, we try different things, we
face constraints, and even what would be considered poverty in the
Western world, but being steadfast in faith and worship, knowing that
Allah's plan is perfect and that only He can sustain and give us
success, is exactly where our success lies. So in starting from
scratch, being pioneers, finding solutions to meet basic needs, we
are improving our Deen in ways that a regular, 9 to 5 mainstream
living just doesn't do.
Our children never appreciated sunshine
the way they do now after three or four days of snow and freezing
weather that they have to brave to feed the animals, and find a way
to get them water or keep it fluid so they can drink. Things never
thought about are realized, learned, appreciated, and the simplicity
of the living is so much closer to that of our pious predecessors –
radhi Allahu anhum. We use Allah's daily blessings to live. We use a
sun oven for some of our cooking, solar panels for energy, simple
passive solar positioning for water tanks, etc. When the water tank
spigot is frozen, we scoop up pots of snow and heat it for washing
and the animals' drinking water. All the necessary things are there
but Allah sends them in different forms. So if someone gets a cough
or other ailment, we have a variety of herbs naturally growing on our
land that can treat it. We don't need to look elsewhere or buy
conventional medicine, alhamdul'Illah.
It is also a joy to see the children
get involved in the care of the animals and pore through the books on
animal care, wildflowers and fungi, growing food, building with cob,
and making use of our recipe books to cook things for the family,
maashaa Allah, Allahummah Baarik alayhim. We have seen different
aspects of them, different talents and skills, and independent
proactiveness that has surprised us. They have researched to find out
what was wrong with two of our animals and treated them, with
reliance on Allah as Ash-Shafee. They even set up a little chicken
hospital for a chicken that was suffering from the cold and looked
near death, putting her in a separate cage in the coop and nursing
her to wellness, masha'Allah.
I feel grateful every day and
understand the importance of always purifying our intentions and
keeping Allah's pleasure and service as our goal. We have been asked
so often, “What will you do about water without a well? How will
you earn a living? How will you live?” We say, “Who can give us
water? Only Allah. Who can give us sustenance? Only Allah.”
We can plan from A to Z, but only
Allah's Plan will be executed. So, the answer is simple. We will
strive to obey Allah, to love and worship Him, to make His pleasure
and Jennah as our clear and direct goal. We will beg His forgiveness
for our shortcomings, failings, and sins. In return for this, Allah
will provide everything in the most perfect way, and in the most
perfect proportion. So we focus on doing exactly what our Creator has
instructed us, and trust in Him ALONE for every single thing.
Al hamdulillahi rabbil aal ameen.
Khulood (12):
Living on a farm is exciting,
interesting, and educational. I've
learned so many important lessons since we started living here. I
think that the most important one that I keep seeing examples of is
that we cannot do anything without Allah. We have to rely on Him
completely and without Him nothing will happen.
I love living on a farm. I love the
animals, the plants, the different types of weather, and everything
else. After it snows or rains, we get so pleased and excited for
sunshine and warmer weather again. This makes me think of the
well-known ayah,
{Verily, after every hardship there is
ease}5 Ash-Sharh
I've learned some important survival
skills as well, such as melting snow for water when the tanks are
frozen and we have no other water source.
Living on a farm is a learning
experience with ups and downs and smiles and frowns, similar to a
roller coaster.
Ahlaam (10):
Life on a farm is peaceful – from
feeding the rabbits, chickens, and dogs to cleaning the barn. We have
three dairy cows and a little heifer calf, sheep, meat rabbits, guard
dogs, 17 hens, and one noisy rooster. I think living on a farm is fun
and lovely.
Shuayb (3):
My jobs are feeding the rabbits,
feeding the dogs, tilling with Daddy, hanging up my laundry and
taking it off the line, and eating vegetables. I like to eat
spaghetti and meatballs and do flips. When we slaughtered our goat,
Meza, I asked for Meza “burglars” and meatballs. I go outside and
jump on the trampoline, ride my bike, dig in the dirt, and chase the
chickens with a stick. I got cut by tin and my hand was hurt on a
tire, then Allah healed me – He took my hurt off.
Shariyf (the Daddy):
Al hamdulillah wa Allahu Akbar! I've never felt so relaxed and anxious at the same time. It's hard to put into words what I feel in my heart and mind. Allah has put me in the best situation by putting us here on the farm. The fitnah of the city isn't an issue for us, nor is the distraction of living a 9 to 5. I've seem my family grow in ways I couldn't have ever imagined. I get to spend hours upon hours with my family, al hamdulillah. I often think of death, and it motivates me to do more! My legacy isn't the land or the animals, my legacy is the character of my family...and I see it before me now. I ask Allah to make us a shining example of His perfect Deen!
