2018

I was 'ticking the Islamic boxes' for the most part – I prayed, I fasted in Ramadan, I wore hijab, ate halal food, and said alhamdulillah – but if I'm honest, my daily life was far from focused on my true purpose or my Hereafter.  

It had become a stream of never-ending to-do lists, overflowing inboxes, countless downloads I'd never even looked at crowded my devices, books I'd bought and had never read weighed on my mind (and I kept buying more).

I signed up for courses I never finished, saved recipes I never made, and I had way too much stuff; clothes I never wore, arts and crafts materials I planned to use 'one day'. 

My 'to buy' list never seemed to get any smaller, no matter how many things I acquired; there was always something else I wanted.  

On a good day, I coasted by on autopilot; on a 'bad' day, I was overwhelmed to the point of paralysis.

Most days, I felt like I was fire-fighting my way through life without a moment of introspection.

Time slipped by and the Quran gathered dust while thoughts of the Hereafter - Jannah, Jahannam, and my inevitable return to Allah - rarely crossed my mind.

Most days, I don't even remember.

Exhausted, I sought solace in scrolling social media or binge-watching Netflix in my 'downtime' feeling too drained to do anything else.

Caught in a downward spiral, neither present in my life nor in my worship, I knew I was in trouble and on a one-way track to complete burnout.

"How did I get here? 

And how do I get out?” 

I didn't want to live like that and I didn't want to meet Allah having lived like that; I knew something had to change, and then it did.

Allah heard my silent plea for help and sent me the answer I'd been looking for in a conversation with a friend and 4 words that changed my life forever. 

She was struggling to make positive health changes and spoke of her challenges while also telling me of her stressful, busy and chaotic schedule. I listened and reflected, 

The words tumbled out of my mouth, 

 "Maybe the reason you're struggling isn't that you're not able, maybe it's because there simply isn't any space in your life right now - you're overloaded. What if you make space for change first? "  

Make space for change.  

It was so simple. I needed to take my own advice. 

So started my journey into a world of ‘less’ and while I never set out to pursue 'minimalism' per se, the definition shared by Joshua Becker, author of The More of Less, rang true, 

"The intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them."

Viewed through the lens of our ultimate purpose - to worship Allah - simplification became a compass to help navigate this 'world of more' and my own cluttered life.

It became a way to turn down the noise, reduce distraction, filter what is and isn't important, and create space for what truly matters. 

Alhamdulilah.

The results of simplifying have been profound in my own life – and over the years, sisters from across the world have joined me, realizing that 'too much' was affecting their health, their relationships, their kids, their marriages, their ibaadah, each embarking on their own personal journey of making space for change. 

In that space, amazing things have happened. Alhamdulillah.