Closer During Distancing

Br. Belal Elkadri

I have recently been fascinated with the idea of working from home, thinking it would be pretty chilled. When COVID came, it was a reality check. Two kids under the age of three, a wife that works in the hospital full time, this was no way chilled. The first week it was a major adjustment working from home. My day was spent changing diapers, giving screen time to my 2 year old for the whole day so I can jump on a conference call and do work, working till 3 am, cooking, cleaning, laundry. I felt so burned out. By week two, I started to get into a routine and started to look at it from a different light. Working from home was an opportunity for me to be grateful for the stuff that was no longer a part of my day. It allowed me to be grateful to my parents, saying salams to strangers, the masjid, the Friday Khutbah, seeing my coworkers, getting fresh air, going to a restaurant. It was also an opportunity to reflect on seclusion

The Prophet Yunus in the whale, Muhammad in the cave, Ibrahim in the fire, Nuh on the boat, Yusuf in the well, prophets have all been a part of seclusion and they found Allah in the loneliness of isolation. Once I started looking at working from home from this light, I felt more closer to Allah. I would pray my sunnah prayers all on time, read more Quran, called my parents more often.

With Ramadan ten days away, I will be doing itikaf 30 days in my home. I will miss the communal side of Ramadan. The taraweeh, the iftars, the volunteer work. But, it will allow me to reconnect with my family, focus on myself and fixing my nafs, and really striving to make the most out of Ramadan to both show my gratitude to the things that are not present and also finding Allah in seclusion. When COVID is done, inshallah, I will taste the sweetness of reunion when I place my forehead on the carpet of the masjid, when I get to hug my mother, when I get to shake the hand of my brother and say “salam”.