Absolutely. I can work with this in English. Since you provided a complete Indonesian text and didn’t explicitly say “translate,” I’m assuming you want an English translation. I’ll preserve the reflective, Islamic tone and meaning rather than translating it word-for-word.
Sometimes, we are funny creatures.
We already have a home, yet we are still busy thinking about someone else’s house.
We already have food for today, yet we are still anxious about having food ten years from now.
We have been given good health, yet we are busy counting what we lack.
We have been given a family, yet we spend our attention on people who do not even know us.
We have been given time, yet we often forget that our time does not truly belong to us.
We are like someone who has been given a glass of water by Allah, but instead of drinking it, we are busy asking why the glass is not made of gold.
When, in fact, we do not need the gold.
We are simply thirsty.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) once reminded us of how simple the measure of “being rich” truly is.
If a person wakes up in the morning feeling safe, healthy, and with enough food for that day, it is as though the whole world has been gathered for him.
Let us stop for a moment.
Wake up in the morning.
Our eyes can still see.
Our feet can still walk.
Our chest still rises and falls.
There is water to drink.
There is food to eat.
There is a place to take shelter.
And—something we often fail to count—Allah is still giving us the opportunity to bow down in prayer.
And then we say that our life is lacking?
Lacking in what?
Perhaps it is not our lives that are lacking.
Perhaps it is the way we count our blessings that is mistaken.
We count what is not there, but forget to count what Allah has already entrusted to us.
We count the money in our bank accounts, but not the number of times our hearts beat without us having to pay for it.
We count how many people dislike us, but forget that Allah has still given us people who love us.
We count our failures, but forget how many times Allah has protected us from things we never even knew about.
That is how human beings are.
We often only understand the value of a blessing after it is gone.
We understand health only when we become sick.
We understand the presence of someone only after they are gone.
We appreciate time only when it has become a memory.
Yet Allah gives us reminders every day.
Morning comes.
Afternoon passes.
Evening falls.
Night arrives.
And every change of time is actually telling us:
“Your life is becoming shorter.”
Yet we are busy asking:
“When will my life become greater?”
Strange, isn’t it?
We want a long life, but we do not always want our deeds to be long-lasting.
We are afraid of losing the world, but we are not always afraid of losing our connection with Allah.
We take life so seriously that we forget that life itself is preparing us for our return.
That is why the Qur’an reminds us:
“Do not lose heart and do not grieve.”
(QS. Ali ‘Imran: 139)
This does not mean that life is not allowed to make us sad.
It does not mean that a Muslim is not allowed to cry.
It is allowed.
Cry.
Be sad.
It is even okay to be tired.
We are human.
But do not let your sadness make you forget Allah.
Do not let your problems make you feel alone.
Because it may be that when no human being understands what is in your heart, Allah is the One who knows best what is happening inside your chest.
And perhaps that is why we do not need to spend so much time explaining ourselves to everyone.
It is enough that Allah knows.
It is enough that Allah is our witness.
It is enough that Allah is the One to whom we return.
We must still make an effort.
Seek our livelihood.
Work.
Raise our children.
Take care of our families.
Build for the future.
But in all that busyness, do not forget who owns the future.
We may have plans.
Allah has His decree.
We may knock on many doors.
But Allah determines which door will be opened.
And if a door has not opened yet, do not immediately assume that Allah is rejecting you.
Perhaps Allah is telling you to pause for a while.
Perhaps there is something you need to learn.
Perhaps there is some arrogance that needs to be humbled.
Perhaps there is a dependence on people that needs to be returned to Allah.
Or perhaps…
Allah is simply teaching us one very simple thing:
“Patience.”
Because we often want Allah to follow our schedule.
We pray in the morning and want the answer by noon.
We make an effort today and want success tomorrow.
Yet Allah is never late.
We are simply the ones who are often in a hurry.
So, if today your provision is not yet as abundant as you hoped, do not forget that there is another kind of provision called good health.
If your home is not as luxurious as someone else’s, perhaps Allah is giving you a peace that they do not have.
If your journey through life has not gone as far as someone else’s, that is okay.
We are not competing with anyone.
We are simply carrying out our own respective trusts.
There is no need to be envious.
Rice does not envy the coconut tree.
The coconut tree does not envy the mango tree.
Everything grows according to Allah’s will.
And so it is with human beings.
Some move quickly.
Some move slowly.
Some walk in a straight line.
Others have to take many turns along the way.
But as long as we are still moving toward Allah, no journey is ever wasted.
So perhaps today we do not need to ask for too much.
Sometimes, simply sit quietly.
Take a breath.
Look at the sky.
Look at your family.
Look at your own hands.
Then slowly say:
“O Allah, I realize now that You have already given me so much.”
Then cry if you need to.
Not because your life is too difficult.
But because you suddenly realize:
“All this time, Allah has never stopped loving you.”
We are simply the ones who forget too often.
So enjoy today.
Not because today is perfect.
But because today is a trust entrusted to us.
Tomorrow may not belong to us.
Yesterday has already become a story.
The only thing that truly exists is this moment.
So let us live simply:
“Be grateful when we receive,
be patient when we lose,
pray when we are in need,
forgive when we are hurt,
and return to Allah whatever our circumstances may be.”
Because in the end, perhaps what we have been searching for throughout our lives is not the world.
We are simply searching for peace.
And that peace, from the very beginning, was never meant to live in this world.
It lives in the heart that knows its Lord.
“Alhamdulillah for today.”
If today we can still wake up, still breathe, still eat, still love, still ask for forgiveness, and still bow down in prayer…
perhaps, in truth, we already have the whole world in our hands.
The only question is whether we are aware enough to be grateful for it.
*) Anang Fadhilah, Journalist
