I joined usrah about four years ago.
Why did I join? Because I have always loved learning, and the thought of staying connected with God felt assuring and peaceful. So I joined. At first, I simply came and listened. My naqibah would teach, and I tried to follow. But honestly, after some time, I didn鈥檛 really enjoy it. I didn鈥檛 feel connected.
So eventually, I stopped trying so hard 鈥� but I didn鈥檛 leave. I knew that if I walked away, some part of me would drown. Just as emotions need support, iman does too. And deep inside, something kept telling me to stay, even when I didn鈥檛 know why.
Maybe that was Allah鈥檚 guidance.
So I kept joining the sessions quietly, simply being there 鈥� not because I was the most consistent, but because something in me knew it was good for me, even when I didn鈥檛 fully understand how.
For a long time, I didn鈥檛 see myself as someone who could contribute to the ummah. I thought dakwah was only for those who were already deeply religious 鈥� the ones with calm voices and pure hearts.
I wasn鈥檛 like that.
I had my own hobbies, my own world 鈥� things like aerial and yoga that felt so far from 鈥渞eligious.鈥� But one day, something changed. I can鈥檛 even say exactly when. It wasn鈥檛 a big or dramatic moment, more like a quiet realization that I wanted to contribute.
I began to understand that being part of dakwah isn鈥檛 about being perfect. It鈥檚 about caring. I also wanted to break the stereotype that only 鈥減ious-looking鈥� people belong in usrah.
It isn鈥檛 true. Usrah isn鈥檛 a club for perfect Muslims.
It is nourishment for your soul. It鈥檚 where your heart learns, even when your mind is still trying to understand.
Allah says in the Qur鈥檃n: 鈥淰erily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.鈥� (Surah Ar-Ra鈥檇, 13:28)
Since then, my heart has felt softer. I can鈥檛 fully explain it.
It is as if Allah planted something small inside me that keeps growing 鈥� slowly and quietly.
I am still me. I still love aerial and yoga. But maybe now, I just see them differently 鈥� as parts of me that can coexist with faith, not compete with it.