Bismillah and as-salamu ʿalaykum
I am both honored and humbled by the invitation to speak as someone who is about to graduate from the Sakinah Circle Alternative Program which I entered at the tender age of six. Seven years later, as I stand at the threshold of another world—which is both exhilarating and frightening—I have learned that I came to this world by the Will of an All-Knowing, Merciful Creator, who has also set a fixed duration of time for my life during which I will go through various situations and stages:
I have been granted certain resources (arzāq) as an amāna; these are both blessings and tests. I do not take for granted what Allah Most High has given me and I am content with what He has withheld from me; I know it was never meant for me.
I have learned that I live in relationships, each and every relationship has its rights and obligations. This includes my rights and obligations toward my parents, teachers, siblings, relatives, elders, immediate community, the Ummah of the blessed Prophet, and the world at large. I have learned that I carry tremendous responsibility toward the natural world which offers Signs of Allah Most High for me to reflect. When I reflect on His countless Sign over the horizon, in the falling of the snow, and within myself, I gain in certitude and it deepens my faith.