Quiet Cave of Hira: Starting the Journey

In the New York Botanical Garden

One Friday I was listening to an audiobook for a wildly popular self-help book, and the more I learned, the more annoyed I got. The theory was fascinating, but each application was not exactly relatable. I was tired of all the sports anecdotes and military analogies by the end of it. What’s worse, and less obvious, is that the book assumed that humans evolved from animals – an assumption that can erode the basis of faith. The very same day, I went to the masjid for Jumuah, and the topic was about the famous hadith for taking advantage of “Five Before Five”. The comprehensive words of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ rang in my ears and reminded me that there is universal applicability in every aspect of Islam. That said, as a woman, I prayed in a cramped space with no visual of the Imam I was supposed to be following. These situations – one where faith is not recognized, and the other where women are sometimes marginalized – perfectly illustrate why it’s important for Muslim Women to use their talents to take leadership roles in society. For this reason, I think it’s the right time for me to start blogging.

My personality is greatly shaped by the name I was given: Hira. In the cave I was named after, the Prophet ﷺ enjoyed solitude in the months leading up to the first revelation. This small enclave looks out onto Makkah and the Kabaa from a distance where the noise of the city is said to dissipate to just a hush. The Prophet’s ﷺ time in isolation would serve as a retreat from the ills of society and this primed him for the difficult task ahead: holding the book of Allah in his heart and conveying it to humanity. As an introvert, I relate deeply to this. My work is not mighty, but I do see myself walking in his ﷺ blessed footsteps whenever I seclude myself to write. “Writing is thinking” as they say, and when I write, I sometimes think about the parallels between the Prophet’s ﷺ quiet time of contemplation and the reflections that pour from my heart. That said, you cannot tell the story of the cave of Hira without saying that its pinnacle moment was when the Angel Gibraeel came to give him the first revelation of the Quran. This set his ﷺ life down a path of communicating the message first to those close to him and ultimately to the rest of the world. Again, I’m not saving the world with a blog, but I hope to finally share my writing to benefit others – and myself, too.

I’m not an expert, but I like to write about my own experiences and whatever research I’ve done along the way. In addition to self-development and its intersection with Islam, my personal struggles with mental health have given me a passion for the subject. I hope to write more on my journey with mental health in a future post. As for my background, I was born in Pakistan and grew up in Houston, Texas. I have a Bachelor’s degree in MIS, and have been working in the field for a few years. After my wedding in 2021, I moved to New York City and now live here with my husband. I enjoy studying Islam through taking various courses, attending local study circles, and reading books or articles I find. When I feel a stroke of artistic creativity, I love to embroider by hand. More frequently than I’d like to admit, you’ll find me scrolling through cat videos or baking new desserts in my free time. Thanks for reading this far, and I hope you’ll stick around for the next post!

Entrance to the cave of Hira, located in Makkah (Link)