By Syazana Binte Abdul Malik

12:35 AM —

the night air crisp,

a quiet wind brushing against my skin

as if to whisper, “You are near.”

What have I brought to meet you,

Ya Rasulullah ﷺ?

Empty hands,

an unworthy heart,

yet You granted me the honour

of stepping upon the soil

Your blessed feet once knew.

I place each footstep softly,

hoping one might align with Yours.

And I admit,

without my teacher’s hand,

I would not know

how to love You.

Madinah fills a hollow within me—

a void stitched closed

by the gentleness of its breeze,

a balm poured over a wound

I long forgot how to tend.

But the state is fleeting.

Our teachers speak

of the miracle of being born

from your ummah,

of the sacrifice you carried

so we may say,

La Ilaha Ilallah

with a tongue

that barely tastes its weight.

And in the stillness of this city,

The ayah echoes softly in my heart:

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ

“Say, if you truly love Allah, then follow me;

Allah will love you…”

A call,

a compass,

a reminder

that love is not just emotion

but following—

step by step,

breath by breath.

Yet still,

I falter.

I fall for the glitter of this dunya,

telling myself there is time—

time to know You,

time to love You

with a sincerity that does not sway.

But time is never promised.

So here I stand,

in the quiet of your blessed city,

asking Allah for a love

that does not break,

that does not fade,

that follows Your path

in the hours

when no one sees.

Ya Rasulullah

let my life be a proof

of the honour

of belonging to You.

Do You Believe in One God
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