Lessons from a Rose

There is something so striking about the rose. Perhaps it’s the sweet scent that they carry with them, or the conspicuous redness that covers the petals, which catches the eye. There is always something about them that makes my heart glow. It’s not even the fact that the rose symbolises love and good, positive, things. Rather, it’s merely the way they have been designed, so perfect and so beautiful. Yet, even then a rose, no matter how captivating, how fine-looking, will one day lose its beauty. One day those petals will wither, the rose will begin to die and, the colour will transform from a fine red, to a dirty brown, like crusts – falling to pieces. The same rose in my garden that I pass by, once so flawless, is now so lifeless, weak, and day by day it's disappearing, turning into worthless pieces of wilted petals, leaving but a thorny bent over branch. Fragile; breakable.

What I love about nature on a whole is that, you learn so many lessons from it. Nature teaches us things. If only we would reflect. Hence, Allah in the Qur’an reminds us over and over again to contemplate, to ponder, to reflect over His signs.

When you compare a rose to a human being. You realise that they are in fact quite similar. A rose is, and should be beautiful. Similarly, as a human being *you* have got to beautify yourself. And no I don’t mean outwardly make yourself attractive, but rather make your inner self attractive. Your character. So just like when you glance a at rose you feel a sense of awe, a sense of admiration, let people look to your personality, look to your character and do the same. Let them be inspired by the way you conduct yourself, your mannerisms, your shining qualities. Because, in Islam we believe that the only lasting beauty is the beauty of the heart, and that Allah will not look at your appearances but at your heart and deeds. And your deeds have to be striking. Striking in the Sight of Allah, and source of inspiration for the people. YOU have the ability to change somebody’s life through your actions and through your good merits.

Also, just like a rose leaves a scent for others to follow. You’ve got to do the same. You need to think about the legacy *you* want to leave behind. Your scent is your legacy. It’s what people will continue to benefit from even after you’ve gone. When petals begin to fall off a rose, you’ll notice they do not lose their fragrance, the sweet scent is still present and a delight to one’s sense of smell.

However, one day that same rose will wither, it will fall it will die. Similarly, you and I will too die. We were once capable of bringing a smile to a person’s face and now we underground without the chance to that again. So like a rose will soon lose its beauty – your outward beauty will also begin to fall. But unlike the rose, you have the ability to keep your inner beauty, to continue to leave a scent even after you’ve become a wilted petal. Because, you are human. You are the best of what Allah has created of what He has created, and so you have the ability to inspire, to change to continue to leave people in awe through what you have left behind, even after you’re gone.