The Old Tree Fell Down

There was an old tree which had been standing outside my house for ages. The leaves and foliage had been cut off long ago and the trunk and branches remained. The tree was old, thick and heavy. Although it seemed to be dead, there were sometimes new branches that sprouted from it. Anyway, about a week ago I came home to find that the tree had fallen down. It had become uprooted, probably due to recent rains and it just fell down, leaving a big hole in the ground.

The workers from City Council struggled to pick this tree up. First they spent hours trying to saw the tree into smaller pieces because it was just way too big to lift up as a whole. They struggled to do this, and their electric saw seemed useless, but eventually after coming back a number of times, they managed to cut it into three pieces. Then they struggled to life it up. They had a truck with one of those crane things and despite this; they spent about two hours lifting it up. Still one piece of the tree is lying in wait for them to pick it up, because it was too heavy for them to take all at once.

SubhanAllah, imagine that, just one creation of Allah Almighty’s and it’s causing people so much difficulty to sort it out, and yet Allah was able to make it fall so easily. Truly All Power lies only with Allah (Swt). This is a reminder to us that things in our lives can be so difficult if we do not have Allah’s help and when we turn to Allah and ask for help; then everything can become so easy.

There were other reminders that this old tree gave me as well. Firstly, it’s that everything in life is a process. Sometimes we lose patience and we forget that things take time and everything happens on its own time. But if we remember that life is a process then things begin to make more sense. Take this particular tree for example. First it was a big strong tree with lots of leaves and branches. Then it lost its leaves and branches (I think it was due to lightning). Then even though it seemed useless, Allah still knew its purpose and it continued to stand strong. And then finally, when Allah decided it’s time on this earth was up, the tree fell down.

But this tree left a mark in the ground where it once stood. A huge hole serves as a reminder of the tree that once stood. Slowly this mark will disappear. It will probably be filled up; maybe grass will be planted again, and in years to come people will not know that a strong tree once stood there. Yet, the impact of the tree on things around it will never be fully known to us. For instance, we will not know how many birds and other things the tree gave shelter too. We won’t know how many people received shade and solace from the tree when it was very hot. We won’t know whether the tree was a source of nourishment to the earth around it. We may not know this, but Allah definitely knows it all!

This is an echo of life. We go through the process, it may seem like it will never end, but the time will come for change to happen, and then before we know it will be time for us to depart from this world. What type of a mark will we leave on this earth? Will people easily be able to fill up the gaping holes that we leave as a mark of our existence? What difference would we have made in this world?

Just like we will never know the true impact of the tree, I don’t think it matters if people in the world never know the true impact that we have made. What I mean is that we do not need to be famous, and our good actions do not need to be openly displayed for the whole world to talk about, and perhaps even other people may not need to understand Allah’s purpose for having us around. The important thing however, is that Allah knows the full impact that we have made. Since all our deeds are supposed to be only for Allah, in the end, Allah’s complete knowledge of us is all that matters, just like Allah Almighty has complete knowledge of the old tree so does Allah have complete knowledge about every single one of our lives, and I think that is amazing. I think that is something we should be thankful for.

Nothing and no one is insignificant in the sight of Allah Almighty, and Allah knows exactly what is going on with every single thing. Allah controls everything and will allow everything to happen on its own time. This is the biggest reminder I have received from the old tree that I could once upon a time see standing strong outside my window, and Alhamdullillah, I have to say that this thought brings a smile to my face and warmth to my heart, because indeed there is no one better to be in control of our affairs.

All Praise is Due to Allah, The Almighty, The Creator of everything. There is None worthy of worship besides Allah, The One, The Eternal! From Allah do we come and to Allah do we return. May Allah always remind us about things that are important, Inshaa Allah Ameen!

The tree as it once stood standing strong (It was beautiful, even without the foliage)

The fallen tree and the big hole in the ground

( Photo courtesy of my sister Khadeeja)

The last remaining piece of the tree. It looks so empty without the tree.