Joys of Pregnancy

The countless blessings and mercy of the Almighty seize to amaze me! I cannot even begin to describe the feelings of my heart when I read this hadith; I could not contain the sensations of happiness, amazement and humility - not least because I am at present pregnant myself (although that played a big part!) but for the reason that Allah the Almighty has showered us women with so many favours which we cannot even begin to comprehend and be thankful for. So many blessings that even men are probably envious of us!

I would like to highlight in specific the blessings that have been bestowed on a Muslim woman in the state of pregnancy. Sa'eed ibn al-Jubayr narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar, (may Allah be well pleased with father and son), saying, "I believe he [i.e. Ibn 'Umar] raised it to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and give him peace, "A woman in her pregnancy to the time of her delivery to the time of her weaning is like a soldier in the way of Allah." Wayhay! So pregnancy is not all about feeling down in the dumps, being a constant throwing up machine and getting enormously huge! In reality the status of a pregnant woman is so high that she is considered to be striving and struggling in the way of the Almighty and this blessing is carried out throughout the whole period of pregnancy and even breastfeeding after birth. Believe me, when I came to acknowledge this amazing reality, I was awe struck and all the low points of being pregnant suddenly vanished into thin air. So here I am blossoming with radiance (not the usual ‘pregnancy glow’ although that is nice too!) due to knowing that I am the recipient of much blessings from our Lord. In between all the feelings of sickness, mood swings and medical check ups; it is quite easy to forget the mercy and blessings of Allah Almighty especially as this great miracle of a new life is being created and I find myself in a state of constant thankfulness and gratitude.

It certainly is one of the biggest and amazing miracles of the Almighty and especially as this is my first baby – I keep finding myself lost in the realm of my thoughts and thinking ‘wow a life is being created inside me!’ it almost seems unreal until I feel the tiny creation with a sudden kick or punch! Subhan’Allah it truly takes my breath away. We only need to ponder on the amazing system of creation, the very fine and accurate details of the womb that make it possible for a baby to grow and nurture out of a mere seed – to realise that there certainly is a creator who has fashioned such a perfect system to enable the creation of man. My main point for writing this article was to share this news of glad tidings to my fellow Muslim sisters – those of you who are pregnant will undoubtedly beam with happiness and be very touched as I was and those of you who have yet to experience this great blessing – all the more to look forward to!