We know that Amaliah is like a Big Sis and sometimes our DMs have been filled with requests for advice on a range of life issues including relationships, friendships or work troubles.

We have started a new segment where we field dilemmas from the community and answer them as frankly as we can with love, truth and honesty.

Need some advice on a dilemma? Send them all here!

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I’m feeling really lost. I’ve been made redundant for the second time, and it’s been 9 months since I’ve worked now. I had an amazing job offer back in December, which I declined as the company’s interests weren’t aligned with Islam and the interests of the Ummah. I know declining was morally and Islamically the right choice to make, but 6 months after that offer, I’m still in the same position, and now I’m constantly doubting myself and whether I was being impractical. I’m full of self-doubt in myself and my skills, and I feel like I’m drifting away spiritually too. I’m no longer making dua, and I don’t feel as connected. Nothing is working out in my favour, and I don’t know where to turn to or what’s right anymore.

Maya Areem Responds:

Asalamu Alaykum,

Thank you for sharing your feelings with us. I’m sorry to hear that you are in this position, and I pray that Allah ﷻ replaces what you have lost with something even better for you in this life and the next.

Firstly, I want to remind you that declining a job offer, and all the perceived security and opportunities that stable employment brings, because of your Islamic morals, is an incredibly honourable thing to do. I know it’s difficult with the anxiety around finding another job, but don’t skim over the fact that you should feel very proud of yourself for doing something that not everyone would have the bravery or integrity to do. It is easy for anyone to say they would do something like this in theory, but actually following through and staying firm to your principles, to the extent of sacrificing your income and stability, is a highly dignified and commendable thing to do. Please try to give yourself some credit for that.

It is understandable that you would be feeling disheartened, worried and lost. Searching for a job is difficult at the best of times, and it might feel tempting to regret your decision at the moment. The global job market is incredibly competitive and challenging right now, and the fact you haven’t found a job yet isn’t down to your own personal failings. If anything, the fact that you were offered an appealing position is a reminder that you are already employable and are more than capable of securing the sort of positions you are looking for. 

The state of the economy and your own personal situation are colliding, and this is likely making things feel difficult. But remember that at the end of the day, all rizq comes from Allah alone. He is Ar-Razzaq. You have already done so much by sacrificing this job opportunity in favour of your morals, so I urge you not to lose faith now. Allah sees your struggles, sees your sacrifice. Turn to Him and call Him by His name Ar-Razzaq. Ask Him to provide you with work, wealth, stability and opportunities that are far better than anything you have turned down. Ask Him to put in its place sources that will provide for you abundantly in both this life and the next, in ways you cannot even fathom. Remember, you are speaking to the One who can make the unimaginable happen in an instant, so don’t hold back in the slightest. Ask Him not just for a job but for everything you had hoped this job would bring you and more.

Remember, earning money from a company that wasn’t aligned with your faith would not have provided you with halal rizq anyway, so it might be useful to try and reframe the situation. That money was never meant to be yours to begin with because Allah is the one who provides rizq and not any given job, especially one that isn’t Islamically compatible. You could have worked for years in a job that might have met your worldly financial needs, but that was actively costing you your akhirah if you were contributing to something that was not pleasing to Allah. You have saved yourself from this by turning down this opportunity, and Allah sees what you have done and will reward you immeasurably, inshaAllah, for your sacrifice and patience.

I know it’s really difficult right now, but don’t give up hope. I don’t know what your personal circumstances are, but if you are able to, it might help to romanticise this fleeting time of unemployment a little. You will, in sha Allah, soon look back at this period of freedom and perhaps wish you had used it to pursue the sorts of things that are difficult alongside full-time work. Are there hobbies you can take up to pass the time? Are there family members or friends you can use this extra time to catch up with, perhaps even visit in different parts of the country to get a change of scenery? Even if these things are not possible right now, try to keep up motivation by adding structure to your day. This might be a morning walk each day where you read adkhar and listen to the birds to regulate yourself before a stint of job applications later. Likewise, could this be a chance to upskill yourself by learning something new, and potentially unlocking new career avenues at the same time?

And most of all, remember you made this choice for Allah and so losing that connection with Him now is the last thing you want to happen, regardless of how tempting it is to let that happen out of despair. Ultimately Allah knows what we do not. Perhaps what seems like a delay is a chance for you to develop and grow, to rest before taking on another job, or even to test your patience and submission. 

Remember, you did something brave and extraordinary, and Allah is not a Lord who allows such things to go unrewarded. 

Love and duas,

Aunt Maya

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If you would like some wisdom from Aunt Maya, send in your problems here! Please note Aunt Maya may consult the opinion of others from time to time and ask the Amaliah community for their advice too. Aunt Maya is not a licensed therapist or mental health professional.