Undoubtedly the recent cowardly attacks perpetrated by a bunch of cowards has caught our attention this past week. Muslims for the umpteenth time are being questioned why are we not condemning these attacks? The media does not want to cover our side of the story, the side of the peace loving Muslims who do not believe that aimless violence is the answer. No one is interested in covering the stories of all those that donate their time and money to helping those less fortunate. There are many experts out there and many fatwas that have been denouncing all sorts of terrorist acts that you can google, all I can explain is how my faith brings peace and joy to me. Islam means peace, it was sent by our Creator so that we will be able to return to our natural state of being, our fitrah, because when we go against this state, humans get sad, lonely, afraid. Our creator has spoken to us to let us know even though we can’t see “Him” yet, we can look for His signs in the creation. He wants us to know there is always a Divine plan for us and that we shouldn’t dwell on our future, our health, our problems, our money troubles and to let go of our fears. We should place our trust, or tawakkul, in Allah only. Ibn Rajab Al- Hanbali said, “the fruit of tawakkul is the acceptance of Allah’s decree. Whoever leaves his affairs to Allah and then is accepting of what he is given has truly relied on Allah. Al-Hassan and others among the salaf defined tawakkul as ridhaa (acceptance)”. This doesn’t mean that we sit around and do nothing all day because we have faith Allah will take care of us, it means we put our best efforts in and then leave it to Allah. There are some great lectures out there on this difficult concept. Allah says in the Holy Quran many times that we should rely on Him alone and He is the best disposer of all affairs. Our only worry should be on doing acts that please Him alone and not for showing off  for others. We should be honest and upright and generous. I know that following this idea of relying on Allah alone and doing good deeds and acts of worship is a struggle for me, my true jihad. I have also noticed that the more I rely on Allah, the harder the test gets so I get worried to unlock that next level of getting closer because I know that the tests get harder and harder. Unlocking these levels lead us to an inner peace that no amount of money can buy. I pray for peace for all victims and their families and not to let those who attack us to allow us to fall into despair.