The Alchemist

Maktub.

For the past couple of months I have been thinking about reading The Alchemist written by Paulo Coelho but hesitated because of mixed reviews. Some either love it or some hate it.

Then one day I was really close to buying the book but I had changed my mind in the very last minute. And then on the very same day I was watching a video about someone going through the same journey as me and in the end, he used a quote from The Alchemist. Three days later when I was decluttering my house, I had found that my cousin who had left some of her belongings from moving had a copy of the book. Just like my previous blog post, Blessed, everything was so synchronised and it was like I was meant to read the book. I am so glad that I did because by the end of the book, I absolutely loved it.

 It was a really short read as I only read it on a plane on the way to Wellington from Hamilton and the night that I had got back. But although it was short, there was a lot of wisdom and spirituality written in the book.

 It was interesting as the book had also intertwined Christianity and Islam in the book. This is because the book was about a Spanish Sheppard who was originally brought up in a missionary went on a quest to find treasure at the pyramids in Egypt.

 Personally, I consider myself more spiritual than I am religious. I say this because I am not a perfect Muslimmah and there are still so many things that I need to learn and understand. Nonetheless, over the years I have grown to be more God conscious in everything I do and I know what is halal and haram.

 I am spiritual because I don’t just see Islam for what it is but I try to seek a deeper meaning for this life and the next in which God has created. I don’t believe in the Universe but I do know that it is the place in which God has placed many signs to conspire people. I do things for the love of God and I am aware of God’s signs and how the Universe conspires me towards something. Just like how God conspired the Universe to help me read The Alchemist.

 I’ve been feeling so scared and yet content for the longest of time. Sometimes we don’t get exactly what we want but if it is meant for you, nothing in this world can stop it from happening and the Universe will always help you because God loves you.

 Again, everything always happens at the right time. When I was reading The Alchemist, although it was everything that I already knew, I needed reminding at that particular time. These couple of weeks, maybe even months has been confusing in a particular area of my life. I keep getting signs but I still don’t know what to do. But because of the signs that I see, I kept saying the same thing in response. And in The Alchemist, I had read exactly what I have been saying for the past couple of weeks.

In The Alchemist, it talks about your own Personal Legend- your purpose in life. It also talks about love and it has the idea of ‘Law of Attraction.’ As a Muslim, I don’t believe in the ‘Law of Attraction’, but spiritually, I know that what I pray for to God, I will receive. What I pray for, put my mind to and actually prepare myself or work for, will always come my way if it is good for me and if it is meant for me.

My friend once told me that your prayers are always fighting against your fate, meaning that if you really want something in your heart and if you ask for Divine guidance then it can happen. Because God is the Most Greatest and High and ANYTHING is possible if He allows it to happen. So, whatever you want, pray for it and be consistent and sincere. God loves sincerity and he loves when we ask for His help.  

Nonetheless, although The Alchemist was a spiritual book, it made me want to be more religious with Islam. And although this book was a sign in itself and the Universe continues to conspire me, I feel that I still need to work on myself. So right now, I am preparing myself for a lot of things. Things that aren’t confirmed just yet but I know will happen only if it is good for me. InsyaAllah.

Maktub- It is written.