Faced with the toughest two years of my life, I turned to Islam to give me strength and patience

‘Prayer can help reduce stress and prevent being overwhelmed by circumstances stemming from self-pity and lack of control. It taught me to be elegantly patient.’ Illustration: Nenov/Getty Images

In 2021 I was forced to flee Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul, abandoning my newly built dream home, a stable job, close friends and relatives and above all my loving family. It was heartbreaking. I have lived with the pain for two long years hoping to be reunited with my family in Australia soon. How I endured this trauma is something that intrigues me. What has kept me going during this terrible time?

Being patient and composed in tough times is hard, especially when your personal and professional life is at stake. It requires much more resilience than most humans are built or trained for. Taking refuge in Islamic meditation and getting emotional strength from it helped me like nothing else.