Amina had dreamed of performing Umrah for as long as she could remember.
She worked overtime, saved every naira, skipped vacations, and spent nights watching videos of pilgrims walking around the Ka’bah imagining the day she’d finally be one of them.
So when her visa was approved and her flight ticket confirmed, it felt like a miracle. Everything was perfectly timed at least that’s what she thought.
The morning of her departure, Amina was glowing. Her suitcase was neatly packed, her ihram scarf folded carefully, and her heart full of gratitude. But by evening, the plan began to unravel.
At the airport, an unexpected technical issue delayed her flight for “just two hours.” Two hours became four. Four became eight. Then, with tired eyes and trembling hands, she heard the announcement: “All passengers connecting to Jeddah will miss their onward flight.”
Her heart sank. She had planned everything down to the minute the hotel check-in, the shuttle, the first tawaf. Now, it all felt ruined. Alone in the waiting area of Doha International Airport, she fought back tears. She didn’t know whether to be angry, sad, or numb.
As dawn approached, she heard the Adhan echo faintly through the terminal. Something inside her stirred. She decided to perform Fajr before anything else.
As she made her way to the prayer area, she saw an elderly woman in a wheelchair struggling to make wudu. People walked past her, rushing to gates and coffee shops. Amina hesitated for a second then walked over.
“Would you like me to help you, aunty?” she asked softly.
The woman’s eyes lit up. “I’ve been praying for someone to help me,” she said. “May Allah bless you, my dear.”
Amina gently helped her make wudu, wheeled her toward the Qiblah, and prayed beside her. After the prayer, the woman held her hand tightly and said, “You know, I was begging Allah to send me someone kind. He sent you.”
At that moment, tears filled Amina’s eyes again but this time, they weren’t from frustration. They were from realization. The delay wasn’t random. The plan hadn’t failed. Allah was simply using her to answer another person’s du’a.
When her rescheduled flight finally took off, she looked out the window and whispered, “Ya Allah, Your timing is always perfect even when I don’t understand it.”
When she reached Makkah the next day, her tawaf was unlike anything she had ever imagined. Each step felt heavier with meaning. She no longer rushed to complete rituals she savored every second, every tear, every breath.
Later that night, while sitting near the Ka’bah, Amina reflected:
“How many times in life do we call something a ‘delay’ when it’s really a divine appointment? How many times do we cry over timing not realizing Allah is protecting, preparing, or positioning us?”
She learned that Allah’s timing doesn’t always match her calendar, but it always matches her destiny.
MESSAGE: What feels like a delay in your journey may be Allah aligning your path with someone else’s prayer. His plans are not late they are written perfectly.
