Oh Allah make me beautiful within as you have made me without!”

"I believe that there is a gorgeous and wonderful person trapped in my body waiting to be released.”
“If only I was thinner, he’d like me!”
“I hate myself; I’m so fat and ugly!”
“My nose is too long!”
“Not another spot!”

Sound familiar? How many times have you stood in front of the mirror repeating these words? It’s so amazing how a human being can be a fountain of kindness and mercy to others while so harsh and judgmental to oneself.

So you are bit on the heavier side of the scales (to put more politely) and if you had bit more height it would not hurt, you wish that you were fairer and you had the perfect pearly whites; and the list is limitless. But it’s your personality that matters more than looks, isn’t it? Or is it? We get bombarded constantly with ultra-thin images of what beautiful is supposed to be. Look at the billboards, glossy magazines and advertisements, the perfect girl is one who is slim, fair, has straight hair and rosy lips. Surgeons are minting money in bundles; if cosmetic surgery were any cheaper the whole world would be filled with Jennifer Anniston and Sushmita Sen look-a-likes! Fad diets are becoming the order of the day, with the youth as young as ten years of age embarking recklessly on a journey of starvation, unaware of the negative impact on their health. It is indeed a sad affair; soon we will have a global pandemic of eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia.

It all begins, I think, with low self-esteem; when we let society dictate the rules for us Mans very ungrateful. It true we don’t value what we have until we lose it. What is beautiful any way? Picture this; an expectant mother is going through labour, the only thought going through her mind at that moment is that she delivers a healthy and bouncy baby, imagine her distress when the baby presented to her has a cleft palate, an open skull and a hole in its heart. Incomplete and imperfect. Now look into the mirror again; what do you see? Two lovely eyes, ears that can hear, a fully formed mouth, even your nose does not look so bad anymore! The lovely swan that was the ugly duckling evolves! Beautiful; is you.

I used to feel that nature throws an unfair deal to those infants that are born with one of their faculties non-functional, I realize now that they are special and unique, sent by God to teach us a precious lesson; that we are all miracles of His creation.

Value yourself, next time you pass by a mirror, look deeper into your soul, do you like who you are within? That is a more substantial question to ask. Only then will you be able to greet your most dreaded enemy (the mirror) with confidence and a smile, you will meet your own eyes, embrace your soul and exclaim; “I love me, there is no other me in this entire universe, I am unique and precious. I shall fulfill all my dreams and hopes because I believe in the power of me. Oh Allah make me beautiful within as you have made me without!”