By the Grace of Allah, this humble one had the opportunity to do Waqf-e-Arzi in Costa Rica this past summer. It was an amazing experience. The story I’m about to share is about my journey back to Toronto.
My classmate Faaran and I had our flight booked to a city called Liberia which is 3-4 hours away from Heredia, the city we were staying in. On the way back, we decided to rent a car to drive to Liberia as well as visit some scenic places on route. The first stop was at Poas Volcano, an active volcano about 25 kilometers North of Heredia. You can get to the top of this volcano and see the active crater, which emits volcanic gases most of the time. However, when we got to the crater, it was all covered in clouds and it was impossible to see the crater. Disheartened yet still hopeful, we decided to raise our hands in prayer and see if the clouds would move. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really think a small prayer like this would get accepted – but that day I learned that Allah answers even the smallest of prayers. After we had given up hope and were about to leave, we decided to film our disappointment. Right as we were recording, we saw the clouds move out of the way which allowed us to see the crater, Alhamdulillah.
After this we went to a sunset lookout point near Monteverde, a famous national park known for its beautiful rainforest ecosystem up in the mountains. However, once again, as we arrived the whole sky was covered in clouds and it was about to storm. When we got there we started deciding if we should go or move on, and at that moment the weather began to worsen. While we argued with each other on what to do, we saw the clouds moving out of the way. It felt like magic, and all of a sudden the whole sky was visible. The whole landscape was indescribable. Not only that, but the storm didn’t start until after we had left the mountain. It felt like God was protecting us the entire journey.
This wasn’t it however.
The next day our flight back got canceled and we were re-booked for the next day. Instead of putting us in a hotel, we were put in a resort with free meals included.
This experience is one I will never forget, Insha’Allah.
