Turning Struggles into Sadaqah Jariyah: My Journey of Hope

As-salamu alaykum dear brothers and sisters, I just want to share something from my heart, hoping it might benefit someone else out there. I grew up in a good Muslim home, but from a young age, I got caught up in the trap of watching things I shouldn’t-pornography. It was a daily battle for about 12 years, sometimes multiple times a day. Now at 25, I grew exhausted of living like that. It felt so hollow. I lost count of how many times I repented, cried to Allah alone asking for guidance, truly meaning it in those moments. Yet Shaytan would pull me back again and again. It seemed hopeless and it affected my prayers and my ability to live normally. Then this year, I realized my youth is passing fast and all I had were regrets. I know some basic coding, so I decided to use that pain and frustration to create something beneficial, something that might help others and myself be more mindful of our deen and salah. My driving hope was for Sadaqah Jariyah. I kept thinking, “One day I’ll leave this world with many sins, so I must leave behind something good that will keep bringing rewards after I’m gone.” So on February 5th, I began working on an app I named Deedly. After 9 months of hard work, Alhamdulillah, it’s up and running. Over 300 people use it daily now. Seeing that number gives me a little hope. If I were to pass tomorrow, at least I’ve left a good deed on this earth that might bring Allah’s mercy. Maybe He’ll accept this effort and forgive my past mistakes. I’m sharing this as a reminder for myself and for you all: We will all meet our end one day. Let’s try to build something-anything-that will keep sending us good deeds when we can no longer earn them ourselves.