The Architect of Soulful Stories
Bismillah…
My name is Nur Azmina Wahdiyani, born in Aceh,
Indonesia,
a land where rain often carries prayers
and the night sky opens wide for the stars.
People call me Mina.
My journey toward becoming a committed Muslimah
did not unfold through sudden transformation.
It arrived slowly;
unhurried, gentle, and profoundly guided,
the way dawn replaces darkness without force
yet with certainty.
I began wearing the hijab in junior high school,
though only outside the home.
At that time, I had not yet understood
the inner stillness that modesty brings.
Everything shifted in high school
during a three-day Islamic retreat
that deepened my awareness of ma’rifatullah.
It opened something within me,
a quiet awakening that lingered long after.
From then on, I chose to wear the hijab fully,
in private and in public,
as a devotion that gave shape to my becoming.
Alhamdulillah, I was accepted
into the university I prayed for,
despite earlier concerns that my hijab-wearing ID photo
might complicate the application.
But I held onto a truth that has never failed me:
When you walk toward Allah,
He opens the doors no one else can touch.
And He did.
The Night My Heart Quietly Turned
Because my village was far from campus
and morning laboratory classes demanded precision,
I lived in a women’s boarding house,
a place Allah chose so gently for me.
The evenings were softened by Maghrib and Isha prayers,
a rhythm that held us together.
One night, a friend invited me to the rooftop.
We sat beneath a sky scattered with stars,
the rice fields below singing their quiet nighttime songs.
She asked:
“Na… do you think tomorrow night
we’ll still be able to see the moon and the stars?”
I answered lightly, not realizing
my life was about to shift direction.
Then she said:
“What if tomorrow morning…
we never open our eyes again?”
Her words landed deeply,
not in my ears,
but at the core of who I was becoming.
She continued gently:
“If you want to begin dressing as a full Muslimah
tomorrow,
I can lend you two of my skirts.
You don’t need to wait for certainty.
Just begin.”
That night, sleep never settled.
Restlessness rose and fell like waves in my chest.
Near 1 AM, I rose for tahajjud and whispered:
“Ya Allah… if this is my time, strengthen me.
And if tomorrow You allow me to hear the Fajr call,
I will begin a new life, only for You.”
Fajr came.
The adhan awakened me.
I kept my promise.
I knocked on my friend’s door;
she hugged me and handed me two skirts,
black and navy,
modest beginnings to a lifelong devotion.
Everyone noticed the change.
“Na… what happened overnight?” they asked.
I simply smiled.
Guidance had arrived, quietly, beautifully, unhurried.
Where My Path Led Next
My early career began in education.
I taught children to read,
guided them through their homework,
and mentored university students
in Qur’anic recitation and foundational Islamic knowledge.
After graduation, I stepped into the world
of social development and humanitarian storytelling.
I joined a well-established international humanitarian NGO
working in post-tsunami recovery across Aceh.
My responsibilities included:
— supporting community development plans,
— facilitating meetings with field teams,
— delivering women’s empowerment programs,
— and assisting local groups in accessing grants
to rebuild their lives with dignity.
In my second year,
after winning an internal writing competition,
I was promoted to Project Assistant.
This role allowed me to travel across the region,
interview families who had risen from profound loss,
and write their stories of resilience
for the organization’s global platform.
From those journeys, I learned something essential:
Writing is not only craft.
Writing is witness.
Writing is service.
Business and Books
After completing my work with the NGO,
I founded my first business with a university friend,
a Jarimatika franchise combined with literacy
and English tutoring programs.
I also lectured at a private university.
The business ran for five meaningful years
until I moved to Jakarta to continue my studies.
Managing it remotely proved challenging,
and we decided to close it.
Yet from that ending, Allah opened a beginning:
I met a major publishing house
that released my first printed book
on early childhood literacy.
More books followed;
anthologies, collaborations,
stories that travelled farther than I did.
Later, I built a business that continued operating
even as I moved cities.
Alhamdulillah, it still runs today,
a reminder that what is built with intention endures.
The Birth of Barakah Story
Writing has always felt like
a gift entrusted by Allah,
and every trust carries responsibility.
From this belief,
Barakah Story was born:
a sacred space where people transform
their life experiences into meaning,
healing, and legacy.
I help leaders, mothers, and seekers
give language to their journeys,
turning memories into manuscripts,
wounds into wisdom,
and lives into stories
that breathe long after they leave this world.
Because stories may fade,
but writing remains.
And as long as someone benefits,
its reward flows on
quietly, endlessly,
as sadaqah jariyah.
Who I Am Today
Allah has guided me through three realms:
education, social humanity, and storytelling,
not as separate paths,
but as one meaningful tapestry
woven to serve those I encounter.
I write for those seeking clarity.
For those healing through memory.
For those longing to leave something that lasts.
And I walk this path
with gentleness,
with reflection,
and with remembrance,
until one day, in sya Allah,
we meet again
in His timeless light.
“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.”
(Qur’an 24:35)