Ramadan Kareem

So I made it through the other side...

...all praise and thanks be to Allah for

(1) getting rummage through her exams

(2) peppering the Earth with knowledge for the taking.

wasalamu alaykum

A simple request

The heart requested of its fellow guide, the eyes.....

By Allah,
you have been granted
a huge trust

So forgive me
For the request
I ask of you

My guide
My guardian
My deliverer

At times,
I must humble myself
For I am under your influence

Be gentle with me
For I am weak
And I carry a heavy burden

Lighten my load
By following the advice
From the Lord, Most High

Lower your gaze
For the resulting arrows
Penetrate me so frequently

And I cannot bear
A burden greater
Than has been granted me

I am forever occupied
with the affairs
of one's emotions

So do not add to that
The weary load
Of wishful fantasy

I am under His control
By Him, I beat
Through him, I sustain

So do not deny me
Space to worship Him
Devotion to thank Him

By occupying me
With frivolous thought
And daydreams

Do not let that gaze
become a charriot
for desire

For, often a times
I have experienced
the anguish of love

Rather, let me occupy myself
with the love of Him
He, who created you and I

Yes, I am vast
and this vessel can contain
a sea of emotions

But I am overworked
And wish to feel
tranquil again

For that, I humbly ask you
To guard that which you fall upon
And curb the effect it has on me

Dear eyes
Dear windows
Work with me

Towards righteousness
Towards calm
Towards devotion

So that we may attain nearness
To our Lord, Most High
Creator of both you and I

Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.

And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments except to their husbands or their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess, or the male servants not having need (of women), or the children who have not attained knowledge of what is hidden of women; and let them not strike their feet so that what they hide of their ornaments may be known; and turn to Allah all of you, O believers! so that you may be successful.

-Holy Quan , 24:30-31

Just like the winds send rain.

- ease shall follow today's hardship.

So verily, with the hardship, there is relief, Verily, with the hardship, there is relief.

- 94:5-6

Allah, al Rahman

When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: My mercy prevails over my wrath.
-Muslim

O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.
- At-Tirmidhi

Indeed, no one despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people.
Surat Yusuf:87

He said: "My Lord! Verily, I have wronged myself, so forgive me."
Then He forgave him.
Verily, He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
-Surat Al Qasas :16

-he was Moses and the Forgiver was Allah, Al Ghafur. The verse was concerning Moses' supplication to Allah concerning the Copt he had killed earlier. And remember Aadam (alayhi salam) - our father , our first Prophet. Did he not commit a great sin that resulted in him being placed on Earth from Paradise?

Never despair of Allah's Mercy, His Infinite Mercy. Think for a moment, if it wasn't for His Mercy what state would we all be in. Remember , we're human, insaan, which is derived from the arabic word nasiya - to forget. My, what copious excuses we have simply for being humans, momentary excuses, that is.

Point is, try not to forget Allah's Mercy when asking for forgiveness. Remember the kindness he provides for those of us who are constantly heedless if His Mesage.Remember the Mercy He has granted us simply being able to ask for forgiveness.

wassalamu alaykum.

How Merciful must He be

image source

It was a couple of moments after sundown. Maghrib had just had its footing and I remember looking outside at the sky and being met with an artist's palette I had never seen before. The colours were inimitable; it would take the most skilled of artists an eternity to capture the range, or even a fraction, of the multitude of tones and colours that met my eye.

Allah promised the believers a Paradise where beauty would be magnified at every turn. The fruit, honey, wine and milk that would, under His command, become more delectable to the one tasting it. I thought that reality was only reserved for Paradise when I said to myself that the sky that I was looking at had seemed more beautiful than the last time I had looked at it. I suppose the two things can’t be true both at the same time so I gathered that it was because I had become more receptive to its beauty and that my heart had softened a little.

And then the thoughts came...

How Merciful must He be to grant me the eyes to see this splendid display of colour
The same eyes that had sinned while looking at that made unlawful only yesterday.

How Merciful must He be to grant me these ears to hear the ever-soothing words of Al Quran
The same ears that had sinned while listening to that made unlawful only yesterday.

How Merciful must He be to soften my heart in awe of His creation
The same heart that had deviated to that made unlawful only yesterday.

Ultimately, the Quran puts it best:

And if you would count the graces of Allah, never could you be able to count them. Truly! Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

-Surat An Nahl: 18

Wassalamu alaykum.

05 - A Most worthy invitation.

I want you to imagine an invitation handed to you. An invitation allowing you to request all that you want, in the heavens and on the earth. An invitation that takes place at a time where the heart and mind are known to be more sound, at night. An invitation allowing you to get close to the one who invited you, through prostration. An invitation for His Infinite Mercy and Forgiveness. There's no need of a RSVP. The invitation is open until you take your last breath during every night. You can come alone and if you really want , share this special moment with your beloved companion.In the still of the night, when all is quiet and silence has time to spare you,mercifully, take advantage and bow your head in prayer. Perform tahajjud prayers so that you may attain a nearness to Allah, Most High.I know its difficult, but let's at least give it a go. An hour or so before Fajr should be fine. I repeat, how can we miss out on an open invitation from our Rabb calling us to ask for forgiveness. I'll stop there, but take heed of the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

"When one third of the night remains our Rabb, Most High, Most Exalted, descends to the first sky and announces, "Who is there to beseech Me that I may answer his prayer and who is there to seek forgiveness that I may forgive him. Then He spreads out His hands (of kindness and mercy) and proclaims, "Who will grant a loan to the One who is neither a destitute or an oppressor." (Muslim)

And from the glorious Quran,

Surely rising by night is very heavy in treading the soul and very effective in speech

- 73:6