We all want someone to drive us to endless serenity, but are we ready to take the plunge?

 

- falling apart -

 

 

and getting back,

together?

maybe, someday.

Today, we buried a dream.

Today, we buried a dream. 

Let's join our hands together in submission. 
And say a prayer -
for mercy that enshrouds our existence completely

for reliance that Allah is always by our side

for peace that then resides the qalb all through

for humility in every subsequent act we do

for love the heart keeps pumping through
for knowledge of the One who bought us forth

for wisdom rooted wide and deep

for gratitude that knows no bounds

for prayers that were answered and those left unanswered

for expression, in words and in deed
for blossoms that visit us every spring
for daffodils especially, 

                                   as they befriend the graves fondly 

for new dreams that accompany the freshness of spring
for much brighter beginnings
for the soulful ascent that frees the soul
for nafs-al-mutmaina

for you,

            for I, 

                   and my beloved family. 

Aameen ya Rabb al Aalameen! 

                                                      

Waking up to Bliss

Many a times we fall down, 

it's darkness all around. 

We look desperately for the some streak of light, 

the manifold darkness, alas!

We know words. 

We know the magic of those words. 

But the darkness seems to fiddle with them, 

the magic fading away.

So, we begin to tell ourselves, 

                                               the story of dismay.  

We start to see the future with a bleak lens of uncertainty.

All we see is hurdles, and blocks, and never ending misery.

Come echoes from the seemingly impermeable walls of darkness. 

We hear words. 

Words we have long back forgotten.

Words that invite us to light. 

 and the magic that had dwindled with time. 

We wake up from that fervent slumber, 

          that slumber was all but

helplessness, hopelessness, fearfulness

the perfect concoction for unsettled being.

Our eyes finally meet some light, 

                                                    or maybe does our heart.

We find the remedies of all darkness, 

in words that come from afar.

We may think our decisions leading us to fall, 

our life falling apart

but then our soul does reverberate ~ 

"Once you make a decision, Pur your trust in Allah. Verily Allah loves those who put their trust in Him"

We forget, don't we?

That we are mere humans,

in positions of power.

The power, however, is not ours to boast, 

but comes from the Heavenly source. 

We don't have control, 

              or

we may, on a thing or two,

but what about the million parameters,

that fall into place for us to just 'be'.

                كن فيكون

We need to tell ourselves, 

Allah is in control. 

Of us, and the world around. 

Everything may seem to be upside down, 

but being inside the box, 

we don't even know the whole picture.

Trust Him

for

He is Allah - there is no god worthy of worship except Him: Knower of the seen and unseen. He is the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

He is Allah - there is no god except Him: the King, the Most Holy, the All-Perfect, the Source of Serenity, the Watcher of all, the Almighty, the Supreme in Might, the Majestic. 

We need to reiterate these names to us, 

every passing day.

We know,

He is al-Aleem (the All Knowing) and al-Hakeem (the Most Wise),

How can then anything go wrong?

We know, 

He is al-Lateef (the Gentle and Subtle) and al-Khabeer (the Acquainted with all), 

How can we then feel alone?

Ain't He al-Mujeeb ~ the Answerer of prayers !

Al-Kareem ~ the most Generous of all !

No matter,

no matter how many times we fall, 

At-Tawwab is there to take us all, 

in Him all encompassing mercy, 

being Ar-Rahmaan and Ar-Raheem. 

Let's just surrender our beings to Him, 

and live the life of utter bliss, 

tranquil hearts and serenity.

Rabbi, let us taste us ever lasting contentment of these names you've told us about. Help us live by them ~ a life of content and peace and share this peace around. 

Salaam :)

Of Hajar and her submission.

When Ibrahim brings Hajar and Ismael to Becca, the wilderness of the place makes Hajar question their survival in a place where there is just nothing. She keeps repeating the question to Ibrahim, until she realises and asks him if this was the command of Allah, to which he responds in affirmative. Can we think what it must have felt like? You are being led to a place where there is no one but you alone, and your baby. You don't see no man, no dwelling, no food around. And it's being told to you that this is the will of Allah. What Hajar does is submits. Submission. She says that Allah will not leave them alone. How monumental is that reliance that Hajar exercises in the moment. To see nothingness, yet remembering that Allah has their back. Being left with some supplies of dates and water in this desert, it wasn't long before thirst overtook them. Imagine these Ramadan days where we refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. Imagine having to be in that state without respite. Imagine being like this in the middle of a desert. You and your baby. Imagine the impoverished state. There is no glistening water, the hope that it would carry. There is no knowing that Maghreb would bring along with it the breaking of this fast. In this very state of desperation, Hajar moves to the top of a hill, Safaa to look for any form of help, anything to alleviate the thirst but finds nothing. She then runs to the other side of the valley, Marwah to meet the same disappointment. In her despair, she runs between these two vantage points. Imagine her state. She was left in the middle of nothing by her husband, and told that this was Allah's plan for her. And now she is in need. Ismael, a baby, is restless and crying for the lack of water. Imagine the pain that it would inflict upon the mother, yet she does all that is in her power moving between the two points to look for any source of mercy.  Just when she moves the seventh time between Safaa and Marwah, she sees a spring open up where Ismael is kicking the earth with his feet. Water. Zamzam. Hope. Mercy. The path her Rabb carves out for her in the nothingness of the place, the result of her Tawakul. Imagine how she lived the word Tawheed. She believed in the oneness of Allah, and didn't let her reliance waiver. Imagine how beautiful the scene of Zamzam had been to her! Allah u Akbr.

"Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee; in whose heart are the ways of them who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well." ~ Psalm 84: 5-6

How profound are these words. How the submission and reliance of Hajar made water spring in the middle of the desert. How her faith became the strength of her soul and carved a way out for her. By the will of Allah!

May we all be blessed with the same, in this holy month of Ramadan. 

Salaam! :)

Write

Write.
Said the Chinar leaves.
They danced.
And so did my eyes.
The autumn has set in.
And so has the trance.
The patterns in yellow and gold and orange, fading green.
That sound of my feet walking past the debris of the reality, as my eyes once beheld.
The wind has been singing too much to me.
And I have been too blinded.
Or maybe deaf to see.
But I guess, that's how it is meant to be.

I fall, with the fall, only to wake up from the deep slumber.


I am awake.
With eyes wide open.

I have fallen off the cliff.
Finally.
I've hit rock solid.
Autumn leaves.
Yes, rock solid.
But they have opened wounds.
The ones that enlighten the soul.
That lighten the hardened hearts.

The eyes can resolve the normalcy.
That's news.


~ from the archives

Of being.

What is better - being yourself or putting up a show so that the world can bear you?
Isn't honesty more beautiful?

Qaloo Salaman!