“The summer sun is sinking low; Only the tree-tops redden and glow: Only the weathercock on the spire Of the neighboring church is a flame of fire; All is in shadow below. O beautiful, awful summer day, What hast thou given, what taken away? Life and death, and love and hate, Homes made happy or … Continue reading Ramadan Meditations I: To Chase the Setting Sun
I AM FOREVER walking upon these shores, Betwixt the sand and the foam, The high tide will erase my foot-prints, And the wind will blow away the foam. But the sea and the shore will remain Forever. Become a child again – Cast a stone into the sea and watch the waves propagate: Grab a … Continue reading Sand and Foam
A good friend of mine wrote this beautiful piece, and so I thought I’d share it. In our bedlam of a world, we seldom make time or space for Love – real Love, not the cheesy, phony, often exclusively amorous expressions of love we’re inundated with on a regular basis from crappy music and Hollywood (or Bollywood). … Continue reading “Creating Space for Love: part 1” via Dina
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth. Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy … Continue reading The Road Not Taken
Vigils “Behold, We shall bestow upon thee a weighty message (and,) verily, the hours of night the mind most strongly and speak with the clearest voice, whereas by day a long chain of doings is thy portion. But (whether by night or by day) remember thy Sustainer’s name, and devote thyself unto Him with utter devotion. The Sustainer of … Continue reading Vigils
Islam, first and foremost, is about reigning the preconscious, those very invisible notions which operate beneath our conscious lives and direct our thought patterns, and purifying the soul. The abnegation of food and drink during the month of Ramadan, if done with awareness, has the effect of putting us in control of our nafs, our souls, … Continue reading Purifying the Soul, Reigning the Preconscious
There’s hidden sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness. We are lutes, no more, no less. If the soundbox is stuffed full of anything, no music. If the brain and belly are burning clean with fasting, every moment a new song comes out of the fire. The fog clears, and new energy makes you run up the … Continue reading The Hidden Sweetness
As long as I live, I am the slave of the Qur’an And the dust of the path of Muhammad If anyone quotes anything except this from my words I am far away from that person and that word. ~Mevlâna Jalal ad-Din Rumi I just left from Konya this evening, traveling through Anatolia towards Cappadocia … Continue reading Adventures in Türkiye: Konya
Al-asma al-husnaa, the most beautiful names: in whatever human tongue, no doubt they belong only to God, al-awwal wal-akhir, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. Much benefit is found in reflecting upon them, committing them to memory, and implementing them in daily life, as the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم once stated. … Continue reading Al-Asma Al-Husnaa
On the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar (May Allah be pleased with them both), he relates that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) once held my shoulders and said: “Live in this world as (if you are) a wayfarer or a stranger.” And Abdullah ibn Umar (May Allah be pleased with them both) used to … Continue reading Being as the Wayfarer: A Question of Balance
Perennial Reflection 