Ramadhan Reflections final

"Praise be to Allah, the Rabb of all universes" Quran 1:2

Hassan's reflection

For everything all praise belongs to Allah. For the good as well as the bad, for the whole plan and scheme of things in this world, for the hope of paradise, for the fears in this world and the hellfire we owe so much thanks to Allah. Allah loves us, which is enough for us to be immensely thankful. Thinking of younger days what we wouldn’t give for the most beautiful girl in school to love us, give us attention, care for us and spend time with us. How much more beautiful is Allah! If there was no paradise, no hope, then what would our life be like? I suppose it would be like it is for many Palestinians right now, or Iraqis, Afghanistan, Pakistan or many other Muslim countries. We are given so much peace, so much hope; so much for us to be thankful for. If there was no hellfire, no pain, no hurting, no anger nor unhappiness could there ever be peace, happiness, or satisfaction? With one extreme comes the other. We would never know such good if we didn’t feel such bad. We could do this with all emotions, and even write a book on this! Suffice it to say Alhamdulilah. Alhamdulilah for everything, Alhamdulilah for addictions, for with addictions comes understanding and awareness. All glory belongs to Allah!


Suriya's reflection:

Praise be to Allah that we were born into this world , to experience this material existence and in doing so , are given a chance to gain knowledge that we would never otherwise have .Does the world not dazzle us with its many attractions and pleasures? Does it not entrance us with the many things we can do in it. Does our mind not become so busy with the work we set out to do? We become so thirsty for what life offers. Some thirst for knowledge , some for wealth and others for pleasures of the flesh. We get addicted to all that life offers or we get addicted to games, to drugs and to money. If we do not reconnect ourselves with our creator and the purpose of our earthly sojourn, we are like the child sent on and errand who gets distracted by the traveling circus and forgets about the errand !

In expressing our praise to Allah , glorifying Allah our creator , we remind ourselves that we are acting on God's behalf and we are here on God's errand and our mission is God's mission . Truly it sounds so dull and so boring to say what I just said, as if there is no fun anymore in life because we are mere servants doing our duty. The truth is that we are God's servant whether we like it or not, whether we do our duty or not but if we place ourselves in alignment with God's will for us, we free ourselves from being slaves of anything or anyone else. Not only that , we get to enjoy what we do and we get to feel peaceful and joyful. So much that even the mere reciting of the words of praise brings joy to our hearts . Allhamdulillahi Rabbil Alamin!

Ahad: One

Hassan's reflection

Allah is one. There is no multiplicity with Allah, for this world would be in such a mess if there were. To me the concept of one goes further. There is no pain and happiness as two separate things. They are both like ingredients Allah uses to complete us, to shape us, to cook us up till we are just right. Sometimes a little more sugar is used, sometimes a little less, but as one, not separate things.


Suriya's reflection

The real truth is , there is but the One . All of the universe including ourselves in but the manifestation of the One. We are all figments of God's imagination and God''s word. I will perhaps elaborate on this in our class and I will leave you with the thought of our being the figment of God's imagination.


Hassan:

Well, it’s been an interesting journey this month. Thank you. A bit overwhelming at times, but these exercises definitely made me think more deeply when reading the Quran translation and a bit more aware of things. Definitely it’s a long road when climbing the stairway to heaven, whereas the highway to hell is an easy path! I look forward to starting back the classes.

Suriya

Yes it has been rewarding to do this exercise and may we all be guided to live this life to the best of our abilities in alignment with the Almighty's purpose for us. Each of our lives is unique and each of us contributes to humankind's experience of life on earth. There is a group consciousness beyond our individual consciousness and as you develop in spirit, you also help this consciousness to grow towards the goal for all of humankind. This group consciousness would explain the phenomenon of the 100th Monkey.