The Falls and the Spiritual Path

Bismillah.

We went on the Maid of the Mist at Niagara yesterday -- my first time. Subhan'Allah, the Falls are such a majestic Sign of the Creator and a metaphor for the Spiritual Path.

The Falls look stunning from a distance -- one longs to go closer and is certain they can endure that proximity.

As one approaches, the waters get rougher, the ferry begins to shake, one can hardly bare the brightness and the rain upon one and yet there's such a sweetness and desire to go even closer.

And even far off in the distance, the mist touches one. Just as Allah's Mercy does.

Deafness and Blindness on the Path

Last Friday I was fortunate enough to sit in one of the best Jummu'a khutbas that I've heard in a long time. One of the things that made it so wonderful was that the entire talk was about Mercy...Allah's Mercy, the Messenger's mercy (peace and blessings be upon him), and the mercy that we should all have for one another and for all of creation. And our teacher reminded us of something another one of our teachers once said to him,

"He who does not have a little deafness in his ear and a little blindness in his eye, cannot travel with us on this Path".

Allah!

Houses: A Reflection of the State of our Hearts

The other day my mother was telling me something she'd heard on a Punjabi show she was watching with my father. A Punjabi aunty (Sikh), was reflecting on families in our times, and what came from her is a testament to the absolute wisdom that people traditionally had ... and when it's Punjabi, wisdom is even more profound! :)

"When we had homes made of mud and clay,

our hearts were soft like them, too.

People sacrificed so much for one another

and were always bound to one another in love and service.

Now our homes are made of bricks and cement,

and our hearts are hard like them.

We don't care for one another

and don't care if relationships are sour or torn."

She went on to talk about how our hearts are so diseased that rather than being happy at the good fortune of others, we are envious and think the worst of how they acquired what they have.

Subhan'Allah. As Shaykh Mokhtar said, "Allah puts wisdom on the tongue of whomsoever He wishes".