Coffee stains my porcelain cup as ink spills on to this neatly penned page. Blotted with unease, spilled with grace; what’s permanent and imperfect is not always flawed. Imperfection clings to me and yet it frees me. I feel liberated from straight lines and boundaries. I seek bold images and lasting impressions. Like the art that remains after one sip, my words scramble and rearrange into paragraphs enclosing my thoughts. The white of my paper and the white of my cup create a contrast of who I am. I am flawed; I am imperfect—take a sip of my words.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Beautiful Imperfection
Sunday, November 4, 2012
We are Ants
A small hardworking ant: so minuscule to the human eye, yet
so vital in its natural functions. A player on a large team, but an individual
in its survival. Most of the time, we too are ants-so carried away with the busy work, the day to day tasks, the collecting of things, so busy that we often can’t see the big picture. Like ants on a beautifully designed carpet, we
scurry on not knowing that we are walking on beauty, simply because we cannot see the full design yet. It’s important we take a second
and look around: to remember the destination and to remember that where we are
is truly beautiful, in the present moment and in the greater picture…if we just took the time to reflect. So don’t just hear what's around you, listen.
Don’t just look, see. Be a hard working ant, but remember you have the
capability of looking at the big picture.
Ego Amongst the Dead
Narrated Abu al-Darda: “Worship God as if you see Him, and count your ego amongst the dead, and beware of the supplication of the oppressed." (Quoted by al-Tabarani) In this hadith, we can learn a wide variety of things varying from conquering the ego to detaching from the world and its desires. In the first line we see what is described as “ihsan” or worshiping God as if we see Him. This level of spiritual excellence is not something easily achieved. In order to see God everywhere, one must not see oneself anymore. This means, we must extinguish our concupiscent desires and detach from the world in a humbling manner. Only by eliminating our egos and remembering our graves, can we begin to journey on this path towards “ihsan”. Before reaching this level, we must perfect the levels before it. Preceding “ihsan” are the levels of “Islam” and “Iman”. Islam involves the basics: practicing the five pillars sincerely and testifying that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad (pbuh) is his Messenger. In order to reach “Iman”, a deeper degree of acknowledgment is required. “Iman” is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in divine destiny, both the good and the evil thereof. In all of this, the Muslim is aware that life is a test: that we will be held accountable for our actions and that the Angels on our shoulders record all of our deeds. The level discussed in this hadith however, is the highest level of spiritual excellence: worshiping God as if you see Him. This means you are aware that although you do not see Allah (swt), He sees you.This is the level of righteousness, the level of perfection, the level of doing and saying the ultimate good, the level of I'hsan. As Muslims, we must always strive to reach this level of Faith. And the easiest way to do so is to detach from the world and “count our ego amongst the dead”. By doing so, we forget our selfish desires and we focus on praising the One who created us, the One who sees all that we do. Whoever purifies his character will extinguish jealousy, hatred, greed, anger, pride and all the other maladies of the soul from his heart. Once the heart is pure, it will illuminate all that you see and do. With the recent events in Syria and all over the world, many have asked, “what can I do?!” and “why is there so much hate?” Eliminating these evil things, believe it or not, starts with you. If you want to eliminate all that his dark in the world, cleans your heart until it is able to provide light for the darkness and hope for despair. If you want to eliminate the hate in the world, start by loving for your brother what you love for yourself. Dua is a powerful tool that can help you reach this level of “ihsan”. We must remember to pray for the oppressed, detach from the world, and purify our hearts from impure desires…surely then we will find peace.
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