An Inspiration after a Long Winter Walk

Dear All,

I hope this message finds you in the greatest spirit.

This is to announce that I just completed the walk from Northern RichmondHill to Downtown Toronto (est. 31.2 KM ).

During this walk, I was seeking to get out my normal routine and get further inspiration as to what to talk about next - something I can talk about with passion.

I have decided to talk about the fact that in the holiday season most of us are blessed with having a family and friends who care for us and that we get invited to gatherings that have warm food as well as other edible goodies of many colors and that it is a time to rest and enjoy. 

At the same time, I got to taste a bit of cold, frost and exhaustion towards the end of the walk - despite having food, taking cover in some warm places and wearing a thick jacket. I Noticed along some of the empty and lonely areas on the way, I missed the warmth of being with an accepting crowd yet I was satisfied with thinking about God and His mercy on us all . With the temporary cold and exhaustion, I started to think about the homeless, the needy and those, who even in this type of weather, turn to streets and shelters, crawl in to a shop corner and stare at the empty street around them. I am not here to judge them and say how someone gets there in the first place, but what I am inspired about is that we first of all need to appreciate and count all the blessings we have. The madness of going for more and more and more without being satisfied has to stop at some point...if a warm chicken soup is not available, we can be content with a crumb of bread and thank the Lord for giving it to us. 

And that we should not forget to give in charity - to the poor people on the street. Charity is not just money, it could be a simple conversation, a greeting and a smile on the face and a visit to the sick. It could be buying them coffee and talking to them to give them the hope and lit the fire inside them that seems to have gone silent. 

Sometimes I think what I did, might be extreme or unnecessary....at the same time, I cannot deny that some of us get locked in to a certain life style and forget who we were and where we came from...that at points we were in a much weaker position than now....instead of competing to help and give a lifting hand, we manage to rationalize our arrogance somehow and pick on each others' shortcoming and accuse each other of faults. We get lost in racial and religeous arguments and work towards more status and worldly life, while our soul is yearning and crying to traverse a different path.

May God bless you, your family and kin, and may He give us the strength to realize that we are not living for ourselves. I already congratulate you for being a very helpfull and caring group whom I am honored to associate with. and as such pray that we keep reminding ourselves of the needy, sick, orphans, war victims, people with drug and prostitution problems, broken families and so on, and that we help ourselves to be self-sufficient by God's bounties and help them by His grace.

Let us not forget about how our prophet PBUH got worried and a bit depressed when a period of no divine inspiration prevailed and God did not send him a message. Then when the message came it was:

“I swear by the morning hours, and by the night when it is still; your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased. And surely what comes after is better for you than that which has gone before. And surely your Lord will give you that which will make you well pleased. Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter? And find you wandering and gave you guidance? And find you destitute and made you to be free from want? Therefore, do not treat the orphan with harshness, nor drive away the one who asks, but proclaim the favor of your Lord.” [Sūrah al-Duhā - Qur'an 93rd Chapter]

Thanks for your attention and care. May the unconditional love from God and inner peace by His presence be with you.

Tonight I poured out to Allah SWT

Tonight I poured out to Allah SWT. My imperfect intellect has let me down, my desires and mistakes piled up and so I could not take it any more. He SWT knows me best, my designer knows me best and I am not in need of anyone else. It feels safe and secure here. He is very Gentle, Oft-Forgiving, the Ultimate Merciful and Loving.

Tonight, I went to a meeting, meeting of someone I love in perfect peace and privacy. His love and mercy is ever extending and healing. He knows all my secrets and actions, my past and future and so with Him I feel very timeless - the true insurance I ever sought and was not offered in this life except through Him. I ask for His forgiveness with as much sincerity I can muster and pray that He protect me against my own lowly self. Lord is Kind and Ever-Forgiving, He is the Sustainer, The Powerful and the Just.

There is a lot of pain and concern in me, that if I depart from this meeting, I forget again and fall in to the old habits and mistakes. Oh Lord, I seek you constantly by your decree, I strive to think about you by your permission and ask you to protect my family and I, my community and nation and humanity. We are your mortal creations and you only know what is best for us. We submit to you fully.

You are the Unconditionally Loving, the Eternal Peace and the Permanent Enlightening Cause and Joy, how can I forget about your infinite attributes? How can I forget that you are the only reason something actually happens? How can I have so many worldly deadlines, thinking that my to-do list is causing me to get things done in this dunya? and how can I even be so occupied with the dunya in the first place to forget the vast rewards of the Jannat promised to those who work for it? Oh Lord, my heart has become rusty with self-delusion and neglect about my duties and the true values you have clearly demonstrated in your book, which arrived via your prophet PBUH. I have no excuses. I am just a lost soul without your light so please do not let me ever be blind to your all-extending light. You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and all that is in between, please take care of your weak slaves. Ameen.