Time

Surah 76 Ad-Dahr verse 1-9


1. Has there not been over man a long period of time, when he was nothing, not even mentioned?

2. Surely, We created man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: so we gave him (the gifts) of hearing and sight.

3. We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful

4. For the rejecters, We have prepared chains, Yokes, and a blazing fire.

5. As to the righteous, they shall drink of a cup filled with kafur (Comphor)

6. A fountain where the servants of God drink, making it flow in unstinted abundance.

7. They fulfill their vows and fear a day whose evil flies far and wide

8. And they give food out of love of God, to the indigent, the orphan and the captive,-

9. (Saying) We feed you for the sake of God alone: No reward do we desire from you nor thanks.





Scientists speculate that the universe is approximately 14 billion years old. Light began to be formed around 400,000 years after the Big Bang. These are "earth-centric" time periods. They seem very long when we compare them to our own life span. Comparatively, our life-span on earth would seem like the blink of an eye. In the short time of our life-span, God asks us to remember him so that we may treat all of his creation with compassion and mercy. By being grateful for all of God's blessings, we acknowledge the value of these blessings in our lives and this increases us in compassion and mercy, with which we grow in our spirituality.

In order that we may accomplish this simple Divine request to remember him, God has gifted us with the senses that help us interract with our world, the intelligence to understand, and the free-will to implement our understanding. Because of his immense compassion and mercy, God has given us a short time period in which we can fulfill his simple request so that we are not overburdened. When we do good for God, we open our hearts to inner serenity and tranquility. As Epictetus explains, "happiness and personal fulfillment are a natural consequence of doing the right thing."...and by doing right, we become better human beings and by this effort, we become worthy of paradise. As Seneca explains "A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials."

Siox prayer

Grandfather Great Spirit

Fill us with light

Give us strength to understand

and the eyes to see

Teach us to walk the soft earth

As relatives

To all that live.

"Then do remember me; I will remember you. Be grateful to me and reject not faith."---Quran Surah 2, verse 152

miracles

Surah 3 verses 45-52

45. Behold! the Angels said: "O Mary, God gives you glad tidings of a word from Him: his name is Massih Isa, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the hereafter and of those nearest to God.

46. He shall speak to the people in childhood and maturity and he shall be of the righteous.

47. She said "O my Lord, How shall I have a son when no man has touched me?" He said, "Even so, God creates what he wills: When he has decreed a matter, he but says to it "Be" and it is.

48. "And God will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Torah and the Injil,

49. "And appoint him a messenger to the children of Israel, "(with this message): "I have come to you, with a sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God's leave: and heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I bring the dead into life, by God's leave; and I declare to you what you eat and what you store in your houses. Surely there is a sign for you if you did believe."

50. "(I have come) to attest the Torah which was before me. And to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you; I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. So fear God and obey me."

51. "It is God who is my Lord and your Lord; Then worship him. This is a way that is straight."

52. When Isa found unbelief on their part he said: "Who will be my helpers to (the work of) God?" The Diciples said:"We are God's helpers, we believe in God and you bear witness that we are muslims."

Miracle=An effect or extra-ordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.

Though language can clarify and edify, words can also be used to veil the truth, to delude. Sometimes, the use of too many words, get in the way of the simplicity of truth....and we miss it in our attempts to decipher the jumble of meaningless words........like the definition of the word "miracle" above.

All known human or natural powers must be ascribed to God if we are to understand truth at all. For, if God wills it "Be" and it is, and this is called a "miracle", then our very existence from our birth to the minutae of the events in our lives to our deaths is also a "miracle" for none of it would "Be" if God did not will it so. Therefore, the very supposition that some things are "extra-ordinary" and only such can be ascribed to the Supernatural/God/Divine....is actually veiling the truth of God.

Today we use defibrillators for those whose hearts have stopped. We use robotics---various "forms" made of metal and silicone that function with a switching on of a button, We are exploring the possibilities of repairing damaged organs and restoring health using stem cell research......maybe these things seem ordinary, maybe not, but none of it would be possible if God did not will it so. Yet we do not see God's compassion and mercy behind our human achievements for, in our muddled use of language, we forget to ascribe them to God. We become blind to the "signs of our Lord."

Moral Injury

Surah 5, verses 27-32

27. Recite to them the truth of the story of the 2 sons of Adam. They each presented a sacrifice. it was accepted from one but not the other. Said the latter : "Be sure I will kill you." Surely said the former, "God does accept the sacrifice of those who are righteous."

28. "if you do stretch your hand against me, to kill me, It is not for me to stretch my hand against you to kill you: for I do fear God, the Cherisher of the worlds.

29. "for me, I intend to let you draw on yourself my sin as well as yours, for you will be among the companions of the fire, and that is the reward of those who do wrong."

30. The (selfish) soul of the other led him to the murder of his brother: he murdered him and became (himself) one of the lost ones.

31. Then God sent a raven, who scratched the ground, to show him how to hide the naked body of his brother. "Woe is me" said he; "Was I not even to be as this raven, and hide the naked body of my brother?" Then he became full of regrets---

32. On that account we ordained for the children of Isreal that if any one killed a soul, unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land---It would be as if he slew the whole people: and if he saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.
Then though there came to them many messengers with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.

Moral Injury = "perpetrating, failing to prevent, bearing witness to, or learning about an act that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations"----Dr Brett Litz


All of us have had moments when we have disliked another. Dislike has the potential to turn into hate and when we hate, it is easy to forget that the "other" is our brother. When we forget the humanity of another, we also lose our own humanity.---we kill our soul and become of those who are lost. ---but when someone shows compassion and mercy to a lost soul, it is as if we have restored humanity---just as the raven showed compassion and mercy to a killer and showed him how to bury his brother.

Lao Tzu said "voilence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself." In this time of increasing intolerance and war, we must accept that intolerance cannot be fought with intolerance---for those who hate and kill are also our brothers. When any one of us commits a moral injury to himself, we injure all of humanity. My brother's inhumanity is also my inhumanity because we each have the potential to fall into brutality---but my humanity is also my brother's humanity because each of us also has the capacity arise to nobility.

We need to find a way to heal our collective moral injury. We need to see a new vision of the world---one that is based on saving a life instead of killing a soul. One that is based on Uniting instead of dividing, on restraining anger instead of committing excess, on giving instead of taking, on "inviting to all that is good and enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong." (Sura 3, v-104)


"One should see the world, and see himself as a scale---with an equal balance of good and evil.
When he does one good deed, the scale is tipped to the good----He and the world are saved.
When he does one evil deed, the scale is tipped to the bad----He and the world are destroyed."
----Moses Maimonides.

Mercy

Surah 31 verse 20-24

20. Do you not see that God has subjected to your (use) all things in the heavens and the earth, and has made his bounties flow to you in exceeding measure, (both) seen and unseen? Yet there are people who dispute about God, without knowledge, without guidance and without a book to enlighten them.

21. When they are told to follow the (revelation) that God has sent, they say, No, we shall follow the ways of our fathers. What?!, even if it is Satan beckoning them to the chastisement of fire?

22. whoever submits his whole self to God, and is a doer of good, has grasped indeed the firmest handlhold: and to God shall all things return.

23. but if any reject faith, let not his rejection grieve you for to us is their return, and we shall tell them the truth of their deeds: for God knows well all that is in mens hearts.

24. We grant them their pleasure for a little while : in the end shall we drive them to a chastisement unrelenting.

To be a Muslim is to freely submit to God's will and this means to be a "doer of good". Those who reject goodness/good deeds are those who reject God's will. Yet, God's mercy is so vast that those who freely submit to God's will and those who reject God's will are equally sustained and nourished through God's blessings and bounty. But why give blessings to those who reject goodness? Our life on earth--from birth to death--is an opportunity for spiritual growth. God is compassionate and merciful and during our time on earth, gives chances to even those who reject him so that if they do choose to turn to him in repentence, they can have a chance to taste his compassion and mercy. The nourishment and sustenance are blessings from God to all human beings, yet we sometimes take this for granted, thinking that it is simply part of life on earth. We fail to see God's love, compassion and mercy that is actually supporting our life on earth. ---But when we do, our relationship with God becomes filled with gratitude for his love and mercy. As Aristotle said "wicked men obey from fear; good men, from love." The love of God that springs from gratitude by acknowledging his blessings can become a transformative force. As someone said "To love is to recieve a glimpse of heaven." Human beings can use this transformative force for the benefit of all of God's creations. To spread out the blessings and mercy God is blessing us with, to those of God's creations who inhabit the earth along with us. When we transform ourselves, we transform our world.

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love." Sophocles.

Giving

Surah 55 Ar-Rahman

1. The most Compassionate
2. It is He who has taught the Quran
3. He has created the human being
4. He has taught him insight
5. The Sun and the Moon follow courses computed
6. and the herbs and the trees bow in adoration
7. and the firmament he has uplifted and he has established the balance of justice
8. In order that you may not transgress due balance
9. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in balance
10 it is He who has spread the earth for his creatures
11 In it are fruits and sheathed date palms
12. and husked grain and scented herbs
13 then which of the favors of your lord will you deny?

Some People see love in the actions/deeds of a person. How much someone cares is measured in what the person has done for us. When thinking of God's love, we fall into this trap of trying to measure it in terms of what God has done for us-----Yet, true love is not about recieving but about giving. When a mother loves her child, she only thinks of what she can do for the benefit of her child. When we think of God's love---we should be thinking---not of what God has done for us, ---but what we can do for God. How can we best please God?---by having the right intentions that create the right actions for the benefit of all of his creations.

Because of God's love, his compassion and mercy, human beings have been given guidance, just as a mother thinks of the welfare of her beloved child. It is now upto us to honor this love by giving back........

Guidance

Surah 48 Al-fat-h verses 1-5



1. Surely We have granted you a manifest victory

2. That God may forgive you the faults of your past and those to follow; fulfill his favor to you and guide you on the straight way.

3. And that God may help you with powerful help

4. It is he who sent down tranquility in the hearts of the believers, that they may add faith to their faith; for to God belongs the forces of the heavens and the earth; and God is full of knowledge and wisdom

5. That he may admit the men and women who believe, to gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell there and to remove their sins from them, and that is in the sight of God, the grand triumph.



Surah 2, Al-Baqarah verses 255-257



255.God, there is no God but he

The living, the self-subsisting, the supporter of all

No slumber can seize hime, nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and the earth

Who is he can intercede in his presence except as he permits? He know what is before or after or behind them.

Nor shall they compass any of his knowledge except as he wills. His throne does extend over the heavens and the earth and he feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them.

For he is the most high, the supeme.

256. let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error. Whoever rejects evil and beleives in God has grasped the most trusted handhold, that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things

257. God is the protector of those who have faith. from the depth of darkness, he will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith, the patrons are the evil ones, from light, they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. they will be the companions of the fire, to dwell therein.





Guidance should not only improve, instruct, ennoble, and empower, it must also inspire in the reciever a transformative energy/force that will create a motivation /attitude of change for the better.
The Quran,
Its Guidance is for the taking
If we want it
Its secrets are to be shared by us,
If we seek them,
Its sweetness is apparent,
iIf we savor it.

"Do not be daunted by the ennormity of the wolds grief.
Do justly now
Love mercy now
Walk humbly now
You are not obligated to complete the work,
But neither are you free to abandon it."
-----The Talmud

Gratitude

Surah Al Waqia (56) verses 63-74

63.Do you see the seed you sow in the ground?
64. Is it you that cause it to grow or are We the cause?
65. Were it our will, we could make it broken orts. and you would be left amazed.
66. (saying), "We are indeed left with debts"
67. "Indeed we are deprived"
68. See you the water which you drink?
69. Do you rain it down from the clouds or do We?
70. Were it our will, we could make it saltish (unpalatable). Then why do you not give thanks?
71. See you the fire which you kindle?
72. Is it you who grow the tree which feeds the fire, or do We grow it?
73. We have made it an article of comfort and convenience for the denizns of the deserts
74. Then glorify the name of your Lord, the supreme!

It is often the little things in life that bring us the greatest, most sincere joy. Yet, in savoring the happiness of the moment, we overlook to thank God. Often, we are so focused on ourselves, that we overlook the big things too. It is a priveledge to live on this planet, to enjoy the wonders of nature, to eat of the foods from the earth, the sea, and the soil, to have the company of those we love......yet, we forget to thank God. In this age of abundance and luxury, our attention sometimes wanders to the things we do not have but would like to have. In our pursuit of achievements or success, we forget that our stay here is transitory, that our final destination is to God..... Our God, who is compassionate and merciful and has given us so much.Instead of looking at all the inconveniences and trails of the day, it is time to strive for an attitude of gratitude for the blessings we have been given. To remember to take the time to thank God, the compassionate and the merciful.

For each new morning with its light
For rest and shelter of the night
For health and food
For love and freinds
For everything your goodness sends
---Thanksgiving by Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts
With our thoughts We make our world
-----Buddha

Let's try to fill our thoughts and our hearts with gratitude today......