A Flower

When I look at a flower 

I see its beauty. 

I see its innocence.

I see its duty.

When I look at a flower

I see the mud

from where it came.

I see the thorns 

that give pain.

But those thorns

are there to protect

this sweet, beautiful 

and fragile

flower.

A flower

that smells so nice,

Adds so much

to the beauty around us.

It teaches us softness,

compatibility 

and adjustment.

It blooms from the mud,

It flourishes in the sun 

and waves happily

in the wind.

Be a flower.

Be beautiful, 

soft

and blooming.

Add colour and beauty

to everything around you

with your inner shine

with your capacity 

and your kind. 

Wonder and Ponder

We indulge in enjoying everything without pondering over the wonders that are so apparent and clear. We are so near to the marvels of Creation; ourselves being the best one among them! Giving so much preference to living and making the most of everything and being oblivious to the reality behind our Creation, we just keep on going. We see so many among us go away, never to return again, but little do we ponder and take heed. We are so keen in living this life, which is soon going to end, but we are careless about our end and the implication of our life upon it. 

In the Noble Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 28, the Creator of all that exists, the Almighty God says;

"How can you disbelieve in Allah when you were lifeless and He brought you to life; then He will cause you to die, then He will bring you [back] to life, and then to Him you will be returned."

It is indeed something to think about. Where were we when we were not here? 

We have the answer. We are created by God, the Almighty. 

He is the One Who has the Power to take back our life and we shall report back to him with all our deeds. 

In Chapter 3 verse 185 we read: 

"Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion."

Nothing that is created is pointless or in vain. Every one of us shall be put to justice and will be rewarded for the good deeds that we do while we live on this earth. The real success is not the glamour and glitter of this world rather the never-ending pleasures that will be rewarded to the righteous slaves of Allah. 

And to know why we live, why we do what we must do, and what are we here for, here is the verse 162 from Chapter 6 of Al Quran: 

"Say, "Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah , Lord of the worlds."

The One Who Created has the most rights on His Creation. He is the One Who should be worshipped and obeyed. He is the One Who should be followed for Guidance. He is the One Who should be saught for help and Mercy.

Chapter 2 verse 62 clarifies that anyone who believes and does righteous deeds is the one who is undoubtedly successful:

Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans [before Prophet Muhammad] - those [among them] who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness - will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.

We must, therefore, adhere to the Straight Path and seek the Pleasure of Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. We must spread the Truth and the way to Eternal Success. We are required to wish well for others and pray for the Guidance and Mercy of Almighty God on everyone! 

In the busy life, we must take out a few moments to ponder on the wonders of the Creator and ponder on our own birth and the reality of life and living. 

We take so much pain in living the best life but seldom do we wonder on meeting the best end. This is not something related to philosophy or meditation. This is the reality which we do not face in our day to day life. But when we do face it, it is too late! 

                                   

                                  

The Choice to Choose; the Truth.

Jailed inside the prisons of our mindsets, confined inside the rooms of our prejudices and limited inside the boundaries of our narrowmindedness we never see the whole picture. We never try to see things outside the frames of our windows. There is so much out there. There is so much more to all that we already know and see. 

But we can never comprehend the reality behind every thing completely, even if we try our best. The required thing is the ability to see things outside that old dilapidated frame of thoughts and opinions. One needs to see things without those bars and nets of bias and rigidity. 

There is much much more to what we actually know. 

People do not take pains to know even their own existence, their own beings. 

Where have you come from? Who has made you? Why are you here? Do you know about your Creator? Do you search for Truth? 

It is not enough to talk about freedom, choices and empowerment. 

First you need to realize that your birth was not your choice. Your life is from a greater Power than you or anyone else. The earth that we are sent on is created. It is so well planned and managed. There is some Great force that has created and planned all that exists. 

Why settle over thinking about your own being and the petty issues of freedom and choices of existence? 

Why not ponder over the larger purpose of your existence? 

You were born. You had no choice in that. No one asked you what you want to become. You have a life which is not fully in your control. Things do happen completely opposite to your wish and desires. People die young. 

Do they have a choice not to die?

 They go when their term on this earth is completed. Everything is planned. Your birth and death, all is planned. Your existence is not under your control so it is logical that how you exist or live is also not your choice entirely. You are given certain free-will to choose the course of your life but the result is in the hands of the One who gave you life in the first place and to Whom we all are going to return one day. 

This world is made by God. If we live on this earth and utilize the blessings of God, it does not mean that we have some authority over them. This is a creation plan of God. The earth and everything that exists is created according to that plan. We have been sent on this earth and bestowed with various resources. Through the Prophets, God informed us about the purpose of sending us on the earth. It is nothing but to worship Him alone and not to associate any partners with Him. 

Each one of us is being tested as to what he/she does during the stay on the earth. Allah (the One God) has sent many prophets at all times to different nations to inform them about the ways to worship Him and to be steadfast on monotheism. 

The Last Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was sent not just to one nation but to the whole of humanity to complete the deen (the way of God). 

The purpose of sending Muhammad, peace be upon him, as the Last and Final Prophet is to complete the Guidance through him. He was given the Book, Al Quran, which is the guiding light for all the humanity till the Last Day. 

Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, remained in Makkah for 13 years and then he was asked to migrate to Madinah because the people of Makkah were after his life. He went through great hardships and sacrifices to deliver and spread the message of Islam-the message of Tawhid or monotheism. He asked for nothing but to worship one God, Allah. 

All of us are here on this earth for a test. We have a limited time to act and perform deeds. We have our limited space within which we have to utilize our intelligence and perform to the best of our capabilities.

Since we are not the creators of this world, our own selves, the life and death, the intelligence that we have and all that exists, it is unreasonable and illogical to claim that everything should be according to our choice or wish.

The One Who is the Creator is deserving of obedience and submission since He has all the Power. 

We should submit to His will and act according to His guidance. 

This is Islam. Submission to the Creator. 

This is purely logical and the Law of God is based on this fact.

We have not been left unguided and unattended. 

We have the Guidance. We have the Truth. 

Our mission is to spread the Truth to all our fellow human beings as an obligatory duty. 

Worship One God and submit to His Will.