Steps uncertain, we set out.
Ten days of the year…before the feast of remembrance, of sacrifice.
Abraham was to face the ultimate test of love. At the farthest limit of trust, his love was safe, and his son saved.
Life is a pilgrimage to the center, where time and again we must return. To ourself, our heart.
Heart…which means the center, ourself, life, love and faith. Life is a pilgrimage of, to, and for the heart. With our hearts as our sole companions.
Some have already set out. Others will travel their own path. Others still will pray and fast. Yet others will forget.
Ten days. Silence, as Abraham suffers for his love, the love that sets him free.
The adventure of faith : love is a prison, love is freedom. Each one has the choice to seek one’s key… to one’s prison, or to one’s freedom.
A path, the path we travel; a path and a key.
Your Insightful words are deep and touching … Thank you….. Shakkira xx
Very nice message! 🙂
I heard in a talk today how the first ten days of this month are the best of days! May we all benefit from these ten days, Insha Allah!
I also enjoyed these touching words, but there is a question that I always have in my mind that “Does Ibrahim faith and love for God give him a power over the life and death of another person (his son Ismail)?” I believe Ibrahim ansewer might be NO!
But I know that Ismail reassured his father to submit to the will of God and sacrifice him,then what is a difference between these two kind of expression of love and faith? Which one is the more authentic one? Ibrahim or Ismail?
Assalamu allaikum my dear,
Here is an explanation: When Ibrahim got the command from Allah he obeyed, and so he went to tell his son about his command (because it involved both of their participation. It was a team effort which wouldn’t have ended in the beautiful way it did if either one didn’t cooperate). And Ismeal, upon hearing his father’s Rou’ya (sight), surrendered to Allah’s order as his father did. (Why we might think that Ismeal’s acceptance is ‘better’ might be because we know he said it in words, but Allahu alam, Ibrahim accepted in his heart the way he did but we don’t know what he said exactly as that this was between him and his Creator).
So, as a team, both went to do what Allah asked, and so both trusted Allah and completely surrenedered to Him, even if they didn’t understand the motive, the cause, or the result. (Imagine this was asked of one of us, but imagine this assuming you never knew of how Ibrahim and Ismeal reacted. Things that may run through our mind are: Did I do something wrong that Allah is punishing me? .. What will my wife think if she knew this? .. Should I tell other people and ask them their opinion? .. Maybe it wasn’t Allah’s command and I was just having a dream? .. and the list goes on.
So my dear, I think the question we would benefit from might be: how did they build all this love and faith in their hearts to the point that when Allah asked, they obeyed? (As for their authenticity, Allah knows best, and to us they were both prophets). And Allah knows best.
wassalamu allaikum
Beautiful words. Blissfully put into perspective. May love never be a prison but a liberation on our path while we are in still in this world. May this love be unconditionally and wholeheartedly.
Afsun
This is a beautiful reminder of what should matter the most in our lives. we get so busy that we forget to stop and reflect on the meaning of life and our purpose.
assalamu allaikum,
Beautiful words mashAllah. I am trying to build my spiritual self (I once set out to constrain this part of me, naively, and with no thought on the severity of my choice, that I can strive with mind alone… how wrong I have been). And I am also trying to find balance between heart and mind, and I feel, at this stage, that it’s true that love is first a prison (I feel because you have to work on keeping away from the artifacts and focus on what matters), where it holds you in until you’ve surrendered completely, and then it lets you free–and it’s in that light that you feel that you’ve found the meaning of life.
I pray that one day we all find the patience and determination to set our hearts free–in true love, in true worship.
In addition to cross cultural differences in understanding love, ideas about love have also changed greatly over time. Some historians date modern conceptions of romantic love to courtly Europe during or after the Middle Ages, although the prior existence of romantic attachments is attested by ancient love poetry. Thanks.
Regards,
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A link to a thoughtful eid khutbah in a small progressive mosque in Cape Town.
http://www.cmrm.co.za/ . Look in khutab and scroll to Decemebr 8.