When I first opened the Quran and read Al Fatiha, I was struck: out of all the Holy Books I read—the Bible, the Mahabharata and Baghavad Gita, the Book of Mormon, and others—none began like this, with such comprehensive worship of God, and such a thorough explanation of the belief system itself. Alhamdulillah!
Category Archives: Islam
perfect for us our light
Here’s a good dua for Martin Luther King day, from Surah at Tahrim (66:8): رَبَّنَا أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ rabbana atmim lana noorana waghfir lana innaka AAala kulli shay-in qadeer Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent.
“We’re all skulls”
Thanks to Jon Wilkening and his Monday Morning Dispatch for 1/8/2018, I watched the American Master’s episode on Richard Avedon recently. At 1:00:10, Julius Lester says, of one of Avedon’s portraits of his elderly father We’re all skulls. And I look at that photograph and I see his skull. And then I wonder, what if we went around …
Flip the Script
When it’s time to pray, what do you say? How do you feel? Is it a chore, a bother, something to get out of the way so you can get back to whatever it is you’d rather be doing? When the time for prayer comes in, do you say have to pray, or do you want …
a full tank
Caroline’s gas light came on about halfway home today, and so I stopped and filled up before heading home. As I left the gas station and zeroed out the tripometer, I saw the full gas gauge and felt such a sense of possibility: just think of all the places I could go on this fresh …
Happy New Year!
Today marks the beginning of a new year, a time of new beginnings, to make plans and set goals for the coming 364 days, to wonder what the next months will bring, and perhaps reflect on the past year, missteps, missed opportunities, and mistakes, and resolve to be better.
I still go in early…
The early morning is a beautiful time. Everything is quiet and still. The streets and highways (and the office) are empty, and everything is at peace. It’s little wonder that this is a preferred time to pray and seek forgiveness.
