26th day of Safar ( Dec 8 2015)

We come together often to simply relish in the faith we have been given to handle the daily crises that appear in our lives.

As I hear the news and listen to the rabble around me,  I just seek to inspire others and myself to look within and find the LIGHT that emanates from HIM ...HE who loves us all through everything.  In fact we can do nothing on our own.  A new thought that permeates my thinking is to beware of today's politics ... it seems to be becoming the new morality .  In fact , as I read about the Roman times when Christ walked the earth , the same system was in place . What did he preach ?  Walk in stillness and faith with LOVE in your heart ... no guns, violence and hatred . Serve and JUDGE NOT that ye be not judged.  Let those who love around you be your cohorts .  When, the last Prophet spoke , he too spoke of brotherly LOVE and righteous behaviour .  When we watch his lifestyle amidst his society ,  he resigned himself to giving and praying for those in need.  He was asked to spread the LOVE from his called faith... even then his society rejected him and spat upon his head. What is our lesson ?

After reading history of wars and troubled times , I see another troubled era ahead. How to survive in it ? Hold onto the rope of faith ..even tighter than before.  Turn down the outside world and look within to your heart seeking the afterlife's successes. Allah will care for all your cares when you work for your Hereafter.

Bless us all , as we believe in YOU , the warmer of all hearts , my Rabb.

12th day of Safar....Nov 23 2015

Bliss is the title of today's post. Each of us is searching for his own state of Bliss .
Sometimes it lies as close to us as our jugular vein ... it lies within our own heart ...it is that little piece of divinity that lies just under the surface of our consciousness .... we can only find it when we are still . THIS IS OUR ABSOLUTE TRUTH .

We are meant to let go of all cares and cast them all upon the Lord ... when we are afraid , ti is simply our rejection of what God wants for us .  BE NOT AFRAID..face the future with LOVE HOPE and an understanding of the flourishing part of each souls' worth .

Each man's DESTINY is just the revealing of yourself into the character that God wanted you to be ... to thy ownself be true. ...thereby revealing the character of God as I behave . AMIN .

4th Safar 1437 ( Nov 16 2015)

As I head into this month of Safar , the constant reminder is that we are all human ...with faults and weaknesses. There is no room for GUILT over this . We must continually keep trying to do our best and then accept the resulting behaviour.

Allah is so merciful that HE knows us ..even before we react ...AND allows us HIS grace to accommodate us . Remember ALWAYS to accept ourselves, love those around us and do whatever we can to improve .

To acknowledge, be aware of one another , see past the superficial and dig deeply inside the heart ... then we can be more in tune as the MIND, BODY and SOUL can unite. Let us all also look outside ourselves to support our external world .

I must wish to be CONSTANT , FAITHFUL and OPEN to OBEDIENCE TO HIS WILL with whatever tools I have at my disposal . Then I can only repent when I feel that I was less at any time ...  I am simply a HUMAN seeking my way .

ALWAYS written in gratitude for MY RABB  and HIS plans for us. WORK for HIS pleasure .

Muharram passed and Safar starts 1437

Busy-ness has been the name of the days just passed ... New Year brought safety and gratitude for blessings given ... visit to Chicago for 5th birthday of Eden Hays , constant striving to regain balance here in Montreal , seeking life's work here as I move onward in my 70's . The main objective must always be a balancing of daily habits aimed at sowing seeds of authentic happiness , positivity , accepting and letting go when traumas arise . It is the awareness of and the knowledge that " this too shall pass" ... enables one to find solutions, serve those around me , love myself in charity and work to serve and please my Rabb . The obedience to HIM done thru my human weaknesses is all that I can hope to strive for ... sometimes I succeed and other times , this desire simply appears to leave me
flailing. All I can then do is repent and try again next time .

My belief tells me that my Rabb is understanding and very merciful to those who love HIM. Let us work towards the Hereafter with open and faithful hearts . HE has promised that if we sincerely try every day , then even when we become weakend, HE will carry us faithfully to our Hereafter.  The key is to keep trying to stay even closer to Allah than we are today ...not seeking either the world or the Hereafter ...SEEK only HIM .

Two Eids have come and gone

My postings have been absent as I was away to Australia for the birth of my third grandchild ... may Allah be pleased with our efforts . Ramadan started while we were awaiting Aliyah's birth ... she came just on the 2nd day of our holy month ... such rapturous JOY the family had .! Thank you merciful Rabb.  Life continued with prayers , gratitude and hard work until the EID fell upon us and we felt your hand had been holding us this whole month .

My time until now has been mingled with flights to Chicago and then home . Had many good memories with Shiraz and his family to visit my two delightful gems there... Eden being 4 7/8 yrs and Mays 2 1/2 ...going on 6 yrs in his mind. The grace and JOYS that YOU shower over me only humble me and make me appreciate the life that I still have .

Returning home in August brought  more time for prayers and grateful heart for the months I was away . Since I belong to this lovely family , I thank You first for giving me this blessing and also for allowing me the privilege of having my Montreal refuge ... here I can be peacefully aware of the pledge that I have made to YOU ... spread charity, comradeship , and seek to serve where I can .

Eid al Adha just passed , reminding me of your original " calling" me to Islam .... let me rejoice in the refuge I have in YOU  Let me never forget this ability you have sought from me ... that is one of healing others and myself by reaching out of me to give your LOVE to others.

There shall be no space for negativity , unrest , dejected perspectives. .... flourishing is all that I can be thru patience, perseverance , support to others, prayers for strength , body and mind and soul balancing themselves regularly with the tools we have been given to lift them from any despair.  

Shaban day 5, 1436 ... May 24 2015

It seems hard to believe that I did not post at all last month ...since April 19 . What was I so busy with ? The days were FULL ... and the nights I became a recluse in my own home...

Rajab was my precious month of giving to my Rabb .. seeking to continue my own transformation in preparation to meet Him again .  He will be choosing those beloved souls that He will take back to meet HIM this month ...let those who are going be ready for that meeting. Surrender every day to HIM !!!

Thank you for that fulfilling re-visit to London ..visiting my Mother's grave with Don. HE is my stoic, patient , dutiful brother ..of whom I am so proud. Thanks be to God for my birth family ... so supportive to me as a child. May Allah provide the best for Don as his years continue ... he deserves the BEST wherever he goes. AMIN>

Zakat was mainly fulfilled this month ... taxes were paid til next year in May .

As I look back or forward , I see Your hand in everything . Now today let me this day sit in Your tender embrace for a time. This contentment that comes only from YOU allows me to manage the rest of my week .. I am only what You make of me. I love you my RAbb... creative love for you is a form of worship . Thus let me create something good .

None of us knows what is in store for us ...down the road or over the bend ..or even into the Hereafter .  BUT what I do know for sure is HE loves each and every one of us in ways that we do not even see or feel . Our commitment to HIM and to please HIM is our reply to His position of leadership in our lives. He is so kind that He gives us the choice in every action ... so He will not interfere in the events happening around us .

Shaban is our month to give reverence to the Holy Prophet who tirelessly obeyed Allah to  show us how a man may perform .  As a humble, contrite follower , I know that I can not ever be what our Prophet was ...but I can respect and love him in my heart . I am totality grateful for his example to remind me what truly matters. I am not worthy to touch his hem of his robe ( on my own) but I can remind others as I meet them of such virtues ... I am not sermonizing or lauding me ... simply remembering my own weaknesses .

Jumada II 1436

We are already half way through the Muslim year , 1436 ... have we accomplished what we had hoped, prayed for and kept our intent focused on pleasing HIM???

In daily life, we often miss the mark , the standard set for us by others who went before us .. let us regain that sense of humility that Allah cherishes for us to commit to . We can do naught but for HIS help and guidance .

Busy-ness and desires form the rope of our worldly actions but do nor forget to consider the Hereafter 's goals and how we can prepare for that time .  Consider the soul and let it guide you ..more than any other state of being.  Preparations are now under way for RAJAB ..the month of increased givings, better clarity of purpose , unity of belief, daily learning to improve mental focus and clarity of purpose, respecting all boundaries with love.

TEACH ME RIGHT CONDUCT ... BE STILL !!!

Return to Canadian reality March 4 2015

My post today is written from my Canadian home in Montreal ... just back for only 9 days from my respite in Australia. My mantra in leaving some three months ago was " balance, harmony and centering" . Thanks be to Allah, this mission was accomplished amidst the love and familial beauty in Newcastle , Australia .

Jumada I is with us and I cherish the opportunity to allow my soul's pleasure to surface in my home now. Acceptance of change is a huge conquest for me ... let this be my humble work as I adjust to the end of the coldest and most bitter winter in Canadian memory .  Please allow me to grow the seeds of " flourishing future" planted by Positive Psychology. This perspective seeks to develop personal significant strengths  in each of us so that we may overcome any challenges we face in our daily lives. I found it to be tremendously awakening to cope with anxiety , depression and other events that enter our daily focus. When we see the future as "Fluorishing", it will change how we react to everything.

To serve is my happiness and let me continue to find new avenues in which to support and serve my family and community in which I wish to flourish .