Rabi I, 28th day , 1440

How to keep the heart OPEN and the mind at peace? As this month of the Prophet's birth is closing, we now face the cold temperatures and need HIS grace to support us more . As I have been reading the hadeeths of the Prophet's sunna , I am struck by how fortunate we are in our time . THe challenges to our faith definitely bombard us but the realization of how much support comes simly from our duas . It is said that the Quran links us to Allah as He reached down to us BUT we can reach up to HIM with our duas . Let this be a constant reminder that HE will respond to our smallest AND deepest needs . Do not be afraid of anything other than Allah. HIS WILL will provide us what we need when we adhere to HIS wishes . Let out actions come from our GOOD intentions . Remember that it is in sharing that we receive what we most need . Two days remain in Rabi I . My humility lies in knowing that whatever I am, I can only be simply grateful for the position I have been given by Allah to study Islam and continue to try to remain faithful and devoted to HIM . It is my birthright , and for this I am truly blessed. The path to the Hereafter is laden with many obstacles and the climb is steep at times . Please dear Lord , I can not succeed without your help and constant attention . Never leave me alone on this path . Always hand me the rope of faith , if I lose its grasp . Put it firmly back in my hand and close my fingers around it .... allowing my heart and breath to be deep and comforting to my inner being . It will be this support that you provide from your angels that may allow me to reach your pinnacle . AMIN SUB AMIN>

Safar 21 1440

This holiest month of Safar has simply flown by with the blessings falling down around us like the leaves falling from the trees in the autumn . I can not adequately express my overwhelming happiness and gratitude experienced this month .  Thank you my RAbb ... You have abundantly blessed my home and heart with Your love . If only I could capture these feelings and use them over and over again as my soul needs to be replenished OFTEN.
As the winds of change of seasons gently overcomes our thoughts, we can feel the cold north blustery    winds arriving .  The bones and joints feel the dampness within and begin to ache at times . All I can do then is to remember my basket of feelings that I stored up last week .. those feelings of gratitutde and great love for my Rabb. Please help me recall the fall days during those upcoming cold winter days . Seaons come and go but memories lie waiting within to warm us amidst the darkness .

Thank you God again for Your plan to save our hearts during the cold hibernation days .

Zulhijja 26 1439

Here we are only 15 days ago, we celebrated EID ul ADha and felt the inspiration from Prophet Abraham to hold firm to the FAith that we are given when we surrender to our Creator.  It is so easy to be swept away with worldly duties , obligations and general stresses , that we forget the primary reason we are being tested here on earth . We are to prove our worthiness for receiving  success in the  afterlife after facing the world's pursuits and the challenges herein .

As I regularly make mistakes , even now after so many years of trying to succeed in pleasing my RAbb , I am stunned to repent and then feel the forgiveness and mercy from above.  I must admit my weaknesses , as  I am simply a flawed human being . Without having any intention to fail , it happens so quickly . But the mercy is that , if I seek frogiveness by saying , " I am Sorry", I can be certain of that forgiveness . It is the promise of my RAbb .  How blessed I am to be part of that lovely family of believers .

Faith and Certainty and Mercy and Love are prominent absolutes that run along the rope of FAITH. Whenever you feel despondant or tired , simply remember these promises from our Allah . He will never let us down when he sees our efforts .

Zul Qiddah 13 1439 (July 23 2018)

How the year just flies by from month to month ??? Are we truly grateful for Allah's protection ?

It has been over a month t=since Ramadan left our homes . Do we remember its valuable lessons ? As we prepare for the next Id al Adha , let us seek to do what we have promised ourselves to continue .

Let us not forget those actions that negate our promises .  Let us seek protection from IBLIS daily !!! He is never far away from our homes and activities .

Being ALIVE in all our actions for HIM will provide impetus and success to our endeavours .  BE THE ALIVENESS that we are wishing to demonstrate in each action . Let go of the apathy and laziness that threatens our JOY !

JOY is all I have in front of the Creator . Thank you Allah for your blessings to me from my beginning even until NOW .  It has taken all that I have seen to be who I am now .  Thank you !!!!

Shawwal day 26 1439 July 10 2018

It has been almost a month since Ramadan closed . Being always reminded of HIS mercy , we must walk forward with HOPE and a belief in HIS guidance . Sometimes the challenges will seem insurmountable but with persistance and faith , we will overcome whatever comes to us ...ISA .  Never let down your guard and trust the guardian angels as they surround you . Just do what is best for you and those around you . Love will overcome... whatever you face when you believe .

Do not forget to make your requests to HIM regularly and read the commandments as they were given to mankind for our GOOD.

THE BEST IS ALWAYS YEST TO COME.

Eid ul Fitr celebrations 1439

How to hold on to the jewels we glimpsed during this HOLY RAMADAN's visit into
our homes?

Remembering the many epiphanies as they appeared:

1. Every morning's sunrise reminds the faithful that Allah has promised to take us into the LIGHT one day when we sincerely accept our submission to HIM .
2. Never forget the gratitude for all those we have met and can relate to regularly for support on earth.
3. With certainty I have seen how Allah accepts and answers our Duas .
4. He has accepted and forgiven my errors when I seek forgiveness sincerely.
5. Never forget to follow the Prophet's path as I lead my life on earth .
6. My balance between my NAFS and the path of the search for TRUTH will provide ease within my SOUL. Let me always be recognizant of this personal need on my path .  Watch out for my sins!!!
7. Keep negativity to the lowest ratio possible as I tread my path .
8. Journey for meaning requires obedience, discipline and love for Allah and HIS prophet on the path of Islam.
9. Unconditional LOVE from Allah hovers over me thru  HIS angels and HIS mercy as a result of my sincere faith in HIM and HIS traditions .

NEVER FORGET TO USE DUAS REGULARLY to reach up as Allah reaches down to us thru HIS Revelations of the Quran and Sunnah .

Laitul Qadr night

OMG I thank you for this Holy month . We are already up to 26th day and watching the hours flying past . Your total mercy and love for us, your ummah is felt deeply within these days . We struggle to remember your bounties and we keep marching forward ..not knowing where the next step will lead .

I thank you for those I keep meeting , hoping that my responses will be adequate to make me worthy of your constant surveillance of me . I am blessed to have made Islam , my path so many years ago . I now count 50 years this week for our marriage anniversary . This means that my glimpse of Islam first started seriously 50 years ago as well .  Your kindness in supporting my conversion to Islam has been gentle , attentive and patient. Now I only wish that I can continue this same path as I face my last years with you ..while being on this earth. The JIHAD for me has been so challenging but most of all , I thank YOU for listening to my call .. whenever I reached out to YOU.

Last night I felt the peace of Laitul Qadr and saw the morning promise from the sun again from your treasure chest  . Please continue to listen and support my journey . I know that I can not succeed except for YOUR help. I am a truly grateful WALI, MY RABB . Let me always remember this covenant I have made with YOU ..even into my senior years as my mind becomes foggy at times . PLease keep me clear in my intentions to love YOU , MY RABB in the best way possible.

RAmadan 1439  is a great blessing for me ...THANK YOU!!!!

Ramadan day 9 , 1439

Every year , I open my door to welcome my guest , Ramadan . I thank him mercifully for coming into my home ..although I am not even worthy of this honour.  Allah has chosen this way for us , frail humans to seek forgivenesses for our trespasses. I begin in trepidation and guilt , wondering how Allah will look at me this year . I shake in fear as I know that my shortcomings are so numerous . Yet now on the 9th day , I can simply hope for HIS mercy to reign over my errors because I truly do seek to correct my erring ways. Having access to this month is a sheer miracle for us to find HIS deepest love for mankind . His promise is that the mercy He shows us while on this earth is only 1/100 of that which He will offer us as He judges us on the Day of Qayumat . How blessed we are to have been created in such a just system where HOPE leads us onwards as we scale the steps to our Hereafter .  My greatest thanks are raised to the All powerful Creator . Please never leave me alone without YOUR guidance and I will. forever beg YOU for the LIGHT to find my way amidst the travails as I face them .

Shaban 8 1439

For those who may read and for myself , I dedicate this post to gratitude for TODAY and what learning it may bring to each one of us .

Seeking the light is a daily effort and can be pursued in many ways .  It may be a spiritual quest done alone or with a source of knowledge external to us. What  matters is the aim to grow in sincerity closer to what we each can be .  Stress is a major destructive force in this climb so I ask that you consciously destress your days and mind however you can . Collective consciousness can only be accomplished when we each try our best to find our lights .

Shaban is a month to seek forgiveness ,  alms giving , voluntary nafl penance , visiting the sick , seek mercy and rely on the Prophet for his guidance TODAY. Let the Quran guide your heart always and give you Balance . It is this faith that will carry you over the darkness as it appears in your days . It is the space beyond where I am that is my real LIFE , HOPE . I can only march forwards on that PAth . It will be the TOTAL SURRENDER that will one day save you from the darkness .. be aware !!!
The JIHAD is never ceasing ... reach up to find your essence.

Remember those deceased now who have led you on the path with love, compassion and sincerity .

YA SHAFI to those who need HIS healing mercy ! Make your devotions sincere !!!!! Let me bask in my love for the Creator !!!!!In prayer we only lose anger, ego, greed , depression, insecurity, fear of Death.

Amin sub amin .

Shaban 6 ,1439

As I re-read my post from last November 2017 ..before winter really set in , I am struck by my resilience over this past 5 months . Not that I followed my own advice every day , I am so grateful for the grace and mercy that carried me thru these days .  I can see  my duas being answered ...in spite of the challenges I faced.  MY OH MY , here is a miracle right before my eyes ( in written words ) .

This is what I constantly seek ---- the signs of Allah's involvement in my daily life .

Now again I am mentally preparing for Ramadan soon to commence . I have intrepidation every year examining myself in midst of examining how I have behaved. I can see from my blogs how my intent  falls to me BUT I also see how behaviour may slip up . Then I watch the mercy and grace that MY Creator allows HIS forgiveness to correct me . This returns my humility and a deeper understanding of who I truly am and how I live my days .

Seeking knowledge is what our lives encompass .  I now simply ask , " Please help me open my eyes and turn to YOU daily for sincere guidance ."  I do know that only YOU can know what is RIGHT for each of us . Thank you for Your plans .

I KNOW THIS ... I trust and love my Creator as I watch all the cycles of life being renewed in the springtime . I seek constant REFUGE in HIM as I see my own personal strengths weakening as I age . Now is my time for permanent reflection on ME and HOPE to remain acceptable as a  " wali " to MY RABB . Let me please HIM as I meander now on the path to the Hereafter.