Wheresoever You Turn

Peace, one and all…

 

‘Wheresoever you turn, there is the Face of God’ (Quran 2:115)

A Time for Peering Inwards

Peace, one and all…

Ramadan is a time for introspection, for looking inwards and for reflecting on what we find therein.  Perhaps this is why prayers for forgiveness are so prominent a feature of Ramadan.  As we look inside ourselves, our human weaknesses become clearer to us and hence we implore God for His Generous pardon.

To look inwards, and to ask for forgiveness, is to peer briefly behind the veil of everyday life; it is to realise that much of what we are exists beneath the surface of our workaday consciousness.  Perhaps this is one meaning of those traditions which speak of the opening of the gates of heaven during Ramadan.  The ever-present world of mercy bursts forth into our lives, as we strive to empty ourselves of our normal routines, and all of the unconscious behaviour patterns underpinning them.

Tradition also speaks of the closing of the gates of hell during this sacred month.  Our habitual patterns are interrupted, and thus we are freed from them for a time.  Shaitan is also removed from the world, so it is said.  In other words, we can peer inwards without some of the usual obstacles, insha Allah our progress will then become easier.

The Quran was first revealed during this month.  So it is that Ramadan marks the descent of revelation, when the veils between this world and the next, between God and Man, thin and light bursts forth.  And, hidden with the last part of this month, like a brilliant pearl, lies the Night of Power, Laylat al-Qadr:

May this month be blessed for all who pass by.  May God’s peace be with you all.

wa akhiru da’wana an il hamdu lillahi rabbil alamin.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman