And So it Begins… 

It is a truth firmly established that human beings need to submit to the Divine. The objections raised against this Truth have no bearing on its ontological reality – it is a truth regardless. As I awoke before the dawn of twilight on a quiet night of Ramadan, a feeling of a higher purpose in life dawned upon me. I was here on this Earth not to gain my own egotistic desires. I had a much higher purpose. I am here to adore and serve God ‘as he commandeth me’. 

I performed ablution and started praying the Islamic ritual prayers of tahajjud. God heard me. I know that, for he hears all things; but at this time, with the silence of the world around me, my spiritual awareness was heightened. I spake to God. I humbled myself before His Majesty. I hymned His praises. And then, as the tears began to flow, my tears did the talking for me. Words were meaningless at this point. My feelings, my emotions, my sentiments and my awareness of God spoke to Him directly, telepathically.  

This is the Ramadan that I wish continues. Thirty days of constant doses of God consciousness. Fasting by day and praying by night. Nourishing my angelic faculty and taming my bestial ones. In a word, ‘submission’; Islam is submission to the Truth that is God.      

Because I Love You… 

The veil is lifted. The light of Oneness has appeared. I have sipped from the cup of Divine Love. Ever since He manifested Himself to me, I have become bowing and prostrate. Make ready for the theophany. . . 

The smallest breath of divine love, the faintest trace, is enough to dissolve and wash away the entire universe and all that it contains. All else dwindles to insignificance. As I ponder over the many saints gone aforetime, I recollect how many experienced this breath of love. Of the many giants who have written about this love are: Ahmad Ghazali in his Sawanih; Rumi in his masterpiece, the Mathnawi; Ibn Arabi in his Futuhaat; Ghazali in his Ihya; Ali Hamdani in his Khamriyya.  

This Ramadan, I wish to gain proximity to my Lord through His own words, the Quran.  

Lord divest me of all intellect that veils me from You or understanding Your verses or the words of Your messenger. Grant me the intellect that You bestow your elect.          

Forgive Me… 

Lord, Majestic and Most High, I come to your altar reeking of sin. I have violated your prohibitions and committed heinous crimes. But I still pluck up the courage to approach Your sacred precinct. I beg You, for in this august month of Ramadan, You reward the penitent. I confess all my doings and acknowledge my shortcomings, in the hope that You, out of Your Infinite Largesse, will not only overlook my shortcomings, but change my sins into good deeds. Place me, my family, and all those connected to me, in the van of those who love and honour You.  

Amen.