This Ramadan, as I try to learn more about my relationship with Allah, so I find that I am learning more about myself. I have tried to make this not a month of rituals only and of no substance, that is, I want to internalise and reflect on words I hear or read about Allah and all that He encompasses. It’s not an easy goal but I take comfort knowing that sincere efforts towards understanding life and its purpose is all that I am asked to do.
In my mission to try to figure out what Allah is asking of me in my own unique situation, I have pondered over His book, the Glorious Quran. There have been some verses in it which have made me stop in my tracks. Not because I have never seen them before. It’s quite often the case that I have read these verses many times previously. However, one of the indescribable miracles of the Quran is that you can read the same verse many times and yet extrapolate different things from it each time. It’s like peeling away at a layer at a time of a delicious fruit until you are finally presented with the innermost and most perfect core at the centre. It’s quite surreal.
The verses that often leave me in awe are those relating to nature and all the parts that make it whole. So, whether we are reminded of the living creatures, the seas, the skies, the plants, the fruits or the land, it all comes together to leave me mesmerised and humbled. With that sense of wonder reverberating in my mind, I have then gone for long walks in my neighbourhood only to be presented with actual physical manifestations and proof of Allah’s words in His own book. Flowers, trees, water, the sky…. the list goes on. None of them I could have produced on my own and yet they work together seamlessly in smooth calibration. For me, worshipping Allah also takes the form of admiring His creation. Whilst out on my walks, I have had ample opportunities to marvel at the world around me. It then begs the question, “How can anyone deny Allah exists?” I actually pity those who are in plain denial of this simple truth.
In essence, Ramadan has made me understand my insignificant position in the grand scheme of things. That being said, I do exist and so my part in this world is very real. Whilst I go about my daily routine, I also pray I can continue to hold onto the informal teachings that the natural world has presented to me so far and use it to stay connected to the Creator of all things, inshAllah.
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