A sunrise in Africa
The Sun Will Rise
Advice from a Mountain
Mount Everest
By Wael Abdelgawad | IslamicSunrays.com
No matter how great you are, Allah is still above you.
There’s nothing wrong with having your head in the clouds, as long as you have roots in the earth. Rise above the bigotries and squabbles of others. To be beautiful and strong, be who you are. In anything, build your foundation first. Be solid, be real. Provide refuge to the oppressed, the traveler, the seeker. Keep your secrets. Protect the rivers, trees, and animals. Cherish silence and solitude, but roar when you must.
Be patient: everything changes in its season, and all things come to those who persevere.
- Advice from a Mountain
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Don’t Just Talk, Bring It
By Wael Abdelgawad | IslamicSunrays.com
“A promise is a cloud; fulfillment is the rain.” – Arab proverb. Keep in mind that for the Arabs, living in harsh desert lands, rain is the bringer of life and Allah’s blessing, providing bounty and relief. The proverb is saying that a cloud is like a promise, offering hope of needed sustenance but not really giving it. If you want to be real, bring the rain.
Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “There are three signs of a hypocrite: whenever he speaks, he lies; whenever he makes a promise, he breaks it; and whenever he is trusted, he betrays his trust.” [Agreed upon] It is added in a variant of Muslim, “Even if he fasts and prays and claims that he is a Muslim.”
Deceivers and hypocrites are clouds that pass over again and again but bring no rain, leaving only drought and hunger in their wake.
Now, before anyone sends me a message saying, “Only Allah can bring rain!” – I don’t mean it literally. I’m speaking metaphorically, in keeping with the proverb.
Andrew Carnegie, the famous industrialist, observed, “As I grow older I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.”
If you want to make a real difference in the world, if you want to better your situation and your family’s lives, if you want people to take you seriously, then don’t only talk. Do. Bring it.
Do that consistently and people will take your word like a Himalayan mountain. You will move ahead in life like an orca – the most powerful swimmer in the sea – cutting through the waves. And you will have one of the characteristics of a true believer, as the keeping of promises is one of the most important aspects of Imaan (faith). (I should point out that the exception would be a promise to do something evil – such a promise should be broken, since there is no virtue in doing haram, and therefore no virtue in keeping the promise).
“O you who believe! Fulfill (your) obligations.” (Quran 5:1)
Amir al-Mu’minin (Commander of the Faithful) ‘Ali (RA), in his letter to Malik al-Ashtar, wrote:
“If you conclude an agreement between yourself and your enemy or enter into a pledge with him, then fulfil your agreement and discharge your pledge faithfully. Place yourself as a shield against whatever you have pledged, because among the obligations of Allah there is nothing on which people are more firmly united despite the difference of their ideas and variation of their views than respect for fulfilling pledges.”
Words are important. They are a starting point, and they have the power to heal or hurt. But even more important are actions. Fulfill your promises. Practice what you preach. Do. Bring it.
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Respect the earth as you would an elder
“The earth is very old, so respect it as you would an elder.” – Bengali proverb
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Most fears are false
An Arab poet said: “I said to my heart when it was attacked by a fit of anxiety, be happy, because most fears are false.”
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Can’t is Dead
Can’t is Dead
Can’t is dead as old wood -
It was killed by could.
Can’t has tucked tail and fled -
scared off by a positive thought to the head.
Can’t departed in the ink of night
along with should have, would have, and might.
Can’t went to bed with a sleeping pill.
I’ll be happy instead with can and will.
- Wael Abdelgawad, 2010
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Drop and drop makes an inundation
By Wael Abdelgawad for IslamicSunrays.com
“A little and a little, collected together, becomes a great deal; the heap in the barn consists of single grains, and drop and drop makes an inundation.” – Arabic proverb
Do what good you can in this life and don’t worry that it’s too little, or that it won’t change things, or that you do not see immediate results. Your contribution matters. The ripples spread outward, even unseen, so that your presence on earth eventually affects everyone else in the world.
Or, if you don’t put stock in proverbs, then remember the words of Allah in Surat Az-Zalzalah:
“Then shall anyone who has done an atom’s weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom’s weight of evil, shall see it.” (Quran 99:7-8).
Never listen to those who say that it’s pointless to try, or that the good work you are doing is hopeless. The tiniest bit of good you do, matters. An atom’s weight of effort makes a difference! It changes things, whether you see it or not.
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Shared happiness, happiness doubled
By Wael Abdelgawad for IslamicSunrays.com
‘Delad glädje, dubbel glädje: delad sorg, halv sorg.’ – Swedish proverb.
Oh, you don’t speak Swedish? Not to worry, neither do I. This proverb literally means, “Shared happiness, happiness doubled; shared sadness, sadness halved.” It’s about friendship, and how sharing your happiness with friends makes it so much more special; and sharing your sadness makes it much less painful.
Here are a few of my favorite quotations about friendship:
‘”And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends of one another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong.” (Quran 9:71)
Narrated AbuHurayrah: Allah’s Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: “Verily, Allah would say on the Day of Resurrection: ‘Where are those who have mutual love for My Glory’s sake? Today I shall shelter them in My shadow when there is no other shadow but the shadow of Mine.’” – Sahih Muslim
“The poor man is the one who has no friends.” – Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra)
“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” – Anonymous
“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.” – Edgar Watson Howe
“When a friend is in trouble, don’t annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.” – Charles Caleb Colton
“When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.” – Japanese Proverb
“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.” – Bernard Meltzer.
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Five minutes of health
Desert wild flowers. These flowers bloom after a rain, then die within a matter of days. That is the example of this life.
By Wael Abdelgawad for IslamicSunrays.com
“Five minutes of health comfort the ill one.” – Bengali proverb.
In other words, a person who is ill would get comfort and relief from just five minutes of health.
This reminds me of my friend Hisham, who has an autoimmune disorder and has been confined to a wheelchair for many years. He is the same age as me, and we grew up riding our bicycles together. He was an avid cyclist and even participated in a ride all the way across the United States and back. In his twenties he was diagnosed with MS, and his health began to go downhill.
Recently a physical therapist has been working with him, and last week he stood on his feet and took five steps for the first time in three years, Alhamdulillah! He said he felt very tall, being on his feet again. It was an inspiring moment for him… SubhanAllah. He literally got comfort from “five minutes of health.”
That’s really something to think about, for those of us who have our health and fitness and take them for granted as if they were nothing. We moan and complain about small things, while ignoring the huge blessings in our lives. “Then which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?” – Surat Ar-Rahman. Allah has given us so much, so much.
And let me add that although I used my friend Hisham as an illustration of the proverb, that does not mean that I pity him. He also has many gifts, for example he is highly intelligent and articulate, and he has accomplished a lot in his life. I am overjoyed for him that he was able to stand again. Allahu Akbar!
Of course we must be grateful for every blessing, and thank Allah from the bottom of our hearts. But it’s important to understand that gratitude is not just a feeling in the heart. It is expressed through action.
- Are you grateful for your healthy body? Then use it to bow down in prayer.
- Are you grateful for the ability to see? Then look at that which is beautiful and halal.
- Grateful for the ability to speak? Then praise Allah, recite Quran and spread the message of Islam.
- Grateful that you are mentally and emotionally healthy? Then use your gifts to do good in the world. Show love to those who are grief stricken, and kindness to those in pain. Spend your money in Allah’s cause, don’t hold on it it until it can do you no good!
That’s why the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, in the famous hadith that we have all heard:
“Take benefit of five before five:
your youth before your old age,
your health before your sickness,
your wealth before your poverty,
your free-time before your preoccupation,
and your life before your death.”
(Narrated by Ibn Abbas and reported by Al Hakim)
Right? He didn’t only say, “be grateful,” he said, “take benefit”! That means USE what you have been given, while you still can, before the end of this brief life that is but a moment between a sleep and a sleep, or a desert flower blooming and then fading away.
Glory to Allah the Most High.
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A book is a garden
Bogor Botanic Gardens lily pond
By Wael Abdelgawad for IslamicSunrays.com
“A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.” – Arab proverb
A book in your pocket is like a secret treasure. It is a magical means of transportation, a source of knowledge, a historical record, and a treasure chest containing the knowledge of human minds and hearts, or in the case of the Quran, the message of Allah to humanity.
You can take the book out of your pocket and lose yourself in it, forgetting about all the worries of the world, just as you can do in a beautiful garden.
Fozia, a Muslim sister from the UK, points out that a book helps one develop through acquiring knowledge, as a garden blossoms through the growth of its flowers and creatures…
Making the Impossible Possible
Indeed, to carry a garden in one’s pocket is impossible, but that’s the thing about books, they make the impossible possible. A family that has been stuck in poverty for generations can break that cycle by sending one child to higher education. Someone who comes from the most desperate circumstances can achieve the seemingly impossible and become a doctor, engineer, or even President, all through the power of education. The power of books.
That reminds me of a quote by Cesar Chavez, the famous campaigner for farm workers’ rights, who is now deceased. He said,
“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.”
This process of social change that he describes starts with a book. It starts with education. The ultimate Book is the Quran, and it is a world-changing book. It brings light where there was darkness, and changes human beings from the inside out.
The First Revelation of the Quran
Does anyone need proof that the processes of personal growth and social change both start with books? Consider the first revealed verses of the Quran itself, in Surah 96, Al-’Alaq:
1. Read in the name of your Lord Who created.
2. He created humankind from a clot.
3. Read and your Lord is Most Honorable,
4. Who taught (to write) with the pen
5. Taught the human being what he knew not.
The moment of the first revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was a moment of immense significance for all humanity, possibly the most significant moment in human history. It follows that the message is one of great significance as well.
What is this message of great significance, these first few profound and powerful words?
Read, and write, and do it in the name of Allah.
Allah exalted and honored human beings by giving us knowledge, the capacity to acquire more knowledge, and the tools to record and share our knowledge, whether verbally or in print. He commanded us to make use of these tools, and to do it in Allah’s name so that our motives and methods remain pure, and so that the results will be beneficial to humanity and not destructive or oppressive.
We are supposed to use our knowledge to create vaccines for diseases, not to create deadly viruses for biological warfare. We should use nuclear power to generate clean energy, not to design bombs that can destroy nations. We must use robotic technologies to create artificial limbs for victims of war or accidents, or to explore the depths of the sea, or to clear old minefields without loss of life, or to rescue miners trapped deep underground… not to build hunter-killer drones that destroy innocent human lives while the operator moves a joystick a thousand miles away.
Knowledge must be employed “in the name of your Lord Who created,” not in the name of greed or vengeance.
This is especially important today, when fantastically powerful technologies are being developed every day. Supercomputers, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, cloning, quantum physics… If these technologies are not tempered with faith and wisdom, humanity could unleash horrors on the world that will make previous wars and genocides look like a bad case of the measles (no disrespect intended to victims of past conflicts).
A New Course for the World
The Quran was also a message that the time had come to change humanity’s meandering course. Human beings all over the world had been creating societies, customs and laws based on superstition. Some societies were based on artificial castes. Others were based on worship of human beings, or worship of the dead, or cult-like religions, or collections of taboos and myths.
The revelation of the Quran signified the beginning of a new course for the world, a lighted path based on scholarship, science and the systematization of knowledge. The engines of this new period would be literacy, scholarship, Tawheed (Oneness of God), and righteousness.
Human history, with its long and bleak stretches of ignorance and suffering, like a vast desert with only a few small oases, was given a permanent garden in the form of a book: the Quran.
A book is a garden in your pocket. It’s natural, inspiring, and life-changing. It’s your own personal haven. But only if you read it and let it into your heart.
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