Welcome to the University of Sufism's Ramadan reading of Rosina Fawzia Omurrawi's book,
The Call of Allah,
A companion to the holy month of Ramadan.
Today,
I will be sharing day two about God-consciousness,
Otherwise known as taqwa.
The Prophet Muhammad,
Alayhi wasalam,
Said,
Have taqwa of Allah wherever you are and follow an evil deed with a good one to wipe it out and treat the people with good behavior.
The word taqwa is often translated as fear,
Yet taqwa is being conscious of God,
Afraid of not being connected with Allah and at the same time loving to be with him.
It is a protection,
A bond,
An attitude,
And an inner guidance which comes from feeling and knowledge.
Inna lahi wa inna ilahi rajyun.
Verily unto God do we belong and verily unto him we shall return.
Quran 2,
156.
The deep certainty that I belong to Allah,
That every blessing I enjoy,
Every one of my experiences and possessions,
Everything that I am comes from him,
Opens the heart and enables me to step out of the fear and the worries which keep arising in life and to grow and develop trust,
Faith,
And surrender.
When the heart places itself more and more in Allah's hands and experiences its peace,
Sakina,
In God's presence,
The light of the heart begins to conquer the intellect and to spread to the senses and perceptions.
Our dignity,
Our inner beauty,
And our compassion towards self and others grew out of this inner attitude.
It helps us to live to the full,
The potential given to us by Allah,
And to experience the true freedom of our soul.
Ataki Allah.
Take heed of God wherever you tread.
When we know deep in our heart that there is a creator,
We will make our decisions in such a way as to be beneficial to God's creation and to treat it with kindness.
Being aware of God's existence at all times and in all places leads us to draw this knowledge,
This deep feeling,
Into every decision we make,
Not out of fear,
But out of love,
Deference,
And self-respect.
For only when we trust in the divine and become Allah's servants does our soul experience Allah's beauty.
Then we can live the innate goodness,
Fitra,
Which Allah has placed in our hearts and which blossoms when we are in alignment with the divine.
The blessed month of Ramadan is a special time that Allah bestows upon us so that our heart may turn away from the world's ceaseless wishes and focus on his eternal love.
It is a month during which we align ourselves anew with Allah expressing this in our deeds,
Our words,
And our behavior.
For verily,
The best of all provisions is God-consciousness.
Quran 2,
197.
Thus does our faith in Allah manifest in our life.
Verily,
Those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds will the most gracious endow with love.
Quran 19,
96.
Ramadan is a month of trust and courage.
Only when we know,
When we hold our heart to Allah can we experience how much God loves us.
Only then can we become free of our fears and dread of the unknown future.
The more we trust in God's perfect wisdom,
The more harmony we feel in our life,
The more we embody this conviction on our path and in our aims.
It is this mixture of reverence,
Trust,
Mindfulness,
And love which enables us to come into the state of dignified and mindful behavior,
Adab.
And taqwa helps us embed ourselves in the natural movements and laws of life and the universe.
Taqwa is an inner attitude which relates to our soul and builds the meeting point between surrender and freedom.
Taqwa helps us become responsible human beings and a conscious part of the divine creation with rights and obligations.
Taqwa makes us free inside because we find our bearings through an inner attitude which makes up our character.
Verily,
The noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of him.
Quran 49,
13.
Taqwa gives us orientation,
Discernment,
And the ability to decide as well as steadfast courage,
Thus helping us to be friendly and compassionate without judgment.
Practice suggested for today.
Today decide to become aware that everything you touch,
Everything you see,
Everything you carry,
Everything you buy and prepare,
Every encounter,
Everything you hear and smell comes from Allah and that he is the malik,
The one who rules over and owns everything.
Repeat,
Lahu al-mulk wa lahu al-hamd.
Everything on earth comes from you and belongs to you.
Praise be to you Allah.
Thank you for joining us for day two.
Have a blessed Ramadan.
