Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
We embark on this meditative journey today to contemplate one of the 99 most beautiful names of Allah.
In this case,
It's Al-Nur,
The Light.
May this practice be initiated by a pure intention to increase us in light and to illuminate our spirit.
Let us also clarify and renew a sincere intention to polish the mirror of our heart,
That it might better reflect the divine light of Allah,
Subhanahu wa ta'ala,
So that our thoughts,
Our words,
And our actions on a daily basis better resemble the luminous character of the best of all creation,
Salallahu alayhi wasalam,
Inshallah.
So let's begin by just getting really comfortable.
It's recommended for this experience that you lie on your back with your arms at your side or folded gently on your belly.
But if you prefer to sit up,
That's definitely okay too.
And if you need to change positions throughout the meditation,
That's also completely fine.
This is definitely not a discipline practice.
This is very much an ease practice where we want to give ourselves full permission to just be however we need to be.
And so it's in that spirit of allowing yourself to simply be that I invite you to just get as comfortable as possible,
Whatever that looks like for you.
Now,
Settling into your space,
Take a deep breath in,
Just filling the lungs that Allah gave you with the purifying air that he provides,
And exhale alhamdulillah.
What an amazing blessing it is to be able to breathe.
So let's take another deep,
Nourishing breath in,
And just let that go,
Alhamdulillah.
And you can continue breathing at your own pace.
Just allow your breath to really soften,
And slow down if it wants to slow down,
But don't even force it.
Just allow it.
Just allow it to roll in and roll out like the tide.
Now let's start visualizing that with each inhale,
You're drawing in pure white light.
Imagine this light as nourishing and healing,
And as it enters your body,
It illuminates you from the inside.
With each inhale,
This light inside you accumulates and spreads.
Imagine it fills your chest,
Fills your belly,
Your shoulders,
And your neck.
With each exhale,
Anything dark or dingy or dusty gets effortlessly released,
Just getting washed away and just making way for even more light and even more brightness.
Another inhale,
And the light fills your legs and your feet,
Your arms and your hands,
Your head,
Your face,
Alhamdulillah.
This is not just any light that courses through your whole body now,
But a divine,
Benevolent light that purifies you from head to toe,
And brings a sense of clarity and ease to your heart and your mind.
Now just continue to breathe at your own pace,
And continue to illuminate,
And just bask in this nourishing luminous glow as we proceed to contemplate al-nur.
The light of al-nur is not just any light,
It is the light that illuminates the heavens and the earth,
That illuminates existence from non-existence.
This guiding light leads us out of darkness into the brightness of truth and understanding.
This is the light that envelops you now,
This warm,
Comforting presence that fills you with peace and serenity.
Light is a central metaphor in the tradition of Islam,
And the path that we submit to is a path filled with light.
Imam al-Ghazali says there is no ray of light that does not trace its path back to the sun.
And similarly,
There is nothing in the light of existence in this dunya that does not trace its way back to the light of all lights,
The creator of all creation,
And the illuminator of all luminosity.
All knowledge we might attain,
All wisdom,
All the love we feel,
And all the beauty we bear witness to,
Is only by the illumination of the only source of all illumination.
Allah is the light of the heavens and the light of the earth.
Allah guides us out of darkness towards light,
And indeed created darkness so that we could know light.
From the smallest firefly,
To the mighty sun in our sky that causes our planet to grow lush and green,
To the reflection of the moon and the stars of the night sky,
Every ray of light has been gifted to us as a mercy by al-Nur,
The source of all light,
Alhamdulillah.
Of course,
As a mercy to all worlds,
Allah even blessed us in this beautiful light-filled tradition of ours with an example to show us what light looks like in human form,
What it looks like to embody light and to be a living reflection of divine light.
So now,
Placing a hand or both hands over your heart if that feels comfortable to you,
Let's finish our contemplation of al-Nur today with a translation of a favorite du'a of the master,
The praised one,
The servant,
The final messenger of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
O Allah,
Place light in my heart,
Light on my tongue,
Light in my ears,
Light in my vision,
Light above me,
Light below me,
Light to my right and light to my left,
Light in front of me and light behind me.
Place light in my soul.
Magnify for me light and amplify for me light.
Make for me light and make me light.
O Allah,
Grant me light.
Place light in my nerves,
Light in my body,
Light in my blood,
Light in my hair,
And light on my skin.
O Allah,
Place light in my grave and light in my bones.
Increase me in light.
Increase me in light.
Increase me in light.
Grant me light upon light.
Ameen.
