Flow of words

It is 1244am and I have decided to write. It is the 27th night of Ramadan in Trinidad. It could be the night of power (laylatul qadr). Better than a thousand months. We are taught that on this night the destiny of all of creation is written for the next year. Everyone hopes for a year of success. Does that mean we can influence our destiny? I learnt two things from this question. There is a well-known prophetic tradition (hadith) stating that "nothing changes divine decree except dua"; And scholars often distinguish between Al-Qada al-Mubram (the ultimate, irrevocable decree) and Al-Qada al-Muallaq (the suspended decree). The latter is conditional—written as "If my servant does X, then Y will happen." How does destiny exist with free will? God can see the future but we cannot? My friend Chatty says that knowledge does not equal compulsion. If a teacher knows a student will fail because of their habits, that knowledge did not cause the failure. It just perfectly unde...

I watched this video and I quite like it as a good starting point for this blog post https://youtu.be/t44PFI_V4LE We cannot know everything. We do not have the capacity to know everything. I make plans for tomorrow because I believe there is a tomorrow not because I know that there is a tomorrow. We cannot decide today to say we will only act on things that we know for sure. This would be impractical. As my friend Chatty puts it, to live life, we must believe in things that cannot always be proven with certainty. For example, we believe that the future exists, that our actions matter, and that other people can be trusted. We also tend to believe life has meaning and that things can improve. These beliefs help us make decisions, keep hope, and move forward. Given that belief is a part of life, it is reasonable to have people believe in a God and a particular religion. My point is this. Life cannot happen without belief because we cannot know everything (unless we are God like). Belief i...

It is 245am and I have decided to write. I have no topic and no idea what to write. I am thankful for another day. I see the beauty that surrounds us. I choose to be happy. We are in the last ten nights of Ramadan. Tonight is the 23rd night. It could possibly be the night of power. I wonder if it will rain. Maybe it rained when I was sleeping. I got up and bathed and drank a strong cup of coffee. Today is also Friday the 13th. I keep thinking. Life is beautiful. Life is simple. No need to complicate things. No need to be extravagant. Believe in God. Trust in God. Be guided by God. Imagine we can pray for anything. We can ask God for anything. God is always listening. God wants to hear from us. Maybe I can turn this blog post into a prayer. My God I pray that everyone gets their prayers answered. I pray that everyone gets what they need. I pray that you light our path towards you. Guide us with what you intend for us. Keep us close to you. Soften our hearts. Keep us balanced, consistent...

It is 323am and I have decided to write. I am thinking that I am a bucket of paint. A beautiful shade of blue. That God uses to paint the sky. How could I turn this into something worth writing about? My friend Chatty tells me that I could develop the idea by exploring the metaphor of myself as a bucket of blue paint and God as the painter using it to color the sky. The meaning comes from reflecting on what it feels like to be "used"—losing some of myself while helping create something beautiful. The paint may not see the whole picture and might fear being emptied, but its purpose is fulfilled when it becomes part of the sky. The piece can reflect on purpose, trust, surrender, and the idea that giving of yourself is how beauty is created. It is now 423am and I cannot think of a way to continue this writing. The sky is silent is what comes to my mind. How do I ask the sky to speak to me? I look through my window and I see patches of clouds against a dark sky. Maybe the night s...

It is 247am and I have decided to write. I want to write but have no topic. It has been a while since I wrote about tech. Samsung launched their latest flagship phones. Nice if you can afford these phones. What is the purpose of technology? The first thing that comes to my mind is to make our lives easier. To be more productive. Tech does the things we do not want to do. To solve problems. Tech is quite useful if I look through a noble lens. But the tech companies want to make money. They want to get rich (in my mind) no matter how they sell their aspirations. Why does everything have to be about money? What if we had a not for profit mobile phone company? Would that be any better? Tech is nice when everyone can afford it. Technology is supposed to be the servant instead it seems we have become the servants to technology. Marshall McLuhan said, "We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us." Maybe the problem is not just tech companies. Maybe the problem is societal....

It is 337am and I have decided to write. I have no topic but I want to write. I was thinking. I love God a million times. One million is not the biggest number but on a scale of one to a million that is a lot. I just noticed that the word million has the word lion in it. What does it mean to be a lion in the sight of God? My friend Chatty says that from an Islamic perspective, being a lion in the sight of Allah means possessing quiet strength rooted in submission: firm iman without arrogance, self-control over the nafs, courage to stand for justice, and gentleness where mercy is required. It is strength that bows in sujood, resists ego, and remains sincere even when unseen—because Allah values the heart, intention, and consistency more than noise, numbers, or display. Resisting ego is a big one. Does that mean we should be like a mouse in the sight of God instead of a lion? Humble like a mouse. Quiet like a mouse. Soft like a mouse. I am guessing that there is probably a story of a lio...

It is 140am and I have decided to write. I hear some rain outside. It is the second morning of Ramadan here in Trinidad. It is Friday. Life is beautiful. This does not mean it is perfect or without problems but it means we choose to see the beauty despite it all. I have been exercising and eating healthier since the beginning of the year. I want to become fit and strong. I saw something on fb and it has me thinking. It says, God is bigger than all our problems. But what does this mean? Is this another way of saying God can fix all things? All things are in God's hands? Let go and let God? My friend Chatty tells me that when someone says "God is bigger than your problems" they are usually saying that your perspective is currently limited, but God's is not. Imagine you are an ant on a beautiful Persian rug. You might be standing on a patch of dark, messy-looking thread and think, "This rug is ugly and dark." But God is the weaver looking at the whole rug from ...