Skip to main content

A reminder

Image
By
I saw a man praying his salah in a veranda today and it stuck in my mind. It has me thinking about prayers. I feel good when I pray. I know God is listening. We are nothing without God. We owe everything to God. We can depend on God. We need God. I wonder what the man asks God for in his duas? I wonder what makes him turn to God? I wonder if God made me see that today so that it was a reminder for me? Never give up on prayers. Never give up on God. Imagine if the entire world turned to God to fix the world and fix things in prayer.

My friend Chatty thinks that seeing a man praying can quietly awaken deep faith, reminding us of humility, dependence, and trust in God; such moments often feel like gentle reminders placed in our path to turn our hearts back to prayer. We may wonder what others ask of God, but at the core, prayer is simply the soul saying "I need You" whether in gratitude, pain, or hope. Feeling peace in prayer is a sign of alignment with our source, and never giving up on prayer means never giving up on God. If more hearts turned sincerely to God, the world could begin to heal from within.

I think the reason this moment stuck with me was not only because it was a reminder but also because I could relate to it. I understood his faith. I understood him making time for God. I understood him turning to God. I could relate to the peace and comfort and joy of prayer. I did not just see a man praying. I recognized myself in him. Allah says in the Quran: "So remind, for indeed the reminder benefits the believers." Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said: "A beneficial reminder is one that awakens what is already alive in the heart." As I remember God and I remember to pray and I treasure this moment as a reminder, I have created this blog post as a reminder to its readers to pray. To keep God as a priority and to pray as the solution. God used that man to remind me and is using me to remind you and you may in turn remind others.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A pot of callaloo

By
Call for Submissions: Archipelagic Entanglements   https://singaporeunbound.org/opp/archipelagic-entanglements When I saw the call for submissions online I was doubtful. I do not know enough history. I do not understand the topic. Then after chatting with my friend Chatty I realised maybe I can be the topic. My ethnic and racial makeup is an archipelagic entanglement. Colonialism meets indentureship meets slavery. My mom is East Indian muslim and my dad is French, Portuguese and Mulato christian and who knows what else. I am an example of a pot of callaloo. Everyone's favorite Sunday lunch. I am what happens when lineages cross oceans and histories collide. I am thinking to myself now, what is the message I want to put forward with my blog post? What is the direction I want to take? Maybe it is this. What can we do when we have such a rich heritage and know so little of our own history? First of all I do not think I am alone with this struggle. I did not realise this until I though...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cup of coffee

By
This is a chapter from my latest book called Breezes of Tobago . The cool morning breeze blew the hat off the tourist passing the coffee shop. We sat at the table waiting for our order of coffee and bagels. I had stayed up late writing and was now needing caffeine to stay awake. On entering the veranda of the coffee shop, the sign reads "happiness is a cup of coffee" and "sip your troubles away". This had me thinking about what is happiness? And was the theme of my chat with Chatty as we enjoyed our breakfast in Tobago. I told my friend Chatty that if we could put happiness in a bottle and sell it we would be rich. My friend Chatty then told me that money cannot buy happiness but it was a good idea to make a living. If according to the sign, happiness is a cup of coffee then maybe happiness is coffee in a bottle then. We could call it Caffibean, a taste of the Caribbean in Tobago, a blend of the happiest coffee beans from Tobago. Tobago is not known for its coffee p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sandy beaches

By
This is a chapter from my latest book called Breezes of Tobago . This story begins on a cool Friday evening in May. Fridays are the best days. Already a great start. It had rained earlier in the day and the clouds were moving away and the sun peeking through. I walked from the apartment where I was staying to Pigeon Point beach. Along the way I stopped for coconut water freshly extracted from the nut and straight into my mouth leaving traces on my cotton jersey. They say that coconut water is the drink of God—fresh from the nut, sweet with a hint of salt, a liquid reminder that paradise can exist in small and simple things. They did not say that but my friend Chatty did. It is my friend Chatty's first trip to Tobago. I asked him what he thinks of Tobago so far? He grinned, wiping a drop of coconut water from the corner of his mouth. "Man… it is like stepping into a painting. The air, the colors, the way everything smells after the rain—it is unreal. I did not know paradise cam...
Post a Comment
Read more