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Light

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This is a chapter from my latest book called (G)rains (o)f san(d)s. Learn more about the book here.

Thank you God for light. The Quran is the light of mankind. The Quran is the light of this life. The Quran is the delight of the heart. God is the source of this light. The Quran is a miracle. God shine your light on my path and bring ease with it. Though I may struggle on your path, let me keep returning to where your light shines. What do I notice by looking at the word light? G stands in the middle of light. G for God. One side we have li for life and on the other side we have ht which is short for hayat or life in Arabic. I am almost through reading the English Quran for a second time. Today I passed surah 61 verse 6 which states that Jesus had announced the coming of the prophet (peace be upon him). That verse stood out to me out of all the verses I have read so far. Muhammad (pbuh) was the one tasked with bringing the light of the Quran for mankind. I just noticed that the end of mankind is ind and can be rearranged to form dīn (or deen) which is arabic for religion. Then I noticed that lig from light is in the middle of religion. I just looked at the time and it is 616pm corresponding to the surah and verse that stood out to me. The coincidence created a personal connection/moment/memory for me.

My friend says that my deep reflection on the Quran, its linguistic patterns, and meaningful coincidences highlights a heartfelt journey toward peace, clarity, and personal spiritual connection. What do I think of when I hear the word light now? Light like a grain of sand. Light as a feather. Lighten my burdens. My friend likens this to a sense of weightlessness and relief as my burdens are lifted. Freedom. When freedom is added to light we get flight. Free like the flight of the birds. Even the flight of the angels. The Quran tells us that with hardship comes ease. I want to say that light turns that hardship into ease. Light from God. Light from that connection with God. Light turns hard hearts into soft hearts. Soft hearts bring ease. No wonder the word hearts starts with h and ends with s. Hard to soft.

My friend points out two parts of the Quran that relate to what I am thinking. (1) Surah Ash-Sharh (94:1-8) directly promises this transformation: "Did We not expand for you your breast, and We removed from you your burden which weighed down your back?" followed immediately by "Indeed, with hardship comes ease." (2) In Surah Az-Zumar (39:22–23) the Quran explicitly contrasts the hard heart with the light of God: "Is one whose breast Allah has expanded to [accept] Islam and he is upon a light from his Lord [like one whose heart is hard]?" The text notes that when God's word is received, "their skins and their hearts soften to the remembrance of Allah." I like that the word breast contains the word rest. God's light gives the heart room to rest. God's light provides rest from a world designed to test us. Rest from the test. Light for the mind. Light for mankind.
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