More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
our spirit’s struggle against the unconscious ego is ultimately what strengthens its muscles. As Rumi says, “If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?”
When we face trials, we are being prepared to manifest our greatest potential, which is hidden beneath the shell of our comfort and conditioning.
It is only with patience and prayer that we come to see that heat and pressure help to create the conditions necessary to transform dark coal into a luminous diamond.
“God will find a way out for those who are mindful of Him, And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. God will accomplish His purpose. God has appointed a measure for everything.” QUR’AN 65:2-3
God does not love those who overstep the limits” (2:190).
Jihad can be any act of striving to manifest goodness and beauty for the sake of God.
“On people’s hearts is the stain of that which they do” (83:14). Just as, in the darkness, a pebble and gold look and feel the same, when our hearts are impure and covered by the clouds of sin, the light of distinction fails to penetrate our consciousness, leaving us blind to the truth.
The heart is also affected by our actions. The Prophet teaches us that piety and righteousness are actualized when the soul and heart feel tranquility, and sin is that which creates restlessness and uncertainty in the chest.
The stronger the heart becomes through repentance, remembrance, and surrender, the lower the decibels of the Devil’s voice become in comparison.
“Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower” (3:8).
It is through turning our awareness to an unconditionally loving God that our hearts find rest (13:28),
“There is a polish for everything that takes away rust, and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of God.”47
Remembering God is more than just words on a tongue, it is about actively tuning our consciousness toward the Divine, with intentional words that are followed by actions that actualize our intention.
Just as darkness vanishes the moment light arrives, since the rust on the heart is a product of forgetfulness, through the very act of remembrance the heart begins being polished.
If we want to experience God more deeply, we must be with God more intimately, through the practices of remembrance, prayer, and repentance.
Do not be ashamed of coming to God with your sins, desires, and broken places. It is our hunger, our thirst, and our emptiness that creates the longing for soul food. If we were full, we would never seek for anything. God calls us to Him by inspiring neediness and poverty within us.
We are called to be like a date tree, so rooted in the love of God that when people throw stones at you, you reply with fruits that taste sweet. Do not live your life in reaction to what people have done to you, but live your life in gratitude for all that God has done for you.
God’s mercy accepts us as we are, but He loves us too much to let us stay the same.
Our work is not to change the world. Our mission is to serve and love the world, believing that when we serve God and His creations from a place of love, by the virtue of God’s mercy the world begins to heal.
“We are each angels with one wing, we can only fly by embracing each other.” When we see the fulfillment of another’s needs as being as important as our own, we are actualizing what it means to have faith.
Just as when the sun shines, it shines on everyone, and when the rain falls, it pours on everyone—
Part of our purpose on Earth is to love all creatures, without borders and boundaries.
We are a part of this world, so when we change ourselves the world changes too. After all, we can only give to others what we ourselves contain.
Jesus turned his face toward them, returning every harsh remark with a merciful prayer to God for their happiness and success in life.
“My dear brother, I can only spend from what I have in my purse.”
(null)
Just as whether you squeeze an orange harshly or softly, it will only produce orange juice, Jesus carried no hate within him, so when harsh words squeezed him, only love poured out.
How we reply to the world has nothing to do with the world and everything to do with what we carry in our own souls. No one h...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
It is only when we become a garden blossoming with the qualities of God that we can offer the divine fruits of peace, love, c...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
Don’t compare yourself to others, for every person carries a unique divine song in their soul, a melody of love, kindness, mercy, justice, freedom, and oneness that is longing to play in the concert hall of creation.
“Feel yourself being quietly drawn by the deeper pull of what you truly love.”
God only breaks you to remake you, because breakdowns come before breakthroughs. Everything that God has written into your path was meant to prepare you for this exact moment. God wants you to come as you are, not as you think you should be.
“The day you were born is the day God decided that the world could not exist without you.”
The Most Loving, begins with erasing all attachment to the self. As Rumi says, “Be melting snow. Wash yourself of yourself.”
When we enfold our will into the will of God, we erase the seeking of the self, in exchange for what the Divine seeks to create through us.
We don’t fall in love with God, we fall into the love of God. It is always God who is the doer, it is always God who is loving us.
How is it different, turning to Allah to fulfill your needs instead of turning to yourself or to other people?
Generosity blossoms in the soil of gratitude. The more aware and grateful we are for our blessings, the more open-hearted and generous our hearts become.
Since what you focus on or magnify becomes bigger, when you focus on your blessings, you find more for which to be grateful.
The Qur’an is not a destination or wall—it is a window. It does not call us to it, but rather calls us to look through it and toward the mysterious essence of God that animates everything in existence.
By its very nature, parts of the Qur’an will trigger you, because this revelation is like a pure mirror. You see in it what you bring to it.
If you come reflecting divine qualities of love, mercy, kindness, and majesty, you will experience a taste of God’s beauty.
The Book of Allah begins the process of healing our hearts through bringing deeper awareness to the places where we have turned away from God.
By the power of divine love, the message of the Qur’an has a way of nourishing the seeds of our innate goodness.
Just as rain falls from the clouds in the sky, bringing the dead earth to life, the Qur’an descended from the heavens, bringing to life the dead hearts of humankind.
The Qur’an reminds every person that is struggling, every heart that is broken, and every soul that is hurting that even if it feels like you are facing a hopeless situation know that there is refuge and healing with God.
“If God supports you, none can overcome you. Yet if He forsakes you, who is there then that can help you? Let the believers put their trust in God.” QUR’AN 3:160
The Qur’an descended with a light, because you cannot read the Qur’an in the darkness. Just as physical light is a necessity for the eyes to be able to see, spiritual light is a necessity in experiencing God’s word.
Qur’an as “a reminder for him who is in awe of God” (20:3).
“this is a message for everyone whose heart is wide-awake or who listens while he is present” (50:37).
To approach the soul of the divine revelation you have to come purified, humble, and empty of your attachment to the self, because a singular God cannot be experienced where there is multiplicity. Allah calls you to drop all other distractions and “Recite the Qur’an calmly and distinctly [with your mind attuned to its meaning]” (73:4).
