With hardship, comes ease

Tonight, my mind and soul feel so weary; a burden of the mind and the spirit that makes me seek solace in God's words:

"With every hardship, comes ease. Verily, with hardship comes ease." (Chapter 94; verses 5-6)

This refrain, echoed twice, stress upon the sometimes "hidden" blessings within a given burden or hardship. In the ordinary words of mortals, "In every dark cloud, there is a silver lining." Sometimes, we are too weary, too burnt out, too depressed to see that "ease", that silver lining. After all, when surrounded by darkness, it is not easy to "see." Usually, we understand the "ease" afterwards and therefore make the mistake that the ease comes after hardship. But note the stress in the refrain of the word "with" which indicates that the ease comes hand-in-hand with the hardship. (Once again, the duality that I was discussing in an earlier note kicks in.)

The Mercy of God is that He does not give us the hardship without providing its relief at the same time.There are so many examples in my life of these incidents of hardship and ease going hand in hand. But the most recent is the really lovely friends I had like Bahar, Nicole, and Rocio who helped me last week when I was struck by a strong migraine. Yet it is not always that obvious, when probably one is driven to the edge such that one raises up one's face to the Heavens to ask "Where is the ease promised?"

When that happens, God answers, "Ah! Verily, the help of God is (always) near!" (Chapter 2; verse 214)

I am reminded of the famous Christian poem, "Footprints in the Sand" which indicates how little awareness do we have of God that His presence in those times of hardship, easing our burdens, is totally not felt. It is thus, for a believer of the Creator (no matter which religion), that faith must be entwined with hope. Hope that He will continue to provide ease, even when we're not aware of it. To be be hopeless is to lose faith in that eternal promise of twining of ease with hardship, to lose faith in God's help and mercy. Without that hope and faith, life becomes meaningless and it is easy to give up. Perhaps that is why people can be driven to suicide, perhaps because they can see no exit out of the darkness surrounding them. I continue to read chapter 94 which states:

"Hence, when you are freed [from distress], remain steadfast...and unto your Sustainer, turn with love." (Chapter 94; verses 7-8)

and am heartened for love is the basis of all these...hardship, ease and the promise of freedom from the hardship springs from His love for us, and all the reciprocity He asked for is for us to remain steadfast and love Him back. Why do I say that the hardship springs from His love? For He says:

"Every human being is bound to taste death; and We test you [all] through the bad and the good [things of life] by way of trial: and unto Us you all must return." (Chapter 21; verse 35)

Hardship is a form of test for us and our hearts, to distinguish our level of faith, to help us get closer to Him.

"And most certainly We shall try you all, so that We might mark out those of you who strive hard [in Our cause] and are patient in adversity: for We shall put to a test [the truth of] all your assertions." (Chapter 47; verse 31)

"...It is they whose hearts God has tested [and opened] to consciousness of Himself; [and] theirs shall be forgiveness and a reward supreme." (Chapter 49; 3)

After all these, I think I can no longer bemoan my current burden but must struggle to accept, strive hard, and be patient for I know He is near, even if I do not feel His presence at the moment.

Wintery Sunrise

It's just 10 minutes past sunrise and while there are a couple of souls and birds out and about in the campus, it is still quiet. The inhabitants (students) have yet to stir from their bed this wintery morning. Outside, the trees and ground are covered in snow, once again painting the "world" in white.

I sit here gazing out of my window, enjoying the quiet and the winter wonderland outside. Soon, the day will begin and I will be swept up by my busy schedule once again with little time for reflection. But for now, I give thanks to God for His blessings and opportunity to experience this.

The beauty of snow leading to contemplations on duality

It's late evening and I'm feeling a little mellow. It's been snowing since 2 hours ago and now the ground is white as snow. The lochen is almost frozen over and covered with snow as well. Again, I find myself thinking of God's beauty which is reflected in the beauty of His creation.

Yet, each of His creation is a double edged sword. There has been people stranded in the snowstorms around Britain this week and a boy died falling through the ice. In Australia, they are battling yet another creation of His; the fire whose usefulness to human is enormous. I heard about 96 people are believed to have died and the body count is expected to rise. Similarly, humans too, as His ultimate creation, tasked to be His viceroy on Earth, have both good and dark sides.

It is a philosophical question, but why does God create as such? In Islam, God has 99 names, much of which are reflections of His attributes and characters. Take for example:

Al-Qaabid
The Constricter, The Retainer, The Withholder, The One who constricts the sustenance by His wisdomand expands and widens it with His Generosity and Mercy.
Al-Baasit
The Expander, The Englarger, The One who constricts the sustenance by His wisdomand expands and widens it with His Generosity and Mercy.

or

Al-Khaafid
The Abaser, The One who lowers whoever He willed by His Destruction and raises whoever He willed by His Endowment.
Ar-Raafi
The Exalter, The Elevator, The One who lowers whoever He willed by His Destruction and raises whoever He willed by His Endowment.

Many of His attributes are again coupled, a dual quality that allows us to appreciate the contrast in order to develop a deeper understanding. I believe it is something that God devised for us especially. Unlike His other creations like the other living things on this Earth, we make choices based on our rationality. As Descarte said, "I think therefore I am." In the Qur'an, this appeal to our thinking or reasoning is very much apparent.

Duality is central to life in this universe. In physics, you have push-pull forces. Then there is the concept of expansion and contraction. Positive and negative. In finance, a call and a put option. In OR, there is maximization and minimization, primal and dual problems to be solved. Hot and cold. Male and female. I found this webpage on duality that I really like in which the author succintly states

"Why does this Law of Duality exist at all? Simply because if we didn’t have duality, we would not yearn and strive for wholeness and unity. In other words, we would not be impelled to return to the unmanifested Source of Being."

Sidenote: I believe that the universe and us are manifestations of His attributes and characters, though not of His Essence.

Winter Wonderland

It snowed heavily early this morning - the first of many this week as the cold front brought London to a standstill and much snow to Edinburgh. The snow continued to fall heavily till about 5 pm, allowing all of us to have a lot of fun in the snow. Of course, I took advantage of the fact to snap some photos.

My friends in a snowfight! This is revenge!

Ah, the loch is really calm this morning with the ice forming on the surface.

I love this shot...seems like my friend Amy was climbing a Ben (mountain) when actually it was just a tiny mount.

There are still berries on the trees. :)

And this is my favourite shot. My camera was misted enough to create the soft focus on the side with the hint of blue sky and snow in the middle.