By A. Helwa
“In the Name of God, Boundlessly Compassionate and Infinitely Merciful.” (The Qur’an)
“Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful (Ar- Rahman), by whatever name you call upon Him, to Him belong the most beautiful names.” (Qur’an 17:110)
God calls us toward Himself through boundless mercy and grace, which embraces all of creation without discrimination. This divine compassion transcends time and space, providing for the good, the bad and everything in between. We are called to polish our hearts to unveil the interconnectedness of creation, to embrace the places within us where love lives and compassion flourishes, and to see that beneath all outward differences we all originate from a single seed of divine origin. When we fully face God, we become like a holy mirror that contains the entire world within our love. After all, our journey here is not to just connect with the Divine in worship, but once we do this, to return to the creation, as a conduit and reflection of God’s unending love on Earth. You are not just pottery fashioned from dust and water, you were sent to be God’s eyes on Earth. You were sent as a reflection of love and compassion for all those with hurting hearts. You were sent to reflect God’s mercy upon the entire universe.
As the ninth-century Persian mystic Imam Junaid said, “A Muslim is like the earth; even if impurities are thrown on it, it will blossom into a green pasture.” 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. As the Qur’an says, “The servants of The Most Merciful are they who walk modestly upon the earth, and if the ignorant address them, they say, ‘Peace.’” (25:63) We are called by God not to react to the ignorance of men, but rather to live a life that reflects the love and wisdom of God. To serve Allah means to serve His creations, because how can you truly love the Creator if you do not deeply revere and love what He creates? We are called to be mothers of creation, called by God to take all the creatures of the Earth under our wings of compassion and care for them as if they are our own children. As the twentieth-century scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr says, “Man is the bridge between heaven and earth. On the one hand, he is to leave earth for heaven; on the other, he is to bring back heaven on earth. He is to serve as a conduit, a channel, for Divine Grace.”
This blog is an excerpt from A. Helwa’s recently published best-selling book, “Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam.” Her book is available on Amazon.com
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About A. Helwa
A. Helwa believes that every single person on Earth is deeply loved by the Divine. She is a writer who has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers through her passionate, poetic, and love-based approach to spirituality. Her popular blog @quranquotesdaily, was established while obtaining her Masters in Divinity, as a means of helping others overcome personal and spiritual struggles on their journey of experiencing divine love.
With over 15 years of experience writing and speaking on Islam and spiritual development, A. Helwa draws from her personal experiences and traditional sources to help her readers access ‘Divine love in everyday life.’